A MIXED tournament held in memory of Shipley Swifts Netball Club teammate and friend Nicola Michael has raised £2,540 for the Cancer Research UK charity.

The event welcomed a visit from England Netball superstar Nat Panagarry, who took her Netball World Cup bronze medal along.

Shipley Swifts club secretary Faye Allen said: "Nicola, 33, was diagnosed with cancer in October 2018, and sadly lost her battle in May 2019.

"She was an incredibly well-liked, passionate, and committed member of our club, captaining the second team over recent years.

"Our mixed tournament in her memory was held at Shipley Swifts training venue, Bradford College, and saw 14 mixed teams, battle it out on the netball court to be crowned winners of the first Nicola Michael Mixed Charity Netball Tournament. Fourteen teams, meant there was over 150 people there on the day playing the sport Nicola loved."

Eventual winners were Giants Allstars.

The event included a bake sale and other fundraising ideas including a Cancer Research Uk stall and raffle.

Ms Allen added: "As a club we wanted to host this event in memory of Nicola. We were overwhelmed by the incredible support from everyone involved, from volunteers at our club, to all teams that entered, it was a fantastic day for everyone, Nicola would have loved it. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in making this event such a success, we have already had questions about next year."

A cheque was handed over during a recent training session to Cancer Research UK fundraising manager Rachel Speight-McGregor who said the money would go towards research into beating cancer.