Bill McLaren Hawick rugby museum backed by council

The council has backed plans to create a museum of rugby in Mr McLaren's honour

Councillors in the Borders have given their unanimous support for plans to build a museum of world rugby in Bill McLaren's honour in Hawick.

The authority has agreed to help find a suitable location for the centre as well as offer advice and support.

The main force behind the £4m project is the Bill McLaren Foundation set up after the commentator's death in 2010.

Cllr Graham Garvie said he believed the museum could be a "fantastic new tourist attraction".

It is hoped the museum will tell the story of the sport using Mr McLaren's distinctive voice as much as possible.

BBC Scotland has given its support to the project by granting access to its archive of matches on which he commentated over half a century.

The target is to have the facility up and running in the next three years.