A BRADFORD-born climber is returning to his Yorkshire roots by opening up a new climbing centre.

John Dunne, 47, has established a series of world class climbing routes during an illustrious 30-year career.

The former St Bede's Grammar School, Heaton, student started climbing cliffs near his home in Bradford when he was ten-year-old.

He also honed his skills on the climbing wall at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre in Bradford. It was only one of three such facilities in the country in the 1980s.

Now he has set up Huddersfield Climbing Centre in the town.

It includes a 12.5-metre lead wall and its facilities can be used by both experienced and novice climbers.

It is the fourth facility from Mr Dunne's company, Climbing Centre Group, which has climbing centres in Manchester, Harrogate and Reading.

During his career, Mr Dunne went on to establish a series of world class new routes including the first route to be graded 8b in Britain, Magnetic Fields at Malham Cove.

Mr Dunne also set up the hardest route on gritstone at the time, New Statesman E8, 7a at Ilkley Yorkshire in 1987.

He left Bradford in 1999 and currently lives in Cheshire.