I reply to Paul Egan and the subject of child tax credits. Our policy has always been that we will stop tax credits to those earning over £50,000. There is no question of this. The debate is then about how much this would raise. Our figures come from
HILTON Tameside moved to second in the Premier Division with a 5-4 victory at Hilton A. Jake Shaw won his three matches to hit top spot in the top 10 competition. Ron Pennington and Andy Michnowiec each won two games for the losers. Little Lever A’
CRICKET: Bolton Association club Astley and Tyldesley have signed Lancashire Under-19s opening bowler Joe Hawke as professional for next season. Hawke has joined the Gin Pit club from Lowerhouse in the Lancashire league.
A HOUSING estate that is plagued by drugs, violence and yobs could be on the mend, after a team of social regeneration experts was sent in to sort it out. Community workers in The Pungle estate in Westhoughton say crack and heroin addiction are rife,
CHILDREN from a Bolton school told the Christmas story through song and dance to entertain the residents at a nursing home. Year one youngsters at Sharples Primary School visited Hyde Lea Nursing Home in Sharples Park to spread festive cheer within their
NHS Bolton and the Royal Bolton Hospital have pledged to work together to cut costs, as they face an unprecedented challenge to manage their finances. Both trusts are having to save millions of pounds to balance their books this year.
A TRADITIONAL panto with a twist was performed at Brandwood School by year six pupils, aged 10 and 11. The youngsters wanted to perform Dick Whittington after a theatre group went into the school in October so impressed them that they wanted to do their
A MOTORIST was hit in the face with a brick by a violent robber. The 25-year-old man was sitting in his car when the attacker struck. The robber opened the driver’s door, punched the man in the head and tried to snatch the car keys.
WHEN it comes to wrapping Christmas presents, few do it better than Guide Dogs for the Blind volunteers. Each year, they help Bolton shoppers with their wrapping and some gifts are more difficult to disguise than others. Senior district
TEMPERS have flared and voices have been raised in the Wanderers dressing room recently — but Kevin Davies argues his club are no different to any other in the land. Stories of unrest behind the scenes in football seem to be cropping up on
CHILDREN got a festive treat when they received a visit from Father Christmas and the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton, Cllr Norman and Delyse Critchley. The trio visited the wards of the Royal Bolton Hospital yesterday, greeting youngsters and handing out
The Government has issued safety warnings as the heaviest snowfall of the season crept in. And the chances of a white Christmas continued to "hang in the balance", said experts. A light dusting across south east England on Thursday afternoon
1707: Charles Wesley, hymn-writer and prolific preacher, was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire. 1737: Antonio Stradivari, violin-maker, died in his nineties at Cremona, Italy. 1865: The United States officially abolished slavery with the ratification of
THE years may pass, but apart from those taking part, Nativity plays have changed little. This particular one was put on in 1965 by children of Smithill’s Dean Church of England School, Collier’s Row, Bolton.
10 YEARS AGO From the Evening News December 18, 1999 NOISY teenagers Ryan Atherton and Simon Balcock kept quiet for six hours to raise money for a children’s hospice. The 14-year-olds were touched when they watched a video of sick youngsters at
JOBS in Bolton and Rochdale have been secured after a regional grant helped a local company buy a business. Nineteen jobs at Dresser Mouldings in Bolton were secured along with 22 posts at Rochdale-based Timbmet. Dresser Mouldings was awarded a £230,000
THE reputation of bankers has been tarnished “seemingly beyond repair” by the financial crisis, City minister Lord Myners said. The minister said taxpayers were “justifiably angry” at the billions spent on rescuing banks which “got rich by taking reckless
TEAM work has paid off for a group of legal eagles from Bolton. The fraud ring team at Keoghs won “Team of the Year” at the Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury Awards in London. The win follows on the firm’s success at last year’s ceremony when Andrew
A CONSUMER website has called on the Office of Fair Trading to continue the fight to help people reclaim unauthorised overdraft charges. MoneySavingExpert.com said it had taken legal advice that suggested consumers could challenge the fairness of the
BATHROOM and kitchen distributor Mark Two has beaten off stiff competition to win a national customer service award. The Bolton company triumphed over fellow finalists Manchester Airport, Aviva and Thames Water to scoop the “best use of technology” award
