Manchester Phoenix have announced that Tony Hand MBE has agreed a year’s extension to his contract and will be with the club for at least the next three years as head coach. Phenix MD Neil Morris said he was “over the moon” at the news. Morris
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the Roman Catholic Church's new Pope. The first Latin American to be Pope, he will call himself Francis I. An hour earlier, white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel chimney announced
WE all know that roads need repairs – let’s face it, any one of us can name a dozen that could benefit right this minute. But it does seem that some roads suffer disruptive work on a regular basis, and they’re usually the major arterial highways
IN spite of all the financial doom and gloom surrounding the UK economy there are still plenty of small business success stories around in cities and towns like Bolton. Laura Taylor, for example, runs her own decorating firm, Décor Angels, and won
IT will be worrying news to many local elderly people that Age UK Bolton is losing its well-known town centre premises near the Ashburner Street market. The £4.5 million market revamp means the charity must leave its centre in the autumn. Hundreds
PICTURES of ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne returning from life-saving rehab treatment in America are bound to upset all those who admired his silky skills on the field. Sadly, he is like many young men with a fatal flaw who become famous, and the treatment
IT’S easy to understand former Oasis star Noel Gallagher’s complaints that there are no characters left in pop music. He described today’s scene as “very corporate” and said that at the Brit Awards he saw the drummer from Muse smoking an electronic
MASTERCHEF star Greg Wallace has lost more than two and a half stone by dieting and says he looks and feels 100 per cent better. He’s very happy with his transformation, but he’s complained about “rude” strangers who taunt him and send him photographs
IN the wake of recent headlines about data coding and financial problems anyone currently waiting to go into the Royal Bolton Hospital might well be worried. It’s hard to recall a time when our local hospital had such negative coverage. There seldom
DOUGIE Freedman has revealed how Wanderers had to go back to the drawing board in order to solve Matt Mills’ long-standing hamstring problem. The former Leicester City centre-half has not featured for the first team since limping out of the 2-2
PETER Kay is famous for his hilarious stand-up comedy, but this Friday he will be aiming to boost Comic Relief’s funds — by sitting down. Tune into the BBC's fund-raising marathon on Red Nose Day and you will see the Bolton comedian taking on a
FORMER Wanderer Peter Reid believes the loan signing of England Under-21 defender Craig Dawson has been the spark for the team’s turnaround in fortunes in the past six weeks. The West Brom youngster has played eight games since arriving for a three-month
LOUIS Critchlow produced a three-try, man-of-the-match performance as Bolton continued their incredible run to go second in North Lancs League One. The in-form Avenue Street men racked up their 14th win in 15 games with a second successive clean
BOLTON Mets began life at their new stadium with a 10-10 stalemate against Ashton Bears A on Saturday. After their switch from winter to summer rugby last year, 2013 has signalled the start of a new era in the 18-year history of the club after
OLYMPIC sprint track cycling champion Jason Kenny says a switch to road racing would be like Usain Bolt competing in a marathon. The 24-year-old from Farnworth has just added another world championship crown to his three Olympic sprint gold medals
BOLTON’S triple Olympic cycling champion Jason Kenny hopes his success can inspire youngsters in the town to follow in his footsteps and breed the next generation of sporting champions. Kenny is still just 24 years old but is already a role model
MARTIN Challender’s interesting letter about Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War (Your Letters, March 8) puts me in mind of Lincoln’s secret weapon without which the Union side would undoubtedly have lost. At the outbreak of hostilities
WHAT a gem we have in the Octagon Theatre. Yesterday I attended an Investigate Day, based on the current production “Tull”. The play follows the life of Walter Tull from family to Methodist children’s home, to becoming the first black professional
IF action is not taken on the staggering deficit... If lessons have to be learnt... Let’s look at where all the money went, £13 billion on the Olympic Games, that is £14,000 per adult, of a population of 63 million people. Then two aircraft
IT is rare for me to agree with Cllr Nick Peel’s decision making, especially on planning matters, but praise is surely due for his willingness to send in detailed replies for publication that address issues raised about waste collection arrangements
THE spare room subsidy or bedroom tax, whatever you choose to call it, the effects will be the same. I have more respect for Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith than most other politicians. His work over many years on the issues of work
I WOULD like to express my sympathy to the good residents of Chorley New Road, Horwich. The Greenwood Hotel is a an eyesore and a blight to greet anyone coming into Horwich. The road edges and pavements are radiused with spurious rubbish spoil
ON Sunday morning I took to St Peter’s Way as we headed to Manchester Airport to drop off relatives returning to America. Merely days before, myself and our relatives were commenting on the absolute atrocity of St Peter’s Way. On our last drive
WHAT a fantastic response by Jane Whittle in Friday’s paper, regarding funding school fees — those that a local single mum cannot afford for her bright son, Mackenzie. Sadly, there are lots of bright children from single and two-parent families
