THERE'LL be no sparing father-of-two Eddie Ward's blushes in the run-up to Valentine's Day. He will be seen on posters in Bolton town centre holding up a pair of women's knickers. Eddie, aged 34, from Westhoughton, was persuaded to enter a competition
FIREFIGHTERS battled through flames to rescue a man from his blazing home. The alarm was raised by Kevin Gallagher, who was staying at his partner's house next door in Centenary Court, off Rishton Lane, Great Lever. He woke up and smelt the smoke
THERE was plenty of ghoulish goings on at Rivington Barn when the witches of Adlington descended on the leisure complex. But it was all in a good cause and the witches created a magical atmosphere to charm money out of visitors for the Rosemere Cancer
FORMER police head of driver training and collision reconstruction, Gordon Robertson will be guest speaker at Bolton Advanced Motorist's next meeting. The meeting at Dobbies Sports and Social Club on Bradley Fold Road, Bradley Fold, Bolton, on March
MOVES to secure peace in Kashmir have been backed by Bolton South-east MP, Dr Brian Iddon. Dr Iddon marked Kashmir Solidarity Day, on Monday, which remembers peope who have died during conflicts in the region, by co-sponsoring an early day motion in
FIREMEN are warning people of the potential dangers of electric blankets following a fire at a house in Cornwall Drive, Bury on Monday evening. A woman suffered minor burns putting out the flames after the blanket on her bed caught fire. A fire service
UNDERAGE drinkers have been turned away from a Bolton town centre pub thanks to a new ID card scanner. Last weekend, The Swan, in Churchgate, took part in a trial to use IDScan machines, which can immediately establish whether identification cards
TEACHERS in Bolton have called for greater freedom to teach. They say the national curriculum is restrictive and leaves little time for educational trips. And they believe any changes made in the government's current review would need to be supported
IN an age when top footballers are multi-millionaires, you could be forgiven for wondering why charities exist to support retired stars. But go back 50 years and the rewards were not nearly the same. "Life was a battle when players were on £2 per week
TEACHER Stuart Bowman cannot leave his front door without bumping into his former pupils. It is hardly surprising, considering the physical education teacher has spent 33 years at Smithills School. But now at the age of 57, Mr Bowman, is hanging up
DISCUSSIONS are taking place in a bid to avert industrial action in libraries including those in Leigh and Atherton. The talks over proposals to introduce more flexible terms and conditions for all library staff took place between Wigan Leisure and
SQUADS of fat fighters have been set up in Bolton in the battle against childhood obesity. They will be sent into schools to keep a check on pupils. Children will be weighed while they are in the reception class and also in Year Six - the last before
THE Christ Church Players, in Heaton, are putting the finishing touches to their next show, the classic whodunit, Wanted -One Body. Greenacres is family home to the late Charles Barraclough and the icing on the cake for his future heirs. But who stands
BUZZ Hawkins, the creator of The Bradshaws, will bring his creations to life in Standing Up For The Bradshaws. The show is on at Stand Unitarian Chapel, Ringley Road, Whitefield, on February 23, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £6 and are available from 07815
THE Met, in Bury, enjoyed two sell-out seasons in 2006 and its newly-released programme for Spring 2007 promises more of the same. The theatre programme for the spring includes the Penny Dreadful theatre company's The Bitches Ball, on February 7, a
ST Paul's Players, in Adlington, have had some welcome support for their next production, The Witches of Eastwick. Jill Heeks, the publicity officer for the society, has been presented with a cheque for £250 from the Royal Bank of Scotland. The RBS
A FARMER who left dozens of animal carcasses rotting on his land has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service. James Lowe, aged 30, of Holts Farm, Bromley Cross, pleaded guilty to failing to dispose of animal by-products, when he appeared
COMEDIAN Dave Spikey is giving his support to Fairtrade Fortnight later this month, with the challenge "I've changed, how about you?" The theme of this year's Fairtrade Fortnight, which runs from February 26 to March 11, is "Change Today Choose Fairtrade
COUNTERFEIT vodka containing lethal chemicals could be in circulation across Bolton. A woman bought two bottles -which carry with the logo of genuine brand, Kirov - from a man who had a batch in the boot of his car. It is feared the booze could be from
A WAR has broken out over the provision of a skatepark for Bolton's teenagers after Tory leaders announced their own plans for a town centre venue. Conservative councillors believe the amount the town's Labour rulers have pledged to spend on a skatepark
TWO football stars of the past will be accompanying the European Champions League trophy when it comes to Middlebrook tomorrow. David Fairclough and David Johnson, Liverpool heroes of the 1970s, will join the cup at the charity screening of Goal 2 at
