Nick Buckland & Penny Coomes miss European Championships

Great Britain's Nick Buckland and Penny Coomes have withdrawn from the European Figure Skating Championships because Buckland is struggling with illness.

The move comes a day after Olivia Smart and Nick's brother Joe Buckland, the British champions, also pulled out.

Ex-Olympic champion Robin Cousins, of the National Ice Skating Association, said: "There is no way either [couple] could have performed at any level."

This season, Buckland and Coomes have already won two international events.

However, the Buckland brothers have both contracted similar sickness bugs.