CALLS for Bolton to withdraw support for Greater Manchester's congestion charge have been rejected.

Instead, Bolton Council voted to continue backing the bid before allowing the public to vote on the issue.

Conservatives had called on the borough's Labour leadership to withdraw its backing for the bid for £3billion in Government funding.

The cash would pay for improvements to public transport, including a new travel interchange at Bolton Railway Station and an 11-mile bus corridor linking the town to Manchester.

Proceeds of the road charges, which could cost motorists travelling into Manchester city centre up to £5 per day at today's prices, would be used to repay almost £2 billion of that cash.

But Bolton's Tories say full details of transport improvements in Bolton, or whether charging will be extended to cover roads into Bolton - a possibility under the terms of the funding bid - have yet to emerge.

Labour councillors say they would oppose a charging zone around Bolton.

But Conservative leader Cllr John Walsh told Wednesday's meeting of the full council :"The borough's residents who have to travel to Manchester will be affected.

"This is a fundamental issue affecting the future of this borough and the future of this conurbation and will impact on many residents of Bolton."Congestion charging could come to Bolton. We will not allow the public of Bolton to be blackmailed into the charge.

"This is an opportunity to get out of this now."

However, Labour's environment spokesman Cllr Nick Peel repeated the pledge to give Bolton people a vote on the matter.

Councillors unanimously approved a motion put forward by the Liberal Democrats in Feburary to stage a public poll.

And Cllr Peel said: "I thought we'd agreed as a council that we would be holding a poll on this issue.

"A Labour Executive would abide by and honour the result of that poll. Let the people decide."

Labour signed up to the bid before it was submitted to the Department for Transport last year but Cllr Peel said the council could still withdraw support if it was not satisfied with the Government's response.

He accepted that some Bolton people would pay to travel to Manchester but said that would be weighed against the benefits of the funding.

After a heated debate, councillors voted 35 to 19 against withdrawing support for the bid.