UNDERAGE drinkers are being targeted in a crackdown in Radcliffe. Council officers and police, using mobile CCTV cameras, plan to catch adults responsible for buying drink for children and rogue off-licence shops who sell to under-18s. The four-week
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY of former terror chief Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair is to be published next month. The book - entitled Mag Dog - will chronicle his rise through the Ulster Defence Association, which saw him become one of Northern Ireland's most feared men
PEOPLE living near an unspoiled moorland beauty spot say plans for a stable would set a dangerous precedent for developing the land. Landowner John Mercer is appealing against Bolton Council's decision to reject his bid to build a stable for five horses
MORE than 40 years ago, auxiliary nurse Francis Grundy started her first shift. And four decades later, she says she is far from finishing her last. The grandmother-of-two, originally from Northern Ireland, began her career at Hulton Lane Hospital in
RESIDENTS are being urged to make use of a neighbourhood police team. Three police officers and three police community support officers have been based at the police post in Pavilion Square, off Cricketer's Way, in Westhoughton town centre, from 9.30am
BUS bosses have been criticised for threatening to withdraw three services in the area within a few weeks of putting up fares. First is reviewing services 95, 553 and 554 after claiming the numbers of passengers using these services are lower than those
BLOOMIN' eck, Janice, what have you done to yourself? "Coronation Street" will never be the same again since Janice Battersby, alias actress Vicky Entwistle, found fitness and chucked out the chip pan. She's lost weight, toned up and made a best-selling
ONE thing is very plain from the tragic death of local man Adrian Fletcher in Mexico - the man was much-loved. The 34-year-old from Little Lever plunged from the 14th floor of a Mexico hotel after a large group had flown to the resort to attend a friend's
A TEENAGE charity champion has found a place to hold a fundraising wrestling tournament. Chris McWilliam, aged 15, appealed for help to find a venue for the event, which he has organised to raise cash for Epilepsy Action. Bosses at Rumworth Hall, in
THERE has simply got to be a better way of making Bolton's main roads safer than reducing them to one lane. Crompton Way is the latest to be earmarked for this but it's hard to see how anyone who has witnessed rush-hour gridlock at Moss Bank Way -
IF you're looking for an anti-role model for today's young females switch on to "WAGS Boutique" on ITV2 on Tuesday evenings. It's all about two groups of footballers' wives or girlfriends pitted against each other to see who can run the most successful
IT'S disappointing to see that Asda's Burnden store is stocking size-zero clothes. The latest range is aimed at females aged from 13 to 21 and starts at size 4, which is basically stick-thin. Asda is a successfully family-oriented organisation and has
WELL done to young Joe Cowie and his supporters and to Bolton's councillors for the go-ahead on a skatepark for the town. Council bosses have earmarked a site in the town centre and set aside £75,000 out of next year's budget to build one after a concerted
OFFICE workers and school pupils are being urged to leave their good fashion sense at home in order to raise money for the Garden of Tranquillity appeal. Bolton Hospice is organising a bad tie day on February 16, in a bid to raise as much as possible
THE powers that be have a funny way of attempting to persuade us to use public transport. At the moment, there appear to be particularly long build-ups of traffic in and around Bolton, and not just in rush-hour. Too many people are using their cars
LOVE is in the air for couples who will be put in the spotlight in a Valentine's exhibition. Enduring Love is a display of photographs featuring 20 couples, with a combined marital age of over 500 years, at Urbis, in Manchester. The display will feature
FOR too long hard working hospital staff have been subject to anti-social behaviour and general abuse - often from the very people they are trying to help. Sadly what happens in the Accident and Emergency department of the hospital is just a microcosm
I READ the article in The Bolton News, "Who can fit into a size 4?", February 2, and it really upset me. I would like to point out that the quote made in the article, "no normal 18-year-old could weigh that much naturally", is untrue. I am 20-years-old
SUPERFIT Rachel Edwards is taking part in a charity run in memory of her late father, who died of a heart attack after being set upon by a gang of youths. Rachel, aged 28, is to compete in the Lostock 6, a 10-kilometre run, for the second successive
AS a Mancunian it appears to me we have the supercasino only because London has the Olympic Games. Personally speaking, I think it would have been better all round if our friends in Blackpool had won. Manchester is now a great place to shop and . .
