IT was a step in the right direction as Bolton Council officials and members of the public took to the streets of the town yesterday to encourage people to get healthier.

The Daily Mile was launched by Cllr John Byrne, cabinet member for sport and culture, who cut a ribbon to mark the start of the Bolton workplace one miler to benefit the lives of its citizens.

Cllr Byrne said: “We all know the benefits of being physically active, however, daily life can sometimes get in the way and we are all guilty of sitting at our desk sometimes up to nine hours a day.

“We are committed to supporting the Bolton workforce in being more active by helping people control their weight, strengthen their bones and muscles, improving mental health and reducing the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease.”

The Daily Mile, which was established by former Stirlingshire head teacher Elaine Wyllie, is now used is in more than 3,500 schools around the world with schools reporting benefits from the children doing the daily mile during break time.

Cllr Byrne explained: “With the success of The Daily Mile in schools we wanted to make a pledge to increase the health and wellbeing of Bolton’s employees and make it easy for them to fit in some physical activity during their daily routine.

“The aim of the project is to give town centre workers the opportunity to get away from their desks out into the fresh air and we challenge them to do a mile a day.”

He added: "Please accept this challenge to do a mile a day to make Bolton a healthier place to work.”

The signposted route is between Great Moor Street and Market Place.