LEADER of Bolton Council David Greenhalgh will be remembered for his 'kindness, openness and fairness'.

Bolton Council has formally published its obituary notice following the death of Cllr David Greenhalgh at the age of just 53.

It states: "David was extremely talented, and highly intelligent he strove every day to make Bolton a better place. He reached out to all communities and treated everyone as equals, quickly gaining their trust that he was a man of his word.

"He will be remembered for is his kindness, his openness, and his fairness by the people of this borough.

"By his hundreds of friends there will be many special memories, no one ever felt left out with David, he made everyone feel special and he will remain in our hearts forever."

Cllr Greenhalgh was born on Christmas Day to parents Margaret and Roy, and he lived at the family farm in Bradshaw.

His parents taught music and founded Bolton School of Music, and states the obituary, " it was inevitable that David would follow in their footsteps and eventually take up a career in music and theatre".

Cllr Greenhalgh attended Clevelands School and Manchester Grammar before attending Bretton Hall, where he did his degree in theatre and the arts. He moved to London to work in the theatre.

He got a part in London’s West End in Les Miserable.

"Life was good and full of promise," read the obit, " but sadly tragedy struck and David was diagnosed with kidney failure."

In 2006 he became councillor for Bromley Cross and the shadow spokesman for adults’ services. This was despite having to have another kidney transplant, a heart valve replacement, and surgery to repair a broken spine. He quickly moved up the ranks to become the leader of the Conservative group in 2013. In 2019 he became leader of Bolton Council, and was the first Conservative leader of Bolton Council for over 40 years, which was one of his proudest moments.