CONTROVERSIAL councillor Guy Harkin has been slapped down by his Labour colleagues over his proposal to change Bolton's name.

The deputy council leader's ambitious plan to rebrand the borough as Bolton-le-Moors has suffered a major blow after it was overwhelmingly rejected by the council's largest political party.

Labour councillors delivered the snub to Cllr Harkin by voting against his proposals which are aimed at shaking off the borough's image as a grimy mill town.

John Hartshorne, chairman of the Bolton Labour Party, said: "I am delighted - good old Bolton sounds great to me.

"We held a debate on the issue and councillors spoke one after another against a change of name. It was like hearing someone read out a letters page from the Bolton Evening News."

A furious war of words erupted between Cllr Howarth and his deputy after Cllr Harkin spoke publicly of his proposals to revert to the borough's name of the pre-industrial era.

In a bitter falling-out - which opposition councillors described as "open warfare" - Cllr Howarth blamed his deputy for the bad publicity caused by the plan.

Cllr Harkin replied by telling his leader to "look at his own behaviour" and accusing him of not following party protocol in the handling of another party matter.

But Mr Hartshorne defended the actions of both leaders, although the Bolton-le-Moors snub means Cllr Harkin now appears isolated in his own party.

He said: "The Labour party does not put forward clones for membership of the council so there is nothing wrong with Cllr Harkin putting forward his radical idea for a name change, if he felt it would be in the town's best interests.

"But Cllr Howarth quite rightly said that procedures should be followed at all times."

Mr Hartshorne added: "Ideas should be fully discussed by the group before statements are given to the Press so that people are not given the wrong impression that items are being discussed in a serious manner when this is not the case."