A former Craven resident has launched a unique bid to create the most kicked football in history.

Film producer Blake McGrow is hoping footballers, celebrities, pop stars and businesses will line up to give his specially-made ball a boot - and raise money for charity in the process.

His idea, which was launched this week, is to roam the country with the Most Kicked Ball (MKB) allowing people everywhere to kick it in exchange for a donation.

The first kick of the ball will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on eBay and after that, the 39-year-old is lining up a host of high-profile figures to keep the campaign in the public eye.

The football theme continues into the way the money raised will be allocated.

Blake has not decided which worthy cause the money will go to.

Instead, participants will be able to nominate and vote for their favourite charities in an online league on the MKB website, which will also feature video updates, fixtures, the "kick of the month" and a roll-call of kickers.

A former West Craven High School pupil, Blake grew up in Barnoldswick, where most of his family still live, but he moved to London 12 years ago to work as a documentary maker, producer and director. His credits include several television companies.

He says he thought up the MKB campaign after a moment of inspiration and believes football has the power to transcend boundaries and bring people together - citing the infamous match between British and German soldiers during the First World War as an example.

He said: "I turn 40 in February so I thought I'd try to do something worthwhile for it - something I wouldn't forget.

"I thought football would be a good start - I'm probably the only person in the country to be inspired by England's defeat to Croatia and failure to qualify for Euro 08 - and it's still the only thing I can think of that we play by the same rules across the whole world.

"While I was thinking about it, I saw some kids playing football outside the shops and I got a sudden urge to run over and kick their ball and I thought how everyone wants to kick a ball when they see one, no matter how old you get."

Blake had to get the MKB ball specially-made in India, which is one of the few places where footballs are still produced from scratch.

However, he insists he has resisted the urge to kick it since it was delivered three months ago, instead opting to preserve its "kick chastity" for the online auction.

Listing for the first kick started yesterday (Thursday) and closes on Sunday, January 27.

Blake added: "This is a unique grass roots to grass roots' concept and a fun and rewarding way of fundraising.

"It's democratic and a level playing field where everyone is equal, reflecting what has always been the peoples' game. I invite everyone to please vote with your feet. You'll get a kick out of it."

For more information on the MKB campaign, go to www.mostkickedball.org or email info@mostkickedball.org