THERE'S something amazing happening when local communities come together to stand up to the bully boys of industry and fight for their fundamental rights.

Our neighbours in the Preston area recently did this as they saw off fracking company Cuadrilla. Lancashire residents from all backgrounds and political persuasions came together to fight for their rights for a clean and safe environment.

On August 18, the government released their latest round of granted licences. It pains me to see that many of the areas highlighted sit within or around Bolton.

There is plenty of substantial evidence and peer-reviewed studies that inform us that fracking for shale is a short-term, unsustainable and deeply dangerous activity (see, for instance, Prof. Anthony Ingraffea at Cornell University as a useful starting point). Moreover, it is irreversible and will not create employment in the way in which the government would like it to (Cuadrilla's own report and the government sponsored AMEC report even tells us this!), nor will it meet our energy needs.

Both George Osborne and Amber Rudd have close family connections with the industry (a father-in-law and a brother, respectively) and would like to see our beautiful area destroyed in the name of profit. T

I hope that people in Bolton will conduct their own research into the industry and question all the information out there. I hope that, should the need arise, that we will stand together and block this harmful industry from destroying our town. I hope that, by doing so, we can send a message to the government that they must take a more proactive approach to meeting our energy requirements without the need for harmful processes such as fracking.

Anna Cook

Westhoughton