King of the Midlands again after 1,500m race triumph

King, 28, who runs for Heanor AC, raced clear in the final 200 metres to finish in 4mins 00.86seconds in the Midlands Championships and retake the title he held two years ago.

He stayed on the shoulder of the race leader as different runners pushed to the front over the four laps, winning by two seconds.

A health mentor at Southwark Primary School, Old Basford, Nottingham, King said: “It was a slow and tactical race. No one really wanted to hit the front. That suited me as I always favour a fast finish rather than a fast start.

“It was pretty much identical to how I won two years ago... I let them do the hard work and then I spoiled the party at the end.”

Earlier this year he competed in the British Indoor Championships at the English Institute of Sport (EIS), Sheffield, over 1,500 metres for a third successive year.

King, who ran superbly to reach the 1,500 metres final in 2015, made the championships after reaching the qualifying time in the British Milers Club (BMC) annual Indoor Grand Prix at the EIS, racing against some of the country’s best 1,500-metre runners.

He also claimed 3,000 metres bronze at the Midlands Indoor Championships.

Now the runner, who competes for Mansfield Harriers in the Summer Road Race League and the British Athletics League, is working towards improving his time through racing in the British Milers Club evening grand prix events over the summer.