BOLTON will get its first woman Mayor for 20 years - after Labour councillor Prentice Howarth scraped home by just one vote in the Great Lever ward.

But the grandmother of 11 will be a lone Labour voice in the ward as the other two councillors elected were Tories Ansar Hussain and Mohammed Idress. The voting figures were 1,487, 1,439 and 1,400. Cllr Howarth's Labour colleague Martin Donaghy lost by one vote with 1,399.

Cllr Howarth said: "I have not slept or eaten for a week because I have been so worried about all this. I have been trying to make arrangements for being Mayor without actually knowing if I would be.

"But I'm relieved now. We have not had a lady Mayor in Bolton for 20 years and I really want to be the Mayor to show women should be in politics. I feel strongly about that and just hope it will not be another 20 years after my mayoral year."

A former Burnden Councillor, she had to contest the newly created Great Lever seat following the shake up of council boundaries.

The last lady Mayor was Conservative councillor Barbara Hurst.

Cllr Howarth, whose husband Brian died 23 years ago, has invited her two daughters, district nurse Elaine Howarth and secretary Lesley Lyons to act as her consorts. She retired from her job with the old Dye and Bleach Union - to concentrate on her council word.