VIRGIN tycoon Sir Richard Branson generates strong emotions. Some of us love him, some of us loathe him but what none of us can do is ignore him.

Whether it's planes, trains or hot air balloons, the self-made millionaire is never out of the headlines for long. Today, he's in them for all the right reasons - his valiant attempt to secure the running of the National Lottery.

Six years ago, it's worth remembering, he failed in his pitch to run the National Lottery.

Since then, he's been consistent in his belief that the Lottery can be run on a non-profit making basis. We believe that he should now be given the opportunity to put his ideas into practice.

Let's face it, the way the Lottery has been set up was flawed. The lure of a multi-million pound win and the simplicity of entering for it have been key ingredients of its stunning success but there have been dark moments along the way.

Obscenely-high jackpots, the size of pay rises given to Camelot directors a few ago and charity organisations missing out on the nation's spare cash are just a few of the issues which have given us pause for thought.

On the positive side has been the sheer volume of cash which has poured into Worcestershire to help a vast range of organisations - and one of the most seductive parts of Sir Richard's bid is the hope that his way of running the Lottery will release even more money for deserving causes.

He now has a month to resolve the financial issues which prevented the National Lottery Commission coming to a decision in his favour yesterday.

We hope he can and the so-called People's Lottery will become just that - a Lottery which sees our hard-earned cash used more wisely than it has been over the past six years.