SIR: As a firm believer in the way the world today seems to be topsy-turvy when it comes to the ways in which government departments operate, I would like to relate to you one of these ways that the Council's housing department handles home improvements
SIR: On Saturday, March 7, I was visiting my daughter in Manchester (I live in N. Wales) and at my suggestion we decided to visit Bolton to do some shopping. As I am disabled, I took along my Orange Badge and we parked on Le Mans Crescent, along with
BUILDER John Czutkowna? was amazed when his £199 savings were "swallowed up" by the bank - because he hadn't used the account for 18 years. He is now warning other Boltonians to beware. John, of Blackburn Road, Entwistle, only wanted to update his own
SIR: After studying the very controversial proposed planning permission for another superstore at the Old Hall Street/Blackhorse junction, it appears to me to be the most inconceivable place that anyone could propose for same. It is busy enough in with
ONE of the most bashful creatures in Britain - the muntjac deer - is thought to have been spotted by residents near Eagley Mills in Bolton. The deer which was introduced into the country from China at the turn of the century is rarely seen in the north
A YOUNG girl with a "love for life" died in hospital last night hours after receiving treatment for a mystery illness. Kirsty Moss, aged nine, died in the casualty department of the Royal Bolton Hospital. Only hours earlier she had been taken to her family
LOFTY the Lion and Wanderers legend Nat Lofthouse are involved in Bolton's New Deal launch on Friday. The important Government initiative, which starts throughout the country in April, is designed to help young people between 18 and 24 who have been unemployed
AFTER 15 years in the land of Oz, Jeanette Laurence is coming home - to meet her old school pals. Jeanette, who now lives in Perth, Western Australia, is travelling from the other side of the world for a reunion of ex-pupils of Smithills High School who
So now it's spring and once again The world can lose its winter's frown, Forget the dank and gloomy days And earth can wear her greatest gown. Bring out the bats and cricket stumps The tennis racquets, the fishing line. The summer's games will suit you
CLLR Norman Critchley went straight to the heart of the matter concerning councillors' £40-a-head trip to a Hindu temple in London. The leader of Bolton Tories accurately pointed out that there is a large Hindu community in the North-west. There certainly
THE man found dead in a kennel in the back garden of a Leigh house has been identified. Police confirmed today that the body, discovered on Saturday afternoon, was that of 22-year-old Stuart Bailey. Yesterday the BEN told how shocked Kevin Jones had walked
A SCHOOL fit for the new Millennium . . . George Tomlinson School has undergone a million pound facelift which has transformed the Kearsley comprehensive into a school fit for the 21st century. Over the past 12 months staff and pupils have watched buildings
THE families of two young boys living in fear of AIDS after they cut themselves with junkies' needles are set to sue Bolton Council. They claim the authority failed - despite repeated warnings from residents - to remove syringes dumped on wasteground
Homeless but not alone ALAN CALVERT drops in on the centre where society's outcasts can rely on help and support. GOOD, old-fashioned Christian charity is alive and well in Bolton. Homeless people, alcoholics, drug addicts, "sex industry workers" and
SIR: In a story in the BEN (March 20), you suggested that I cheated my way into University by headlining half a story with 'Cheating got me in Uni reveals MP'. I strongly deny your suggestion! After failing my 11+ exam, I eventually became so interested
BUSINESS Link Bolton & Bury has appointed a new chairman. He is Mr Richard Yates, managing director of Bolton-based Yateson Engineering, stainless steel suppliers and fabricators. Mr Yates, who was born in Blackburn, has worked in Bolton for 30 years
TWO brothers aged just seven and nine had an amazing escape after one of them took their dad's car for a drive. Little Keiron Fisher, aged seven, got behind the wheel of a Ford Orion, released the handbrake and started rolling down a steep hill outside
GUESTS in hotels at the Middlebrook Development might be getting a good bedtime read - a pamphlet about Horwich. Town councillors dreamed up the idea while discussing a new proposal to build a hotel in the Reebok Stadium. The town guide would be placed
