TWO long-standing councillors have been awarded titles for their commitment to the town.

Former councillors Alan Wilkinson and Dr Colin Shaw were each given the title of honorary alderman at the most recent Bolton Council meeting.

The pair have a collective 61 years on the council serving the Heaton and Lostock and Bromley Cross wards.

Both men said they were “honoured” to have received the title.

Dr Colin Shaw was first elected in May 1994 and served Heaton and Lostock ward. He said during his time on the council he always stood up for the social services and was proud of his record in that area.

Dr Shaw, aged 80, who has recently moved to Lytham, said: “They say a week is a long time in politics and I’ve had 3,300 weeks.”

His earliest political foray was in 1955 as chairman of a branch of young Conservatives at a time when Winston Churchill was still Prime Minister.

Of his new title he said: “I was honoured and grateful and it keeps us in the loop. You get invited to the mayor making and if The Queen came or something you would be invited. You feel you are in the loop. You don’t want to walk away and hear nothing. You still maintain an interest for the town.”

Alan Wilkinson, also a Conservative, was councillor for Bromley Cross between April 1981 and March 2018, making him the longest continuously-serving councillor in Bolton Council’s history.

He has also moved away from the town he lived in for so long, to Filey on the Yorkshire coast to be nearer his daughter and grandchildren.

Mr Wilkinson spent most of his working life on Bolton Market and retrained as a nurse when he was older, but a head-on collision in Tonge Moor Road unfortunately forced him into early retirement.

This did not stop his political activism though and he maintained his undefeated seat on the council. Mr Shaw remembered the battle fought over Barratt Homes plans in the 1980s when residents fiercely objected to the developer building on land off Turton Road.

He also said he had enjoyed the time spent planting many thousands of flowers around Bromley Cross with fellow ward councillors David Greenhalgh and Norman Critchley.

He said receiving his title was a “great honour” and said his scroll is proudly displayed on his wall.

Long-standing councillors can become honorary aldermen, a purely honorary title recognising their commitment to the council.

The title stems from the historic aldermen who were generally unelected local notables who sat on the council alongside elected councillors. This was done away with in the Local Government Act 1972 and the honorary title took over.