Workington Town officials have spoken out in support of Gerard Stokes, former coach and player at the club after the sporting legend has revealed his brain cancer diagnosis.

Stokes is renowned in the Cumbrian sporting world having spent time as both player and coach at Workington Town.

He also coached Whitehaven RLFC between 2008 and 2010.

A spokesperson for Workington Town said: “Everyone at the club was so sorry to hear the news of Ged’s illness.

“The messages from across rugby league show the high regard he is held in here in the UK.

“We’d like to pass on our thoughts and prayers to Ged, Deb and Ben and know that they’ll find comfort together at such a sad time.”

His son Ben was raised in Cockermouth and played for the local cricket club, going on to international fame and England cricket glory, helping the team win the Ashes in 2019.

The cricket star recently revealed that his “head wasn’t really in” recent England Test cricket games following news of his father’s illness.

The former rugby league coach has recently spoken out about his ongoing battle with brain cancer after a diagnosis in January. Stokes revealed the news to a publication in his native country, New Zealand.