I AM not in the habit of writing to the papers but, after two distressing incidents this week, I would just like to ask someone when the decent people of this town are going to be allowed to go out without being mugged? On Sunday afternoon, while taking
I SEE that now the General Election is over, Dr Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South-east, is harking back to legalising certain drugs. He is now asking his constituents for their views on the subject. With his scientific jargon he speaks of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
FOLLOWING the BEN's Opinion (Thursday, July 12) I feel I must reply regarding the statement about the lowering of parking fees leading to all the spaces being taken up by "town centre workers". I am one of those workers who park and have done for a number
IN response to Mrs Clare's letter of July 5 re tenant consultation. In September 1999 a newsletter arrived about a "Heating Refurbishment Programme", saying a council official would call to determine the efficiency and condition of the existing system
Bolton South-east PARLIAMENT concludes its business on July 20 for the summer recess and will resume business again on October 15 following the party conferences. However, the work does not stop. We are not "on holiday" for the whole of that period, as
MEMBERS of two local Prince's Trusts took part in a sponsored fire engine pull on Friday in Euxton. Volunteers, pictured, from the Preston and Blackburn branches pulled the heavy rescue vehicle around the parade ground at the Washington Hall fire training
TALENTED folk from Chorley proved they are a class act at the weekend when the town's Midsummer Festival concluded with a celebration of dramatic flair. Saturday July 14 saw a series of improvised and scripted drama 'shorts' as part of the festival's
WAR hero Michael Finan is polishing his medals ready for a trip to Buckingham Palace next week. The veteran, from Corporation Street in Chorley, has been invited to a garden party by the 'Not Forgotten Association.' The association is a veterans group
HORWICH RMI Cricket Club is hosting a special dinner on Friday, July 27. The five-course meal will be held in the pavilion, Ramsbottom Road, at 7.30pm. Tickets, priced at £15, are available from Angela Leather on 669121 or 07761 124 5043.
A GIANT bar of chocolate will be donated to the children's ward of a local hospital by supermarket worker Mrs Ellen Clarke. She won the five kilogram slab of chocolate after it was raffled at Asda in Farnworth to raise £103 to buy a football strip for
A GARAGE was destroyed by fire and two neighbouring garages damaged following an arson attack in Bury last night. Arsonists struck at the rear of homes in Forth Avenue at 9.30pm. They set fire to a wooden shelter, which was being used to store tyres and
A CHARITY line dance will be held in aid of the Bolton Branch of Libearty Action Group on Friday August 17. The event at Horwich RMI Club from 8pm to 11.30pm will include an appearance from the Tempro Texans. Tickets, which cost £3 for adults and £2 for
EMERGENCY services reported no serious problems despite high winds blowing across the town today. Roads were littered with twigs and other debris, but motorists had few difficulties getting to work. Scaffolding had fallen down from a building near the
A HORWICH nursing home holds a fair and fun day on Sunday, September 2. Knowle House in Rivington Lane will host the action packed day which starts at 2pm and all the proceeds will go towards the Residents Social Fund.
CHILDREN in Little Hulton will share in 435 new school childcare places created across Salford thanks to a £116,000 investment. Salford Council's early years development and childcare partnership has been given the money by the Government's New Opportunities
DAREDEVILS have been invited to take part in a 100-foot charity abseil. It will be held at Manchester Town Hall on Sunday, July 29 to raise funds for the Brain and Spinal Injury Charity (BASIC). More than 330 people are expected to attend. Training will
NEW appointments have been made to Bolton's Bangladesh Association. The first meeting of the newly-reformed association was held in Farnworth where 17 new posts on the association's executive committee were filled. More than 20 members attended the meeting
WANDERERS have partly solved their pre-season friendly dilemma by arranging a match with Spanish side Athletic Bilbao at the Reebok - with cut-price tickets for fans The match will take place on Friday, August 3, (8pm). Wanderers officials have reduced
BOLTON South East MP Dr Brian Iddon is calling for an emergency package to bail out Bolton's cash-strapped hospital. The Labour MP is arranging urgent talks with board members from the Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust to thrash out details of a rescue plan.
THE Royal Bolton Hospital is in severe financial crisis facing debts of up to £3 million. And the hospital's Director of Finance, Beverly Peacock, fears the Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust could be declared financially insolvent if current spending levels
Bolton Sports Federation tennis championships THE afternoon deluge disrupted match scheduling in the BSF Tennis Tournament. With the shale courts lost due to water-logging for most of the evening, referee Alan Prince did well to get the majority of matches
THROUGH your columns I recently asked the politician Chris Davies MEP a question and he did not give me an answer. They tell me that God loves a trier so here goes. The MEPs tell us that not being in the Euro is costing Britain jobs, as we do not have
WITH regards to the letter on noisy neighbours (The Citizen, 12/07/01), the writer had more success than me. About a month ago I phoned Wheelton police station around midnight on a Saturday to complain of 'disco levels' of music from a private house.
