CLASS and controversy was the order of the evening at Farnworth Little Theatre for its latest production of Stanley Houghton's Independent Means. Written in 1908, it is hard to comprehend just how shocking a play of this kind would have been at
AMIR Khan was one of the many famous faces from the world of sport who were involved with the Great Manchester Run on Sunday. The former WBA boxing champion started the first three sets of runners in the 10km race, along with former Manchester
DAVID Ngog is on the lookout for a new club after his move to Swansea City did not pan out as planned – but life after Wanderers can be a tricky prospect for the modern day striker. The grass, as they say, is not always greener on the other side
MEMBERS of Westhoughton Town Council observed a minute's silence at a meeting in memory of the victims of the Soma mining disaster in Turkey. After a rescue operation finished, the death toll for Turkey's worst-ever mining disaster stood at 301
HAROON Khan's opponent has been named for his next fight on June 7. Khan, who has won his first four professional bouts in impressive style, will face 24-year-old Kyle King at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. The 23-year-old Bolton rising star
CHRIS Baxendale scored an unbeaten century to help fire reigning champions Farnworth into the quarter-finals of the Thwaites Hamer Cup. The opener carried his bat, hitting 18 fours in his 142 as the cup holders put on 248-5 from their 40 overs
A 78-YEAR-OLD woman escaped unhurt after her toaster caught fire when she left it on her cooker. Fire crews attended a house in Highgate Lane, Little Hulton, at 12.18pm on Friday after a woman had unknowingly left the toaster on her lit hob.
RAIL passengers are being urged to check train times after new timetables came into force yesterday. Transport bosses are keen that many of those travelling to and from work know what has changed. Visit nationalrail.co.uk to search for your journey
TEAMS are being invited to club together for a day of golf in aid of Reuben’s Retreat, which helps families and friends who have suffered the bereavement of a child or a youngster who have a life threatening illness. Great Lever and Farnworth Golf
BOLTON School Junior Boys’ football team will be playing at Wembley at the weekend. The youngsters will be taking part in the national Football League Trust Kids Cup Final on Saturday before the SkyBet Championship play-off final between QPR and
THE deadline to take part in this summer’s British Transplant Games in Bolton has now passed. The games will see 1,000 transplant athletes competing in a range of sporting events at venues across the borough from August 7 to 9. This week, a
DETAILS of Westhoughton’s special commemoration event for the centenary of the start of World War One have been finalised. Tickets are still available for the musical theatre production at Westhoughton High School on Saturday, July 19, at 2pm.
PEOPLE are invited to turn ‘mud to muscle’ at a fun event in Haslam Park. The event, which involves a range of outdoor activities in the park, is taking place on Thursday. All equipment is provided at this free event which is aimed at people
A MAJOR route through Bolton town centre will be reduced to one lane from next weekend for emergency sewer works. United Utilities needs to close two of the three lanes on Moss Bank Way, near the junction of the A666, Blackburn Road, from May 25
WESTHOUGHTON’S new mayor will be defending his seat on Bolton Council in the forthcoming local elections. Cllr Kevan Jones, pictured, is fighting for re-election in Westhoughton South, with Liberal Democrat town councillor David Wilkinson joining
A POLICE officer with short-term memory loss, who went missing on Thursday, has been found safe and well. Jon Percival, aged 43, of Greenleaf Close, Boothstown, was found near a friend’s house in Oldham on Saturday and will undergo an assessment
RETIRED water worker Joe Jazmik is set to star in the final episode of a documentary highlighting the work of United Utilities. Mr Jazmik, from Egerton, appears in Watermen: A Dirty Business tomorrow at 9pm on BBC Two. An average 1.7 million
TWO men on a motorbike carried out a smash-and-grab robbery at a Farnworth shop. The pair rode up to the window of Cash Converters in Market Street at 10am on Saturday and began smashing windows and putting valuables into a bag. Police cordoned
A FAMILY fun day in aid of a young boy who suffers from an agonising skin condition will take place on Saturday, May 31. The event will raise funds to support eight-year-old Rhys Williams, who suffers from epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a condition
RESIDENTS in Lostock are invited to a car boot sale next month. The event will be held at St Thomas and St John Church, in Tempest Road, on Saturday, June 7, at 10am. Those wanting to hire a stall pay £10 for the spot and are then allowed to
BOLTON Library is having a free screening of Ken Loach’s new documentary, The Spirit of ’45, on Friday, July 5, at 7pm. The documentary focuses on the 1945 general election and the creation of the welfare state by the Labour government of Clement
A MAN was rescued by firefighters after getting stuck while working on the roof of his home. Crews from Bury, Whitefield, Leigh and Ashton-under-Lyne were called to the mid-terraced house in Manchester Road, Blackford Bridge, at 2.15pm on Saturday
MUSIC from the 1980s will be played by Electro ’80s at the Roundhouse, Kenton Close, Halliwell, on Saturday, May 31. Tickets cost £5 on the door.
