MORE than 100 past and present members of Regent Park Golf Club braved the torrential rain last Sunday to celebrate the club's 75th anniversary with a specially organised competition open to all past members. Competitors travelled from far afield to
The BGA League's season is reaching its climax in the race for the championship play-offs. With the top two teams in each section going through to the semi-finals, both Old Links and Chorley look certain to qualify as current leaders. After early setbacks
A record number of people stubbed it out in BEFORE the smoking ban introduced on Sunday. The number of people opting to quit smoking has soared by 311 per cent in June, compared to the same month last year. A total of 262 contacted Bolton's Stop Smoking
Bolton's famous former town centre elephants have a new home at the hospital. The sculptures, which stood in Newport Street for 25 years, are to be cleaned up and housed in a specially created landscaped garden at the Royal Bolton Hospital. Town Hall
A STOLEN 4x4 crashed into a supermarket - sparking fears of a terrorist attack. Shoppers dived for cover as the Toyota Land Cruiser smashed into bollards and a window at Asda in Farnworth yesterday. It narrowly missed a mum and her baby when it "shot
A FAILED asylum seeker has been found guilty of hoarding terror manuals on his home computer. Omar Altimimi, aged 37, was convicted of four counts of possessing computer files connected with the preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism, following
BURY'S rising ring star Scott Quigg has been tipped for the very top by his coach Brian Hughes - the same man who has moulded Chorley boxer Michael Jennings into a world champion. Featherweight Quigg won his second professional bout in style on Saturday
A BOWLING club has been given permission to extend its clubhouse. Astley Bridge Bowling Club in Ivy Bank Road will build a single-storey extension at the side and rear of the building. Bolton Council's planning and highways committee also gave the bowlers
Wanderers have paved the way for midfielder, Idan Tal, to return to Israel. Tal, who joined Wanderers from Maccabi Haifa last summer, has been given permission to speak to Beitar Jerusalem.
A man killed when his car hit the central reservation of the M60 near the junction with the East Lancashire Road at Worsley has been named. Nigel Sutcliffe, aged 51, of Croft Head Drive in Milnrow, Rochdale was travelling clockwise along the M60 at about
Police in Bolton have made a direct appeal to a missing pensioner to get in contact with his family. John Nuttall, 74, of Higher Wilson Farm, High Rid Lane, Lostock, was last seen by his family at his home address shortly after midnight on Monday.
A driver had a lucky escape after his car left a road at a notorious accident hotspot, flipped over several times and smashed into a stone wall. The accident happened in heavy rain on a bend in Belmont Road between Abbey Village and Belmont as 23-year-old
Proud residents are to mark the 20th anniversary of Bolton's historic clock tower moving to a new home. Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority has invested more than £30,000 in a project to restore the tower and repair the clock mechanism
The North-west's most famous bookie has pitched Wanderers in a head-to-head season-long battle with local rivals Manchester City. www.betfred.com, owned by The Bolton News Friday columnist Fred Done, has Wanderers 11-8 ON to finish above City (evens
DISHES from Somalia, Burma and Greece will be among those cooked up by Great Lever residents for an event celebrating the area's diversity. The annual "World of Food" event on Saturday will be combined with the Great Lever Neighbourhood Management's
Manager Mike Watkinson has named the 12-man Lancashire squad to play Derbyshire Phantoms in the Twenty20 Cup at The County Ground tomorrow. This is the same Lightning squad that defeated Durham Dynamos by 39 runs at Chester-le-Street on Friday
If you happened to drive past the Soundhouse on Monday July 2, you may have noticed the array of teenagers clad in a mixture of luminous tights, spray-painted T-shirts and long hair. They were all there to witness the Big Shenanigans', a concert consisting
YOUNG musicians from Bolton and its German and French twin towns of Paderborn and Le Mans will be in town this weekend for a feast of spectacular orchestral music. The event at the Albert Halls at 7.30pm on Sunday is part of the trios' twinning celebrations
TEACHERS in Bolton have been rewarded for going above and beyond the call of duty. Michael Whitmarsh and Annette Thomas were two of 12 stars of education at this year's 2007 Teaching Awards for the North-west. Mr Whitmarsh, who teaches at Bolton School
A SHOPLIFTER has been jailed for seven months for stealing hundreds of pounds worth of goods - including Prison Break DVDs. Darren Yates, aged 35, of Bashall Street, Halliwell, stole the DVDs, worth £130, from HMV in Bolton town centre on June 20 and
TWO budding young journalists with a passion for science found themselves making headlines when they entered a national competition. Bolton School pupils Yasmine Surrendramohan and Akshaya Kumar were among hundreds of teenagers who submitted entries
A GOLF club in Lostock has been given the go-ahead to extend its course despite objections from residents. Regent Park Golf Club, off Links Road, says the plan will help its junior golf academy become a flagship enterprise to be copied by others. The
RELATIVES of England football star Owen Hargreaves cannot wait to see him line up at Old Trafford after his £17 million transfer to Manchester United. He may have been born in Canada and spent his career to date in Germany with Bayern Munich, but the
AN allotment scheme designed to engage problem youths has been given a £1,000 grant. The cash will help project leaders reach out to more youngsters who they feel would benefit from the scheme. Budding gardeners will get the chance to plant, cultivate
