FANS of Leigh's best known novelist and scriptwriter James "Goodbye Mr Chips" Hilton are to converge on his home town in May to discuss his books set in Lancashire.

The James Hilton Society will meet on Saturday, May 18, in Leigh Town Hall between 12.30pm and 5pm.

First on the agenda is a town centre tour, led by local history officer Tony Ashcroft, taking in the house at 26, Wilkinson Street, where the writing star was born.

The delegates will then return to the town hall to discuss Hilton's fictional town of Browdley which is presumed to be based on Leigh.

Any non-members of the society who would like to attend the conference (admission £2) should book their place by sending a cheque to John Hammond, 49, Beckingthorpe Drive, Bottesford, Nottingham, NG13 0DN, by April 30 at the latest.