DOUBLE Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Adlington will be in Manchester on Friday as part of a Join In summer relay.

The former swimmer and now TV commentator, is part of a nationwide tour by leading sports stars who have teamed up with the London legacy charity, to tour community sports clubs up and down the country throughout August.

On Friday, the volunteer baton will move down to Manchester and on to Adlington, who will be working with Manchester Handball Club, a club that is entirely dependent on volunteers.

She will be taking on a variety of volunteer jobs at the club including refereeing and score keeping to also highlight the diverse volunteering roles within sport and the vital role that volunteers play in maintaining and running community sports clubs.

Rebecca Birkbeck, the boss of Join In said: "Volunteers are vital to all grass roots sport, but none more so than handball which has seen dramatic growth since London 2012.

"Nowhere is sport more part of the community and people's lives than up here in the North West, I am delighted that Join In have been invited to shine a light on this fantastic Manchester-based club and show how volunteers are enabling it to flourish."

Rachel Harpham, women’s coach at Manchester Handball Club said, “The role of volunteers is paramount to our club. Without all the hard word and determination given by all the volunteers, our club would not exist. Volunteers can help out in a variety of ways from being on the committee to coaching the teams, working on the website and other social media.

"On match days it is essential we have volunteers to do the scoring, keep the time and this season volunteers will also be refereeing some of the matches. Volunteers play a key role in handball and all their efforts are very much appreciated by all!”

For information and local sports volunteer opportunities visit joininuk.org.