I AM writing with regard to the recent NHS advertisement boards which have appeared in connection with the Stop Smoking campaign. These are placed on billboards in various locations, showing a man with what appears to be a fishing hook pulling on his
TELEVISION weatherman Fred Talbot has taken over from the late Fred Dibnah as president of the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal Society. Mr Talbot, best known for leaping about on a floating map of the British Isles in Liverpool docks, has a long standing
I MUST agree with the sentiments expressed by Mr Hornby on the recent library changes. At a time when we are threatened with more cuts to reduce the increase in council tax, why did the executive member allow this expensive and totally unnecessary
I SEEK your kind help with a project I am undertaking on behalf of the United Nations Memorial Cemetery at Busan, South Korea. The authorities there are attaching photos of British servicemen who are either interred at the cemetery or have no known
A POPULAR footpath at Rivington will be closed for three weeks to allow water supplier United Utilities to modernise its reservoirs. Diversions will be in place between Horrobin Lane and Knowsley Lane when preparation work starts this month ahead of
SHOULD we really give up flying? Regarding the programme predicting disastrous consequences on the environment should plane journeys continue to increase. What will happen is the progressing trend will inevitably bring a collapse in fuel supplies from
BEING born in January 1945, I am old enough to have known survivors of the greatest war known to mankind, and these include a Dambuster, men from D-Day and Cassino, and also from Leningrad and Stalingrad, heroes every one of them. I also knew a man
BURY are ready to reopen the row over their controversial expulsion from this season's FA Cup. According to reports in a national newspaper the Gigg Lane club are looking into the possibility of seeking compensation from the Football Association after
Atherton Cricket Club is holding a sporting evening with Ronnie Irani at Leigh Masonic Hall on Saturday, February 24. Boltonian Irani, the Essex captain and former Lancashire and England player, will be the speaker at the mixed event which begins at
Atherton Cricket Club hold their annual general meeting in the cricket pavilion on Monday at 7.30pm.
The draw for the Atherton Charity Cup will take place at Atherton Collieries on Thursday, February 15, at 8pm. All clubs participating are to be present at the draw, and are asked to bring £25 entry fee and their Lancashire Football Association number
John Charlson has been elected the new president of the Bolton Cricket Association. Mr Charlson, who has been chairman of the league for the last 10 years, takes over from Tom Boardman who has served as president for the last decade. Frank Jackson steps
ICE bandits have stolen 20 vehicles in Greater Manchester in just two days. The vehicles, including one in Bolton and another in Bury, were stolen when the drivers left them unattended with the keys in the ignition and engines running while defrosting
EL-HADJI Diouf has slammed Senegal football chiefs as "amateurs" after leading a player boycott of tonight's international friendly. The Wanderers striker, who is captain of the national team, pulled out of the Teranga Lions' game against Benin in France
A RARE European eagle owl has been spotted again in Bolton. The bird of prey does not live naturally in the UK and is believed to have escaped captivity. As reported in The Bolton News, it was first seen on Monday last week perching on the top of a
A FIRST birthday is always a special occasion - but for one Bolton family it is a day they feared they would never see. Samuel Crompton was born 13 weeks prematurely and he was so small that he could fit into the palm of his mother Michelle's hand.
A SPORTS organisation is holding a high-profile event to raise money in memory of a young football referee who died last year. Horwich-born teacher Steve Allon, aged 34, died from a heart attack when he collapsed during a 200-metre run as he took a fitness
OUTSPOKEN Labour MP Diane Abbott says her claim on television that Bolton Council "dump all their Asians on one estate" was taken out of context. She said her comments, made after former Tory MP Michael Portillo suggested Britain should dismantle multi-culturalism
A WOMAN who fled to America after assaulting an 11-month-old baby has been jailed for life. Nicola Radford, aged 21, of Haweswater Avenue, Higher Ince, Wigan, was found guilty of four counts of causing grievous bodily harm at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday
A FIRE outside a Radcliffe mill is still smouldering - nearly two weeks after it began. The 6ft-deep pile of rubbish, which includes rags and shoes, first caught light at on Friday, January 26, outside Pioneer Mill in Milltown Street, which now houses
DRIVERS are being warned to take care and plan their journeys following forecasts of sub zero temperatures and snow tonight and tomorrow. In Bolton, 13 gritters are on stand-by to spread salt on to motorways and trunk roads around the town. The region
A HEALTH centre has been thrown into chaos after being targeted by arsonists. Fire ripped through a doctor's office at the Halliwell Health and Children's Centre in the early hours of yesterday, causing widespread damage. Staff have been forced to reschedule
