Dean Windass: Former Hull and Bradford striker diagnosed with stage 2 dementia

Former Hull City striker Dean Windass has been diagnosed with stage 2 dementia.

Former Manchester United and Blackburn defender David May shared the news on BBC Breakfast on Friday morning, while speaking about concerns about the condition in ex-players, along with ex-Leeds midfielder and dementia campaigner John Stiles.

Stage 2 dementia causes memory lapses and mild cognitive decline.

May has since posted on X, confirming he had spoken to Windass and been given permission to speak about the 55-year-old's condition.

His post said: "FYI, I spoke to @DWindass10 last night and asked his permission. He was 100 per cent behind me mentioning that he had been diagnosed with stage 2 dementia. Deano has just done an article for a national newspaper, which will be published soon."

Windass - who also played for Bradford City, Aberdeen, Oxford United and both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday - famously scored the winning goal in the 2008 Championship play-off final against Bristol City, which saw Hull promoted to the Premier League for the first time.

He later posted a video on X, singing along to Glen Campbell's hit 'Rhinestone Cowboy', then posted: "Seriously, I am OK, was delighted to find out I had a brain. Just hope other families get the help they want for the people they have lost."

David Beckham has backed a campaign to improve care for former players affected by neurodegenerative disease by applying political pressure to the football authorities.

The former England captain has given his support to the Football Families for Justice (FFJ) campaign, which is now working with the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram on efforts to give football's independent regulator powers to force the game's authorities to take "decisive action" on neurodegenerative disease among ex-players.

Beckham said in a video address played at a campaign meeting in Manchester: "We need the football family to come together and allocate resources to help address the tragedy of these devastating diseases.

"Let's ensure that victims and their families are treated with kindness, respect and best in class support."

Alzheimer's Society, the UK's leading dementia charity, has shared six common signs of dementia to be aware of for people concerned about themselves or a loved one.

Responding to the announcement of Windass' dementia diagnosis, the charity highlights the importance for anyone who has regular problems with their memory or thinking to be assessed by a health professional, helping to dispel the common myth that symptoms are just a sign of old age.

Alzheimer's Society has an online symptoms checklist, endorsed by the Royal College of GPs, to help people describe their symptoms to their health professional, helping to get a vital dementia diagnosis or establish if there's other contributing health conditions.

Here are six other signs that might indicate dementia:

1) Memory loss

For someone with dementia, problems with memory and thinking get worse quicker than they would normally do with age, with noticeable decline over a period of months as opposed to years. For a doctor to diagnose someone with dementia, their symptoms must have become more frequent and have a significant impact on daily life.

2) Difficulty organising thoughts or staying focused

Familiar tasks they've done all their lives may start to get more difficult to do. They may also lose the ability to carry out tasks in the proper order, like trying to cook pasta before putting the water in. Equally, if a person finds that they're making a lot of poor decisions - either because they can't process information like they used to or because their personality seems to have changed a lot over just a few months - it could be a sign that they need to see their doctor.

There may also be times during a conversation where they get distracted or start zoning out - while it might leave someone a bit red-faced, it's not necessarily a sign that anything's wrong. However, if they keep forgetting the names of common objects, forgetting words or quickly losing the thread of what someone is saying, it could be a sign of dementia.

3) Problems using words or communicating

As people get older, it's common to have trouble finding the right word occasionally. Most of the time this is a normal sign of ageing, especially if the word comes later. However, if someone is consistently struggling to communicate because they can't remember commonly-used words, or they are putting words together in a way that doesn't make sense, then this may be a sign that something is wrong.

4) Problems with vision

It's totally normal for someone's eyesight to not be as sharp as it was when they were younger. However, if they are still having issues reading text, even with glasses on, it might be worth them telling their GP. Some people with dementia have difficulty judging distances or seeing edges clearly, causing trips or falls. Dementia sometimes causes hallucinations or seeing, hearing or smelling things that aren't there. This is most common in people living with dementia with Lewy bodies.

5) Getting confused about where you are or what time it is

If someone finds themselves getting lost in a familiar place or being unable to find their way home, this can also be a red flag, and they should mention it to their GP. Some people also experience 'time shifts' - for example, a person may think they're still living in a previous home - particularly if it's one where they felt most 'at home'.

6) Changes in mood or personality

Nobody is expected to feel positive all the time but if someone is starting to become easily irritable, losing interest in things, or having extreme highs and lows, this may be a sign of dementia.

There are currently around one million people in the UK with dementia. This is projected to rise to 1.4 million people by 2040.

Alzheimer's Society is a vital source of support for everyone affected by dementia. If you're affected by dementia and need help, call Alzheimer's Society's support line on 0333 150 3456 or visit alzheimers.org.uk/checklist