Crawley pole vaulter Nick Buckfield has explained the latest injury setback that forced him out of the European Championships in Munich.

He said: "I felt some niggles in my Achilles tendon a couple of days after competing at Manchester in the Commonwealth Games.

"This is a problem I have been trying to overcome for too long now and I have not had a complete track season for several years.

"It is not the vaulting that is causing the problem but the running.

"I was quite happy with my fourth place at Manchester because it was only my third competition of the year.

"When I started to feel problems again I decided it would not be sensible to compete in Munich.

"I feel confident I would have been able to survive the qualifying rounds but whether I would have been able to compete in the final a couple of days later is doubtful.

"The important thing for me now is to be fit for the World Cup final at Madrid next month."

Sam Haughian, from Windsor, will not defend his 10,000m title at the Brighton and Hove Evening Open Meeting on Wednesday He has emerged as one of the top British 5,000m runners and was fifth in the Commonwealth Games.

Last year, Keith Newton was the leading Sussex runner but this time he could come under pressure from fellow Brighton and Hove athletes.

Stuart Moran, back from his American University, will make his track debut on home soil and, on paper, is second fastest in the field.

Husseyin Ibrahim, who has shown such good form over 5,000m this season, will be a strong challenger.

Ibrahim, the reigning Sussex half-marathon champion, has also had good runs over 1,500m this season but has yet to make his debut over 10,000m.

The programme includes the under-13 Minithon Challenge which was pioneered at this meeting four years ago.

Similar events are now staged throughout the South of England and are part of the main Sussex Championships in May.

This main event starts at 8pm but the meeting, that includes a wide range of track and field events, begins at 6.15pm. Entries are accepted on the day.