A LEIGH legend said he is ‘proud’ and ‘humbled’ after hundreds of fans turned out to the unveiling of a bronze statue of him outside the home of the Centurions.

The 30ft statue of Leigh’s top point scorer John Woods, officially went on display at its new home outside Leigh Sports Village at the weekend.

The tribute to John, known as Woody, was unveiled by the man himself alongside former Leigh chairman Brian Bowman and was watched over by a large crowd including fans, former players, councillors and Leigh MP Andy Burnham.

John said: “I am not a man who likes a fuss but I could not be more proud of the love and support shown to me by the people in Leigh.

“It was such a fantastic day, I never expected to get any recognition like this and I am so humbled and incredibly proud.

"The statue is so lifelike that I went back the next day to check that it had not ran off in the night.

“My family, friends and hundreds of fans were there cheering and it made the day even more special for me.

“The town of Leigh and the community group that organised this have done so much to make this a reality and they should feel proud of their achievement.

“It is not just about me it is about the club, they are going from strength to strength and I am happy that my family will have a legacy in front of the club for many years to come.”

The £30,000 statue was paid for via fundraising from a community group and an £8,000 Wigan Council Brighter Borough cash injection.

The organising committee successfully raised the money in time to unveil the statue to coincide with John’s 60th birthday celebrations, which was earlier this month.

Jason Donoghue, from the community group, added: “It has been a lot of hard work over the past 15 months but I am very relieved that it all went well, even the sun was shining.

“The Leigh community should be very proud of what they have achieved.”

Saturday saw a double celebration for the club and its fans, as the statue ceremony was followed by the Centurions celebrating their Super League promotion with a victory against Batley Bulldogs.