Target raised in memory of rugby player Liam

A GROUP of family and friends completed the Leeds Marathon in memory of a much-loved dad who died before he had the chance to meet his youngest child.

- BY AMY FENTON

Liam Canning was a well-known rugby player and played as number six in the back row for Rossendale Rugby Club.

Liam from Burnley also played for Sedgley Park, Blackburn, Waterloo and Burnley and Pendle during his rugby career. Liam died from suicide last September. He was 34.

His wife, Paige, was 32 weeks pregnant when her husband died. She gave birth to their son, named Liam after his dad, in November.

At an inquest into his death in January, Liam's family raised concerns about whether his lifelong love of rugby had caused his mental health issues. Consultant neurosurgeon Nicholas Park described how there is a “significant positive association between persistent concussion symptoms and clinical depression”.