A WOMAN claimed that more than £10,000 found in the home she shared with her drug-dealing brothers was cash she had saved for a pilgrimage to the Hajj. Rowshonara Miah said she and her mother had been storing the money in a bedside cabinet because their
A SPORTS club manager stole more than £1,800 from his employers after hiding from them the fact he had served time for theft. Mark Glover, aged 31, of Royal Court Drive, Bolton, did not mention his conviction for stealing from a previous workplace when
BOLTON has fostered new links with the Far East, with the signing of an agreement to promote economic and commercial co-operation. A signing ceremony took place at the Town Hall yesterday as part of a three-day visit by an eight-strong trade delegation
BREWER Scottish & Newcastle has warned that wet weather and the lack of a World Cup sales boost would hit its UK profits in the first half of the year. The Kronenbourg and John Smith's maker said the poor weather and the absence of a major football tournament
PUBS and brewing group Greene King said it was well placed to deal with the smoking ban in England and Wales after posting better than expected profits. The group, which operates the Hungry Horse and Old English Inns brands, revealed a 17 per cent rise
BUSINESS services specialists the PNC Group is offering a free health and safety check to local companies of all sizes. PNC Group, based in Mawdsley Street, Bolton, will also produce a free development plan to show businesses what they need to do to
THE UK's largest van hire group has increased its profits by more than a third after reaping the benefits of acquisitions. Darlington-based Northgate boosted underlying pre-tax profits by 34 per cent to £79.3 million for the year to April 30, helped
ENGINEERING giant Rolls-Royce boasted "encouraging" trading underpinned by a raft of new orders for its aerospace division. The Bristol-based company's aerospace business unveiled a bumper haul of orders with a list value of £7.5 billion during last
THE sale of New Look looks to have collapsed after reports that the last remaining bidders had refused to meet the £1.8 billion price-tag for the high street retailer. It is understood that Nectar card owner Warburg Pincus, which had teamed up with US
A FORMER Bolton teacher has launched a bid to make being clever cool. Ian Fisher, a maths teacher turned education consultation, has designed a website called Boffin Squad. Mr Fisher is managing director of Bolton-based Ten Ticks and says traditional
AMID all the fuss about the Spice Girls getting back together, I'm just wondering if we really need them now. More than a decade ago, Girl Power was a new concept and their full-on style of pop, fashion and "philosophy" was happily embraced by young
ANYONE doubting the instructions given daily to Bolton's parking wardens has only to glance at what they brought in for the council in just one year. From April last year to May this year, they raised more than £1 million by slapping £60 parking tickets
LET'S hope the new Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, makes the right decision when it comes to choosing the super-centres for maternity care. The Royal Bolton Hospital is rightly in the frame for one of this region's, along with St Mary's
WHAT responsible father daring to call himself that would refuse to help maintain his child? Even allowing for callous selfishness, you would imagine there would not be that high a number. Yet, as the first 40 named and shamed on the Child Support Agency
IT sounds like foul-mouthed superchef Gordon Ramsay bit off more than he could chew with four Lancashire lasses. Judith Hilton, Susan Lees and Sandra Drummond, from Ramsbottom, and Justine French, from Edgworth, finished top scorers when they appeared
WHEN a whole community gets together to tackle a problem, it is already half-way to being solved. Villagers in Chew Moor, between Lostock and Westhoughton, have taken to the roadside armed with speed guns to monitor motorists driving too fast through
IT is a shame that iron gates are having to be installed to prevent anti-social behaviour from taking place in Bolton alleyways. The fact is, though, that something has to be done to stop gangs and drug dealers from congregating and using them to cause
IT is good to hear that the parking adjudicator has ruled in favour of the hard pressed motorist in what could be a landmark case. Lynne Pilkington was furious to find she had received a ticket after she had parked her car over the parking bay white
WITH reference to The Watchsmith's Secret, The Bolton News, June 27. I have known a millionaire for 40 years, but never had a clue- Ken kept "hush hush" about it. We worked together for many years. I remember the bad winters of the 1960s, but even Ken
HOW disgusted I was to read about the pathetic actions of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Performance Review Team in trying to catch out any firefighters sleeping on the floor during their official rest period (The Bolton News, June 15). These
THE ban on smoking is, I'm afraid, beginning to worry me. Not, I hasten to add, because of its effect on me personally; as a lifelong non-smoker whose eyes react unfavourably to cigarette smoke, it will be wonderful to return home after a night out without
I READ with much concern of the millions of pounds of unpaid council tax (June 23), and this must surely be one of the major causes of the council's cash flow problems. These money problems, we are told, were one of the reasons for last year's very large
I READ with interest the recent piece about the candidates bidding to defend Brian Iddon's Bolton South-east seat at the next election. In all likelihood, this will always be a Labour seat, meaning whoever gets it has the prospect of a job for life.
