A PARADE celebrating the achievements of Great Britain’s superstar athletes will bring Olympic medal-winners well within reaching distance of the people of South Cumbria.

The Rio 2016 Welcome Home event is set to take place in Manchester - only a two-hour drive or train-ride away from Barrow, Ulverston and Millom and a more than manageable day trip. An event held in the country’s capital would have been much harder for northerners to get to.

Read more: Barrow reporters choose their top ten Olympic moments

It is now expected that the parade will take place some time during the first fortnight in October, at a weekend. It is hoped the timing of the event will help inspire future sporting success from youngsters across the north west, by giving children the chance to attend.

Read more: Barrow nursery celebrates Team GB success with mini Olympics

Prime minister Theresa May announced the event would take place in Manchester on Friday, after many raised the point that the majority of Team GB’s medallists hail from the north of the country.

Manchester has been nicknamed the “medal factory”. It is home to the National Taekwando centre and the National Cycling Centre, which this year spawned 11 medals - six gold, four silver and one bronze - on the track.

Read more: Great Britain's gold medals at Rio 2016 in chronological order