AFTER the revelation that nearly half of Bolton's pubs have closed in the last 15 years, Looking Back has been chronicling famous hostelries of the past.

This week's edition includes some of the more unusual locals frequented by Boltonians over the years, including a haunted inn which still stands today, a historic pub turned into a carpark and a number of well-known town centre spots.

The Kings' Head, in Wigan Road, is still standing to this day, but has been the subject of some strange happenings over the years.

The old inn, which sits next to Deane Church, is said to be haunted. Doors were said to slam closed and a previous landlord was once woken up during the night by an "oppressive atmosphere" that flooded his bedroom.

It is thought to have been built on a graveyard and the haunting has been attributed to phantom cavaliers.

In Astley Bridge one of Bolton's oldest pubs, The Edge Tavern no longer exists in its Old Road location.

Instead, the area has been transformed into a carpark for a new Asda. The exact site of the former pub is still the location of a building but it is a different structure to the one that housed the historic hostelry.

Another old inn, The Bears Paw, on Churchgate is among the many locations to have been transformed into a modern-day pub. The owner of the newly named The Churchgate said developers had found brickwork from the 14th Century while updating the building in 2017.