BOLTON shoppers have mixed feelings about the morality of a Bolton pensioner "buying" a young bride from Thailand for £5,000 as reported yesterday

Some people spoken to by the BEN in Victoria Square said they were sickened by the idea of paying for a girl to marry.

But a surprising number thought that there was nothing wrong in the transaction -- and amazingly even knew friends and relatives who had done a similar thing.

Last night's BEN article revealed that widower Fred Eckersley, 67, from Breightmet, had paid a dowry of £5,000 to wed Sujittra Seetanoi, aged 27, in Thailand. The pair were introduced through a "go-between" and were married in a civil ceremony within two days. Korean war veteran Brian Isherwood, 66, said that many servicemen had paid for brides during the 1950s "for the price of a blanket".

He said: "It's not new to me. This was going on in the 1950s. There were lots of girls who wanted to shack up with servicemen."

Divorced Mr Isherwood, of Moss Bank Way, added that one of his friends had married a Filipino just five years ago but the marriage had not worked out.

The man, who was in the merchant navy, had "bought" his bride by paying for a shop for her family in her home village.

He warned: "They just want a meal ticket. She married my mate just so she could come here. It's a marriage of convenience. I've seen it all before. I can't see this man having a long lasting relationship."

JOANNE Ormerod, 25, who comes from Preston, said she could see both good and bad in the arrangement.

She said: "On the one hand it is exploiting a female and selling someone cannot be right. And when you see elderly men with young South East Asian brides you feel that something doesn't fit.

"But then it is giving someone a better life in this country. They come from such poverty. Once they are here then they may have the chance to escape from the marriage."

Sandra White, 34, from Brinscall village, near Chorley, said: "It is distasteful and a little bit sick. He's obviously not got much of a conscience. I don't agree with it."

Mum and daughter Barbara and Jackie Barker disagreed with the morality of "buying" a bride.

Mrs Barker, 48, of Elgin Street, said: "I think it's a case of everybody to their own. I think it's something women will do as well."

She joked: "I have never been to Thailand but I think I will now!"

But Jackie, 25, of Uttley Street, Halliwell, said: "I find it a bit disgusting."

She added that if he had wanted to help people with his money he could have spent it better.

Stephen Clegg, 31, of Crown Lane, Horwich, thought that it was a matter of different cultures.

He said: "It is different way of life. Who are we to judge. She's been living in poverty and it will alleviate some of that poverty."

Lynn Bury, 52, of Somerton Road, Breightmet, said: "I don't think a woman would do that sort of thing. I certainly wouldn't, would I heck, even if I wasn't married. The fact that they are different ages and the money aspect is just shocking."

But Tom Heap, 48, of Watermead Close, Astley Bridge, said people should not condemn the pensioner's desire for happiness.

He said: "If he's going to be happy then good luck to him. Some people do it, some don't. I wouldn't say it was shocking. It's a bit more common than you would think. These kind of things are happening all the time."