A BOY from Bolton is set to star in a national campaign urging parents to stop smoking.

Cole Lonsdale, aged 10, will appear in adverts on television and on posters, talking openly about how he feels about his mum, Andrea, smoking.

The campaign, organised by the Department of Health, is being launched today.

Cole’s poster will be unveiled this morning at a bus stop in Bury Road, Breightmet, and the TV adverts are due to be aired during Coronation Street.

Cole, a pupil at St Osmond and St Andrews Primary School in Breightmet, said: “I don’t like my mum smoking because she might get bad lungs.

“She has cut down on her smoking and I am really glad. I am hoping she will stop altogether.

“I am very excited about being on the advert. I had a good time filming it. It felt like I was a film star.”

Cole, of Bailey Lane, Breightmet, was at Bolton Lads and Girls Club when a film crew came along to speak to youngsters about smoking in their families.

The crew liked him so much they invited him to take part in the campaign and filmed and photographed him at his home during the summer holidays.

Miss Lonsdale, aged 29, said: “I don’t smoke in front of Cole — I always go outside. You think they are not breathing in the smoke so it is not affecting them.

“But watching him talk about how he felt for the adverts made it really hit home. I realised just how much it affected him.”

She has reduced the number of cigarettes she smokes from about 20 to 10 a day. She now wants to kick the habit altogether.

She is yet to watch the advert, and admits she expects to find it more than a little emotional.

Miss Lonsdale, a purchasing manager, added: “I think it is a really good campaign and I hope other parents will be affected by what Cole says, and that it will encourage them to speak to their children about it.”