A BOLTON sporting institution which changed the face of darts in the town will disappear for good next month after 30 years.

The Bolton Darts League is being disbanded following the decision of husband-and-wife team Brian and Eva Holden to retire as secretaries.

They have helped raise more than £40,000 for charity through the league, which they continued to run despite the agony of losing their son Gary, who died of a heart attack eight years ago.

It was the town's first darts competition for individuals when Brian set it up in 1974 -- all other leagues in the town at the time were for teams.

Eva soon helped expand it to include a women's competition, and the league took off -- with more than 400 players registered at its peak.

But the Halliwell couple, both aged 66, have decided to call it a day after running the league for three decades. Brian is currently recovering from prostate cancer, while Eva has arthritis, and they both felt unable to continue.

They will officially step down after the league's end-of-season presentation night on August 14.

Brian said: "The league's not just been about darts, it's been about the people involved. We've made some good friends through the Bolton Darts League, and it's been a hard decision to give it up.

"But we haven't had a break in 30 years, and running the league has been a full-time job." Brian would often stay up into the early hours of the morning collating the results and league tables, before writing them out in longhand -- a system he felt more comfortable with than using a computer.

His reports and tables have appeared regularly in the Bolton Evening News on a Saturday since the league's inception.

The couple, who have been married for 47 years, have become an integral part of the town's darts scene.

Brian also managed Bolton's team in the Lancashire Darts Super League between 1976 and 2001, bringing through players such as England international Steve Coote, as well as Les Fitton and Paul Williams -- who both played at the recent UK Darts Championships at the Reebok Stadium.

The Bolton Darts League was set up as a registered charity to help raise money for good causes -- a decision the couple made because their wheelchair-bound son Gary suffered from epilepsy and mental disabilities.

Gary died in 1996 at the age of 28, but Brian said that he was the inspiration that kept them going.

He said: "He had a severe speech impairment which meant that he could hardly speak, but he loved his darts. Whenever Eva went out to play, Gary would always throw his arm as if he was throwing a dart."

The couple, who have five other children and 24 grandchildren, are looking forward to a restful retirement.

But Eva had no regrets as she said: "Even though running the league has been tiring at times, I would do it all again."