IT is known as the beautiful game - now football has been hailed as a sport that can save lives.

Staff from Bolton Primary Care Trust have formed The BIG Bolton Health Check team to raise awareness of the simple set of tests that could save up to 10,000 lives in Bolton.

Despite being knocked out of a football tournament in the first round, the squad, who sported special team shirts, are confident they helped get the message across.

Leesa Kahraman, team member and health development specialist from the Bolton PCT public health department, said: "We were determined to do anything we could to raise the profile of The BIG Bolton Health Check and combining it with a football tournament, which is a great form of exercise, seemed a perfect way to do this.

"It was a great day and generated a lot of interest in the campaign.

"The BIG Bolton Health Check is vital in improving life-expectancy in Bolton, and anything that can be done to get more people involved can only be a really good thing."

Heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes, is the number one killer in Bolton and health chiefs have vowed to do all they can to reduce the risk.

The borough is set to become the first place in the world to test everyone over the age of 45 to determine whether they are at a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years.

So far, 42,000 people have been tested over the last two years, meaning 46,000 people will have The BIG Bolton Health Check over the next 10 months.

The campaign will be officially launched on Friday, when health chiefs hope at least 500 people will have the series of simple tests.

A range of community events will also be organised over the coming months.

People can have The BIG Bolton Health Check in their GP surgery and health trainers will be travelling to out an about in the community to places such as at pubs, swimming pools, betting shops, Mosques, churches, barbers and DIY stores, to reach as many people as possible.