Warning to children over town centre protest rally
8:56am Thursday 11th March 2010 in News
PARENTS are being asked to ensure their children do not venture into Bolton alone when protesters hold a rally later this month.
Bolton Council is taking the unprecedented step of writing to every mum and dad in the borough with children of secondary school age.
In a letter which will be sent out next week, they will advise that children should not be allowed into town without an adult on Saturday, March 20, when thousands of people are expected for the English Defence League’s rally.
Yesterday, Bolton’s most senior police officer, Ch Supt Steve Hartley, and the chief executive of Bolton Council, Sean Harriss, told how the town is planning to cope with the influx.
They said it will be a case of business as usual, but that shops and town centre businesses were being informed of developments.
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy has also urged people to stay away from the town centre. “The key thing is talking to local people and encouraging them not to come to town on that day,” he said.
Cllr Paul Murphy, chairman of Greater Manchester Police Authority, said: “This is a rally about hate. Bolton is a place of tolerance.”
