BEHIND every great team is an unsung hero. The great France team that won the World Cup and European Championships had Dider Deschamps, ‘The Water Carrier’, while the all-conquering Manchester United team that won the treble had Denis Irwin. There are
VALENCIA have made a bid to snatch Arsenal youngster Carlos Vela from under Wanderers' noses. The Spanish club have emerged as serious rivals to sign the 21-year-old, with reports suggesting they are ready to take him on loan for the season, with a view
5 YEARS AGO SAM Allardyce announced he would not speak to BBC Radio Five Live in a furious response to his Bolton team being labelled “ugly” by controversial commentator Alan Green. The unprecedented boycott followed Green’s on-air comments during Wanderers
THE main train line between Bolton and Manchester was shut following a gas cylinder blaze. The fire broke out at a body shop off Manchester Road at 11am. Police cordoned off access to Orlando Bridge and the footbridge from Thynne Street
THE best team will win this Ashes series – and the introduction of technology has helped to achieve the correct outcome. Few can argue that England have played the best cricket over the five matches, and they have been helped along the way by the decision
WHY have our black bins not been emptied again? We have had only one collection of general waste in the past six weeks. The recycling team seem to manage our road in all weather conditions so what excuse does the black bin team have? If our road
I am writing about the rubbish (being the ultimate word) service we are not receiving from Bolton Council. Four weeks on the trot now, our bins in Sunny Garth have not been emptied. I can understand whilst the snow was here that they did not come
HAVE never contacted the paper before, but today I feel enough is enough. The subject of this letter is our wonderful refuse collection service — 2010 saw bins unemptied on several occasions with calls to the council by myself and neighbours
A COUPLE of images stick in my mind from recent news bulletins during the Christmas period. The first was of a Virgin Atlantic passenger jet stranded on the runway at Heathrow airport. The airplane and runway was covered in snow. Keeping it company
M W Greenhalgh talks about parents buying gifts for teachers and then turns this in to a political soap box for the NUT. He links the Coalition to the banking crisis saying it was the Government that allowed the bankers to run free. If he would
I REFER to two recent letters concerning profits made by companies, indicating that to make a profit was somehow immoral. What utter nonsense. Companies exist to make a profit by providing goods or services that people want, at a price they can
THE complaint (about the goose) from Annette Marie Stuart on December 7 can be put down to a misunderstanding — the National Call Centre in Sheffield (which deals with the whole of England and Wales) can be excused for not knowing that a particular
A GANG of criminals is targeting Bolton households in a bid to con them out of their savings. The crooks are operating a council tax scam in which they try to trick people into handing over their personal details. It involves fraudsters posing
CARING Claire Green is leading a drive to change the lives of hundreds of Indian children. For the former nurse is behind efforts to send a team of medical experts to the impoverished nation where they will operate on youngsters born with cleft
BUSINESSES in Bolton are optimistic about the future, according to the latest Chamber of Commerce economic survey. The survey, which is used by key decisionmakers, including the Bank of England, was completed by 622 businesses. The Chamber
A CORONER has paid tribute to a single mum of two who devoted her life to her sons. Deputy Coroner Alan Walsh said Dawn Whittingham’s sons “should be proud of their mother in the way she brought them up and devoted her life to them”. An inquest
TOWN Hall chiefs have said employees are “working tirelessly to get bin collections back on track after being told by the Government to get their act together. Communities minister Bob Neill has written to all council leaders to tell them that
THE number of burglaries in Radcliffe soared last year, despite extra efforts by the police to tackle the problem. There were 268 break-ins between January 1 and December 31, compared to 200 during the same period in 2009, an increase of 34
A PROMINENT Bolton priest is to take up a prestigious role after serving his Bolton flock for more than two decades. The Very Reverend Andriy Choma has been named the Vicar General of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the UK. Fr Choma, aged
A PASSION for music has seen teenager Thomas Hurst embark on a tour in America, perform in Europe and take to the one of the world’s most famous stages. Surprisingly the 17-year-old is not a famous musician but a member of a school band which
THE number of teenage drop-outs in Bolton is falling. Education bosses are celebrating as latest figures show that the numbers of 16-to-18-year-olds being labelled as NEETs — not in education, employment or training — is decreasing. They say this
YOUNGSTERS who enter St Thomas CE Primary School are guaranteed a good education. Ofsted inspectors found that pupils start the school with skills and abilities that are below, and in some cases, well below average. But by time they leave the
STAFF at an arson-hit school have been forced to stagger the return of pupils following the festive break. Yobs broke into Kearsley Academy on Tuesday, December 28, and started a blaze, which gutted a classroom and left the newly-refurbished
THERE were gasps, groans, and even a few retching noises. But unlike at premieres in Toronto and London, the audience at the preview screening in Bury of Danny Boyle’s latest film, 127 Hours, managed to stay seated throughout even the most
THE funeral of anti-war protester Bertie Lewis will take place next week. Chicago-born Mr Lewis, pictured, who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, died from a heart attack at the Royal Bolton Hospital on December 22. His
A TRIBUTE is being held to a popular Bolton dart’s player. Frank Smith was the manager of Lancashire Darts team for 30 years. He found out in September he had lung and liver cancer, and died 19 days later at Bolton Hospice. Mr Smith, who was
PATIENTS waiting for non-urgent surgery have had their operations cancelled because the Royal Bolton Hospital has been inundated with emergencies. About 90 operations have been called off this week alone as bosses at the hospital open more beds
HUNDREDS of mourners gathered to pay tribute to Michael Utley — the tragic backpacker whose life was cut short while he was travelling in Australia. There was standing room only at the emotional service at St Bartholomew’s Parish Church in Westhoughton
A STEPFATHER has spoken of his shock when he was told one of his friends had allegedly sexually abused his stepdaughter, a court was told. Bolton Crown Court heard that the stepfather discovered Smit Johnson in his stepdaughter’s bedroom after
A PROMISING young teacher who had “everything to live for” died after hanging himself following a row with his girlfriend. Andrew McNally was found dead on July 22 last year in his Bolton town centre flat by his head of department at Canon Slade
THE boss of a controversial recycling company claimed an Environment Agency official lied about problems at his firm after it was found guilty of breaching envi ronmental permit. Armst rongs Environmental Services in Chorley New Road, Horwich
A BURGLAR is being hunted by police after he went missing while he was on licence release from prison. Paul Rogers, aged 43, was jailed for 32 months after being convicted of burglary in October, 2008. He was released on licence in August last
TWO men beat up a schoolboy who they believed was bullying their sister, a court heard. The 15-year-old was headbutted, punched, kneed and stabbed with a screwdriver during the attack after Simon and Anthony Marsh confronted him outside his
