From the Evening News, August 5, 1976

25 YEARS AGO

BOLTON busmen today voted to ignore official union advice and ban all Friday and Saturday night buses from 9pm onwards for a month.

More than 300 men and women jammed into a recreation room at Shifnall Street, Bolton, for a rowdy 90-minute meeting called after an attack on driver Sidney Grey. They voted by a majority of 29 to take strike action as from this weekend. About 160 buses were off the road while crews attended the meeting.

THE raising of the annual dog licence fee from 37p to £5 and an effective dog warden scheme to control strays are among the recommendations of a Government Working Party on Dogs.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, August 6, 1951

BLACKPOOL hired out a record number of deckchairs yesterday - 54,000. But the crowds which packed the beach yesterday had to move indoors today to shelter from the rain.

It was a quiet Bank Holiday Monday in Bolton.

Although the local countryside has been almost deserted today, no-one travelling along the country roads could have doubted that they were thronged with picnic parties yesterday and on Saturday. Litter lay everywhere - by the roadside, in the fields, in the woods.

There it will remain, until washed away or blown away, as a reminder that many townsfolk have still not learned to leave a place as they would hope to find it.

TWO Bolton girls, Doreen Roper and Georgina Crane, got a "big hand" yesterday when they made their recording for the Caroll Levis show which will be on their air tonight. They are thrilled at the prospect of the xylophone and piano-accordion act being broadcast.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, August 6, 1876

AN exciting and tragic scene took place last night at the end of Blackpool pier. A party of professional swimmers - a person named Bibbero, another named J.S. Levett, and three girls - had advertised a swimming entertainment to take place in the evening from the jetty at the end of the pier. The entertainment was got up with a view to showing the advantage to be gained by the use of bladders.

The tide was running in very strongly at the time, and the sea was rough. The first to go into the water was Levett, who was followed by one of the girls of the party. It at once became evident that a sufficient allowance had not been made for the strength of the sea.

Still the second girl without any protection in the way of belts went into the water and was partially carried away. She managed however to swim to Levett, and supported herself by clinging to him. By this time the third girl had also taken to the water. It then became obvious that the whole party were so helpless that they were in serious danger.

The tide, which was drifting in towards Fleetwood, gradually sucked all of the party from the pier head, and cries were raised for ropes. Bibbero, the leader of the party, plunged in, and seizing the most helpless of the three young women held her until a rope was thrown to him.

By that means the two were brought out safely, though both were a good deal cut and bruised. A second girl was also rescued.

In the meantime, however, Levett and the girl whom he was supporting had drifted away. A boat was at length brought and launched. By this means they were brought to shore, but the man was found to be dead. His body was conveyed to the Derby Hotel. The pier was crowded with holidaymakers, and the whole scene caused intense excitement.