THE mother of a keen sportsman who died of a rare brain condition has donated a bowling machine in his memory.

Chris Warne, of Ripley, died in October 1997 of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – also known as CJD.

He had the "new variant" form of the condition, thought to be connected with infected meat from cows.

The 36-year-old excelled in football, cricket and running.

His mother, Shirley, bought the machine for Derbyshire Cricket Academy.

Karl Krikken is director of the academy at Derbyshire County Cricket Club, in Nottingham Road, Derby.

He said: "I've known Shirley for 10 years and she's a lovely woman who is devoted to Derbyshire sport."

Pictured from left are Shirley with the machine and cricketers Eddie Ikin, Greg Massingham, Tom Knight, Matt Higginbottom, Ben Slater and Chris Durham.