The 50-year-old amateur footballer who became a viral inspiration

Above a Methodist church at the end of a row of terraced housing, north of Rochdale town centre, Craig Kirby's phone is buzzing as he opens the door to his gym. The 50-year-old's latest TikTok video has just crept over 85,000 views.

It shows a personal highlights reel from one of his amateur football matches, filmed from the touchline by wife Lindsay, with a caption explaining how Kirby finds space and time on the bobbly park pitch. "Fitness and movement off the ball are 90% of the game," the text adds.

Kirby smiles at the video going viral. It has racked up more than 340,000 views by the time of writing, but it is nothing new.