VOLUNTEERS at Chorley hospital radio station are celebrating after 'waving' goodbye to their old studio and moving in to a shiny new revamped studio costing £30,000. Bosses at the hospital on Preston Road have kitted out three rooms in the hospital itself
AN MP has expressed concerns at what she believes are an extreme right wing party's efforts to recruit in Bolton. The British National Party's newsletter reveals the town is one of a number of North-west towns in which the group holds regular meetings
A HORWICH pub which surrendered its late licence after problems with drunken revellers has cleaned-up its act to attract new custom. The Mill House at Middlebrook has successfully applied for a late licence and can now serve drinks until 12.30am on Thursdays
MAD dogs and Bolton people will go out in the midday sun next month in a bid to beat a funding headache for a popular charity. The Dog Mad Day is being staged to bring in much-needed cash for the Bolton-based Guide Dogs for the Blind who have lost £130,000
HE was in contention at Troon, in the last game going out and was the leading Briton last year. He knows what it is all about, has the experience and is coming into form having won the European Open last week. He must have a better chance than Lee Westwood
ANOTHER player who has had a very big year in the States and went down the last few holes with Tom Lehman last time. The Fijian knows the course, he has been here two or three times before, is playing well and one of the world's leading players. The more
Tee-off times for the first two rounds of the 130th Open championship at Royal Lytham St Annes on Thursday (GB and Ire unless stated): (x) denotes amateurs 0700 and 1146 H Tanaka (Jpn), D Howell, D Smyth 0711 and 1157 M Roe, R Chapman, J Hugo (Rsa) 0722
BURY boss Andy Preece has warned stayaway fans that they are killing the club writes Steve Canavan In his strongest interview yet, Preece made his point simply and clearly. If supporters don't turn up, he said, then the town will not have a professional
I HAVE never felt the need to respond to Dorothy Waters' letters before but one sentence in her latest offering (BEN July 17) baffles me. How did she know that the young person that she obviously disliked was a single mother. Only two reasons spring to
PETER Green of the Sandwich Inn has, I believe, put his finger on a real source of Bolton town centre's problems -- the iniquitous pay and display parking system. This forces shoppers either to pay for more parking time than they need, giving the illusion
A MAN was found collapsed in a pool of blood in a telephone kiosk after dialling 999 for police help following a vicious attack. The 33-year-old man from Horwich, who has not been named, was attacked in Makinson Avenue in the early hours today, shortly
BOLTON soap star Amy Nuttall helped out her grandmother by opening a summer fair. Amy, who plays fresh-faced waitress Chloe in Emmerdale, was invited to open the summer fair at Holy Trinity Church in Hoghton, near Blackburn. The 19-year-old was asked
A DRUG addict who burgled his mother's home has been jailed for two years and three months. Martin Nicholson owed money to a drug dealer and had earlier begged his mother to give him cash, but when she refused he returned and burgled the house. He was
EVERYTHING in the garden is rosy for youngsters at a Westhoughton primary school who are proving to be a class of their own on green issues. The pupils at Eatock Primary in St George's Avenue, are leading the way when it comes to environmental matters
BOLTON and District Hospital Saturday needs help in researching its history. Next year the non-profit making organisation, which subsidises people's medical expenses, celebrates 125 years of helping individuals and company employees. As part of the special
LOOKING out to Rivington Pike, bathed in sunshine and sitting in the company of those two stalwarts of Adlington, Dick Berry and Harold Parkinson it is easy to start comparing the modern game with that of 50 years ago writes Ernest Johnson In those days
A 74-YEAR-OLD pensioner was kept waiting more than 13 hours on a trolley after collapsing with an irregular heartbeat and taken into the Royal Bolton Hospital. The pensioner, who stresses that she has nothing but praise for the nurses and doctors in the
A 74-YEAR-OLD pensioner was kept waiting more than 13 hours on a trolley after collapsing with an irregular heartbeat and taken into the Royal Bolton Hospital. The pensioner, who stresses that she has nothing but praise for the nurses and doctors in the
A WHISTLE-BLOWING nurse on the front line at the Royal Bolton Hospital's accident and emergency department claims staff are reduced to tears as they struggle to find beds for sick patients. The nurse, who refuses to be named for fear of losing her job
THE talented Dane finished tied second last year and is playing well and looks ready to move up into the major league. He is one of the next guys to win a major.
