TWO specialist sports coaches who would boost PE in schools could soon be set on by Kirklees Council.

Councillor Jim Dodds, Kirklees Cabinet member responsible for children and young people, said the aim was for 75% of children to have at least two hours of `high-quality' PE activities each week.

He added: "The estimate for 2006 is that on average we will see a figure of 73% getting those two hours, slightly below the target figure."

He said figures varied between 63% and more than 80% across the area.

"The proposal is to add to the coaching and teaching already in place by bringing in two specialist coaches to boost that figure, hopefully to well beyond the target.

"Hardly a day goes by without national publicity of one sort or another about obesity, unhealthy diets and too many people being couch potatoes.

"Only this month Yorkshire came out in a national survey as having the highest level of obesity among men of any county."

Clr Dodds added that getting young people to take part in physical activity was the key to them being healthier people in later life.