MULTI-MILLION pound plans to add fluoride to water have been greeted with mixed reactions in Bolton.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced Government plans to pump £42 million into areas which want to add fluoride to water supplies in a bid to improve people's dental health.

Bolton children have some of worst dental health in the country, with youngsters in some areas having four times the tooth decay and problems as the national average.

But the issue has been hotly debated in the town with dentists and some MPs backing the move, while others brand it "mass medication" and raise fears of a link between fluoride and cancer and bone problems.

Chris Brooks, one of Bolton's leading NHS dentists, said: "It's a controversial issue, with many people opposing it. We hope they will come to see the benefits. It will have a major impact in driving down the misery and pain of children's tooth decay as well as the need to put youngsters under anaesthetic to remove decayed teeth."

MP for Bolton South-east, Dr Brian Iddon, added: "I'm very much pro-fluoride. It will make a big difference to the condition of teeth in Bolton's children."

But David Crausby, MP for Bolton North-east, is against adding fluoride to water supplies and believes parents should take more responsibility for their children's teeth.

He said: "This is mass medication and I will continue in the struggle against it. It shouldn't be forced on people and they should have a free choice to consume it in their water.

"If parents want to improve their children's dental health, then it's their responsibility and they should do all they can."

Last year, Bolton's Conservative and LibDem councillors voted to hold a referendum on whether fluoride should be added to the borough's water. However, because of the costs and logistics of a public vote, Bolton Council agreed it would only take place next year if North West Strategic Health Authority carries out public consultation on the subject.

Health chiefs are currently waiting for the authority's Fluoridation Evaluation Group to report on the matter before deciding whether to launch consultation.

Currently, about six million people in England, mainly in the North-east and the West Midlands, receive water containing fluoridation.

Children in our area are more than twice as likely to have tooth decay as youngsters in Birmingham, where fluoride has been added for more than 40 years.

A spokesman for Bolton Primary Care Trust, which funds GP and dental care, said: "The national announcement on fluoride does not change anything for the PCT at the moment. We are still awaiting the outcome of the evaluation.

"It is only after that exercise is finished that a decision will be made on whether to consult local people about the issue."