A CUDDINGTON schoolboy who became a PR expert has written a self-improvement book that has become a number one bestseller.

Dave Sawyer, who grew up in Moss Lane, published his first book two months ago, and for seven weeks it has been the top-selling book in Amazon Kindle’s personal finance category.

The book, titled RESET, is described as ‘an unconventional early retirement plan for midlife careerists who want to be happy’.

The 46-year-old said: “I wrote RESET because it’s the book I would have wanted to read six years ago. Its aim is to help midlife professionals aged 35 to 60 take a step back, reset and restart their lives.

“It gives readers a practical, thoroughly researched early retirement plan, and is the first book to translate the millions-strong US financial independence movement to a UK context.

“And for those living in mid-Cheshire, there are plenty of local and growing-up-in-the-80s/90s references to keep you going.”

Although Dave now lives and works in Glasgow, he has fond memories of his time in Cuddington where he attended the local primary school and Weaverham High School.

He said: “I remember Cubs, Scouts, overnights at forest camp, the playing fields, bluebell woods at Pettypool. Playing cricket for Oakmere, playing footy for the various school teams, plus Cub football on full-size mud bath pitches on a Saturday morning. The yearly bonfire night and gala day, including the floats – I even remember my mum making crepe costumes for us as the whole village came out to celebrate the Queen’s silver jubilee.

“I returned to Cuddington a few weeks ago for the first time in many a long year and was heartened to find the house I grew up in was still standing and that the big slide at the playing fields – we called them the plogs – was as big as I remember.”

Dave, who did work experience at the Guardian’s former rival paper The Northwich Chronicle, points out that he’s not the only pupil from the ‘Class of ‘89’ at Weaverham to have been bitten by the writing bug. Fellow author Christie Barlow who has written nine novels and is signed with HarperCollins, was also in the same year.

He said: “There must have been something in the water, or perhaps it was the English teacher at Weaverham, Mr Jones I think his name was, who also lived on Moss Lane, who instilled a love of writing in us. My favourite Weaverham teacher, though, was Mr David, the history teacher – he was a great guy.”

Dave’s book is currently available on Amazon for Kindle and in print.