Wolves Res 1 Wanderers Res 3 A CROWD of over 8,000 saw Bolton spoil Steve Bull's return to action after a five month injury lay off with a well deserved 3-1 victory at Molineux last night. On a heavy pitch, that was only passed playable late in the day
BOLTON Council came under fierce attack last night from a leading Tory for setting a council tax rise of 4.7 pc. From April 1, people will be making payments ranging from £590.33 in the lowest band A to £1770.98 in the top band H. In Horwich, Westhoughton
FORMER Bolton man Paul Briggs was recently a guest of the Princess Royal at St James' Palace. Mr Briggs, whose parents still live in Barrow Bridge, runs the Broad Street Mall Shopping Centre in Reading. His efforts with a "Christmas Giving Tree" led to
A UK workers' study shows that the happiest staff work for Investors in People organisations. The survey of 600 companies (half of which were working with Investors in People) found that 94pc of workers in organisations with the Investors in People standard
A CONTROVERSIAL road closure scheme in Horwich is set to be officially scrapped later today. Bolton's planning and environment committee councillors are to give the go-ahead for Winter Hey Lane at Horwich to re-open. As the BEN reported last month, council
MP Terry Lewis has launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Tony Blair accusing him of "arrogance" and being "plain wrong." The maverick left wing MP for Worsley was infuriated by Mr Blair's speech in Milan calling for Europe to adopt the American culture
BOLTON continues to top the table for immunisation, despite claims linking vaccination with serious medical conditions. The latest figures released by Wigan and Bolton Health Authority reveals that more than 99 per cent of children in Bolton are protected
THORNLEIGH School defender Daniel Dawson has kept his place in England Under 18s squad for their Goodyear Centenary Shield International against Wales at Molineux tonight. The local youngster who has represented Greater Manchester throughout the season
EXPELLED children could be sent to a special centre to pave their way back into Bolton classrooms. Education chiefs are looking into the possibility of setting up a pupil referral unit for permanently excluded pupils. Youngsters who attend would be assessed
HOMELESS people have been given jobs as curators at Bolton art gallery. Four people have been taken off the streets to put together an exhibition on homelessness. They have been working with a professional artist on a forthcoming show which will feature
The whistles blown, over the top lads, You've had your rum. The Huns are dead, just walk don't run. That's a laugh, Dead men don't fire guns, Someone's made a gaffe. Where's Tom and Bill and Little Joe, They were with me a moment ago? All mates in the
I WRITE after reading the BEN article: Can anybody out there solve this UFO riddle? I was reminded of a similar incident that occurred around the early 1970s in the Winter Hill region. At the time I was about 10 years old and was staying with my aunt
25 YEARS AGO NO Government has yet been formed since the General Election, but it appears that Mr Wilson may be called upon by the Queen this evening, thereby ending the constitutional crisis, with no Party having an overall majority. Two hundred Britons
THEATRE, MUSIC AND DANCE THE Phoenix Theatre Company present Hindle Wakes at Chorley Old Road United Reformed Church Hall at 7.30pm. For further information tel: 840448. ST Paul's Amateur Players present Fiddler On The Roof at the Community Centre, Railway
IT'S heartening to see that our Council leaders do such sterling work, despite the previous Government. Mind you it seems that it's OK for our citizens to walk though and live among filth. It's all in the cause of saving money. I refer of course to the
BOLTON bosses are being urged to sponsor local children to help them with their reading and writing. One thousand local firms will be asked to support the National Year of Reading by paying for a child to go to special English classes over the summer
STRIKE partners Dean Holdsworth and Bob Taylor are coming under pressure as Wanderers feel the heat in the race for the Premiership. Scandinavian duo Eidur Gudjohnsen and Bo Hansen were in the goals again last night, impressing Colin Todd and showing
SIR Geoff Hurst and Nicolas Anelka could be two soccer heroes with more than a passing interest in a Bolton company's invention. The scheme, which uses eight cameras and a computer to confirm whether a football has crossed the goal line in a match, would
BOLTON teachers are drawing up a profile of the perfect pupil as part of a government experiment. Three local schools have been asked to take part in a trial which could lead to a radical rethink about classroom practices nationally. It is the brainchild
