COLCHESTER sprinter Charlie Dobson endured a frustrating weekend at the UK Indoor Athletics Championships after failing to reach the final of the men's 60 metres, writes DANIEL REES.

The 23-year-old, who was the third fastest athlete entering the competition on Saturday, comfortably negotiated the first round where he finished in second place to qualify automatically behind Sale Harriers' Jona Efoloko,

It was the seventh time the two athletes had raced one another, with Dobson having won four out of the previous six outings.

Efoloko, who beat Dobson to the World Under 20 200m title in 2018, qualified marginally ahead of the Colchester Harrier who took second in a time of 6.74sec.

But there was to be controversy at the semi-final stages, when the athlete in the lane next to Dobson moved in his blocks whilst athletes were in the 'set' position.

Despite this, however, the marksman did not recall the race, and Dobson was left in the blocks whilst his competitors surged ahead.

The 23-year-old went on to finish in eighth place with a time of 7.18sec, and a subsequent protest was then turned down by the track referee.

The 60m title was later won by Reece Prescod in a time of 6.54sec.