TWO long established legal firms Dootsons and Eckersley Hope have merged to form Dootson Eckersley Hope operating from three offices in Leigh, Atherton and Culcheth. New partners are Ian Howells, Andrew Stockton, Bill Hawksworth and Michele Wright. Barry
SIR: The letter from Martin Ball, Information Officer for the pro-smoking group, Forest, (May 25), concluded by saying, "millions of smokers and non-smokers get along peacefully, side by side." I would beg to differ. Most non-smokers find smoking anti-social
EXTRA cash to encourage youngsters to get involved in physical education and sport is coming to Bury. The English Sports Council has confirmed a grant of £45,000 to appoint a Youth Sport Development Officer to help get a Youth Sport Development Initiative
ANDY Todd has committed his long term future to Bolton Wanderers - behind his father's back! Todd Snr played no part in the negotiations that secured Todd Jnr on a four-year contract but applauded the decision today when he said: "It's in the best interests
SIR: During Volunteers Week '98 (June 1-7) I should like to publicly thank all volunteers in the area who do such a wonderful job raising money for the Arthritis Research Campaign. Without their efforts, the ARC would not now be leading the field identifying
A TINY twig stuck between cobbles in Bolton 65 years ago has blossomed - into a huge oak tree. Schoolboy Jim Glover was just 12 when he "planted" the branch for a joke in his back yard in Tonge Bridge, Bolton, in 1933. The schoolboy later grew up to be
SIR: "Fight On" - Winston Churchill said. We will never surrender and I am absolutely sure those ex-PoWs from the Far East will do exactly that. And as an ex-serviceman who fought on the Western Front myself, I, along with thousands of other war veterans
d=2,5 f=Zapf Dingbats s%90 oSIR: Bolton Community Transport is a charity that provides transport for a number of voluntary organisations, and collects and distributes surplus domestic furniture to the needy. It is difficult to put a value on the work
CRUEL thieves have destroyed a disabled woman's "pride and joy" by ransacking her garden . . . for the SIXTH year running. Wheelchair-bound Jane Canty put all her time, energy and money into creating her one main source of pleasure, but despite ever-increasing
BURY could be heading for a bust-up with Lancashire rivals Burnley over compensation for the loss of manager Stan Ternent and his assistant Sam Ellis. The pair quit Gigg Lane at the weekend and were being installed at Turf Moor today while the respective
SIR: It is with some hesitation I write to you, but feel it has to be said. I have a neighbour who is totally against my children playing in front of my house. He says they make too much noise (children do), and they play with a ball. What he does not
WHEN headlines about local companies tend to spell redundancy and gloom, the latest news from Watson Steel is exhilarating. The Lostock-based firm has scooped a multi-million pound contract to roof a prestigious new Parliamentary building close to the
IT'S the medical project that law-abiding citizens everywhere are eagerly awaiting: a look into the brain of the average vandal. There, it is hoped, will lie some answer to the behaviour which results in the kind of sickening vandalism reported in this
BEN agony aunt Vicky Maud will be on GMR on Friday talking about depression. And listeners and BEN readers are invited to attend a special conference in Manchester later this month to help carers of people who are depressed. The Depression Alliance has
YOUNG Parliamentary mum Ruth Kelly is urging the House of Commons to introduce a family-friendly voting system. The Bolton West MP, who has a son and a second child on the way, wants to see the current system of frequent and irregular votes scrapped.
DEMOLITION experts arrived at Burnden Park today preparing to bulldoze the famous old stadium. A team of specialists were at the ground assessing how best to knock down the century-old ground, fondly remembered by thousands of Super White fans. Yesterday
A FORMER Little Hulton Gulf War veteran is to sue the makers of the TV drama Peak Practice over a plot which he says mirrors his own life story. Andy Honer, who served in the 1991 conflict to liberate Kuwait as a combat medic, claims Carlton Television
BOLTON'S housing chiefs have been saved from going roaring mad after solving a lion-sized mystery. A huge stone monument of a lion went missing five years ago from the roof of Hilden Street College overlooking St Peter's Way. Mystery surrounded the whereabouts
STABBED airman Christopher Sweeney was continuing his recovery in a Cyprus hospital today. The Bolton family of the RAF man told the BEN that the 28-year-old corporal was making "slow but steady progress" on the mend from a five-hour operation to remove
YOBS went on a wrecking spree ripping out gravestones at a Bolton church. The hooligans overturned about 30 headstones at St Michael's Church, Great Lever, pushing several from the ground and smashing others. The late-night outrage was the latest attack
THE Government has just announced a national campaign to warn homeworkers about pretend schemes to cheat them out of money. DTI Minister of State, Ian McCartney and Competition and Consumer Affairs Minister, Nigel Griffiths, are behind the scheme to raise
My Wish My wish is to stroke a big tiger And swim with dolphins in the sea! My wish is to stop pollution, And help people who are worse off than me. My wish is to be very successful, And pass all my tests at school. I'd like to have lots of money, A house
THERE was a time when little Dominic Gannon's mum and dad thought their son would never see his first birthday. He was rushed into hospital on Christmas Day, clinging to life after contracting the deadly meningitis bug. But yesterday all their fears and
BOLTON vandals are systematically destroying a well-loved pensioners' bowling club. Members of the Thomasson Park Veterans Bowling Club say they have been subjected to an horrific catalogue of abuse in the last three years. Public toilets have been repeatedly
WORKMEN are still battling to repair houses damaged by severe storms more than FIVE months ago. Bolton Council says high winds at Christmas caused so many problems that workmen are still busy throughout Bolton clearing a backlog of complaints. Extra contractors
25 YEARS AGO TWO British trawlers were rammed by the Icelandic gunboat Arvakur today and one of them holed. There had earlier been a collision between the gunboat and the defence tug Irishman in another Cod War clash. THE Greek Government today abolished
SO Spice Girl Geri Halliwell has left the group to apparently pursue a solo career. Ginger Spice issued a statement through Chris Evans' PR company, Freud Communications on Sunday confirming her departure due to 'differences' between band members. It's
SIR: Generations of British Chancellors of the Exchequer have made calls for growth in the national economy. Yet at the very first signs of economic growth, these same chancellors have given to undertaking punitive measures aimed at retarding growth,
A BOLTON firm has landed a multi-million pound contract - to put the roof on Parliament's prestigious new building for MPs. Lostock-based Watson Steel beat off bidders to land the job to top the spectacular office base in Westminster. The £250 million
ASTON Villa were expected to make their interest in Wanderers midfield ace Alan Thompson official today. Villa boss John Gregory has made no secret of his admiration of the £5 million-rated Geordie star and his chairman, Doug Ellis, was planning talks
TAILOR-MADE staff benefit schemes should be offered to employees in place of traditional benefits packages. Off-the-shelf schemes are often undervalued by employees and expensive for employers to provide. That's the message from Don Sutherland, head of
