A MAN fears a rain-filled hole in Bolton could lead to another tragedy if it is not filled in.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, contacted the BEN after reading about the case of Martin Hartigan, who drowned when he fell down a water-filled hole in Crompton Way last October.

The body of Mr Hartigan, a 44-year-old father-of-two, was not discovered for two days.

The man said a hole close to the Egerton House Restaurant in Blackburn Road, Egerton, could be the cause of a similar tragedy.

He said: "It looks like a grid has been removed and it has been dug out. It has been left this way for three weeks.

"It keeps filling up with water and then it eventually drains away. Half the time it is filled with water and I think it is very dangerous.

"It has a barrier around it, but it is only light, and there is a plastic cone, but these could easily be blown away in the wind or removed."

The man said the hole is in a dangerous spot as it is close to a restaurant and a popular pub. He said: "People are coming and going all the time and a lot of passers by will have been drinking. It is an accident waiting to happen."

A Bolton Council spokesman said: "There are two excavations in the road about 15 metres apart and one does contain some rainwater. They are well signed and have barriers round them using approved high visibility red and white posts and crosspieces and hopefully would be easily spotted.

"However, the work means they could be there for a couple more weeks and we would ask people to be careful. The work being done involves gulley excavation and investigation."