RIVER Island is to reopen its Bolton store in The Market Place this weekend after a refurbishment. It will be offering prize draws to shoppers all day tomorrow, with prizes of £50 gift vouchers. The chain began life as Chelsea Girl, before re-launching
IT was not just Wayne Rooney who did well in England's European Championship win over Switzerland. More than 150 business people from Bolton, Wigan and Leigh gathered for a special match screening at Bolton School, and took the opportunity to give money
CLAIMS staff at AXA Insurance in Bolton have been told their jobs are safe for this year, despite further jobs being moved to India. AXA chief executive Peter Hubbard yesterday revealed that the company would continue its offshore activities by moving
I WONDER, has the world gone mad, the UKIP party for instance. People have voted in the UKIP MPs to represent us in Europe, yet this party want out of Europe, so what was the point? This has simply made us weaker, not stronger. We need strong representation
FOR the benefit of Mr T Symonds of Little Lever (June 18), dinosaur droppings helped create the world we live in today, fit for civilisation. However man's fixation with dominating nature, animals and other people, is making it unfit for civilisation.
IGNORING for the moment your correspondent Roy Collins' ponderous attempts at irony (June 22), two things may be deduced from his letter. The first is that he has either never been a cyclist, or that he has long since forgotten what it is like being one
From the Evening News, June 24, 1904: FOR the first time since 1876, the zoological collection at Belle Vue Gardens now includes a giraffe, the animal arriving yesterday. It is one of five recently captured in Abyssinia, all of which were consigned to
A DISTINGUISHED journalist and author remembers going to the cinema in Farnworth in the latest edition of Granta, the magazine of new writing. Ian Jack, who has been the editor since 1995, contributes a nostalgic piece to an issue of the magazine which
Beckham, who is prepared to sacrifice some of his own attacking threat for the sake of the team, made it clear that the squad realise they are potentially on the verge of a great achievement. England stand just two victories away from the final and, while
BOLTON School Girls' Division has received a glowing report from school inspectors. The school was described as a highly successful, selective school with management and leadership of excellent quality, by inspectors from ISI, the Ofsted accredited inspection
A HOST of intricate textile designs are featured in Bolton Community College's 2004 City and Guilds Exhibition at the Clarence Street Centre which opened today. They can also be seen tomorrow from 10am to 2pm.
A WOMAN and her daughter were treated for shock after an accident with a van. The pair were in a red Mini Metro vehicle on Bury Road, Radcliffe, when it was hit from behind by the van at around 7.45pm last night. They managed to get out of their vehicle
TURTON Rotary Club held its annual duck race in support of Bolton charities on Sunday at Bradshaw Brook Cricket Club. One of the charities to benefit by £1,400 was the Churchill Cancer Appeal at the Royal Bolton Hospital. Fundraising manager Jenny Walsh
IRISH family quartet The Corrs will showcase tracks from their new album at the MEN Arena on November 7. Andrea, Jim, Sharon and Caroline will take to the stage to perform tracks from their new album Borrowed Time, released last month. It will be their
A 24-YEAR-OLD was taken to hospital after a fire at his Great Lever flat. Firefighters were called to Manchester Road just before 10pm after a fire started on a bed inside a ground floor flat. Four other residents had to be evacuated from their flats
A MOTORIST had a lucky escape after his car ploughed into a lamp-post in Bromley Cross last night. Firefighters were called to Turton Road at 2am after a 23-year-old lost control of the Peugeot 106 he was driving. The car smashed into a lamp post, activating
THE southbound side of a Bolton town centre street is to be closed off to motorists to improve bus services. From Sunday, drivers will no longer be able to turn right into Knowsley Street from St George's Road to gain access to Bark Street. Instead, drivers
AN artist who uses his work to explore his British Asian identity will stage an exhibition at Bolton Museum and Art gallery later this month. Hetain Patel's Lagan display looks at his struggle to place his identity between two very different cultures.
