A former rugby league player who lost half his body weight when a rare and potentially fatal virus attacked his heart is pushing his “dicky ticker” further than ever this year to raise money for charity.

James Hayley, 37, of East Bierley, who played rugby league at international level as a student and went on to captain Dudley Hill Rugby League and play rugby union for Cleckheaton, saw his weight plunge from a strapping 17 stone to just nine stone, when the heart infection endocarditis took hold.

“In the November I started feeling lethargic and losing weight,” said the father-of-two. “It took six months to find out what was wrong. I had repeated blood tests to test for all sorts of things.”

It was only in June of the following year, when his wife Nicola took him to Bradford Royal Infirmary as an emergency, that doctors finally found out what was wrong.

“I was rushed in in a desperate state,” he said. “It was Dr Sainsbury and Dr Hill who cottoned on what was wrong and by the afternoon I had been transferred to Leeds General Infirmary.”

Scans revealed the virus had destroyed his heart valve and he had to have an life-saving operation to replace it with an artificial valve. Cultures were then taken of the virus to develop a specific antibiotic, which had to be given via a drip for the next three months.

“Within a few days of the operation I was back eating and put on quarter of a stone in one day,” he said. “Within six months I was back up to fighting weight.”

Unfortunately, a return to rugby was ruled out so James, who is general manager at the family business, Spen Bearings, based in Cleckheaton, had to find another way of keeping fit.

“I didn’t like going to the gym so I took up running,” he said.

That was four years ago and since then he has completed the Great North Run in two hours and 20 minutes and also taken part in several 10k events, raising money for the British Heart Foundation and Take Heart, a charity at LGI.

His next event will be the Jane Tomlinson’s Run for All Leeds 10k event on July 8.

He will also be an Olympic torch bearer on June 25 in Beeston, after being nominated by his proud in-laws.

“I didn’t know anything about it and when I first got the email I thought it was spam,” added James.

Sponsor James at: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/jimmysdickyticker