A TAVISTOCK man is celebrating after being picked to join a massive Golden Jubilee event involving sporting superstars and celebrities throughout the country later this year.

Decorator Shane Wonnacott will swap his paintbrush for a baton, after being chosen as one of the runners in the Commonwealth Games Jubilee baton relay — a 50-day, 5,000 mile event covering the whole country, culminating at the Games themselves.

Shane, a member of Tavistock Athletic Club, was nominated for the honour by fellow member Sally Hubbard.

Sally said: 'They were looking for people who had made a significant contribution to their community.

'Shane is the main junior coach at the club. When he started, there was just a handful juniors — there's now more than 120, between 60 to 80 regularly training and more than 40 being encouraged by Shane to represent the club.

Sally said Shane gave a 'huge' amount of time and enthusiasm to the youngest members of the club — when he ran with the Jubilee baton, he would be doing it with them in mind, she said.

Shane said: 'I knew Sally had put me in for it, but I was really surprised, overwhelmed really, when I heard.

'I still can't think why I deserve to do it, but it's a real privilege to represent Tavistock like this — it gets the town on the map again.'

Shane will be running his section of the relay in Newquay on June 18 — but he does not know who will pass the baton to him, or who he will be meeting at the end.

'There are a lot of celebrities and people in the public eye doing it — it would be nice if it was someone famous,' said Shane, who voiced a big 'thank you' to Sally, the junior athletes and their parents.

'I wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't for them,' he said.

'The kids at the club are like my own — I want them all to do well.

'We are the envy of all the other clubs with the numbers we put out and the effort they put in.'

Shane said he hoped to take some local support to Newquay when he does his stretch of the relay — and is looking forward to his run.

'It's pretty amazing — something to tell the grandchildren about one day,' he said.

The Jubilee baton will pass through 500 towns and villages during its marathon journey, allowing millions to experience the relay.

The final runner will hand the baton to the Queen at the stadium in Manchester on July 25 when she will officially open the first Commonwealth Games of the 21st century.