BOLTON’S most successful Paralympian Tony Griffin has been invited to meet the Queen at her Royal Garden Party.

The 50-year-old from Great Lever is the town’s most decorated athlete, with more international medals than Jason Kenny and Amir Khan put together.

Mr Griffin, who has cerebral palsy, went to his first Paralympics in the south of France aged just 16 and travelled again with the British team to Holland in 1980.

Four years later came his most successful event to date — the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York.

He brought home two golds, for javelin and the Indian club — and two world records.

His record throw of 50 metres in the Indian club — an event similar to the hammer — stands to this day.

In his 10-year career, the Bolton athlete won a total of 38 medals.

Now he has been invited by the Lord Chamberlain to attend the prestigious event at Buckingham Palace. He will go to London with his wife Carla and two of their children, Andrew and Samantha.

Mr Griffin said: “It was a pleasant surprise to receive the invitation.

“It is an honour to be invited and I know it will be a tremendous experience for myself, my wife and Andrew and Samantha.

“I hope that any parents, who may have a child with any sort of disability, will look at me and realise so much can be achieved — sport is just one way forward.”

Mr Griffin’s image was placed alongside hundreds of other sporting legends from Bolton on the town’s Spirit of Sport statue earlier this year.

He is also set to meet boxing star Mike Tyson when he visits Bolton later this month.

Mr Griffin said his success was down to the self-sacrifice of both his parents.

He added: “I know they would be proud if they had been here today.”

steven.thompson@theboltonnews.co.uk