Bolton Council is being urged to get on the right track - by naming the planned new athletics stadium at Red Moss after the town's greatest ever sprint star.

Former Bolton Harrier Neil Shuttleworth - an author and athletics journalist - believes the late Cyril B Holmes was such an ambassador for everything that is good in sport that the new track should be named in his honour.

Neil, who was the last editor of the former Running Review magazine, said he only began to appreciate what a true great C B Holmes was when he started to research his life and achievements for a planned TV series.

Already, other Bolton athletes and several councillors have suggested the track at the Wanderers' sports village should be named after the sprinter.

But Neil, who lives at Broadbottom, Hyde says he now believes that his fact file on the man shows that there is really no other contender for the honour. He has already written to Bolton Council outlining his case and the council has confirmed that the C B Holmes link is one that is being considered.

Mr Holmes, who died recently, lived in Stapleton Avenue, Heaton, Bolton.

He was born and bred in the town, was managing director of the former Lion Oil Works and became the only man in history to win international honours for his country at both athletics and rugby union.

He represented Britain in the 1936 Olympics, was Commonwealth sprint champion and set sprint records that stood for years.

Neil said: "Cyril was always true to his Bolton roots. He was a true gentleman and would be the perfect example of the values and standards to be copied by today's generation."

"The council would be hard pressed to find another true champion who was born and bred and remained in the town. Only marathon man Ron Hill comes to mind. But though he was a Bolton Harrier, he was not born in the town."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.