IT is important to remember that while most of us are sitting around enjoying a relaxing Christmas Day with the family, there are people out there working to keep us safe.

Doctors and nurses and the emergency services will be at work throughout the festive period, but there are also plenty of people who are giving up their time for nothing.

In the Bolton News today we feature stories about two of these groups - the Samaritans and the Bolton Mountain Rescue Team.

In their own different ways they provide vital and often unrecognised help to those who need it. Christmas can be a time of extremes, when those suffering with mental health issues or loneliness may be at their most vulnerable.

Someone who will listen without judgement at the end of a telephone can literally make the difference between life and death.

Volunteers at the Samaritans are ordinary people from all walks of life who provide a 24-hour listening service for people who are going through emotional difficulties and who may be feeling suicidal.

Meanwhile, people who work with Bolton Mountain Rescue Team can also be real lifesavers, going out in all sorts of weather to rescue people who may have got into difficulty.

As our Page 2 story reveals, it is fabulous that the Department for Transport has granted them £13,000 towards water rescue equipment.