FATHER Christmas was out and about in Westhoughton, Horwich and Blackrod raising good cheer back in 1986.
He was invited to the area by the Rotary Club of Westhoughton and helped by youngsters from the fifth and sixth forms (as they were known then) at Westhoughton High School.
Santa’s itinerary took him throughout Westhoughton over the Christmas period with special visits also to Blackrod and Horwich.
Santa (posed here by local man Albert Smith) is seen with Westhoughton High School pupils Elizabeth Morris, who was aged 17 and her pals Susan Day, who was 16, Diane Wilcock, also 16 and Karen Berry who was aged 17.
The annual tradition of the Rotary Club sleigh still continues in the Bolton area today.
It is a hugely popular event with children all over the Bolton area eagerly looking out for the man in red and listening for his sleigh bells as he heads into their street.
It will be another year now before the event will happen again giving Santa plenty of time to rest before he starts work again.
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