Parents have paid tribute to a man who runs a championship-winning children's karate group - despite waiting for a kidney transplant.

Neil Howard, 37, spends nine hours a day having dialysis at home after suffering kidney failure as a result of diabetes.

But he refuses to let his illness get him down and says running the Eccleshill group keeps him going.

"I've had diabetes since I was a child and I've been on dialysis for nine years," said Mr Howard, who has a four-year-old daughter.

"Now I'm waiting for a kidney transplant and I carry round a bleeper with me.

"I try not to let my illness get to me and I make the most of what I've got.

"Perseverance is the most important thing and an understanding of my condition.

"There are certain things that I can't do in karate but I really enjoy teaching the youngsters and it helps me a lot.

"They are very talented. At a recent competition we walked off with a third of all the trophies - which was a major achievement."

Mr Howard, who works in personnel at a computer firm, teaches a dozen youngsters at Eccleshill Working Men's Club and the Mechanics Institute twice a week.

He is a black belt at karate but has to link himself up to a dialysis machine every night through a tube into his stomach.

This means he has to be careful of his stomach area when practising karate, but still spars with club members and attends squad training.

He is able to compete in the Kata section of competitions (involving a sequence of moves and imaginary fighting) but is no longer able to fight in competition.

The group was voted club of the year by a world-wide karate organisation and they won 22 out of 30 trophies at the recent National Kofukani Championships in Nottingham.

Barry Patefield, whose nine-year-old son Daniel goes to the club, said: "All the parents think that Neil is doing an absolutely brilliant job.

"He never moans and even though he is very ill, he gives his time to help the children.

"The group is doing exceptionally well and they are all at a really high standard.

"We're running out of room for all the trophies they keep winning."

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