THE father of a teenage Warrington running star says there are lessons for his daughter to learn from her collapse during a major race abroad at the weekend.

Heather Timmins' first appearance for Great Britain at under 20s level turned into a disaster when she keeled over' on a mountain in the south of France.

The 17-year-old Warrington Athletics Club ace required medical attention while racing in soaring heat at 8,000-feet in the European Mountain Running Championships.

She was hoping to build on a glowing record of successes that include becoming Warrington Athletics Club's first English Schools senior cross country champion earlier this year and finishing 12th for England in the World Mountain Running Championships in Turkey in 2006.

Her father, Adrian, also a member of the Warrington club, said: "I received a call from Heather's mobile phone at noon on Sunday and it wasn't her voice, she had collapsed halfway up the course.

"She was carried off the mountain by the ambulance crew that was there for the event, who had spotted her keel over on to the floor and saw that her legs were all wobbly when she tried to stand up.

"We knew she had had a bit of a bug. And in heat of 30 degrees Celsius and at 8,000 feet, her body couldn't physically cope.

"She's okay, she's well, that's the main thing but these kids need to know they're not infallible."

Heather's training regime had been affected in the week leading up to the event in Cauterets due to feeling unwell.

She visited the doctor for blood tests, with the results coming back clear the day before she set off to France but was told she had a virus.

Adrian continued: "Both myself and her coach didn't want her to go. The week before the event she was awful and didn't train.

"The Great Britain team were more laid back and said that Heather might as well go along and just enjoy the event because her name was on the ticket and they wouldn't replace her with anyone else."

However, Heather felt fit enough to run and was hungry to gain her first Great Britain vest.

Adrian concluded: "There is a lesson to be learnt in not running when you've not been well."

* Heather was due to run in an English Schools Championships this week but has made the decision to withdraw.