HORWICH Rotary Club is thanking the public after more than £6,500 was raised by the group's Christmas sleigh tour. Santa's sled took to the streets of Horwich and Blackrod over the festive season collecting money for a number of national and local charities
A GROUP of 11 students from Fred Longworth High School at Tyldesley will complete an astonishing 20 concerts in two days on July 12 and 13. They are undertaking the concerts to raise money for a children's charity. The group consists of Nick Garbett (
HAVE you ever fancied learning to dance the samba like Carmen Miranda? Shoppers will have an opportunity to dance the day away on Saturday at Bolton Market Place. The shopping centre is playing host to the East Lancashire Community Church which will be
RESIDENTS were today counting the cost of a crash that demolished their garden walls. Two home owners on Tonge Moor Road, Castle Hill, Bolton, were left with debris in their front gardens, after the driver of a Vauxhall Corsa lost control and careered
RESIDENTS battling to have a right of way through an industrial estate reinstated are claiming victory. The homeowners were furious when steel fencing was erected across the well-used path, a short cut from St Helens Road to Pennington Country Park, Lowton
CIRCUS juggler Michael Nicholls is backing England to reach the final of Euro 2004 - even though he is a native of Spain. The 19-year-old, who is currently on tour with the Roberts Brothers Circus in Blackrod, says Sven Goran Eriksson's squad could take
LEIGH MP Andy Burnham is urging Scottish government ministers to investigate the deaths of a father and his teenage sons. Shaun Ridley, aged 37, and his sons Steven, aged 13, and Michael, 15, of Abbey Lane, Leigh, died when their fishing boat was swamped
WANDERERS will have home advantage on the opening day of a Premiership season for the first time when they kick off the new campaign against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, August 14. The clash with Alan Curbishley's Addicks will be something of a low-key
BOLTON has enough money to run health services efficiently, according to a health boss. Dr Kevin Snee, chief executive of the Bolton Primary Care Trust, says the town's health budget of £300 million is enough - and health professionals should stop moaning
THREE girls seriously injured in an horrific car crash which left two people dead, are still in hospital seven weeks after the accident. But the three girls - Lisa Bannister, Lucy Peeney and Rachel Hewitson, all 14 - have now been moved out of intensive
by Gareth Tidman BOLTON'S new mayor has revealed a dark secret -- she's a Cockney! Cllr Prentice Howarth, the first woman to take-up the chains for 20 years, admitted she is London born and bred. The Great Lever councillor told guests at yesterday's mayor-making
A SCHOOL will be closed on Monday to allow staff to attend the funeral of a teacher who was killed as he cycled home from work. David Kerslake, aged 44, died on June 14 after he was in collision with a car on Crompton Way, Tonge Fold. He was taken to
THE woman set to become the first female leader of Bolton Council today promised a "fresh, new start" for the borough. Liberal Democrat Cllr Barbara Ronson pledged to usher in a era of open local Government and to find new ways of involving residents
MOBILE speed cameras are being set up along roads in Bolton following complaints from residents that drivers are going too fast. Police are swooping on motorists over the next two weeks in a bid to put a brake on speeders. Each targeted road will be monitored
THE eldest surviving member of Blackpool's first family of fun has died hours after her son's funeral. Doris Thompson, aged 101, was too ill to attend the funeral yesterday of her 67-year-old son Geoffrey, the managing director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach
HEALTHSURE, formerly the Manchester and Salford Hospital Saturday Fund, has appointed chartered accountants Robson Rhodes as its auditor.
WARBURTONS has honoured nine British farmers in a special ceremony at the family bakers' Bolton head office. The farmers all produce Hereward milling wheat on behalf of Centaur Grain Marketing Ltd as part of an exclusive contract with Warburtons. The
IN response to Mr Lee Todd's letter of Tuesday, June 22, in which he posed a number of questions concerning the change in composition of Bolton Council. His first question was, "Can the Liberal Democrats handle the responsibility?" The answer is quite
FOOTBALL fever gripped the nation today as England prepared for their crunch game against Portugal. Millions will be watching tonight - either in their homes or on giant screens in pubs or outdoors - bringing the country to a standstill. In Portugal,
1314: The Battle of Bannockburn took place near Stirling Castle - Robert the Bruce (of spider fame) inflicted a crushing defeat on Edward II of England. 1717: The Grand Lodge of English Freemasons was formed in London. 1825: William Henry Smith, English
YOUTHS set fire to a quantity of rubbish inside an empty air-raid shelter in Bromley Cross last night. Firefighters were called to the structure on Rodmel Close at around 6.45pm.
