Brentwood might be one of the ‘it’ places in Essex but it’s not all lavish nightlife and boutique shops. The town has also been called home by some of England’s biggest athletes.

Here we look at a select few with our rundown of the best athletes from Brentwood.

Number 5. Neil Ruddock, football

We kick off our list of the best athletes from Brentwood with a man who was anything but athletic during his playing days. ‘Razor’ Ruddock, who lives locally, was known to be a bit of a booze lover even at the height of his powers in the nineties but it didn’t stop him establishing himself as one of the best defensive players in the Premier League.

The centre back had a ‘take no nonsense’ approach to defending being happy to put his foot in where it hurt when needed – although he was capable of playing a bit too.

Ruddock is best known as a Liverpool player but he also racked up in excess of 100 appearances for Southampton (with shorter spells at other clubs too) alongside collecting a solitary England cap.

Number 4. Frank Bruno, boxer

The name Frank Bruno is one of Britain’s best known in boxing circles. The heavyweight, who was born in Hammersmith but lived in Brentwood for many years, won 40 of his 45 fights as a professional with 38 of those victories coming via knockouts.

Some of his most notable moments actually came in defeat such as his title brawl with Mike Tyson in 1989 where he landed a powerful left hook that hurt Tyson; it was the first sign of ‘Iron Mike’ being open to injury.

Despite a few defeats in title contests, Bruno’s career will always be looked on as a big success story with the man dubbed ‘True Brit’ holding European and World titles at some point in his time at the top.

Number 3. Frank Lampard Jr, football

Lampard is one of the nations most decorated footballers and a name known the world over; a big chunk of his formative years were spent schooling in Brentwood.

The central midfielder represented his country at three major tournaments as part of England’s ‘Golden Generation’. Like the best NBA players who always make the headlines of the TwinSpires Edge trade rumours, Lampard was always tipped to a move abroad. He denied any moves to Real Madrid or Barcelona and kept faithful to Chelsea, leaving the club with a cabinet full of silverware.

For the Blues he score an incredible 210 goals in 648 games from midfield. More recently, he’s moved into management with his beloved Chelsea choosing to sack him after a sticky spell at the start of this season.

Number 2. Steve Davis, snooker

When you’re compiling a list of the best athletes from Brentwood it’s hard to ignore a sportsman that won six world titles within a decade that saw him spend seven years as the world number one. That’s how good Steve Davis was.

With multiple Masters and UK Championships to his name as well, Davis sits as the third most decorated snooker player in Britain behind the much heralded names of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry. In recognition of his sporting profile the Brentwood resident was honoured with an OBE in 2000.

Number 1. Sir Trevor Brooking, football

If he’s good enough for a knighthood, then he’s good enough to top our list of the best athletes from Brentwood. Brooking, who resides in the town, spent pretty much all of his playing career with West Ham.

After making 647 appearances for the Hammers, he sits in prestigious company as one of their top appearance holders of all time. His place in history is assured for generations with stands at both Upton Park and the Olympic Stadium named after him.

After his playing career, which included 47 England caps, Brooking moved into the administrative side of sport with Sport England his ‘big job’. The two things combined earned him a knighthood.

There you have it, the best athletes from Brentwood. Did we miss anyone? Let us know!