A Wombwell man at the centre of the discovery of Richard III's remains is moving on from Leicester University.

Richard Taylor, 40, grew up on Dearne Close and is currently the deputy registrar at Leicester.

Last year, as a senior manager at the university, he was at the centre of the archaeological dig which unearthed the skeleton of the last Plantagenet king, Richard III, and chaired the press conference which broke the news.

However next week, he starts as chief operational officer at Loughborough University, which he described as 'a step up' after ten years at Leicester.

The role involves managing the main academic functions of the university, including its large estate, staff, marketing and sports facilities with an £80m budget.

But, despite no longer having to 'tow the party line', the Yorkshireman has not changed his views on where Richard III ought to be buried.

He said: "I know people in Yorkshire feel very strongly about it but there's no evidence he wanted to be buried in York. His wife was buried at Westminster Abbey, his father at Northamptonshire and his son at Yorkshire.

"History brought him to Leicester and he was buried here on the orders of a king. Also, the funding for the dig was raised on the basis he would be buried in Leicester."

The Plantagenet Alliance, a group of the Yorkist king's distant ancestors, has been granted a judicial review into the choice of burial but Richard said he did not think it would be successful.

He said: "The cathedral is still making plans for a funeral next spring. There's anything up to 17 million distant relatives in the UK so they don't have a particularly strong claim."