SOME of the town's most rarely-seen treasures are being rescued from storage ahead of a major new exhibition at Bolton Museum and Art Gallery.

More than 3,000 works of art are stored at the gallery, in Le Mans Crescent, but a relative shortage of display space means many are rarely seen.

An emphasis on travelling exhibitions has meant some of the town's gems have rarely been on show in recent years.

That is all about to change this month with the launch of Water, Water -- a nine-month show featuring masterpieces such as Turner's Rafts on the Rhine and Thomas Creswick's breathtaking but little seen panorama of Morecambe entitiled Loadin the Cargo.

Jennifer Shaw, the gallery's keeper of art, said: "This has come about partly because of public pressure. We were always being asked 'Where are the paintings?' and to have to say they are in storage seems wrong.

"People have donated paintings expecting them to be on display. Bolton does have a good art collection and it deserves to be seen."

The show, which takes a watery theme, will also feature popular gallery fixtures such as Thomas Moran's much-loved painting -- called Nearing Camp, Evening On The Upper Colarado River -- bought for the town for £1.5 million after a huge fundraising campaign.

Water, Water opens on Saturday, September 27 and is due to run until next summer. One gallery has been set aside for a display to stay in place for the next nine months, while the other will feature a rotating selection -- including the return of Bolton pictures currently on loan to other museums.

These include Dame Laura Knight's The Fishing Fleet, currently on show at the Laing Gallery in Newscastle and FW Hulme's Rivington Lakes, currently at the Lowry in Salford.

Cllr Laurie Williamson, executive member for culture, said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for people to appreciate the quality and range of the marvellous art collection at Bolton Museum and Art Gallery. I am sure it will be another exhibition of great distinction."