Archive

  • Students vie for trade trophy

    LOCAL schools and colleges are represented in a major business presentation and communications skills competition on Friday. Young people aged between 16 and 19 will gather at the Vertex Training Centre in Chorley for the North-west area final of the

  • Driver runs off after crashes

    POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a motorist involved in two crashes abandoned the car. The Ford Orion collided with a Ford Granada in Buckley Lane, Farnworth, but the driver drove off. About five minutes later the Orion collided with a Nissan

  • Beardsley's Reebok dilemma

    PETER Beardsley refused to rule out a return to Bolton Wanderers today as he considered the next move of his long and distinguished career. Currently on loan with promotion chasing Fulham and wanted by their Second Division rivals, Carlisle United, the

  • Memories revived by Street baby's death

    CORONATION Street producers have been praised by Bolton parents whose children were struck down with the deadly meningitis virus. Millions of viewers watched the harrowing weekend storyline which saw tear-away young mum Zoe lose her baby girl, Shannon

  • Cut tax on cigs

    SIR: Sweden's recent decision to reduce its rate of cigarette taxation by 27pc to counter the ever increasing trade in cross-border tobacco smuggling, is one that should be followed by the British Government. Increasing cigarette taxation encourages more

  • Red Rose campaign in Lancs mail shot

    A PRESSURE group is calling on people to support its campaign to get Bolton back into Lancashire - through their mail. Friends of Real Lancashire is urging townsfolk to write on letters that Bolton is in Lancashire, not Greater Manchester. The group also

  • Awards shortlist is announced

    ORGANISERS have announced the shortlist for this year's Bolton and Bury Business Awards. Total prize money of £22,000 will be distributed when the winners in eight categories are revealed at a gala dinner on Friday, May 15. This year there were more than

  • Try for Lanky status

    THE BEN has always been Lanky and proud of it. We appreciate the work the Friends of Real Lancashire do in trying to get Bolton back in the Red Rose county and applaud most of their efforts. But we think the group is being irresponsible in urging people

  • House damaged by car

    A CAR crashed into a house causing structural damage when a young driver lost control last night. The 17-year-old was driving an MG Metro along Tonge Old Road, Tonge Fold, when it collided with two parked cars before careering into a house. The collision

  • Firemen free locked in tram passengers

    A DOZEN tram passengers were left fuming last night when pranksters locked them in the Metrolink station. The irate passengers got off the tram at Bury Interchange at midnight and made their way up the escalator. But when they reached the top, they found

  • From the BEN files

    25 YEARS AGO From the Evening News, April 21, 1973 THOUSANDS of people made the traditional trek up to Rivington yesterday. However, the threat of rain did keep numbers down on previous years, and police reported one of the quietest Good Fridays on record

  • Greetings from space!

    ONE of the world's top spacewomen landed at Bolton Lads' and Girls' Club to tell youngsters about her interstellar adven- tures. The star struck youngsters had a host of questions for Marcia Ivins who was in Britain to speak to young business people in

  • Martin's judged the best on the buses - again!

    VEHICLE apprentice Martin Latham is celebrating a double training win. Martin, aged l8, who lives in Leigh, works at the Bolton depot of local bus company First Manchester, previously Greater Manchester Buses North. The company is a subsidiary of First

  • Firms invited to go Deutch

    LOCAL firms are being invited to take part in a UK delegation to Northern Germany. The Liverpool-based Euro Info Centre North West is organising a trip on June 19 to Deutschland '98 in Rostock. Delegate companies will have the chance to meet German counterparts

  • Hypocrisy in defence of football

    SIR: The hypocrisy of David Mellor on BBC Radio, on March 30, and Sports Minister, Tony Banks, the next day, in defence of their sport, football, is in stark contrast to their outrageous criticism of pistol shooting, a sport which has been an Olympic

  • Michelle innocent victim of shock closure

    VICTIMS of the sudden closure of a chain of estate agents included Michelle Bridgland - the Bolton teenager battling to beat life-threatening anorexia. Michelle's parents Steven and Lynn had hoped to sell their house through Dillons estate agents so they

  • Oui to French-style cafe idea?

