A product of Leicester City's youth academy, Ashton made seven Premier League appearances for the club during the 2001–02 season.
He made 234 appearances during his six years at Stevenage, helping the club earn back-to-back promotions from the Conference Premier to League One.
Having initially joined Grays permanently ahead of the 2017–18 season, Ashton was offered a player-assistant manager contract at hometown club Nuneaton Town, which he signed in August 2017.
[1] He signed his first professional contract with Leicester in January 2001,[1] and made his first-team debut in the Premier League in March 2002, playing the full match in a 2–0 defeat to Leeds United at Filbert Street.
[8] A day after completing the loan move, he made his Notts County debut in a 2–2 draw against Mansfield Town,[9] and played a further three games during his time there.
[7][10] On his return to Leicester, Ashton made one further appearance for the club, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute in the team's 1–1 draw with Norwich City on 27 April 2003.
[13] After making seven appearances in all competitions during the first month of the season, with Oxford remaining unbeaten during that period, his move to the club was made permanent on 8 September 2003.
[18] Under the new management of Brian Talbot, Ashton played 34 games during the club's 2005–06 season, scoring his first goal for Oxford, and the first of his professional career, in a 1–1 draw with Rochdale on 4 February 2006.
[23] A month after being released by Oxford, he signed for Conference National club Rushden & Diamonds,[24] and made his debut on the opening day of the 2006–07 season in a 1–0 defeat to Crawley Town.
[27] Despite playing regularly during his time there, Ashton was transfer-listed by new Rushden manager Garry Hill in April 2007, and was later told he was free to find a new club.
[29] A month later, he joined fellow Conference Premier club Grays Athletic on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.
[28] Ashton made his Grays debut in a 0–0 draw away to recently relegated Torquay United on 12 August 2007, playing the whole match.
[55] He remained at Stevenage for the 2012–13 season, with the club stating that they had rejected several transfer bids for him in the summer, along with fellow centre-back Mark Roberts, from Doncaster Rovers.
[59][60] He suffered an achilles injury during Stevenage's 2–2 draw with Bury at Broadhall Way on 29 September 2012,[61] which turned out to be his final game of the season.
[65] On appointing Ashton as captain, Stevenage manager Graham Westley described him as "the ideal man to lead our team forward.
[74] Having made 15 appearances for Braintree during the first half of the 2016–17 season,[75] Ashton joined former club Grays Athletic on an initial one-month loan agreement on 25 January 2017.
[78] Despite signing for Grays, he was offered a role as player-assistant manager at Nuneaton Town of the National League North, his hometown club, and joined them on 2 August 2017.
[84] Ashton was arrested with Danny Foster in May 2008, facing three counts of vandalism after the pair took down a number of advertising banners in Aviemore.