IF proof were needed that there is quality football played in Bolton Sunday League’s Premier Division then Smokies Farnworth are it. The lads, based at Wharton playing fields near St Ann’s Hospice in Little Hulton, are aiming to win the league
A LOVE of American-style waffles has led a woman to open a new business which will have two separate identities. During the day Butterflies on Higher Bridge Street, Bolton, will be open as a café serving traditional American waffles, pancakes and burgers
WE used to hear a lot about the great divide when discussing the United Kingdom, indicating that up ’ere in t’north it was mostly flat caps, whippets and Woodbines, while our fellow Brits in the infinitely more salubrious south enjoyed a much better income
I WOULD like to thank all the people with various Thornton addresses for returning a package addressed to me bearing the wrong postcode, to the Royal Mail, and to Christine who checked the telephone directory and contacted me. The package has now arrived
LOOKING at the Letters on December 8, I came across Dave Platt’s missive about the EU. I couldn’t agree more with him, especially where the use of the military is concerned and the lack of backing from countries like France over Afghanistan. Mr Platt
CHUNG-YONG Lee believes there is still plenty of room for improvement before he can truly claim he has arrived in the Premier League. The South Korea international has been a big hit at the Reebok since his £2.2million summer move from FC Seoul. His
Mr Tilley always writes a cracking letter on the subject of MPs’ expenses (December 14). I also noted in the same edition the result of The Bolton News internet vote found that 92pc of voters did not think enough was being done to clean things up.
REGARDING Farnworth town centre, all there there seems to be is takeaways and hairdressers. Farnworth isn’t a priority with Bolton Council, it seems. The Christmas tree and lights are disgusting. No effort has been made whatsoever — and the market could
DAVID Cameron has tried to play down his background and be a man of the people. The public could be forgiven for thinking his association with the Bullingham Club at Oxford was some sort of official society. Coming from a privileged background myself
On behalf of Bolton Samaritans, we would like to thank all the generous people who have supported our fundraising events this year. We need around £22,000 every year to keep our service available. We hope all readers enjoy the festive season, though
THE photo in the Bolton News last Saturday brought back many happy memories. Our family moved to Montserrat Estate (now Johnson Fold) in 1952. The children from Bowland Drive and the estate, all played together and we spent many happy hours in and
I COULDN’T believe that the whole front page of Tuesday, December 8’s The Bolton News being taken up with the headline and picture of a bearded man being banned from amateur boxing. A further column on page two and then The Bolton News supporting this
I HAVE watched the “Go Ape Controversy” from the sideline for a few years, not joining in because I have other battles to fight. However, I must now voice my opinion. Over the years I have come to the opinion that the opponents of the Go Ape at Rivington
I WAS on the lobby of Bolton Council when over 200 residents of Over Hulton tried to persuade Bolton Council to reject the plans to develop part of the Cutacre site into an industrial estate. Once again, the council failed the people of Bolton, and the
I HAVE been prompted to write by the letter about Cutacre in The Bolton News on December 14 called “Public opinion ignored”, as my experience would tend to confirm that comment. Along with a couple of hundred other residents, I attended the council meeting
TOWN hall finance chiefs were last night waiting to hear if they would get back every penny they had invested in doomed Icelandic banks. The authority had £4 million invested in the Heritable Bank, the UK arm of the doomed Landsbanki bank, and a further
A PUBLISHER is to donate royalties earned by a disgraced writer to a campaign which aims to raise £20,000 to transform a Bolton school. Former headteacher turned author Dean Hayes, aged 59, is serving a five-and-a-half-year jail sentence for
PETER Kay has added more nights to his record-breaking stand-up tour. The good news is that they will all be in Manchester — but not until September 2011. The extra dates make it the biggest stand-up comedy tour in UK history, in terms of audience
TWO teenage burglars who ransacked a family home and stole nearly £2,000 worth of electrical items have been jailed. Callan Warren and Luke Bracegirdle turned the house in Kildare Street, Farnworth, upside down searching for items they could steal and
A DRINK driver has avoided going to jail after ignoring a court order to carry out unpaid work. A judge told Kelsey Beaumont, aged 21, he was a “lucky boy” after deciding to give him a second chance. Beaumont, of Church Road, Smithills, was given a
BOLTON Lions are working tirelessly to ensure hundreds of struggling local families have an extra special time this Christmas. Each year the charity’s workers put their own festive preparations on hold to help youngsters who, without them,
