THIS weekend will see the opening of a new toy shop in Bolton town centre.

The Entertainer officially opens in Market Place Shopping Centre this Saturday but, once upon a time, the place to go for toys was Boydell’s, in Oxford Street.

Generations of families bought toys and games from the store which was in the town for 60 years.

In 1983, Star Wars villain Darth Vader visited Bolton — and he needed a police escort to control fans who mobbed him.

An actor dressed as the evil character was visiting Boydell’s toy shop to mark the showing of the new Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi.

The towering, 7ft tall figure was greeted by hundreds of children.

Despite his villainous reputation, Darth Vader turned out to be a gentle giant who patiently signed autographs and posed for photographs.

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In 1996, Rita Riding, whose parents started the business in 1936, said she was forced to close Boydell’s because she was unable to get an early release from the lease on the property, high car parking charges in Bolton and the arrival of toy superstore Toys R Us.

Their other two stores in Bury and Wilmslow also closed, making a total of 38 people redundant.

After the closures, Mrs Riding worked on cruise ships for Saga before her death in October 2013, at the age of 79.