BOLTON'S Jubilee Day Centre has shed the 'day' from its title to become a fully-fledged Community Care Centre. It is the latest in a chain being established by Bolton Council's Social Services, aimed at offering people wider and better carer and other
ALMOST a third of Bolton's Octagon Theatre employees are to lose their jobs in a huge cost-cutting drive. Eighteen people working at the Howell Croft South building will be given their cards as part of a life-saving business plan. The news comes just
ANGELA WARHURST meets a team of award-winning workers A BEHIND the scenes hospital team which has won accolades from the experts is taking its expertise out to the wider community and sowing the seeds for future success. To the thousands of visitors of
BOLTON-based Barry Leedham has become one of an elite group of independents to achieve Fellowship of the Society of Financial Advisers. Mr Leedham, senior partner at Barry Leedham Financial Services in Chorley Old Road, has become one of only 29 people
I WISH to express the disgust and anger I feel each year when I read your publication of the Schools League Tables. This year, I was particularly distressed to find that Johnson Fold School had the bottom place. I know that the head teacher and staff
LABOUR MP Terry Lewis has called on Health Secretary Frank Dobson to implement recent recommendations of the Royal Commission on the care of the elderly in full and quickly. The Worsley backbencher wants the proposals to be a building block to make further
ROOKIE teacher Clare Halsall is becoming a small screen star in a bid to sum up what makes a good maths class. Her success in the classroom led to the mature student earning a starring role in a teacher training video to be sent to colleges throughout
THE Horwich Festival wowed crowds with a host of harmonies and scores of singers. It's the first time in two years that the vocal section has been staged at the festival, due to a lack of entrants. But on Saturday, more than 150 people raised their voices
A FORMER Bolton toy shop is to be turned into an art gallery to help struggling North-west artists. Artists from throughout the region are planning to show some of their best work in a prime town centre venue next month as part of a large exhibition of
A GROUP of elderly Farnworth neighbours say wellies and waterproof trousers are becoming the normal dress - because their street keeps flooding. Residents of Westminster Avenue say they are regularly left stranded when an eight inches deep stream forms
BOLTON'S MPs have told Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott he must make a speedy decision on the Fort James/Tesco land swap plans - and come down in favour of the scheme. Ruth Kelly, David Crausby and Brian Iddon all submitted evidence to the public inquiry
THE revelation that one in three children in Bolton cannot read properly for their age is a shocking one. Faced with this damning statistic we appreciate why, and applaud the efforts of, those in the education department who are urging Bolton bosses to
STANLEY Houghton's Lancashire comedy never loses its appeal. The Phoenix Theatre Company do it full justice in a swift-moving production directed with a fine feel for the play's period charm by Edwina Freeman. Although the production got off to a slightly
WHEN this show was first penned, Jesus in a pair of combat trousers just wouldn't have washed. But now, this modern dress version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic adds a new dimension to the old favourite. Lyricist Tim Rice is often left in the shadow
I HAVE recently played Margaret in Victoria Wood's Pat and Margaret at the Octagon Theatre Bolton. My contract ended on February 20, and I am now free to reveal the truth behind the headlines: Octagon Theatre saved. The Octagon has become a victim of
A LOCAL policeman who died in a horrific accident in Manchester at the weekend had undergone three operations on his heart. PC Robert Nathans suffered a heart attack at the wheel of a police troop carrier only minutes after assisting in the arrest of
BOLTON schools are celebrating a double boost today after hearing they will get an army of extra teachers to cut infant class sizes and more money for older pupils. The Government has agreed to pay for 60 extra full and part-time teachers, more than anywhere
POLLUTED rivers in Bolton, Bury and Leigh are set for a major clean up in the next five years. Water company bosses are set to plough millions of pounds into a huge programme of investment to clear the towns' waterways of sewage. It comes after Government