A WEEKEND of music and fun is in store for visitors to Pennington Hall Park, Leigh. The park's new multi-purpose gazebo will be officially opened by the Mayor of Wigan, Cllr John Hilton, at 11am on Saturday. Celebrations are planned for the entire weekend
A MAN has admitted a series of arson attacks in Radcliffe, causing damage worth more than £4,000. Terence Yates, who told Bury magistrates he had been suffering depression and stress at the time, attempted to destroy a wheelie bin, an electricity junction
A SEAT caught fire on a school service bus just minutes after the vehicle had dropped off dozens of children. The driver of the First Manchester double decker bus stopped the vehicle after smelling smoke on Tonge Moor Road around 4pm yesterday. He went
FOOTBALL-mad Glenn Molyneux has taken the phrase "flying the flag" to a new level to show his support for England in Euro 2004. Glenn has spent several days ensuring his home - and car - are Westhoughton's boldest tributes to Sven Goran Eriksson's squad
MEMBERS of the Atherton branch of the Royal British Legion and the Royal Naval Association have unveiled ambitious plans to improve and extend the town's War Memorial site. In February, Wigan Council donated land adjacent to the memorial to extend the
LEIGH MP Andy Burnham has urged the deputy Prime Minister to give the all-clear for work to begin on the town's sports village plan. The MP called on John Prescott to allow work on the project - which would include a new football and rugby stadium - to
A CYCLIST was rescued in atrocious weather conditions on Winter Hill in Belmont by Bolton's Mountain Rescue Team after he fell off his bike and suffered a serious cut to his knee. It took mountain rescuers 90 minutes to reach cyclist Stephen Saltash,
THE SUN: Pele has admitted: Wayne Rooney is on his way to becoming the new me. Also: Sven-Goran Eriksson last night warned Portugal boss Big Phil Scolari: This time I have a fully-fit team - and they're coming to get you.... Manchester United and Chelsea
I WRITE out of sheer disgust at the recent fiasco with regards the "non-delivery" of postal voting packages to a large number of Bolton people earlier this month, and wonder if the cost of voting for anyone else equalled ours - a staggering £85.18. Details
A FATHER-of-three arrested after he photographed children playing in Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens had indecent images on his computer. Latvian-born Gregory Ariev, aged 54, was spotted using a digital camera trained on young girls splashing about in
by Edward Chadwick A BLOCK of empty flats used by stone-throwing vandals to launch attacks on firefighters is to be demolished. Bulldozers will move in to start tearing down the derelict block of council flats in Kestrel Avenue, Little Hulton, next week
THE future of one of Bolton's oldest businesses still hangs in the balance. A spokesman at Kruger Tissue Industrial - formerly the Charles Turner paper mill - said that it was "too early to say" whether cost-cutting measures introduced earlier this month
FORMER Boyzone singer and star of Channel 4's The Games Shane Lynch is set to top the bill at the grand finale of a Bolton youth community event. A concert will be held at Victoria Hall next month to mark the end of the Bolton Alive event, which is designed
POPULAR music from around the world will be on offer at the Victoria Hall on Saturday. Bolton Choral Union are joined by Besses o' th' Barn Band and the choir from St Peter's (Smithills Dean) Primary School. Included in the programme will be excerpts
ALTHOUGH they have completed their last production of the season - Billy Liar - Farnworth Little Theatre are still busy. Last week they opened the Manchester Drama Federation's one-act play festival at Bramhall with A Kind of Vesuvius, directed by chairman
