MY "mystery" picture of Lostock on Saturday certainly created a lot of interest, so much so that I cannot possibly name everyone who contacted me, so please forgive me if I don't - I am grateful for your help.

You may recall that I told how the picture had been taken by former Evening News' chief photographer Jim Ashworth, and on the back it simply said: "A part of Chorley New Road. The section shown is near Lostock Junction Lane (hidden by the trees) on left. The pretty trim homes and villas with their multi-coloured gardens are a striking feature of the landscape." I just couldn't work out where it was, and neither could others from that area to whom I showed the photograph before printing it.

When the picture appeared in the paper, Mrs Nora Sabini, of Millstone Road, Doffcocker, could not identify the location either, although she thought that the picture had been taken in September 1954, because Jim Ashworth had been a guest at her wedding to Harry, and as part of his wedding present, he had taken an aerial picture of their new home in Junction Road, Lostock; while up there he had taken other pictures as well, including this one, she thought. "But I don't know where it is of," she told me.

Mr Cyril Shaw, of Lostock Junction Lane did not know either, but, he said: "I love a mystery. I'll find out and let you know."

No need to go to all that trouble, Cyril. I had numerous e-mails, letters and telephone calls about it, the vast majority identifying the picture as being of Chorley New Road, with Ravensdale Road going towards the top of the picture and Dalegarth Avenue going off Ravensdale Road. Lostock Junction Road is, as Jim Ashworth said, on the bottom left of the picture, in the trees, as pointed out by Mrs Judith Sellers, of Thorncliffe, Chorley New Road. However, the picture must have been taken before the Second World War (not 1954, as thought by Mrs Sabini) because the present day Thorncliffe in which Mrs Sellers lives was built by Mr Steele in 1938 (and later lived in by the Morley family until 1987) on the site of the old house of that name which can be seen at the bottom left of the photograph (the original Thorncliffe was built in the 1880s by Robert Crompton (mill manager).

And Mr Tom Warburton, when I told him that it had been suggested that the picture was taken in the 1950s said: "Way out. There were houses built on the south side of Dalegarth before 1930" - and they were not on the picture.

Quite honestly, as soon as the general location was pointed out it became obvious to me where it was, although to be fair (and so as not to make myself and others who could not recognise it look too silly!) much housing has been built since that time, and the trees have grown a lot!

Mr Wilf Bancroft, of Chorley Old Road, tells me that the house on the corner of Ravensdale Road and Chorley New Road was owned by Mr Talbot, a builder who "always had American cars". And Mr Richard Higgs, of Greenmount Lane, says that the large house at the bottom right of the picture has recently been converted into flats ("sorry", he says, "Executive Apartments"!)

Mr Andrew Dean, now Promotions Manager for BWFC, but formerly a farmer at Hollinhurst Farm, Lostock, and Hill Farm, Heaton (Ravensdale Road leads to Hill Farm, and you can see the hen cabins in the field) estimates that the picture was taken in the 1920s or early 1930s. "My grandfather, Stanley Dean, would have been in Hill Farm with my father, Leonard Dean, aged about 10-15 years old," he writes.

So there you are, folks, the answer to the "mystery". But perhaps Capt Mainwaring from Dad's Army would have said to me: "Stupid boy!"

To view the photo, click HERE in our Looking Back Photogallery. The photo will open in a separate browser window.