Archive

  • Waiting for an answer

    I always enjoy reading the BEN letters especially those from former mayors and councillors like Mr G K Brown. I must admit that I do, at times, have to struggle to see the logic or motive behind some of the letters and, the one on May 28, was a classic

  • THE DAILY POEM: At the end

    EACH of us travels the road of life, And goes the way each thinks is right. Some travel with burdens, and find the way hard, Some run along, travelling light. We all make mistakes, we are human, And isn't that what humans do? If we didn't take chances

  • Inspection to decide football future

    Chorley FC's UniBond League fate hangs on a set of changing rooms in deepest Nottinghamshire. The Magpies - who finished next to bottom of the UniBond Premier Division - will be relegated if league officials decide this week that the Watnall Road ground

  • Can councils ever alter decisions by the government?

    I REFER to: Ensure you are heard (BEN, May 6) about a wind farm in Cumbria being given the go-ahead by the Government, despite massive opposiation from Cumbrian councils and communities. The point BEN Opinion makes is for people to ensure their voices

  • Anglers take bait to snare jackpot

    TWO Chorley anglers are hoping to catch a £6,000 jackpot when they take part in a national pairs competition. Dave Edgerley (pictured) and Tim Field are among 40 pairs travelling to Jels in Denmark for the grand final of the Embassy Challenge, one of

  • Wires crossed over bank debit

    A BOLTON woman has questioned the security of the direct debit system after more than £60 disappeared from her account. As reported in Monday's BEN, John Charlton, of the Haulgh, spotted a £10 donation to the Charities Aid Foundation while casting a routine

  • This week's cricket round-up

    RESULTS from the Red Arrow Services Chorley and District Amateur Cricket League, Saturday May 29 (* indicates team batting first): Division One: *Brinscall 150-9 (S. Critchley 54, D. Frost 34, I. Nuttall 7-36); White Coppice 69-6 (S. Hilton 4-19). Darwen

  • 280 miles to beat the passport chaos

    BUSINESSMAN Jonathan Cartwright is one of the lucky ones to have his passport - after a 280-mile round trip. When Mr Cartwright booked a last minute Greek holiday he knew he'd got a good deal - a wonderful villa at an unbelievable price. The only thing

  • Views wanted on £4m bus plan

    PLANS for the second phase of a £4 million priority bus route between Bolton, Atherton and Leigh have been revealed. Transport chiefs yesterday said the already approved Hulton Lane Ends to Bolton stretch of the 13 kilometre bus route should be completed

  • Suicide doctor used as guinea pig

    A DOCTOR, who had taken part in 'paid' medical trials on experimental drugs, killed himself after suffering years of severe depression. Academic Kevin Antony Valiant, 35, developed depression and ME - known as 'yuppy flu' - after taking Interferon, a

  • Hospice plea to caring cyclists

    CARING staff at St Catherine's Hospice are appealing for people to get 'wheelie stuck in' next month to raise some vital cash. Ribble Valley Cycling Club, supported by the Cheshire Building Society, are inviting Chorley folk to take part in a sponsored

  • Experts probe report of woman's ordeal

    UFO experts are investigating The Citizen's exclusive about a woman motorist, terrified by a mysterious bright light which hovered over her car as she drove through a Chorley village. And they revealed there had been a remarkably high number of sightings

  • Continue the fight

    I THANK the people of Westhoughton for winning the first battle against the planned development of Lee Hall. The planning committee of Bolton has rejected it due to the pressure of your letters of objection. But now the fight really starts. The only way

  • County councillor deserves praise, not vilification

    WITH reference to the letter by Derek Holland and Pat Cuerden concerning the station at Coppull. I wish to draw attention to the insinuations about a leaflet which I have neither seen nor heard about until this letter. By the way, I am not a member of

  • Combination paves way for local 'Super League'

    THE Bolton Combination is ready to welcome back "with open arms" former clubs who have flown the nest. Officials of the Combination, which has been in existence for 109 years, are determined to reverse the trend which has seen the cream of the town's

  • Same again for new season

    SAME division, same prices. Wanderers have frozen admission charges for next season's Nationwide League campaign. Four days after the bitter disappointment of failing to secure a Premiership return, Reebok bosses have announced they are pegging ticket

