FORMER York City captain Sean Newton has left Buxton after just 23 games for the Vanarama National League North side.

Newton is a welcomed face at the LNER Community Stadium, after the experienced defender gave six years of service to City before departing the club on loan to join Buxton in their promotion season from the Northern Premier League.

Upon gaining promotion, Newton confirmed that his move away from York had been made permanent, with the 31-year-old ending a memorable stint in North Yorkshire.

But after acting as interim manager at Buxton and 11 months of acting as a key player in their squad, Newton has made the switch to join Northern Premier League side Ashton United to take up a player/assistant manager role, joining former Buxton boss Steve Cunningham’s new management team.

Ashton currently sit in 13th place of the Northern Premier League, and are six points adrift of the play-offs after a slow start to the season.

But new manager Cunningham has experience of gaining promotion from the division with Buxton last season, and will be hoping to do so again after replacing Michael Clegg less than a week ago.

Newton is considered a hero at York having made 159 appearances for the Minstermen between 2016 and 2022 and sticking with City after their dreaded relegation from the National League to the National League North in 2017.

Otherwise known as ‘Newts’, the combative defender was voted ‘clubman of the year’ by City supporters at the end of the 2016/17 season, before replacing Simon Heslop as captain under Gary Mills.

Newton was also part of that memorable squad that defeated Macclesfield Town 3-2 at the FA Trophy final in 2017, as goals from Jon Parkin, Vadaine Oliver and Aidan Connolly saw the Silkmen defeated and City lifting the trophy at Wembley Stadium.