MY grandchildren and many of their friends, including others I have spoken to, would never dream of going into Bolton on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening - it is a "no go" area.
Long gone are the days when it was fashionable and safe to stroll round town from pub to pub meeting one's friends.
Schoolchildren run rampant in gangs attacking and smashing public transport. Buses are taken out of service on certain estates; firemen, already in dangerous jobs, are stoned in the carrying out of their duties. The list grows endlessly.
And then I read that Town Hall bosses have traced and tracked down people from 500 abodes in Bolton who they have written to with threats of the full force of the law if they were to feed the pigeons.
Strong stuff indeed, especially when persons have actually been cautioned.
An executive member of the council states that it is the first step in tackling this serious problem and that they have a lot of public support. What is a lot? Five per cent? Ten per cent?
This can only be described as a first-class Brian Rix farce. I believe, in Act Two, we may see Frank Spencer on the Town Hall Square dressed as a giant pigeon in the act of whitewashing the hallowed stones.
Arnold Harrison
Manchester Road West
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