  • Insurance warning on private hire cars

    TAXI passengers have been reminded that they risk travelling uninsured if they hail private hire vehicles on the street. Bury Metro has introduced new door signs for the cars which point out that unless it is booked through the operator, travellers will

  • Royal praise for wedding poem

    I am enclosing a poem I have written entitled The Royal Wedding, 1999. Miss Rhys-Jones liked my poem and I received this reply from Buckingham Palace: "Miss Rhys-Jones has asked me to thank you very much for the verses you have written for her, following

  • Alice making first visit for 50 years

    JUST 50 years ago Alice Harwood left Bolton for a new life in New Zealand, and later this month she is coming back to Bolton for the first time since then. It was a big step in those days (it still is now!) for someone single to go to the other side of

  • From the BEN files

    25 YEARS AGO BRITISH Waterways today closed the 127-mile Leeds-Liverpool Canal because of a crisis water shortage. More than 1,000 pleasure craft that use the canal regularly will be restricted to limited cruising until further notice. Four consecutive

  • What's on in and around Bolton, Saturday, 5.6.99

    BOLTON Strings Together Ensemble, junior strings together approximate grades 1-3, 9.30am-10.45am and advanced ensemble, approximate grades 4-7, 11am-12.15pm, Somerset Road United Reformed Church, off Chorley New Road. BOLTON Music Service's activities

  • Flying glass ordeal for pupils

    FURIOUS parents are demanding an explanation after shocked and injured pupils from a Chorley school failed to receive medical attention following a coach accident. It is claimed that several pupils from St Michael's High were cut after being showered

  • Panic to get to the sun

    THE chaos at Liverpool's passport office is affecting thousands of would-be holidaymakers. Delays, queues and a last minute crack at getting a passport has resulted in panic as people bid to reach their holiday destination. Home Office officials have

  • Immigration certificate price rise row

    A ROW has broken out about a massive rise in the cost of a certificate which is needed by new immigrants to Bolton. Bolton Council increased the price of an accommodation certificate from £33 to £100 on April 1. The certificate is needed for people who

  • Whitakers puts £5m tag on shopping site

    WHITAKERS is selling off the land on which its landmark building stands for £5.1 million. The freehold on the building in Deansgate, with its distinctive white and black frontage, has been put on the market by parent company BEALE plc. Bosses at BEALE

  • Park attacked by teen vandals

    VANDALS are destroying a haven which provides pleasure to thousands. Staff at Lilford Park in Leigh dread to think what awaits them when they turn in for work after arsonists struck over the Bank Holiday weekend. A council transit van was torched in the

  • Taxis to double fares for New Year?

    MILLENNIUM revellers are likely to be paying hefty taxi fares when they go out celebrating. The Bolton taxi association has asked council chiefs if black cabs can charge double the normal fare plus an extra £2. The tariff would be in operation from 6pm

  • Crushing win against rivals

    CHORLEY CC 148-1 LEYLAND DAF CC 145-9 A CRUSHING win for Chorley in the Bank Holiday derby clash has kept Nigel Heaton's men in touch with the top of the league. Having put Leyland DAF in, Chorley soon had the visitors in trouble as professional Josh

  • MP backs toilets for rail station

    CHORLEY'S Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle has this week backed a campaign for public toilets to be provided for the town's railway station. Mr Hoyle vowed to support independent councillor Ralph Snape "all the way down the line" after both attended a meeting

  • Council's £600,000 blunder

    A NEW computer system has cost Bolton's housing chiefs £592,000 more than expected. The system was to cost around £1.5 million ... but the final bill is now more than £2 million. Housing chiefs admit they underestimated how much time it would take to

  • Lenny lets loose at live gig

    LENNY was larger than life when he appeared at Preston Guild Hall for a sell-out stand up gig last Saturday - his first live UK show in almost three years. With his new show - premiered in Australia last year - the giant funny man (pictured) gave audiences

  • Same again for new season

    SAME division, same prices. Wanderers have frozen admission charges for next season's Nationwide League campaign. Four days after the bitter disappointment of failing to secure a Premiership return, Reebok bosses have announced they are pegging ticket

