THE man who brought cycle speedway to Bury 40 years ago is showing no signs of slowing down, even as he celebrated his 80th birthday.

Tony Mann, of Danesmore Drive, was joined by 85 friends and family members for a party at St Mary’s Social Club in Radcliffe to celebrate the milestone.

He is still president of the Bury Comets, the club he originally founded as the Chesham Comets in the 1970s, and has been instrumental in their success ever since, having been involved in the sport since the age of 14.

He stepped back from his role as club secretary a few years ago due to the increasing need to use modern technology, but remains immensely proud of his position and spends most mornings on his bike at their Goshen Sports Centre base.

Tony, who has four children and two granddaughters, said: “I love going out on my bike and I will be there just about every morning as long as the weather is alright. I don’t race anymore, but I just love being on the bike. It keeps me healthy and it gives me a lot of pleasure.

“I had to take a step back from running things because I don’t use a computer or anything like that, but I still love the sport and am very proud of what we have achieved in Bury.”

His commitment has seen him gather a huge collection of awards over the years, including being named Bury’s ‘Unsung Hero in Sport’ and winning British Cycling’s Award of Merit in 2003.

As well as making an impassioned welcome speech to his party guests, Tony – a keen rock ‘n’ roll enthusiast, who named the club after band Bill Haley and His Comets – also took to the stage to perform a couple of his favourite tunes.

He added: “It was a fantastic night and surpassed all of my expectations. When you send out invitations to something like this you never know who will turn up, but to see so many people there was fantastic. It was the best birthday I have ever had.

“I got up and gave a bit of a speech and then sang two songs for everyone. Five years ago I never would have done something like that, but since my wife died I have been going to our local rock ‘n’ roll club and that has been brilliant for me.

“We had a great mix of rock ‘n’ roll people and the cycle speedway lot, as well as my family, which was excellent.”