EAST Lancashire is being urged to watch this space' when it comes to athletics stars of the future.

No local athletes are heading to Australia for this year's Commonwealth Games. However, Blackburn Harriers chairman Tony Wood says it is only a matter of time before the area's cream of the crop come to the fore internationally.

"I think we have some athletes, junior men and women, who are definitely on the verge of being of a standard where they are able to compete in the Commonwealth Games," he said.

"We have Chris Hart at Blackburn Harriers who has run for Great Britain as a junior in the European Championships' steeplechase, and Laura Finucane, who is a junior Great Britain international at 800 metres.

"There are also one or two others who are on the verge of international recognition.

"In this part of East Lancashire a few athletes are likely to come to the fore and, who knows, maybe head towards Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

"A lot of it is about timing at the moment and the ability to access sport.

"Chris and Laura are both at Centres of Excellence run by UK Athletics. Chris is at St Mary's College in London, where there are quite a number of Kenyan athletes, and top coaches in distance running.

"Laura is at Loughborough, and from there 16 athletes will compete in the Commonwealth Games.

"So they are at places where the top athletes are going to come from."

Wood cites a university education as one of the key reasons for athletes leaving the area, as well as the lack of indoor facilities. But that is something he hopes will be rectified in the coming years through funding.

"UK Athletics invested £60,000 for the refurbishment of the Witton Park track, with £40,000 provided by the borough council," he said.

"We have reasonable facilities with the various tracks at Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn and Blackburn. They are good, all weather tracks. But there aren't any indoor facilities.

"That's not a problem for the middle and long distance runners, but for sprinters, jumpers and throwers it is important, and the ones who do show potential will travel to Manchester or Wigan for those facilities.

"It would be ideal to have that sort of facility next to our existing tracks, but that means hundreds of thousands of pounds."

Wood expects more funding to eventually filter down to club level after UK Athletics received more Lottery cash.

But whether they will get enough to satisfy the needs of the area remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, he insists the future is looking bright for East Lancs' track and field youngsters.

"It's all down to the individual athletes and whether they are talented enough and want it enough," he said.

"There's potential for three or four in this neck of the woods to perhaps be stars over the next few years, and that's not a bad return.

"We have some good coaches, certainly at Blackburn Harriers. As long as the athletes get to those coaches they will be brought along the right pathway."