A Cleveleys' writer is hoping the Da Vinci effect will boost interest in his latest book, which has been 23 years in the making.

Malcolm Brocklehurst, 73, (pictured) will have his controversial book, The Secret History of Christianity, published on April 13.

The book touches on themes of the Christian church, templars, masons and the Holy Grail, themes familiar to those in Dan Brown's multi-million selling novel, The Da Vinci Code.

Yet Malcolm's work on the book and interest in the subject pre-dates Brown's work by many years.

Malcolm, of North Drive, said: "I was contracting in Toulouse France in the aerospace industry in 1985 when I read the best seller The Holy Blood, Holy Grail and consequently became interested in the local historical site of Rennes le Chateau.

"I conducted detailed research and returned to the subject to write the book over the six years since my retirement.

"There is an enormous resurgence of interest in this subject recently with several books and films made. But I'm convinced my theories are different to those previously published."

The Toulouse site becomes the centrepiece of the book in which Malcolm puts forward the view of a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene and alleges the Church of Rome suppressed the marriage of Jesus with the evidence portrayed in codes in the medieval paintings of Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci.

The Secret History of Christianity is Malcolm's first non-fiction book and he also writes poetry and is chairman of Cleveleys' Writers.

Malcolm also writes under the pseudonym of Majinka and is writing an historical novel about a family over 400 years from aristocratic Elizabethan England to the Russian Revolution.

The Secret History of Christianity will be available from local branches of Waterstones and online book vendors.