COUNCIL chiefs are hoping a "high profile dignitary" will visit Farnworth war memorial next year as part of celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

They are hopeful of attracting a VIP guest next summer despite being informed that a representative of the Royal Family will not be able to attend next month's rededication ceremony of the memorial.

The ceremony is being held after the memorial in Farnworth Park was restored following vandalism last year in which attackers sawed through wooden plaques bearing the names of Farnworth war dead.

The Lord Lieutenant's office has informed Bolton Council that a member of the Royal Family will not be able to attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the memorial next month.

But Cllr Noel Spencer is now asking for a representative from the palace to attend the 60th anniversary next year.

He said: "There is a good argument that the Queen herself might come to Farnworth as she has close links with the 5th Battalion North Lancashire Regiment, which includes many people on these rededicated plaques."

The invitation will be extended to Buckingham Palace in the name of Bolton Mayor, Cllr Prentice Howarth.

Remembrance Sunday, on November 14, promises to be a special day for war veterans in Farnworth, with hundreds of names missing from the original plaques included on the new versions.

Men and women who lost their lives in other conflicts, such as Borneo and the Falklands, will be honoured.

The war memorial has suffered from a spate of vandal attacks and was further damaged in July when yobs sprayed graffiti on it and smashed the stonework with hammers.

Gangs of teenagers, who congregate in the park on a regular basis, were blamed for the vandalism.