BOLTON has dropped plans to absorb Chorley into a new "super town", following a stinging rebuke from the Lancashire market town's leaders.

Chorley Council chiefs snubbed moves to create the largest metropolitan council in the North-west, claiming they would rather form a new authority with Preston and South Ribble.

Chief executive Jeff Davies angrily condemned Bolton's "territorial ambitions" and boasted that the rival merger would be "significantly more influential" than Bolton Council.

His words have led Cllr Bob Howarth, leader of Bolton Council, to concede that Chorley had taken the hump with the plan. He said the council would only explore expanding into areas on the edge of Bolton's boundary with Chorley.

The rejection followed exploratory moves by town hall officials into the possibility of merging with Chorley, if the region votes for its own parliament at a referendum next year. Such a move would signal the end of Lancashire County Council and the two-tier system of government in Chorley.

But Mr Davies rejected Bolton's plans, claiming the borough's first choice was to become a unitary authority, responsible for all local services. He said: "Our view is that Bolton's proposals, which were produced without any discussion or consultation with us, are not likely to receive serious consideration by the Boundary Committee.

"The review is about producing a satisfactory form of unitary local government for Lancashire, and not furthering the territorial ambitions of neighbouring authorities."

While indications from the Government suggest the Boundary Committee would consider Chorley too small to become a unitary authority, Mr Davies hopes to convince the committee that the borough could go it alone.

He said: "Chorley has a separate identity to Bolton. There are no connections sufficient to justify the transfer of the whole or part of Chorley Borough into Bolton, which would also mean going into Greater Manchester and the loss of Chorley's Lancashire identity.

Cllr Howarth said Bolton would continue to investigate a less ambitious plan to incorporate Adlington, Coppull, Heath Charnock and Rivington into a single Bolton ward.

He said: "We got off to a bad start with Chorley and this is entirely to be expected. It was never a majority view of the council that Chorley should be brought in.

"If this is the way they feel, we need to respect that and we shall work to heal the divide."

said he would speak to the leader of Chorley Council in a bid to heal the rift between the two councils.