UNSEASONAL weather may have postponed the traditional sports day at many schools, but it has not dampened the spirits of children at St James' CE Primary in Farnworth. Instead of sack and egg-and-spoon races, the children staged an X-Factor style show
IT was interesting to see the picture of St George's Road as it was in 1948 (Frank Elson's article). I would like to point out that although the spire has gone from what was then the St George's Road Congregational Church, the church itself (now St Andrew
PUPILS leaving Lever Park School in Horwich will be a step ahead of their peers when it comes to getting a job. The school has been given a £10,000 National Lottery grant to introduce vocational training for pupils at the special school for children
A COUPLE who wanted to fell two lime trees in the back garden of their Westhoughton home have been given the go-ahead to cut one down. Rebecca and Jeff Bridge, of Churnet Close, claimed the trees were diseased and could be dangerous in high winds. Their
A counselling service to help Muslims deal with a wide range of issues, such as depression, domestic problems and drug abuse, has been set up by the Bolton Council of Mosques. It offers free and confidential help from qualified counsellors, both male
ADULTS are being invited to go back to the classroom as part of Smithills School's Family Learning Week. They will be able to take part in lessons given by pupils, including food production, hair and beauty and camera skills. The week is aimed at encouraging
A THREAT to put the children of failed asylum seekers into care has been dropped following a Government U-turn. And campaigners have praised the role of The Bolton News in having the controversial piece of legislation, known as Section 9, put on hold
A MAN kicked his girlfriend in the face as she lay helpless on the floor of her office in Bolton town centre. Lee Reed, aged 20, attacked Joanne Allen after she complained when he took her car and gave it to another woman. Bolton magistrates heard that
A FATHER-to-be who threw stones at his pregnant partner has been spared jail. Anthony Everill, aged 20, of Wordsworth Avenue, New Bury, Farnworth, admitted assaulting his former partner, Crystal Ashby, on June 2. The court heard she was 12 weeks pregnant
TWO young men braved floods to trek across the country to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Matthew Burns, a Manchester University student from Horwich, and Gareth Pattenden, who works at the Bank of New York in Manchester and is from Westhoughton,
SMITHILLS School's senior brass band is making another trip to the United States. The world champions, fresh from two wins at the famous Saddleworth Whit Friday march contests, are set to embark on their third tour of America. The pupils and their musical
BUBBLE blowing youngsters at a Bolton school have helped burst a world record. Pupils at Lord Street Primary School in Horwich were among 33,265 schoolchildren nationwide involved in the attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people
A TEENAGER has denied stabbing a man to death in Bolton town centre. Jabar Ahmed, aged 19, of Campbell Street, Farnworth, yesterday gave evidence at Manchester Crown Court in the case in which he is accused of murdering 25-year-old Rabid Amin. The
A £100,000 bid to slam the gate on crime has been launched in Bolton. Alleyways blighted by anti-social behaviour are to be sealed off with iron gates. Residents will still access to the thoroughfares with their own keys, but they will be closed to
PHIL Gartside has hit back in the bitter war of words with Sam Allardyce, insisting he is neither sad, nor bitter. The former Wanderers boss, now managing Newcastle United, launched a stinging attack on his old chairman, claiming he had not been given
A driver is celebrating after winning a landmark parking victory in Bolton. And Tracey Pilkington's triumph could mean thousands of other parking fines are invalid, a campaigner for motorists claimed yesterday Miss Pilkington argued a ticket, slapped
A man admitted helping to load a "dodgy" television into a house, but claimed he played no part in a series of burglaries involving goods worth £75,000. Marius Baama, aged 28, said he was at home in Embla Walk, Burnden, looking after his three children
Police explosives experts were called to check out a suspicious van in Bolton town centre. Office workers called police after the white Renault Trafic appeared to be abandoned on double yellow lines in Breightmet Street shortly before 3pm yesterday.
About 25 staff were evacuated from a textile company when a section of the roof of a four-storey mill collapsed. Firefighters were called to Dewhusrt Dent Textiles at Union Mill, Arrow Street, Halliwell, at 3pm yesterday. An area of concrete supporting
A FOOTBALL club has been set up in the Highfield area of Farnworth to give kids a sporting outlet. Highfield FC have two teams who will play in the Bolton and Bury District Junior League next season. The first team to be set up was the under-11s with