  • Refugee plea firm fined £5,000

    A BOLTON company trying to cash in on the misery of Kosovo has been fined £5,000. The fax company calling itself Crossley Fax Broadcasting of Bolton was probed by industry watchdogs ICSTIS and the Charity Commission. Protests were made that it was making

  • Council warns of food poisoning threat

    HEALTH experts in Chorley are warning people to beware of the dangers of food poisoning in the home. The town council is driving home the message by holding a food safety day at the market on Tuesday. The Chorley public will be able to test their food

  • Blazing factory causes chaos

    A cloud of toxic smoke threatened Clayton Brook and Clayton-le-Woods during a massive blaze which destroyed a Walton Summit factory. Fire crews from Chorley were among those drafted in to tackle the inferno, which started at 1pm on Sunday at packaging

  • Would you smack your child?

    A primary schoolteacher was prosecuted after smacking his daughter in a dentist's surgery when she refused to have a tooth removed. With this in mind, what is the correct way to discipline children? Should parents fear a prison term for the occasional

  • MP's view from the house

    A warm welcome to Florence and June Molyneaux, who last week became the new Mayor and Mayoress of Chorley. I am sure they will do an excellent job and I look forward to participating in their fundraising events in the coming year, the proceeds of which

  • Don't hold your breath over johns

    Regarding the article entitled "What about the johns, John?" by Shaun Gibbons (Citizen, May 20). I admire Mr Snape as a councillor for his dedication and persistence when campaigning for local issues. However, I will be extremely surprised if he gets

  • Like it or lump it

    In response to Larry Longton's letter re the M65. I am no supporter of the EU or its policies. When a policy of any sort is made, it creates a plethera of problems as a knock-on effect. Unfortunately, like it or lump it, we are in the EU and economic

  • Missile decision 'vital'

    A DECISION is expected next month on a vital missile contract which could secure the long-term future of Matra Bae Dynamics at Lostock. The Ministry of Defence will announce whether the Meteor missile will arm 232 Eurofighters ordered by the Ministry

  • Electronic dog tagging scheme gets go-ahead

    COUNCIL chiefs have given the go-ahead for stray dogs in Bolton to be given identity chips. They would be implanted in the necks of dogs which are taken into Bolton's Destitute Animal Shelter. The one centimetre long chip would hold a code number which

  • 80 jobs could face axe

    UP to 80 jobs face the axe at the Ingersoll Rand factory in Swan Lane, Hindley Green. Stunned workers were told the news yesterday as they arrived on site for the morning shift. If the job losses go through it will hit the engineers who manufacture the

  • Speed march to the Green Beret

    A ROYAL Marine from Bolton has just received his coveted Green Beret after months of gruelling training. 20-year-old William Fielding, who went to Bury Grammar School, is now a Royal Marine Commando after successfully completing 30 weeks of the hardest

  • Pan blaze girl 'luckiest alive'

    FIREFIGHTERS have described a 13-year-old girl as "one of the luckiest" alive after she tried to tackle a blazing chip pan with a glass of water. Wahida Bashir was cooking chips at her home in Russell Street, near Bolton town centre, when she left the

  • OPINION: Who's to blame for this £m 'dog's dinner'?

    MANY Bolton people will be wondering today exactly what is going on in the housing department at the Town Hall. Officials' estimates on what a new computer system would cost proved to be out by over half a million pounds. The underestimation was on the

  • Made to endure?

    LONDON Weekend Television are looking for couples who have recently started a new relationship to appear on 'Predictions 99', a one-off special documentary to be shown on ITV network later this year. If you and your partner believe you were made for each

  • Victoria Hotel, Tockholes Road, Tockholes, Darwen.

    THE Victoria, the second pub on the right as you travel along the main street of Tockholes from the Belmont side, was recently refurbished. It has not been spoiled, and is brighter and more airy than it used to be. It remains a very popular pub for bar

  • RUGBY LEAGUE: Leigh snap up another Aussie

    TOUGH Aussie centre Ken Kerr has joined Leigh Centurions' promotion push. The vastly-experienced 30-year-old comes to Hilton Park on an initial four-game trial period and will, ironically, makes his Leigh debut against the club he left just last week,