A SOD-CUTTING ceremony is an important event to mark the start of a any building project.

And all you need for a successful ceremony is -- a spade.

But that unfortunately was forgotten when local dignitaries gathered to start work on The Gates primary school in Westhoughton.

A quick-thinking governor had to dig them out of trouble when, as the ceremony was about to start, he ran to collect a shovel from his nearby farm.

Now a councillor is determined that a similar mistake will never happen again. He is suggesting the use of special spades for ceremonial occasions.

Westhoughton Town Council leader David Wilkinson said: "I don't see why somebody couldn't have gone to a shop beforehand and bought a spade for £20. Occasions like that should be commemorated properly, perhaps by using a ceremonial trowel.

"People might laugh at that, but those occasions are about incorporating beliefs and values into a new building."

Cllr Linda Thomas, Bolton Council's executive member for education, had the job of cutting the sod.

She said: "I didn't know anything was wrong. Somebody just put a spade in my hand and I turned over a piece of ground.

"It's difficult to make more of an occasion of things when you're stood in an empty field, but I thought it was a very pleasant.

"There were quite a few governors and councillors there and everyone seemed happy on the day. I'm a bit surprised that some people were disappointed."

A spokesman for Bolton Council said it would be expensive to buy spades for sod-cutting ceremonies, but said plaques are often erected when new buildings are completed.

He said: "When the council organises events like that we usually borrow a spade from one of our contractors.

"Builders used to commemorate sod-cuttings by presenting people with silver trowels. The council commemorates the opening of new buildings with plaques and time capsules."

David Clegg, headteacher designate of The Gates, said: "I don't see why the spade is an issue. The most important thing is that work has started on the school."