DUDLEY parkrun hosted a #teamparkrun event at the weekend - but the guests of honour failed to show up.

To thank National Lottery players for backing Britain’s record-breaking Olympic and Paralympic athletes for 21 years, athletes have been acting as tail walkers at parkrun events across the UK.

The Dudley group, which meets at The Dell Stadium every Saturday at 9am, were expecting to be joined by two British judo stars as part of the initiative between The National Lottery, UK Sport and parkrun - but volunteer Rebecca Slade said they "failed to show".

But the disappointment did not dampen spirits as dozens of people - including someone dressed as a dinosaur - took part in the free, timed 5k run, walk or jog, which was led by volunteers.

Rebecca added: "Our parkrun still had a fantastic buzz about it.

"It's a great, supportive event which is hoped to increase both the physical and mental wellbeing of all our participants.

"Our ages range from under 11s to over 70s with times from 17 mins to over an hour so anyone is welcome to join us."

For more information about joining parkrun, visit www.parkrun.org.uk/dudley.