A KITCHEN was badly damaged after a pan of food was left unattended on the hob. Fire crews extinguished the blaze in a second floor flat in Water Street, Atherton, on Friday afternoon. The resident, a 59-year-old man, was not in at the time
BOLTON College in Deane Road will host an African Day celebration on Thursday. The event, from 11am to 4pm, has been organised by Smile of Hope, a project to raise awareness and promote integration in Greater Manchester.
HOPEFUL Tory MP Chris Green said more people can now get on the housing ladder thanks to Conservative politics. It comes as new figures show 86 Bolton people have used the Help To Buy scheme to receive an affordable mortgage. Mr Green, who
THERE will be plenty of half-term fun at Bolton Lads and Girls Club starting on May 27. Activities on offer include trips, football, outdoor climbing and much more for children aged eight to 12 years old. Early bookings attract a substantial
BOLTON Society for Blind People (BSBP) is holding an open day at its new sensory centre in Ainsworth Lane, Tonge Moor. The charity will be raising awareness about current and future services, promoting volunteering opportunities and offering the
BOLTON residents who are affected by noisy neighbours can get free information and advice at an open day on Wednesday. The open day will be held from 10am to 2pm at Kings Church in Millfield Road, Breightmet. It will feature workshops, a performance
WOMEN who have a good singing voice are invited to a women’s choir group meeting at St John's Methodist Church in Horwich tonight. The meetings take place between 7.30pm and 9.30pm every Monday. Women of all ages are welcome to come along and
A NEW theatre school will hold an open day in Little Lever today. Theatre Works, which teaches acting, singing and dancing for children aged four to 11, will be at St Matthew’s Church, Market Street, from 5.30pm to 6.30pm and entry is free.
PEOPLE interested in helping to reform offenders are being encouraged to attend a meeting aimed at launching a community project. Charity Redeeming Our Communities will be launching ROC Restore in Bolton — which aims to bring together victims and
A SOUTH American-themed event takes place at Bolton Library in Le Mans Crescent on Saturday, May 31. It is part of the library’s Super Saturdays series and includes activities for all the family, such as a free museum trail, crafts, storytelling
GREEN fingered children are being challenged to grow the “fattest sunflower face” by a national charity. The competition has been organised by bibic, which helps children and young people with conditions affecting their social, communication and
ST Paul’s Church in Holland Street, Astley Bridge, is holding its annual garden party next month. There will be musical performances, stalls, bric-a-bac, games, a magic show and face-painting. The free party will opened by the Mayor of Bolton
A 25-YEAR-OLD man is being hunted by police for allegedly breaching a restraining order. Paul Haycock is said to have breached the restraining order this month. Police said he has links to Leigh, Wigan and Atherton. Anyone with information
A 25-YEAR-old man died after being crushed while working at a welding company. Father-to-be Richard Calsen, known as Chard, suffered crush injuries and went into cardiac arrest at John Fowler and Son in Abbey Village. Police were seen inspecting
HEAVYWEIGHT star Tyson Fury wants to make Bolton the home of boxing champions. The unbeaten 25-year-old opened the new Team Fury gym in Halliwell Road last week with the dream of bringing world titles to the town. Along with fellow heavyweight
DOUGIE Freedman is ensuring a busier pre-season for his side this summer, after Wanderers announced their first four pre-season fixtures. The Whites played only four official warm-up games last year but have already matched that total with fixtures
A JUNIOR football club won a league and cup double — despite concerns over whether GCSE revision classes would scupper their chances. Westhoughton Rangers under-16s faced the prospect of having to concede a play-off final on Friday, as several
RYAN Lowe has made a dramatic return to Gigg Lane, signing a two-year deal with the Shakers. The fans favourite netted 53 goals in 97 appearances between 2009 and 2011, including the winner at Chesterfield that memorably earned promotion to League
IT has been a stressful 12 months for Celia Gaze, owner of the Wellbeing Farm in Edgworth. But, unlike her old job which forced her to sign off on the sick, she says her stress today is positive and driven by her passion to create the perfect sanctuary
A PLUCKY youngster was back sitting his all important SATs the day after being hit by a car. Eleven-year-old Bradley Spencer, a pupil at St Catherine’s CE Primary School in Horwich, suffered a broken nose and escaped with cuts and bruises following
A FORMER pub and hotel manager has been ordered to pay more than £12,000 for trading without having paid VAT securities. Matthew Chapman, aged 28, pleaded guilty to selling more than £5,000 worth of goods and services from the Strawbury Duck in
At the 2013 annual general meeting the Bolton League clubs voted to elect a management committee comprising four League officials, four other members elected from the member clubs plus umpires’ and junior representatives. The remit for the management
YOUNGSTERS went wild when TV star Crocodile Joe paid a visit to their class with some friends. The conservationist, from Atherton, brought milk snakes, corn snakes, burmese pythons, sudan plated lizards and a tarantula to Church Road Primary School
CHILDREN enjoyed the sunny weather on Saturday to take part in a playdays event. The event, which was laid on by Bolton Council, took place in Victoria Square and featured a range of activities, including hula hoops, croquet and skipping. Among
SCIENCE fiction fans across Bolton flocked to the Market Place shopping centre to get their hands on some rare collectibles. Famous sci-fi characters Darth Vader and Batman were also at the centre to have their pictures taken with excited fans.
