SAINTS legend Alan Ball's life is to be celebrated by people from the town where he was born.

A memorial service for the 1966 World Cup winner, who died last month aged 61, will be held in Bolton, Lancashire, next month.

Alan, who was born in nearby Farnworth, suffered a heart attack while trying to put out a bonfire in the garden of his Hampshire home.

His three children, Keely, Mandy and Jimmy, will fly from their homes in the south, to attend the public event at Bolton Parish Church, on Saturday, June 9.

They will be joined by family members who live in the Bolton area, including Alan's sister, Carolyn, and his uncle, Trevor, for the 1.30pm service.

Representatives from Bolton Wanderers, including chairman Phil Gartside and owner Eddie Davies, will be among figures from the footballing world who plan to join them to remember Ball, the youngest member of England's winning 1966 World Cup team.

Members of the public are invited to join the celebration.

His uncle, Trevor Ball, 68, who lives in Farnworth, will be among the speakers and will recount the pair's days growing up in the area. Some of the football star's favourite songs, including George Formby's Leaning on a Lamp post, will be included in the service.

Ball's daughter Keely Allan, said: "We want this to be a celebration of dad's life. We don't want people to be sad. We're really honoured that the people of Bolton want to remember him. This event is for them.

"The town is very special to us as it was to dad. Him and mum were both born there and it's where they married. It's where our family home is and holds a lot of happy memories."

Ball was born at his grandparents' home in Brookhouse Avenue, Farnworth, and attended Farnworth Grammar School. He married childhood sweetheart, Lesley, at St Stephen's Church, in nearby Kearsley, one year after winning the World Cup. She died of ovarian cancer in 2004.

About 2,000 mourners and a host of football greats, including Bobby and Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles, attended Ball's funeral at Winchester Cathedral.