A LARGE area of Churchgate is to be ripped up by contractors - just months after a £900,000 revamp of the road was completed.

Newly laid flagstones and cobblestones will be removed so an underground electricity cable can be repaired.

A section of the road measuring around 20 metres by 2 metres outside the Ye Olde Man and Scythe pub will be dug up on Monday.

The cable supplies 125 town centre businesses which are currently being powered from another source.

Work on the repairs is expected to last until Sunday April 1.

During that time, the carriageway and pavements will remain open.

Andy Smith, response manager at United Utilities, who will repair the cable, said: "We wish this problem had occurred before Churchgate was refurbished, but it's happened now, so we have to deal with it quickly while making sure we don't damage the road.

"This is a very important part of our electricity network in Bolton and supplies some big shops and businesses, so we need to carry out the work sooner rather than later."

Cllr John Byrne, Bolton Council's executive member for environmental services, said: "It is unfortunate that this problem only came to light after the refurbishment of Churchgate. However, these things cannot be predicted.

"We are working closely with United Utilities to minimise the effect of the work and as we are able to use the original contractors there will be no adverse impact on the overall look of Churchgate."

Work to pedestrianise the street began last June and included removing thousands of cobbles, cleaning and relaying them.