ONE of the cleverest academics in East Lancashire -- with a string of qualifications under his belt -- today called for more investment in his beloved Darwen.

Dr Claudio Vignali, 53, of Hillside Gardens, has published more than 100 articles on consumer marketing in his 10 years of research.

Claudio, whose parents emigrated from Italy to Darwen after the Second World War, has been offered jobs in America, Italy and Kenya, but his roots have remained firmly in the town where he was born and bred.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is consulting local people as it draws up a blueprint for the future of Darwen.

The newly-appointed professor at Leeds Metropolitan University said: "I've lived in Darwen all my life and this is my home. There's so much here in Darwen that people don't realise and it's a beautiful place.

"Darwen has a lot of natural heritage that needs to be restored. There is no retail development here despite it being a real industrial tourism area. It doesn't matter what Blackburn says, there is a lack of investment in the town.

"There are four or five beautiful old buildings in the centre that can be restored and the market needs to be re-developed completely. Having a DIY stall next to a vegetable stall just isn't practical and there needs to be some re-thinking there. There is so much Lancashire character that is being destroyed and it needs to be restored."

A far cry from the world of retail and the harsh reality of profit margins and sales, Claudio's education began at St Joseph's Primary School on Bolton Road.

He said: "I was never outstanding at school. I scraped through my eleven plus and I came away with four GCEs, as they were called then. I then went on to St Mary's College in Blackburn in 1968 where I did my A-levels. I can't remember the exact grades but they weren't fantastic."

Claudio went to Perugia University in Italy and completed an Italian doctorate in 1972 and then went on to complete a post-graduate diploma in marketing.

While at Crown Paints, he completed a bachelor's degree in business studies at the University of Central Lancashire in 1985. He took up the position of senior lecturer in consumer marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University after completing two Phds, the first a masters at Manchester Met in 1995, the second in marketing and retailing at the University of Glamorgan in 2002.

Before his research earned him the editorship of the British Food Journal and the International Journal of Management Cases which stack the shelves in libraries throughout the country, Claudio worked for Crown Paints as the company's export manager.

He worked there until 1991 and turned down an opportunity to manage a factory opening in Kenya. He went on to complete three research degrees and later became the visiting professor at the University of Zagreb in Croatia, the University of Sczecin in Poland and the University of Applied Science in Voralberg in Austria.

In 1994, his mix-mapping theory came into existence and taught businesses all over the world how to market their products.

Claudio's children, Daniella, a senior lecturer at Manchester Met and John-Paul, a researcher at the same university, followed in their father's footsteps.