Whitehaven RLC's greatest star, Dick Huddart, has not died, despite rumours circulating on social media yesterday.

Mr Huddart, 80, who played for Great Britain and England, now lives in Australia and had been sleeping through the night as news spread he had died.

Hundreds of people posted RIP messages on social media websites Facebook and Twitter after a tweet from Haven's official Twitter account mourning his passing.

However, his family in Whitehaven were distraught to read that he had 'died' and were urgently trying to track down information.

Mr Huddart's daughter, Nicki, said: "We couldn't believe it when we saw it. We wondered where the news had come from.''

Following the announcement on social media, and with messages of condolences starting to pour in, the family contacted the Australian police who went to Mr Huddart's home to check on him.

"Dad called us around 10pm last night to tell us he was 'alive and well'.

"While he thought it was funny, he was also worried about us,'' Nicki said.

"It has all been very upsetting. If we have any news about my dad we wish to say we would tell people as a family.

"This is a reminder that people have to be careful about putting things on social media without checking it is true."

No one from Haven was available for comment this morning.