Gold medal winner Wiggins gets civic honour (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Gold medal winner Wiggins gets civic honour

9:41am Thursday 2nd August 2012 in Chorley

Olympic gold cyclist Bradley Wiggins is to be offered the Freedom of the Borough of Chorley on his return to his home village, council bosses said.

The Londoner moved to Eccleston, Lancashire, to be closer to the Manchester Velodrome.

Peter Wilson, deputy leader of Chorley Council, said: "It has been truly fantastic to see the effect Bradley Wiggins's success has had on people, not just in Chorley but across the country.

"It has been the one thing everyone has been talking about and it has been brilliant to see a Chorley resident become such an inspiration to others both here and across the world, acting as an ambassador for our borough.

"He has acted with such dignity and humility throughout the past few weeks in which he has won the most prestigious cycling event in the world, started the opening ceremony at the Olympic Games and then taken a gold medal in the time trial event.

"We thought it was only right we offered him the highest honour possible we can give to a resident."

Chorley Council has bestowed only two Freedoms in the past, both to regiments - one in 2005 to the Queens Lancashire Regiment (now the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment) and the other in 2007 to the 5 General Medical Support Regiment based in Chorley.