Teignbridge Council's decision to scrap the Sports Personality of the Year Awards has been described as 'a real smoke and mirrors job' by its own 'sports champion'.

Cllr Jeremy Christophers, a former Devon county cricketer, has the job of promoting sporting excellence across the district.

Last year he addressed the audience at the awards, a glitzy invitation-only event which draws hundreds of people, saying how important the date was on the sporting calendar.

Now he has said our sporting heroes are being undervalued and called for the ceremony to go ahead.

Councillors meeting at Forde House, Newton Abbot, on Monday were surprised to hear Cllr Christophers ask why the event had been cancelled.

Several, including Cllr Sylvia Russell who helped to establish the awards in the 1980s, appeared to know nothing about it.

The leader, Cllr Alan Connett, said owing to staffing problems the awards had been 'postponed for one year'.

He said the council's media team had issued a press release.

Later it emerged that the news had been in the tenth paragraph of an 800- word statement entitled Teignbridge Is Tops For Sports Participation. 

After celebrating the district having the highest proportion of adults in Devon participating in sports it said: '...the Teignbridge Sports Personality Awards will take a well-earned break in order to enable more sporting activities to be organised.  Plans are underway for the awards to return bigger and better in 2010.'

After the meeting Cllr Russell said the awards had taken place for 25 years, and that the cancellation had been 'hidden away'.

'That's really not good enough. This should have gone out in a group mail to all councillors,' she said.

'This event has grown and grown and we now have national sports people attending. It's a poor move. As we approach the Olympics the awards are a platform from which to launch our sports men and women on to greater things.'

Cllr Christophers said: 'It's a real smoke and mirrors job, it's absolutely lamentable.'

He acknowledged the leisure department had lost a senior officer in December and another staff member had been sick, but said the district had to fulfil its responsibilities.

'Our sports men and women are being completely undervalued. Even if we can't lay on a lavish ceremony then, as a bare minimum, we should still be inviting nominations and making these awards.

'Celebrating the highest number of people taking part in sport is one thing, these awards are about recognising sporting excellence and must go ahead.

'I also wanted this year to introduce a new award for best sports correspondent and was hoping to approach the family of the late David Vine, a Newton Abbot man who was a superb ambassador for sport.'

Cllr Anne Fry, the council's senior sports and leisure spokesman, defended the decision.

She said: 'After much careful consideration... it was decided that the current extraordinary circumstances, including unforseen reduced staffing levels and consideration for the current economic climate, left us little choice but to postpone until next year.

'We understand the disappointment this decision will generate, but would encourage all our local sporting enthusiasts to take full advantage of the wide range of quality sporting opportunities Teignbridge is promoting throughout 2009.

'The 2010 Teignbridge Sports Personality Awards promises to be stronger and more keenly contested than ever before, and we will ensure entry opportunities are publicised widely and in plenty of good time for next year's event.'