WITH her straw boater and cane, Janet Halliwell was a show stopper in a Westhoughton variety show.

Janet was pictured in 1974 and the photograph is just one of the dozens on show at the Bolton Evening News photographic show at Westhoughton Library.

So it was a pleasant surprise for Janet - now Cllr Halliwell and the Mayoress of Westhoughton - when she spotted the old picture as she visited the show.

The photograph was of dancers from the Westhoughton Amateur Entertainments Society and Wingates Showgroup, who starred in "On With The Show" at St John's School in December 1974.

Cllr Halliwell is pictured fourth from left in the front row.

She said: "It was quite a nice surprise to see the picture. I'm a bit shocked about it really. All the pictures bring back a lot of memories, but that one particularly was nice to see. I had no idea that I'd be featured in the exhibition."

The show is running in the upstairs room at Westhoughton Library until Friday, February 6. It celebrates Westhoughton's past, present and future and includes Bolton Evening News archive photographs as well as dozens of old photographs loaned by our readers..

The show is free and open during normal library hours.

So why not go along and have a look - and sample Westhoughton life through the camera lens.