A DEFIANT Barrow runner is taking part in the Great Manchester Run this weekend in a show of solidarity with the city after the horrific terrorist attack.

Hayley Preston will be taking on the 10k event in the Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run this Sunday.

Following the deaths of 22 people, many of them children, in the Manchester Arena suicide bombing on Monday night, the Great Manchester Run organisers consulted with Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council.

The run is to go ahead and there is expected to be a great show of support from runners and the public. Some runners are supporting the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

The Great Manchester Run is Europe's largest 10km event and it will also host a half-marathon for the first time.

Walney School librarian and Barrow borough councillor Miss Preston wants to get out there to support the run. She will wear a yellow ribbon in tribute to the victims, as runners and their supporters are planning to create a sea of yellow in a symbol of hope and solidarity.

The Risedale councillor is running for Cancer Research UK in memory of her late granddad, Bob Boast, and she will also be making a donation to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

The 29-year-old said: "I want to go out there to support Manchester and show solidarity. I think the event will have amazing support.

"What happened at Manchester Arena is devastating and our thoughts are with all those families."

This will be Miss Preston's second Great Manchester Run as she also took part in the event four years ago.

The councillor has been preparing for the event since Christmas.