A GRIEVING man threw a cupboard at a member of his girlfriend’s family - fracturing his nose - after a getting into a row at her home, a court heard. Michael Briggs had been drinking after attending his grandfather’s funeral on February 25 and
A £1.8 MILLION footbridge was officially opened to the public — six years after it was closed. Wilson’s Bridge, which runs over the River Croal in Kearsley, was rebuilt by United Utilities, after the old bridge was declared unstable in 2008.
THOUSANDS of people will head to polling stations across Bolton on Thursday to decide their representatives in the European Union. The elections — the first for five years — have been the subject of intense debate, with headlines dominated by UKIP
A DRUNKEN man who stabbed his partner in the knee with a kitchen knife has been given a suspended jail sentence. Bolton Crown Court heard how John McCabe had been in a relationship with Louise McCrirrick for five years when they got involved in
BOLTON Flat Green Bowling Club welcomed the stars of this year’s Commonwealth Games. Bowls England sent its competing sides to the bowling club, in Gorses Road — including the visually impaired and paraplegic teams — and they took part in a number
A TOWN centre restaurant got visitors from across the country to show off their dance moves by holding an afternoon tea event. The Olympus fish and chip shop, in Newport Street, held the day of dancing to bring more people to Bolton. Visitors
WHEN The World Cup kicks off in Brazil, the country’s special forces will have a trick up their sleeve to control rowdy football fans — thanks to 72-year-old martial arts expert Steve Costello. Mr Costello, who teaches martial arts at Bolton Cricket
YOUNG entrepreneurs set their stall out at Bolton Market as they traded places with the grown-ups to show them how it’s done. Members of Bolton Lads and Girls Club sold a range of bath products and cosmetics which they had made themselves — as
AN artist has paid homage to her hometown by painting a mural depicting some of Bolton’s most famous figures. Amanda Ryan, 42, spent around a year putting the piece together, which is the first painting she has ever done. The mural is composed
A BRIDE who lost her husband to meningitis just six weeks after their wedding is determined to educate people about spotting the signs of the potentially deadly disease. Jennie Webster met her future husband Paul in 2006 when they both auditioned
RUNNING can be a great way to improve your health and fitness. It’s inexpensive, you can do it pretty much anywhere and at any time. It’s also easy to track progress and improvement. However, one thing that is needed is motivation! You
IF you are a regular user of trains in the North West, you will be no stranger to delays. But it is not just trains that arrive late, it is also new — expensive — projects. Last week, our sister publication the Lancashire Telegraph revealed
MEDIUM David Taylor claims he first started encountering supernatural experiences when he was just seven years old. But it was not until 2001 that he decided to attend classes at Bolton Spiritualist Church after a spirit voice told him to do so
AN author who has a debilitating illness is celebrating the publication of her second novel. Karen Bridge, who writes under the pen name Caroline Ward, has written two books despite suffering from extreme fatigue, pain and muscle weakness, as well
A SERIAL arsonist who was jailed for setting fire to his ex-wife’s bins torched his ex-girlfriend’s flat the day after he came out of prison. Darren Lomax was jailed in January for setting fire to his ex-wife’s wheelie bins in Wallbrook Grove,
BUSINESSES in Bolton’s historic Churchgate are pleading for support — as the landmark thoroughfare turns into a “ghost street”. Bolton Council spent £1 million upgrading the street in 2006 — laying down attractive paving and cobbles — but since
ANDY Lonergan has been assured there could be another deal on the cards for him this summer if he wants to stay and fight for his place at Wanderers. Dougie Freedman has rubbished reports the club are looking to cash in on the former Preston North
WHILE Dougie Freedman berated a lack of options in many areas of his squad last season – centre-back appeared one of the less pressing priorities as he headed into the summer. Even given Zat Knight’s departure on a free transfer, the Wanderers
