Olympians invited to turn on Christmas lights

Three Olympic medalists have been invited to turn on a town's Christmas lights.

During an earlier interview with BBC Radio Stoke, cyclist Dan Bigham pondered whether his silver medal win would mean he would "get to flick on the local Christmas lights one day".

Along with fellow medalists Adam Burgess and Joe Clarke, Mr Bigham has now been asked to turn on Stafford's Christmas lights in November.

Stafford Borough Council leader Aidan Godfrey said: "I heard Dan mention in a radio interview about turning on Christmas lights and I thought ‘we can make that happen.’"

“So, we will be asking all three of these incredible athletes if they would like to do just that - in front of thousands of people, in the Market Square, in November where we can demonstrate just how proud we are of them and their achievements.”

Clarke previously turned on Stafford's Christmas lights in 2016 after after winning gold at the 2016 Rio Games.

All three athletes attended Alleyne's High School in Stone, Burgess and Clarke started their sporting journey at the Stafford and Stone Canoe Club on the town’s Westbridge Park.