WILY veterans and young bucks have been sizing each other up and getting a good workout thanks to weekly walking football sessions.

Barrow AFC Community and Age UK have teamed up to offer 45 minutes of action on the five-a-side court at Park Leisure Centre, Barrow.

Players from teenagers up to pensioners have been lacing up their trainers and taking part, with numbers growing by the week, and AFC Community manager Craig Rutherford keen to see even more people involved.

Rutherford wants to dispel any misapprehensions regarding the 'walking' moniker, stressing the exercise benefits, and saying: “It's about keeping active. We haven't put an age limit on it – Gareth (Morgan) the groundsman come along and I play with them, Brad Hubbold (a fellow AFC Community coach) joins in and Kane Fitch, our apprentice who's 19, he joins in.

“Then there's a guy, John, who comes. I don't know how old he is, but he is absolutely fantastic. He came for the first few weeks in the original cotton football socks, with blue and white stripes. He said he had them from when he was a kid, but then he bought some new football socks at Christmas especially to come along.

“What we have to do is get people past that stigma of walking football, because it is a fantastic workout and a good laugh. You can tell the people who have played before, because there are some really good touches and some good passes, and they get that little bit of competitiveness back as well, which is great.

“I've been really pleased with it. It's growing week by week, and I just want it to continue growing.”

Sessions run at the Park Leisure Centre on Fridays between 11.45am and 12.30pm and are open to anyone regardless of age or ability.

There is a £2 charge for each player per session to cover the venue cost.