From the Evening News, January 31, 1977

OUT-patients were without transport to hospital today because of industrial action by ambulancemen. Drivers decided at a mass meeting in Leigh yesterday to take action from midnight in a fight to get equal bonuses throughout the region. They decided to take patients to hospital, but not home again. But in Bolton today, they were told not even to collect people from their homes.

BOLTON Wanderers' manager Ian Greaves today confirmed that he has been approached by Newcastle United chairman Lord Westwood about the vacant manager's job at St James's Park.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, January 31, 1952

A LONG-term proposal to separate more of Bolton's industry from the residential areas is mentioned in a Development Plan for Bolton. The 20-years plan is based on the assumption that eventually about half the town's industry will be in the Manchester-rd. and Blackburn-rd. areas, the rest continuing in residential areas as at present.

Residential development will be in four principal divisions: 1) The area bounded by Blackburn-rd., Moss Bank Way, Stapleton-ave., and Chorley New-rd.; 2) the area bounded by the Bolton-Wigan railway line, Lever Edge-lane, and the Manchester-rd. industrial area; 3) Breightmet and Tonge; 4) Astley Bridge.

A new neighbourhood unit is to be built in the area bounded by the Bolton-Wigan railway line, Haslam Park, Wigan-rd., and Beaumont-rd. For this development, the closing of Deane golf course is suggested.

A proposal to by-pass Bradshawgate by building the eastern section of the inner ring-road, from Trinity-st. to Kay-st. would involve the demolition of the Silverwell-st. barracks and the Bolton Parish Church Schools.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, January 31, 1877

AT Bradford, on Monday, nine rough-looking men were committed to prison for two months, with hard labour, for gambling on Sunday afternoon.

For some time public annoyance has been caused by large gangs of "roughs" assembling to gamble for money. Their practice was to set watchers in order to warn the "rings" of the approach of the police.

The difficulty has been to obtain such access to the gambling rings as to secure adequate evidence against the offenders. This, however, had been effected by introducing amongst them about a score of police officers, who were disguised as navvies, farm labourers, &c. The officers mingled amongst the gamblers for more than half an hour before they made captures of the men. The disguise of the officers was to complete that some of them were even captured by their fellow officers, and had to prove their identify before they were released.