TOM L a n c a s h i r e believes he has moved up to another level after running the fastest 1500m by a Brit for five years.

The 25-year-old Bolton star, pictured, who is going from strength to strength in the later stages of the season, clocked 3mins 33.96secs in the final Diamond League fixture in Brussels on Friday night.

The best performance of his career saw him finish fifth in a field crammed with the best 1500m runners in the world, sprinting strongly at the end to make up two places.

His time puts him number one in the British rankings, ahead of Andy Baddeley with Lancashire now having run two 1500m times quicker than his British rival.

The run also eclipsed the 3:33.98 run by Mo Farah last year which surprisingly put the long distance specialist at the head of the domestic 1500m rankings.

And the Bromley Cross man produced his best-ever run despite an altercation earlier in the day which saw him chase a thief who stole his mobile phone through the streets of Brussels.

“I was out running in the morning when someone took my phone,” he said.

“Everyone says I must have caught him when they h e a r a b o ut wh a t happened. But the guy I caught wasn’t the one who had the phone. He was the distracter and he kept telling me he could help me get my phone back.

“But he was pretty mean-looking guy and he was leading me into a seedy area so I decided I’d better leave it. It was a nightmare really, and after the day I had it was great to run the way I did.

“I raced very well and beat a top-class field and I wasn’t far off the leaders. It was a real confidence booster.

“It was great to finally dip under 3:34 for the first time.

I ’ v e b e e n r u n n i n g consistent 3:34s and 3:35s for a couple of years and now I’ve finally made the breakthrough.”

His time lifted him from 16th to 12th in the all-time British rankings, close behind such legends as Steve Cram, Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett, Peter Elliott and David Moorcroft.

“I would like to move into the top 10,” he said.

L a n c a s h i r e ’ s b u s y schedule saw him fly straight from Brusells to Italy for a 1500m race in Rieti where the Bolton Harrier ran a weary 3:36.36 on Sunday, and then it was off to Croatia for an 800m on Wednesday night.

“I want to run a personal best 800m before the end of t h e s e a s o n , ” s a i d Lancashire who is currently fourth British ranked runner at that distance.

“That will put me second in the 800m rankings. I’ll maybe run another 800m in Milan next Thursday before starting my preparations for the Commonwealth Games 1500m.”