COLIN Todd is refusing to take 'non' for an answer in his bid to sign a second France-based striker. The Wanderers boss has tied up the loan arrangement that brings Swiss u-21 international Gaetano Giallanzo to the Reebok from FC Nantes for the rest of
PROVE him wrong! That's our message to the police now that Cllr Guy Harkin has come out with fighting talk about them having one law for the rich and another for the poor. The Vice-chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority claims
HEALTH bosses have been forced to cancel a conference aimed at increasing employers' awareness of diabetes because of a lack of interest. Only five people signed up for a seminar planned for Thursday - and two were from Bolton and Bury Chamber of Commerce
?SIR: All credit to Iceland for refusing to sell genetically-modified food. Let's hope that other supermarkets and food stores follow suit. The public have a right to know what is in their food. When individuals or companies start playing around with
SIR: I write after reading the three Kearsley councillors' letter: Our right to reply (February 18) and other council comments. Do these three people only want industrial units and retail outlets, more traffic and more pollution? Goodness knows it's hard
SIR: It was with utter disbelief that I read the article (BEN, March 5): £3m Council jobs protection fund". What normal employer would pay a person wages when he had no job and then pay him the same wages even when he was down-graded? The whole system
LANDLORDS of a Bury pub ripped apart in a massive gas explosion have talked of their miraculous escape. Kevin Farrell, his wife Pam and their 11-year-old daughter Stephanie walked away with just bruises from the blast which destroyed the Bridge Inn Pub
Gerry Taggart, who hasn't started a Premiership game for five months, makes his long-awaited comeback bid in Wanderers' Reserves home game against Huddersfield Town at Leigh's Hilton Park tomorrow night. He has been sidelined by a nightmare run of suspension
A MAN was in custody in hospital today after a pensioner bravely tackled an intruder in his home. The 70-year-old man woke at 2.30am to find a masked man at the end of his bed. He grappled with the man and they both plunged down the stairs and crashed
COUNCILLORS will now have to dig deep into their own pockets if they want to go on a trip to a Hindu temple in London. Town hall chiefs today announced that the local authority will not pay for the trip to the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir at Neasden. The
By Matthew Taylor AN ARMED robber raided a building society office in Horwich today. The man burst into the Bradford and Bingley office on Lee Lane, brandishing what appeared to be a genuine handgun, at 9.20am. He forced staff to hand over cash and made
SIR: I have been following in your columns the letters concerning the proposed development of Singing Clough in Kearsley. Reading the latest exchanges between Mr Collison and the local councillors, I can't help wondering if I am losing the plot. Now,
A WOMAN of 83 was left in agony with a broken hip after she was mugged by a teenage thug. The plucky pensioner tried to fight off the young attacker, who pounced as she headed to shops in Church Street, in Leigh town centre, last night. But she broke
TEENAGER Rosemin Dakri was surrounded by cake on her birthday - but she didn't taste a crumb! The generous bakery worker was determined to take part in World Vision's 24 Hour Famine sponsored fast. And the she wasn't deterred when she realised the fast
25 YEARS AGO From the Evening News, March 24, 1973 BOLTON may have a luxury discotheque operating on the premises of the Bradshawgate Studios 1 and 2 before the end of the year. The disco, to be called 'Scamps', will be converted from the stalls area
HORWICH town councillors have welcomed a proposal to turn Brazley library into a facility for the elderly. Bolton Council is seeking to change the use of the building on Cedar Avenue from a library to a day centre, costing £131,000. More than a thousand
POLICE have one law for the rich and another for the poor, claims a Bolton transport chief. Traffic cops back residents in wealthy areas who do not want strangers parking near their expensive homes, says Cllr Guy Harkin. But, he claims, they refuse to
GAS industry watchdog Ofgas has started an investigation into the doorstep selling practices of Eastern Natural Gas (Retail) Limited. News of the investigation comes hot on the heels of a BEN report which detailed complaints against the gas company from
