Colin Jackson is pleading for patience as athletics bids to solve its drugs problem.

The former 110 metre hurdles world-record holder, who was at St Francis’ School in Bradford this week to promote tomorrow's Tesco Great School Run, said: “Drugs is the biggest issue in athletics and if we have to expose big stars from the past, the present and the future then that is what we will do.

“You want to put your kids into a sport that you know is clean and get the right kind of inspiration to move on – not only in athletics but in life.

“You not only need discipline to be a great athlete, you also need discipline to be a great human being, and that is what we want to get back to.”

The 41-year-old Welshman, who will be part of the BBC’s commentary team for this summer’s Beijing Olympic Games, added: “If you look around in athletics then things are not good so we have to make the bed all messy before we can remake it.

“But if people give us time to do that then we can make it an honest sport.

“If people keep on chastising the sport and being negative about it then the danger is that it will just close shop and you won’t hear another dope test result that is positive.

“I don’t want that to happen, and that is why we must work so hard in exposing as much as we possibly can, and put people off taking drugs.”

Jackson, who presents the BBC programme Sunday Life every weekend from Keighley, said: “Who wants to be Dwain Chambers at the moment? Not me.

“The sport is testing so many more people more frequently that that will make a difference, and if you know you have a higher chance of getting caught the chance of you taking the risk are slim.

“Also we have to educate the people who are with the athletes. If your athlete gets caught, then as coach you will be going down as well, and then they might not think about going down that road in the first place.”

Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, who accompanied Jackson at St Francis’, added: “The issue around Dwain Chambers is going to be key.

“There are all sorts of arguments around having served your penalty should you be rehabilitated if that is what the rules say, but what I hope this time is that we do have a clean Games because it affects people’s attitudes.

“I am working very closely with our own agency, UK Sport, to set up a national doping agency.

“We have looked at the impact of drugs on athletes but also where they come from and the criminal element that is involved with that. I got doctors, researchers the police, revenue and customs involved.”