ONE of the in-form golfers in America at the moment. He is also a left-hander which I think will favour him along the railways holes as he can shape the ball away from the trouble.
GARETH BENSON, one of the country's leading instructors and the BEN's teaching professional, gives his personal views of the Open course at Royal Lytham & St Annes to Deputy Sports Editor DAVID MAGILTON and picks out who he belives will be the leading
FOOT and mouth has been raging through the countryside like an angry bull. In most places, once it has struck, the whole area has been affected. Here in Chorley we've been lucky, and it has been relatively contained. But what are we doing wrong? In France
ON reading the problem of Brian the Cat disappearing (The Citizen 12/07/01), I have a few words of comfort to offer to the lady in question. When my brother got married I looked after cat while they went on honeymoon. It was with me for one day and then
ON Saturday morning I woke to the newspaper headline: "Prince Charles Shuns Princess Diana's Grave" and is criticised for not visiting it. For heavens sake they were divorced and he's not a widower, life moves on! To the best of my knowledge all my ex-wives
I WAS in the new B&Q store in Bamber Bridge on June 25 with my friend, who is pensioner like myself, when she picked up a wallet. We went to the management and handed it in. The contents were shown to contain £200 in £20 notes, plus two bankcards.
A CONCERT held to celebrate the memory of children involved in the Alder Hey organ scandal raised almost £2,000. The cash from the event, organised by Walkden woman Denise Green who was caught up in the controversy, will be shared equally between the
A TROUBLED part of Bolton has been handed its second slice of good news in the space of a week. The Paulhan Street estate, which includes parts of Derby, Harper Green and Burnden wards, has been selected as the second area in the town to benefit from
SOLICITORS are set to hold a crisis meeting amid fears that Bolton's magistrates court could close. Up to 20 lawyers, representing legal firms throughout the town, are expected to attend the talks to be held at the offices of Garstangs solicitors in Bradshawgate
TWO Bolton schools have had a brush with success by joining a select group across the country to be honoured for their commitment to the arts. The Deane School and Farnworth's Harper Green have both been awarded the prestigious Artsmark award by the Arts
THIS is nearly 30 yards longer than when Tony Jacklin won in 1969. It appears almost impossible to avoid a bunker. There are seven fairway bunkers off the tee and you have to hit the ball left to right. There is a cavernous bunker on the right-hand side
HE must be one of the younger guys in contention. He was up there last year and is playing well at the moment. The Spaniard has the temperament for the big time and showed in the US Open that, although it did not suit his game, stayed in contention until
THIS must be one of the hardest par threes in tournament golf. It is a long iron and the prevailing wind blows the ball left to right towards the out of bounds which is only a few paces off the edge of the green. The tee is completely surrounded by shrubs
He has more of a chance now that we are not looking on him as a major contender. The less pressure he has and the less pressure he heaps on himself and I think the more chance he has. He can stroll round, end up in contention and it would not surprise
THE champion is the hot favourite in every event he plays. Sometimes the standard of Woods' putting has been overshadowed by his power off the tee, but between 8-15 feet, his putting has been absolutely amazing. It is that which has stretched him out
THE DIAMOND JUBILEE SHOW. A unique blend of music, comedy, impressions, singing and dancing presented by The Grumbleweeds, Jonnie Casson, Alvin Stardust and The Heartbeats and The Bopettes celebrating 60 years of family entertainment. North Pier Theatre
BURY begin their long list of pre-season friendlies at Radcliffe Boro tonight (kick off 7.30pm). The Shakers are taking their first team squad to Stainton Park for the annual fixture and new signings, Turkish under 18 star Edward Tarsus and former Manchester
A DISAPPOINTING weekend saw Chorley beaten for the first time in the league this season and then suffer a washout in the National Knockout the next day. Consequently the game against Wickersley will now be played on Sunday. On Saturday Chorley were bowled
NEWS that the British National Party is stepping up its activity in Bolton is very worrying. There is no place in this town for the extreme right wing politics party members promote. Bolton is a town which enjoys a good deal of racial harmony, and long
On January 26, 1998, a Home Office press release stated: "Following the successful removal last year of large-calibre handguns, this second hand-in will fulfil the Government's commitment to improving public safety by removing the remaining small-calibre
IT is good to see solicitors in Bolton getting together to address fears that the town's magistrates court could close. The lawyers are set to hold a crisis meeting tomorrow to discuss the threat to Bolton's busy court. Bolton's courts must be among the
I READ with interest the letter from B. Myers concerning the Westhoughton by-pass and Ruth Kelly. Two facts should be remembered. 1. The election is over and Ms Kelly thinks she can forget about her constituents for another five years and concentrate
