A BOLTON pensioner has spoken to his childhood pal for the first time in 52 years, thanks to a letter in the BEN.

George Bye, of Chorley Old Road, last spoke to Eric Mayne in 1948 when Eric's family emigrated to Ontario in Canada.

Eric wrote to the BEN wondering if George still lived in Bolton and, after a search on the internet by George's son for an address and phone number, the two men were reunited for a chat on the phone. George, who joined the RAF after leaving school before holding many different jobs such as postman, landlord and bus driver, was thrilled to catch up with his old pal.

The 69-year-old great-grandfather said: "We only spoke for about five minutes on the phone with it being so expensive, but it was just like old times.

"We still got on well and I'm looking forward to speaking to him again, exchanging photos and finding out about his life and everything he has done since we last met."

George and Eric became bosom buddies when they were youngsters at Brownlow Fold School and used to knock about together near The Waggon pub in Kay Street, which George's parents owned.

Eric has only visited Bolton a couple of times since leaving in 1948 and was unable to track down George, who had moved several times and lived in Bury for many years.