AFTER selling The Bolton News for decades, former newsagent David Crompton has finally made it onto the front page — of a special birthday cake.

Mr Crompton, who owned and ran a newsagents in Higher Bridge Street for most of his working life, recently celebrated his 70th birthday and his daughter knew just what to get him — a Bolton News birthday cake.

Sonia Avison came up with the idea of creating a cake in the shape of a bundle of Bolton News papers, with a front page story all about her 70-year-old father.

Mrs Avison, of Harwood, said: “My dad is not easy to buy gifts for so I wanted to do something personal for him and I thought as he had spent most of his life selling The Bolton News that this was a good idea.

“I make cakes myself for family and friends, so I designed the front page and used an online company to create that — but then I put it all together.”

The front page headline reads "Breaking News: look who is 70 today” and features a picture of Mr Crompton as a youngster.

The article then goes on to display facts and news from the year of his birth, in 1944.

His daughter added: “He loved selling the news. It is all we have ever known — I was actually born on the shop counter of the newsagents.”

Mr Crompton, who is a great-grandfather has now retired from the newsagent business and his son Karl runs the shop, now called Crompton’s News and Booze, just outside the town centre.

Mrs Avison added: “I think he really loved the cake, because he has been a newsagent for his whole life so it was very appropriate.

“I think he might have appeared in The Bolton News before — but this was his first time on the front page.”