POLICE have released this CCTV image of man wanted in connection with the theft of £220 in cash from Bargain Booze in Bolton Road, Adlington, was targeted on Wednesday, November 25 at around 8pm. The man is described as white, around 5ft 7ins, medium
BRIAN Barry-Murphy has told his team-mates to stop shipping the goals that have blighted their recent performances. The Shakers have conceded three to both Morecambe and Dagenham already this month, meaning they are not getting the results their overall
How has your area been affected by the snow? We would like to see your pictures and videos. TEXT: Start your message with BONEWS, followed by a space, telling us who you are and where you are from, and providing a brief description of your
BOLTON Council controls 229 CCTV cameras across the borough, according to a new report out today. The research, conducted by Big Brother Watch — a campaign group fighting intrusions on privacy and protecting liberties — says the number of cameras operated
VANDALS tried to ruin Christmas — when they smashed festive lights on two trees in Farnworth. Bulbs hanging off the lower branches of the Christmas trees outside the town hall and another tree in the town centre were damaged at the weekend. The vandalism
A top-class field of 11 has been declared for the Long Walk Hurdle tomorrow, a line-up that would be worthy of the Cheltenham Festival — never mind Ascot in December. Big Buck’s, currently the outstanding long-distance hurdler, will go off a hot favourite
RADCLIFFE Borough go to Lancaster City tomorrow hoping to build on their encouraging derby victory over UniBond Division One North rivals Leigh Genesis. But they travel with the spectre of disciplinary action against star striker Jody Banim, who is facing
CHRISTMAS trees are to be planted across Bolton in a move to save cash and help the environment. Town hall chiefs currently spend more than £21,000 per year providing cut Christmas trees at sites across the borough. The most
ATHERTON Collieries are hoping a touch of glamour helps boost their gate for tomorrow’s First Division clash with Irlam. The Alder House club have hired promotional girls to add to the festive atmosphere on a weekend notorious for low crowds. First
GARY Megson hopes to harness Paul Robinson’s leadership qualities to drive Wanderers on this season. The experienced full-back has had a slow start to his career at the Reebok, but returned to the side with a bang against Manchester City at
A TEACHER suspended for waging a campaign against his school last night said: “I have no regrets.” Geography teacher Ian Ashmore has been suspended from teaching after the General Teaching Council ruled he was guilty of professional misconduct. Mr Ashmore
BRENDA PONTING BURTON from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I was quite intrigued by your website, as I just recently found out that most of my ancestors were (b. in the Bolton area ,most in Farnworth. I am currently trying to locate anyone who may have
Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable, Terry Sweeney, who has responsibility for domestic abuse and protecting vulnerable people, said: “Katie’s death was tragic and my thoughts and sympathies remain with her family. “The IPCC investigation
Naseem Malik, IPCC Commissioner for the North West, said: “Katie was horrifically murdered by Brian Taylor. He deprived his own children of their mother, apparently due to his own ridiculous jealousy and paranoia. “It is clear that Katie and Taylor’s
The IPCC’s inquiry focused on the period Katie returned to Bolton in June, 2007, up until her murder in October, 2008. Eleven incidents were logged over that 16 month period. Incident 1 (June 10, 2007) Katie rang the police to advise she had been
A 12-YEAR-OLD boy was last night being treated for a serious head injury after he was hit by a car in Ramsbottom. The boy was crossing Nuttall Lane when he was struck by a Land Rover at 8.40pm on Wednesday. He is in Alder Hey Children
A NURSE who performed an intimate examination on a 15-year-old girl has been suspended pending a full disciplinary hearing into the matter. Damien Bible, aged 27, carried out a swab test on the teenager for his own “sexual gratification” while
POLICE in Bolton have been slammed for their “total failure” to intervene in a troubled relationship which ended in the brutal murder of a young mother. A damning report rel-eased today by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)
ZAT Knight has been challenged to maintain the standards he has set for himself after bouncing back onto the Reebok scene. The big centre-back’s indifferent form cost him his place in the Wanderers back four, but he returned with performances
RUGBY LEAGUE: Leigh Centurions have continued their recruitment drive for the new season with the signing of 18-year-old second row prospect Sam Hopkins from local amateur club Leigh East. Hopkins’ arrival comes two weeks after the Centurions issued