    THERE will be a continental flavour to Bolton's prestigious Market Place if the go-ahead is given to convert the patio area on Bridge Street into an outdoor cafe. Grosvenor Investments, who own the Market Place, have applied for permission to change the

  • I'm still waiting

    SIR: I have really began to question the competence of the MP for Bolton West, Mrs Ruth Kelly. I am not a member of any political party. My measure for judging the worth of an MP is attentiveness to issues raised from within the constituency, plus impact

  • Woman's head is smashed against wall

    A YOUNG woman had her head smashed against a wall in a vicious street attack. The 23-year-old was attacked from behind as she walked along Ainsdale Road, Great Lever, last night. She was grabbed by the hair before being hurled against the wall. Today

  • Mark's pals quit soccer league

    FOOTBALLERS mourning the tragic death of a team mate have pulled out of the Sunday League they played in each week. They have decided to play no further matches this season out of respect for their friend, Mark Ashworth, who died after an incident in

  • Keep a watch

    SIR: I was pleased to read the report of April 9, in which you correctly identified that the cause of the recent UFO mystery was an airship, operating for Sky Sports. The airship was the Goodyear Airship "Spirit of Europe", visiting Bolton and Blackburn

  • We've got the best

    SIR: Surely many local people will have found the recent comments on the Points of view page regarding a second pregnancy for Ruth Kelly uncalled for. Not a dyed in the wool political activist myself, I did, however, support Tom Sackville as my Member

  • Following the law

    SIR: I read the letter by Mrs J Booth (Points of view, April 10) and I thank the BEN for printing it. No wonder Mr/Mrs Booth were offended following the reported article on March 26. When will the planning committee in Horwich get their act together?

  • There's no bias here

    SIR: I, my colleagues and, I'm sure, many of your readers were saddened to read that a 70 years' young employee of an Age Concern Organisation in South Wales had been asked to leave because she was too old. Age Concern is a federalist organisation. Put

  • Monie will end career with Wigan

    JOHN Monie could finish his career with Wigan Warriors. Speculation has been rife that the little Aussie could end his coaching days at Newcastle Knights if as expected Malcolm Reilly leaves at the end of the saeason. But Monie, who has quickly transformed

  • Elsie sees red over dud crossing lights

    A FED-UP Halliwell pensioner sees red every time she tries to use a pelican crossing - even though it is not working. Elsie Barton has blasted Bolton Council for failing to make the repair a priority and leaving pensioners and young children stranded

  • Six years for attacker who left boy's life a ruin

    A TEENAGER viciously beaten up in a Bolton town centre street fight suffered the most serious case of brain damage a top neurologist had ever seen in a living person. Craig Williams, aged 17, has been left without the use of his legs and his arms and

  • Better training plea

    WE back Bolton coroner Martin Coppel in his call for better training for new drivers after two children were killed in a motorway crash. Mr Coppel believes it would be sensible for new drivers to undergo motorway training. But the practical problems about

  • The responsible way

    Frequently television programmes are criticised for sensationalising or trivialising important issues. But the writers of the sad storyline about the death of baby Shannon in Coronation Street have satisfied not only the parents of children who were struck

  • Daily poem

    Saturday was such a special day Sharing the match with excitement was fun. The cheering crowds when the Wanderers scored. The 90-year-old from Morecambe way Spoke with twinkling eyes and youth's emotion, A cry behind "what a waste of money." Seeing his

  • Good Evans!

    Leigh RMI 4, Spennymoor Utd 2 KEITH Evans wishes he could play against Spennymoor every week after taking his season's tally to 16 in Leigh RMI's 4-2 win at Hilton Park last night. He scored twice to halt the Railwaymen's mini slump, just as he did back

  • Wrong in principle

    SIR: I agree with Christine Adams in her letter 'Double cross', but for different reasons. In a letter before the General Election, Mrs Adams likened Tony Bair to an 'imitation Tory'. I do not see her problem along with your other right wing correspondents

  • 190 jobs to face axe at Dannimac

    STUNNED staff at a Bolton clothing factory have been left reeling by the news that 190 jobs face the axe. Union officials have started urgent talks with bosses at Baird Outerwear Brands Ltd, better known as Dannimac Ltd. No redundancy notices have been

  • Mums spearhead drugs clean-up

    WESTHOUGHTON residents packed into a meeting organised by two Westhoughton mums whose children were pricked by discarded junkies' needles. Around 100 concerned people turned up at Greenfields Private Members Club last night to support a their crusade

  • Too busy to shout about it!

    MRS Therese Mahindrakar is determined to clear up an image problem. "When I tell people I'm involved in Soroptimists, they think it's something to do with feet!" So, Mrs Mahindrakar, as the new president of Soroptimist International of Bolton, is taking

  • Scribble not art

    SIR: The recent case of an artist stealing corpses to create sculptures raises serious questions about the value and purpose of modern art. Ever since the turn of the 20th century certain movements in art have achieved notoriety by use of the desire to

  • MP's bid to help doomed factory

    MP Ruth Kelly has stepped in after it was announced more than 200 jobs are to be lost by a sewing factory closure. The Bolton West MP has urged other firms to contact the factory in Horwich to offer work to the 220 employees. Ms Kelly said: "I was very

  • Toddler death sparks calls for new laws

    THE death of a toddler at a Belmont nursery last year has prompted an MP to press for new laws. Alex Rae died last year at the Hilltop Bunnies Nursery run by Carolyn Brown. The 20-month old boy drowned in a rainwater-filled tarpaulin covering an ornamental