From the Evening News, January 5, 1904: An extraordinary story has come to light at Wigan.

The bodies of a man and woman, recovered from the canal, were removed to the mortuary. That of the woman, being identified, was claimed. But the undertaker, by some misunderstanding, took the man's remains to the house of the woman's friends, where a wake was held. Then a friend made a request for "a last look", whereupon the coffin was opened and all those present were horrified to find that they were in posession of the wrong body. It was fortunately, however, not too late to rectify the mistake.

JOSEPH Southworth, labourer, who hails from Blackburn, was placed in the dock at the Borough Court this morning on a charge of attempting to steal oranges. PC Brooks said he saw prisoner put his hand under a tarpaulin sheet in Coronation Street on Saturday evening and attempt to take some oranges from underneath. Prisoner, who now admitted the offence, was committed to gaol for 14 days with hard labour.

From the Evening News, January 5, 1954: AT last night's meeting of the executive council of the Bolton Chamber of Trade Mr Geoffrey A. Whitehead, its president, was appointed representative governor for Bolton County Secondary Technical School. The school, which is at present housed in the Technical College in Manchester Road and in the former Technical College in Bridgeman Place, will cater for about 800 boys and girls when fully established. The Council also appointed Mr Stanley Ault to serve as representative of the Chamber on the Bolton and District Productivity Committee of the North-west Regional Board for Industry.

From the Evening News, January 5, 1979: AFTER a morning of uncertainty, a strike decision by Texaco tanker men made it certain that there will be no GMT buses from 6pm tonight until Monday morning. There were long queues, which caused traffic chaos, outside filling stations today as motorists desperately tried to fill their tanks. Only 40 of the 160 schools and colleges in Bolton Metropolitan Borough will remain open next week. Bolton Education Service announced emergency measures made necessary by the industrial action taken by oil tanker drivers.

THE big freeze went on today with no sign of a let-up -- and with the added hazard of gales. But yesterday's forecast of more heavy snowfalls proved happily wrong.

From the Evening News, January 5, 1994: A NEW secret police weapon to combat car thieves was used for the first time after high speed chases through Bolton today. The booby trap device -- called the Stinger -- is a mat full of spikes which can be placed into the path of a speeding car to burst its tyres. The spiked mat was placed across a road near Plodder Lane and a 23-year-old driver was detained.

VETERAN cricket commentator Brian Johnston has died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 81. Mr Johnson, known as "Johnners" and the BBC's voice of cricket, had been ill for some time.