Amateur athletes believe the Russian doping scandal will have little affect on the sport at a grass roots level.

The eastern European powerhouse, fourth in the London 2012 Olympic medal table, was accused of running a ‘state supported’ doping programme by a World Anti-Doping Agency commission report this week.

The report was commissioned to investigate allegations made in a German TV documentary last December that Russian athletes paid domestic doping officials to supply banned substances and cover-up tests.

The scandal has raised fears the sport will never be trusted, but Kingston & Polytechnic Harrier’s men’s Southern League team manager Gordon Lester believes the fall out will not be felt in the amateur ranks.

“I’m in touch with a lot of athletes from national level right down to the grass roots and no-one knows of anyone offered or involved with doping and performance enhancing drugs,” he said.

“Anyone competing for a national medal at U16 level and upwards is routinely drug tested.

“I think the news demeans athletics at the top level.

“At our level it may start to affect uptake and participation, but at the same time the publicity may actually attract more people in to the sport.”