Steph pays tribute to people of Leeds and vows to continue her MND fight

Ex-England international Steph Houghton has paid tribute to the people of Leeds and vowed to continue the MND fight after receiving an honorary degree from the city's university.

- by Alex Grant

was among a host of stars presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Leeds today (Tuesday, July 22).

Earning over 100 caps for England and captaining the national team, Steph Houghton is Manchester City's record appearance holder and won eight major honours with the club.

Starting her career at Sunderland, Steph then moved to Leeds Carnegie and in an exclusive interview with the Yorkshire Evening Post paid tribute to the club and the people of Leeds for helping shape her early career.

"I spent three years at the club, I learnt a lot about myself and it helped me develop as a player and as a person. Leeds itself is a very special city, my best friend still lives here, my godson's here so it's definitely got a special place in my heart," she said.

"There's just a sense of home when I'm in Leeds. Everyone's the same, everyone's polite, humble, hard working and they are the ethics I really embodied my career on so to come back and be part of that in this city is very special."