AS headteacher at Woodside Senior School I was most disappointed to read your main letter from an "angry private hire driver" (Thursday, July 5). His (I am assuming the driver was male) final throwaway comment denigrating Woodside Senior School was an
MAY I comment on the behaviour of bus passengers I encountered recently. On Tuesday, July 3, I took the 501 bus from the King Street bus station, Farnworth. When this vehicle arrived at the main entrance of the Royal Bolton Hospital, quite a number of
I AM writing this letter in an effort to redress the imbalance of recent negative comments made about athletics in our area. It has long been the case of our sport relying on the unpaid time and effort made by the same groups of willing volunteers to
As a well brought-up Catholic girl I have to say I am well aware of the dangers of drug taking. As a university student, I am aware of the misunderstanding that many people have about cannabis. I would say that around 95per cent of the students I know
PUPILS at a Chorley primary school ended the term on a high note when they staged a rousing musical. All 137 juniors at St Mary's, in Hornchurch Drive, took part in the production of 'Paradise Island', the story of a rich king who has everything -- except
FOLLOWING the arson attack which decimated Brindle Gregson Lane Primary School near Chorley, Lindsay Hoyle MP is pressing government ministers to adopt sprinkler systems in schools. Brindle Gregson Lane Primary school was razed to the ground following
ANYONE who passed through the small village of Croston on Saturday would be forgiven for thinking they'd taken a wrong turn and ended up in France as village folk held their annual Bastille Day. The day is held every year on the village green to celebrate
STAFF at a Chorley charity shop are being given credit where credit's due after the decision to allow shoppers to pay for their goods by plastic. The Imperial Cancer Research Fund shop on Chapel Street, has been brought into the computer age with the
ALMOST 1,000 more motorists in Lancashire have been caught out by speed cameras between April and June this year compared to last year. The striking rise in the number of people caught speeding follows a change in the speed for which penalty fines are
THIS was the scene of chaos today as drivers found themselves snarled up following the closure of a slip road on to St Peter's Way. Repairs to the Manchester Road bridge which crosses the A666 will take 11 weeks to complete. Diversions are in place for
A WHISTLE-BLOWING nurse on the front line at the Royal Bolton Hospital's accident and emergency department claims staff are reduced to tears as they struggle to find beds for sick patients. The nurse, who refuses to be named for fear of losing her job
PRECAUTIONS against foot-and-mouth have been reintroduced following a suspected outbreak of the disease at a farm in the Crankwood area of Abram, Wigan. And some restrictions have been introduced in Leigh in response to the situation. Walkers in the Abram
TOWN hall bosses have launched an investigation after allegations that employees are running a money-making operation during working hours. The probe will look at claims that three women who work in the corporate property department were organising a
FINGERS on buzzers, come on down, spin that wheel and here's your starter for ten! Chorley Cricket Club will be going game-show crazy on July 20 when BBC Radio Five Live will record its much-loved 'Hell's Bells and Buzzers' sports quiz. Hosted by Helen
THIS was the scene of chaos today as drivers found themselves snarled up following the closure of a slip road on to St Peter's Way. Repairs to the Manchester Road bridge which crosses the A666 will take 11 weeks to complete. Diversions are in place for
HORWICH Town Council holds its monthly planning meeting tomorrow evening. Members of the public are welcome to attend at the public hall in Lee Lane at 7.30pm.
PEOPLE can take a light-hearted look at the French language and its culture, with a free three-week course is at Westhoughton Community Centre from 1pm to 3pm, starting on Thursday, July 26. For details, call 01942 813321.
A 10-YEAR-OLD girl was taken to hospital following a road accident last night as she rode a bicycle. Lauren Parker of Wentbridge Road, Halliwell, suffered bruising after she was in collision with the side of a Rover Metro car being driven by Malcolm Greenhalgh
A CHARITY is looking for volunteers to abseil 100ft down Manchester Town Hall on Sunday, July 29. The Brain and Spinal Injury charity is expecting more than 330 people to take part to raise money for people suffering the lasting effects of trauma injury
ANYONE from Horwich, Blackrod or Westhoughton who would like to air views or concerns about their area can attend the next meeting of the Three Towns Community Forum. Councillors and council officers will be on hand to chat to visitors at the meeting
ORGANISERS of a sell-out rock concert at a Bolton town centre pub are appealing to anyone without a ticket not to turn up on the night. The event takes place at in the upstairs room at The Gypsies Tent on Friday night and features the band Unreasonable
LOCAL Asda stores have started an initiative where people can nominate 'Kids Local Heroes'. As part of Asda's "Stand Up for Kids" 2001 campaign customers can nominate a child in the community who they think makes a difference. Entry forms are available