IN reply to Florence Hill’s letter: “All should help to save NHS” Friday, March 8, re the issue of UKIP and the hospital closure protest. I present exactly what I wrote in the email sent to the Secretary of the A&E closure protest group. “Hi
CAN we let commonsense prevail regarding all the comments being published in the press about lack of care at the Royal Bolton Hospital. Yes, I am aware of all the things that don’t get done, as I found out over the last six years of my late husband
RE the recent letter by Cllr Paul Wild of Astley Bridge (“Get rid of the empty shops”, March 7). Most of his comments cannot be disputed. The main Blackburn Road is, indeed, one of the busiest roads in our town. He is also correct in stating
n A BOLTON man, arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and false imprisonment at an Islamic girls' school, has been released on bail, police said. Officers have also released a man from Blackburn on bail, while a third man, also from Blackburn
A NATIONAL police force could help to prevent the failings identified in the Jimmy Savile case from happening again, according to Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy. His comments followed a damning report by the Inspectorate of Constabulary, which
EMERGENCY loans for people in need in Bolton, and grants for the vulnerable, will be scrapped and replaced with a new scheme offering goods and services instead of cash. The Government has axed its crisis loans, which provide money for emergencies
AN ELDERLY man walked more than a mile from the Royal Bolton Hospital in his pyjamas and dressing gown before he was stopped and taken in by a hairdresser. The 76-year-old had managed to leave ward D2 at the hospital, walk out of the main building
BOLTON actress Maxine Peake, is to star in a psychological thriller with Inbetweeners actor Blake Harrison. Ms Peake —best known for her roles in BBC dramas Silk — will play an ambitious advertising executive whose life disintegrates after a series
ONE of the best known faces on Bolton’s amateur theatre circuit will be adding some drama — and spice — when he appears in Food Glorious Food, ITV’s new cooking contest to find Britain’s best recipe tonight. William “Donny” Howcroft, aged 81, will
TWO friends who joined forces to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care have raised more than £2,500. Christine Greenall and Roselle Gorman — who herself has battled cancer — make handcrafted items including jewellery, cards, decorated jewellery
THREE mums are on a mission to help a little boy beat cancer. Lamarno Healy, aged 11, was diagnosed with a brain tumour just after Christmas, on December 27, and has already started a gruelling course of treatment at Manchester Children’s Hospital
POLICE fined 33 drivers for not wearing a seatbelt during a crackdown on driving in Bolton town centre. As part of Operation Dice traffic officers were pulling over motorists near the Sweet Green Tavern in Trinity Street yesterday for not wearing
THE owner of one of Bolton’s biggest scrap merchants will take on planning chiefs in the final stage of a public inquiry. Sean Chadwick, owner of SC Chadwick and Sons in Breightmet, is appealing against a decision by planners to block his proposals
FOOTBALLERS are urging dog owners to clean up after their pets which are running free on the pitch. Members of Stoneclough FC spend up to an hour cleaning away the dog mess from their ground in Brook Street, Stoneclough, before each match. Dog
A NEW policing structure has come into force as part of a major shake up to save money. But officers in Bolton are insisting it will be “business as usual” as the four areas change to three. Advances in technology will be used to help the teams
FORMER Manchester United player and Harwood resident Gary Neville took time out to visit the club where his illustrious career began. Neville met young players at his former club and talked to them about the importance of recognising the volunteers
A RISE in the cost of attending day centres, meals and transport for elderly and vulnerable adults in Bolton has been given the go-ahead by council chiefs. Bolton Council’s ruling cabinet rubber-stamped a raft of price hikes as part of wider cost-cutting
A SCHOOL has said its child protection policies work after a former teacher was banned from the classroom by an independent disciplinary panel. Tariq Qureshi, aged 52, who taught maths at Bolton St Catherine’s Academy between 2009 and 2011, was
WESTHOUGHTION town centre has become a 20mph zone. Members of Westhoughton Town Council approved the proposals to reduce the speed on Market Street, Westhoughton from 30mph to 20mph last year. Residents were consulted and now the speed limit
A BOOMING business has started a recruitment drive. Booth Industries supplies doors and panels for military, nuclear, petrochemical, oil and gas platforms and installations. As well as a number of promotions, the business has taken on more
PEOPLE who missed out on the chance to take their share of a £3 million energy savings scheme are being given another opportunity to get a better deal. More than 35,000 people signed up to the Greater Manchester Fair Energy scheme when it was launched
SAM Ricketts sees a familiar hunger in Wanderers’ play-off push – and believes the club are in top shape to return to the big time. Back in 2007, the Wales international helped Phil Brown’s Hull City to finish the season strongly and gain promotion
Whilst medications are extremely useful in correct dosage and ways, it can cause enormous harm if taken improperly. On average , individuals above 70 are on 2/3 medications all the time and many of those are unnecessary and remain unsupervised.
THE FA Cup is getting to the business end now and while we are still waiting to see how the semi finals line up, it could end up being a case of North West domination. Not disregarding Chelsea and Millwall, who could both make it through with replay
