COMMENTARY legend Dave Lanning has pleaded with Poole speedway chief Matt Ford to add his weight to a south coast darts extravaganza.

Lilliput-based Lanning, who along with Sid Waddell is the voice of Sky Sports' PDC darts coverage, will be racking up a few more miles during next year's sell-out Whyte & Mackay Premier League after the Bournemouth International Centre was last week dumped by the corporation in favour of Exeter's Westpoint Arena.

But Lanning has urged Bournemouth to cash in on the darts boom in its own right - and believes businessman Ford, along with PDC chairman Barry Hearn, is the man to help spearhead a Southern Masters event.

Lanning told the Echo: "The south should do its own thing and launch its very own glamour classic.

"Darts is bigger than ever before, the PDC is a multi-million pound operation and this area has sufficient interest and support to be a regular part of the big money cake.

"I've been fortunate enough to see at family level how swiftly the darts explosion can happen.

"My youngest son, Philip, who is a deputy motoring editor at the Sun in Glasgow, watched a Premier League event in Scotland and convinced his executives it was worth backing.

"Within weeks, the Sun had linked up with the PDC to stage the Scottish Masters in Glasgow, which was a £5,000 sell-out within 30 minutes of tickets going on sale.

"It will now be an annual classic.

"I can see a similar operation being just as successful in Bournemouth.

"I would ask Matt Ford to link up with Barry Hearn to stage the event. Matt is a terrific visionary and very knowledgeable about darts. He would put on a tremendous show."

Lanning also believes such an event could attract TV interest - and some, or all, of the PDC's biggest names, including 13-time world champion Phil Taylor and hot property James Wade.

He added: "It could be a one-day or three-day event and there must surely be sponsors ready to stump up the prize money to attract the very best professional players to Bournemouth.

"I'm certain the television would be interested too. There are so many channels getting record ratings for the sport and it shouldn't be too difficult for a class operator like Matt Ford to get coverage.

"With the right initiative, it could be bigger, better and a regular fixture in the entertainment calendar of the town - like the World Matchplay in Blackpool, which easily out-sells all the major variety shows."