Pride of Britain award for baby loss football teams founder

Rob Allen set up Sands United after he and his wife Charlotte lost their baby Niamh at 39 weeks in 2017

A man who set up a network of football clubs to help bereaved fathers has been named as a Pride of Britain Award winner.

Rob Allen, from Northampton, will receive the Special Recognition award after founding Sands United.

The network of football teams helps bring together men who have lost babies and young children.

Mr Allen set it up after he and his wife Charlotte lost their baby Niamh at 39 weeks in 2017.

He previously told BBC Radio Northamptonshire it felt like the "world had stopped spinning" when it happened.

The couple were supported by the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity (Sands), which helps families through the loss of a baby and young children.

They vowed to do all they could to honour their daughter's memory, leading Mr Allen to organise a football match at Northampton Town FC in aid of Sands on 23 May 2018.

• 'Our world grows around the grief'

• My baby lived for 13 weeks and we were complete

• The football team that doesn't want new players

After the success of the match, the bereaved dads, uncles and brothers decided to form Sands United FC to compete in Northampton's Nene Valley League.

More teams have since been established across the UK, helping more bereaved families open up about their grief, raise funds for the charity and help break the silence around baby loss, Sands said.

The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, which celebrate ordinary people doing extraordinary things, will be broadcast on ITV on Thursday.