Oxfordshire athletes Nathan Douglas, Mara Yamauchi and Hatti Archer have lost their National Lottery funding.

The trio have been removed from the World Class Performance Programme for 2013, UK Athletics announced yesterday.

Radley steeplechaser Archer, plus the Oxford duo of triple jumper Douglas and marathon runner Yamauchi all had injury-hit seasons.

But sprint hurdler Lawrence Clarke, from Christmas Common, who finished fourth at London 2012, was promoted to ‘podium’ funding – the highest level British athletes can receive.

Oxford’s 1,500m world silver medallist, Hannah England, kept her podium place, which is for athletes “with genuine potential to medal” at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

She said: “It is great to be retained on funding, I rely heavily on the expert medical care and other UKA services.”