THE seventh Bolton Ironman event has been hailed as the best ever — as thousands flocked to the borough to see athletes complete the gruelling course.

The triathlon — which will remain in Bolton until at least 2017 — is one of the town’s landmark annual events and organisers and local leaders said this year’s event was bigger and better than ever before.

Crowds gathered across the various stages of the race, from the rain-soaked Pennington Flash in the morning — to the sun-kissed town centre finish.

More than two and half thousand people took on the challenging course — including a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycle and a marathon run.

Joining the supporters at the finish line in Le Mans Crescent was the Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Carole Swarbrick, who said she was astonished by the whole weekend event.

She said: “The whole weekend has been absolutely fabulous. It started with a meet the athletes up at the Macron Stadium and I was amazed at how many competitors there were from all over the world — it is a fabulous showcase for Bolton.

“The organisers have said they like coming to Bolton because they know it gets better every year and they are really happy to come here.

“It is a huge boost for the local economy. I was at Ironkids on Saturday and the town was buzzing and now we have the main event here today.”

She added: “Bolton and the Ironman team together do a first class job putting this massive event together — and the athletes have told me they love coming to Bolton because they get so much support.”

Cllr John Byrne, cabinet member for culture, said: “I don’t know how they do it, but it just gets better every year.

“People come down and expect the best from this event and they get better, the way it is organised is fantastic.

“It is a full weekend event and it provides a huge boost for Bolton, there are people all over, shop keepers, hoteliers who can see their takings going up, which is brilliant for them and for Bolton.”

The event is set to deliver a boost of more than £3 million to the town's economy.

More than 10,000 people travelled to the town over the weekend with shops, restaurants and cafes enjoying a bumper boost to their sales.

More than 2,500 youngsters visited the Market Place to register for the Ironkids event while hotels such as the Bolton Whites Hotel were fully booked for the weekend.