GREAT BRITAIN’S men’s 4x100 metre relay team should have their National Lottery funding cut following their latest failure, according to former Olympic champion Darren Campbell.

The British quartet were chasing a medal at the World Championships in Beijing on Saturday only for a mistake on the final-leg changeover between James Ellington and Chijindu Ujah to scupper their hopes.

Tensions in the team were clear in the aftermath as Ellington and Richard Kilty criticised the decision to bring in Ujah in place of Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.

But Campbell said this latest mistake should come with financial consequences.

The 41-year-old, who won relay gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, told BBC 5 Live Breakfast: “I think there comes a point where people are being supported to go out there and perform and just like the middle-distance runners and all the other athletes — if they’re not performing and they’re not delivering then maybe it’s time to take away some of the funding.”

The likes of Kilty, Ellington and Aikines-Aryeetey only receive relay funding, meaning their support is based on relay performances, while Ujah, along with Adam Gemili, who is injured, and James Dasaolu, who is not involved in the relay, receive full funding.

Ellington said after the race: “For me the relay is my life because I don’t get money coming from anywhere else.”