Footballer's death among stories inspiring election candidates

Jed McCrory said he had lost two friends to stabbings, including footballer Cody Fisher

The owner of Stratford Town Football Club says the death of one of the club's players has inspired him to stand in May's local elections.

Jed McCrory is a Conservative candidate for Stratford-on-Avon District Council.

He said it was losing Cody Fisher to a stabbing that had brought him into politics.

His is one of a raft of personal stories to emerge from people across the political spectrum in Warwickshire ahead of polling on Thursday.

Mr Fisher was fatally wounded at a Birmingham nightclub in December and Mr McCrory said it was the second time he had lost a friend to a stabbing, with the first coming in 1997.

"Things haven't changed," he said. "It's 25 years later. It's frustrating."

Cody Fisher played for several non-league Midlands clubs, most recently Stratford Town

Mr McCrory previously ran Swindon Town Football Club and Worcester Warriors Rugby Club, experiences that he said helped him see how sport could keep young people away from crime.

"Sport was always something I believed in because it was free," he said. "When you were younger you could play out on the streets, you could enjoy sport without feeling threatened. Your parents weren't frightened for you to play."

Asked why he would want to swap football for the potentially hostile world of politics, he said: "When you've been in football as long as me, that can get nasty as well.

"But it's all about opinions and everyone is entitled to an opinion. Sometimes you can go a little bit too far, and in football sometimes they do. In politics? I'll have to let you know in a few years if I make it."

In neighbouring Leamington Spa, Nick Wilkins is standing for election in the town where he used to sleep rough.

The Green Party candidate says his background led to his involvement in politics.

Nick Wilkins is also a vocal campaigner on the issue of suicide

He said: "Probably about 20 years ago, I was homeless on the streets of Leamington. I put myself on the streets to get away from a relationship breakdown. I was rough sleeping for about three or four days and then sofa surfing for about 18 months.

"When I was struggling, I found I needed something to pass the time. So I started doing a lot of volunteer work. I didn't realise that being a town councillor is basically volunteering. So that's how I got into it.

"A lot of people say 'I don't like where I'm living, it's not a nice place' but the place you live is how you make it."

He added: "It does make me stressful sometimes thinking about what I've been through to get here, but a lot of people have said I'm an inspiration - which I find really weird."

Mr Wilkins is also a vocal campaigner on the issue of suicide following the death of his dad six years ago.

He said: "I was volunteering at a night shelter at the time. I got a phone call from my wife saying I had to come home and then I found out that my dad had [taken his life]. It was hard. But I find it a lot easier to speak about it."

He added: "I think I've graduated from the University of Life about six times."

Back in Stratford-on-Avon, Liberal Democrat candidate Lorraine Grocott said she was hoping to add the district council to a list of male-dominated organisations through which she had blazed a trail.

The former Ministry of Defence apprentice has had a long career in engineering and the automotive industry.

She said: "I left full time education at 17 to do an apprenticeship at the Ministry of Defence. I was one girl among 35 guys. So I can hold my own and be a right nuisance when I have to be."

She added: "I believe in standing up for women and girls. I'm used to tackling people with their entrenched views. I'm used to speaking up and getting my message across effectively."

Lorraine Grocott has had a long career in engineering and the automotive industry

The mother of two daughters said she was passionate about giving a voice to women, and gave up her spare time to support girls as a Brownie leader.

She said: "It's about them becoming fully engaged members of the community, and knowing that they do have a voice. It's not just a case of smiling and putting up with things.

"One of the principles of girl guiding is that girls come together to make decisions on what they're going to do in groups. It's exactly what I believe in passionately.

"This is where it comes into local politics. We're coming together, the local people to actually decide what is best for us - not what comes from Westminster or Whitehall. It's what people here want for their communities and I want to stand up for them."

In Coventry, Abdul Khan is standing for the Labour Party.

His father crossed the international border to the UK in 1962, having previously worked as a police officer in Karachi, Pakistan. He went on to establish a large family in the city, with Abdul being one of 13 siblings.

Mr Khan, who owns a law firm, said his family had an influence on his journey into politics.

Abdul Khan said he wanted more people from ethnic minorities to get into politics

He said: "My uncle was a convenor for a trade union at the Courtaulds factory and he suggested to me that I should involve myself in politics.

"My uncle and father were educated in Pakistan, so there was a handful of individuals who could read and write English and they used those skills to help the communities in Coventry. I watched my father do that work and it kind of naturally followed."

He added: "Running my own law firm, I was used to giving people advice. I took up the opportunity to represent the Labour Party."

Mr Khan said he hoped he could be an inspiration to people from similar backgrounds to get involved in public service.

"Whenever I speak at public events I try to encourage people, particularly from the ethnic minorities, to get involved in politics. Being there, what you are doing is enabling others to come forward as well and I think that's very important."

To find out the elections taking place in your area, visit the BBC website here.

For a full list of candidates standing in the local elections, visit your local council's website.