From the Evening News, September 30, 1904: WILLIAM and Frances Turner of Badby were charged at Daventry with neglecting their 10-year-old son.

It was stated that the child was in the habit of smoking a pipe and drinking beer, supplied by his father. A doctor said the boy was a perfect savage. He was undersized, used fearful language, was totally uneducated and threatened to be an idiot or a criminal. He was sent to the workhouse and the parents, who were mentally weak, were sentenced to one day's imprisonment.

MR T. Adamson presided over the monthly meeting of the Council of the Bolton and District Combined Traders' Association, held on Thursday evening at the Mimosa Cafe, Deansgate. A deputation from the Bolton Property Owners' Association attended and Mr Norris (president) explained that they wanted to work shoulder to shoulder with the combined traders in bringing pressure to bear upon the Town Council to keep down the rates and also the extravagant expenditure of certain Corporation officials. Mr T. Hamer, honorary secretary of the Property Owners' Association, spoke of the extravagance of the Council in the purchase of setts for the roads, 25s being paid when a superior sett could be obtained for 6s 8d.

From the Evening News, September 30, 1954: SIR Jacob Epstein, the famous sculptor, has promised to attend the opening of an exhibition of his work in bronze which is to be held at Bolton Art Gallery from October 15 to November 13. Those who have not visited the Art Gallery for some time will also see the sculpture Bolton acquired last spring, depicting a slave man and woman and entitled "The Slave Hold."

ON Wednesday the Breightmet County Primary School will be officially opened by Prof N. R. Tempest of Liverpool University. The school is the third of the post-war primary schools to be planned and erected by the Bolton Education Committee.

From the Evening News, September 29, 1979: BOLTON and District Cactus Society celebrated its 29th annual exhibition with a record number of entries. The 430 plants included specimens from both American continents.

SISTER Vera Stafford - known as "Aunty Vera" - has retired after nearly 30 years in nursing. She has been in charge of the special baby unit at Bolton General Hospital since its opening and has helped in the birth of hundreds of local babies.

From the Evening News, September 30, 1994: LONG-SERVING Bolton MP David Young today claimed he was the victim of an "organised" bid to oust him from his safe Labour seat. Mr Young, MP for Bolton South-east since 1983, said he intends to fight tooth and claw against challengers in a bitter reselection battle. He accused his opponents of scheming behind his back - and insisted that he would have been "happy to go" if a successor of national standing had been found.

A NEW £140,000 initiative to improve the quality of life for Bolton people with mental health problems is launched today. The project - made possible with a £126,000 injection of City Challenge cash - aims to encourage people to be more independent with activities, training and help in finding jobs.