A cross-party group of Bolton councillors will be set up to discuss plans for congestion charging in Greater Manchester.

Town hall bosses say party politics will be put aside to make the best choice for the people of Bolton.

Its views on the proposals will be reported to the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) - made up of Bolton and nine other councils - which will either accept or reject the Government's plans to introduce road charging in the region.

Bolton's three party leaders say they will try to come to a decision jointly.

The unified approach comes only weeks after Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors withdrew support for a road-charging scheme, forcing Labour leader Cllr Cliff Morris to tell AGMA that Bolton was not backing the plans.

Up to £118 million would be raised each year by charging drivers to enter a zone within the M60 and a second zone around the heart of Manchester city centre.

The money would be used to repay a loan of up to £3 billion from the Government's Transport Innovation Fund to improve public transport across Greater Manchester.

In Bolton, a new multi-million-pound bus and rail terminal would be created at the town's train station.

Bolton Council must report its decision by the end of July.

The scheme needs the full backing of each of the 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester.

In a statement, Cllr Morris, Lib Dem leader Cllr Roger Hayes and Tory leader Cllr John Walsh said: "The issue of how we renew our transport system and tackle congestion is too important to leave to the vagaries of party politics.

"The Bolton way of putting the borough first and politics second must be instrumental to driving Bolton's approach to the implementation of the Transport Innovation Fund.

"We have therefore set up a cross party group to ensure we develop Bolton's approach in the spirit of partnership with the best interests of Bolton at heart."