IT'S always good to hear from readers when one of the pictures I print has brought back memories.

A couple of weeks ago, I used an aerial photograph of Deane, and it brought a letter from Mr John Tootell, of Thornton Avenue, Heaton, who told me that three generations of his family have lived in Deane, and they can identify five properties in the photograph in which his parents have lived over the last 50 years or so!

'My mother, Mrs Eileen Tootell, lived in the Queen Anne Hotel on Junction Road for many years before she married my father Gordon Tootell in 1951. My father used to live on Hulton Lane with his parents before they too moved onto Junction Road.

'After my parents married, they lived in a flat on Gilnow Road, then moved to Whiteland Avenue in 1952. As the family grew in size, the next move was in 1958 to St Mary's Avenue, staying there for nine years. In 1967 the family moved again to Junction Road and stayed there for 16 happy years.

'Unfortunately, through ill health, my father took early retirement in 1982 and in 1983 both mother and father moved to Portugal to start afresh!

'Coming back to the photograph and the current day, my brother David still lives in Glen Avenue, and is now the last remaining member of the Tootell clan living in Deane.' There are two other brothers, Paul and Michael.

'So you can see from this brief history we have many happy memories and stories from the photograph. Unfortunately, my father passed away a couple of years ago so some of the memories are tinged with sadness.'