CROWN green bowling stalwart Keith Andrews has become the first person from Bolton to be president of the sport’s national governing body.

The 74-year-old from Heaton, has just begun a one-year term of office as president of the British Crown Green Bowling Association.

The current secretary of the Lancashire Crown Green Bowling Association is the first person from the county to be put forward for the national presidency since 2003.

He is no stranger to official and administrative roles in the sport, having also been Bolton Mills League secretary for 23 years and served on the British Crown Green management for the last 15 years.

He will spend his year of office in the top national role attending meetings, events and tournaments around the country and will be responsible for organising this year's British senior merit finals.

He said: "It's an absolutely brilliant honour to be the president of the British Crown Green Bowling Association.

"I never thought it would happen to be honest because it is so hard to be elected.

"There are 15 counties who all get the presidency in turn so it only comes to Lancashire every 15th year.

"Fifteen years ago it went to Wigan and 15 years before that it went to Warrington.

"You have to be put forward by your county and when I was put up for it I was determined I would be elected for Bolton.

"There's so much bowling in Bolton and so many people who do so much work in Bolton I wanted it to be an honour for the town more than for me.

"It will be a busy year. The job entails going to a lot of meetings, being at all the major competitions, organising the merit finals and doing a lot of travelling, thousands of miles of travelling."

Andrews started playing with work colleagues from the former Wordsworth Mill in Halliwell in the early 1980s, still turns out for Horwich RMI, Horwich Public Hall, Hollywood Road, Turton Bowling Club and Kings Head and has been a senior county referee and coach.