A TELEVISION football star won't be flying a flag for sports when he visits Blackpool -- he'll be stamping on it!

For broadcaster and former West Ham United star Trevor Brooking is due to put the boot in at Palatine County High School today (Thursday) to support the building of a new £5.4m community sports centre at the St Annes Road school.

Mr Brooking, who is chairman of Sport England and played all his 642 professional football matches for West Ham United from 1965-84, will don his football boots and step into a concrete flagstone, leaving his famous footprints behind. The flagstone will be laid at the entrance of the new sports centre when it opens in 2004.

During the visit Mr Brooking will meet a local party including the school's head teacher John McNaughton and Blackpool's Mayor, Councillor Sue Wright, and he will be shown plans and an outline of the project.

The development, including a 25-metre swimming pool and learner pool, a sports hall and health and fitness suite is due to open in February 2004.

Building work is expected to start this August, and the project is receiving £4.4m funding from the Sport England lottery fund towards the total cost, in addition to £700,000 from Blackpool Borough Council and £304,000 from more than 30 other sources.

Palatine High pupils will also have the chance to ask questions of Mr Brooking, who gained 47 England caps from 1974-1982 and was awarded an MBE in 1981 and a CBE in 1999 for services to football and sport.

Graham Essex-Crosby, chief executive of Blackpool Borough Council, who will also meet Mr Brooking, said: "This multi-million pound project is obviously of huge importance to everyone in Blackpool. The fact that we are welcoming the chairman of Sport England at this early juncture indicates the significance of the facility locally and regionally."

He said the council was "extremely grateful" for the Sport England lottery funding, adding: "As a council we are focused on building a better Blackpool and this project certainly fulfils that aim.