Ex-rugby stars turned motor neurone disease campaigners Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield have both been honoured at this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony.
The former Leeds Rhinos teammates have both gone on to become truly inspiring individuals in their own right but remarkable fundraising figures too, generating millions for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) and other charities in the last few years.
Raising huge awareness around the condition in the UK, the pair’s impact could not be overstated, with Burrow earning the Helen Rollason Award “for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity” and Sinfield also handed a special award for his own extraordinary efforts this year.
We’ll pre-warn you, it is a tearful watch:
This year's Helen Rollason award goes to Rob Burrow 🏆
From fundraising efforts to his fight against MND, the rugby league legend is an inspiration to us all ❤️
Having already been awarded an MBE not only for his services to sport but for MND charities and now this, Burrow told the audience: “I’m totally overcome with this award due to the amount of amazing people that have won this before, in particular my MND hero Doddie Weir.”
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Weir – a fellow rugby and fundraising hero in Scotland – sadly passed away in November this year, with legends of the sport turning out for his tartan memorial service earlier this week.
Speaking via the same computer that allowed him to read his own CBeebies Bedtime Story in his own accent earlier this year, Burrow said that he didn’t feel he would be here without having met Weir less than a week before his diagnosis in 2017, insisting that he was accepting on the award “on his behalf”.
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He also recognised his friend Kevin, “who makes the impossible, possible”, and his family and wife Lindsay for putting their lives on hold to care for him, stating that he would not be here “without [their] sacrifice”. He also thanked his fellow MND warriors, assuring them, “we will not stop, we’ll find a cure”.
As for local Oldham lad and OBE, Sinfield, he delivered some rather moving words of his own as it was clear there was a lot of emotion on the stage, throughout the room and certainly among those watching back home.
"Rob's probably the most inspirational bloke in the UK at this moment" ❤️
Rob Burrow's former teammate, Kevin Sinfield, who's raised money for MND causes, is recognised with a special BBC Sports Personality award.
The 42-year-old dubbed his friend and colleague as “the most inspirational bloke in the UK at this time”, remarking that his efforts have “shown us all how to be better friends” during difficult times.
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He also went on to reflect on the power of sport and its ability “to bring communities together and provide hope” for groups like the MND community, also honouring Doddie Weir by sharing his lasting and crucial message: “MND isn’t incurable, it’s underfunded”.
However, Sinfield’s own inspiring and simply incredible feats cannot be overlooked, having completed the ‘Ultra 7 in 7’ marathon challenge in 2022 on top of numerous other unbelievable achievements in previous years, helping raise over £7 million for MND charities.
The newly-named England defensive coach summed up his speech by reassuring that “we are going to keep fighting; these people need us, the families need us”, adding that he and his team, not to mention everyone else involved in MND will “keep banging the drum and doing our best”.
Truly powerful stuff and more than well deserved, both of them.
If you want to help Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield and make an impact in fighting this disease, you can donate to the MNDA here.
Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
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Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
Danny Jones -
22nd December 2022 
