AN EARLY-morning fancy dress jog, a sponsored silence, some leg waxing and plenty of crazy hair were all part of Bolton's bid to raise thousands of pounds for Comic Relief.

Youngsters and adults across the town came up with the silliest fundraising ideas they could think of to mark Red Nose Day.

And their efforts on Friday helped boost the Comic Relief funds, which will be used to help poor and disadvantaged people in the UK, Africa and developing countries around the world.

Red Nose Day in Bolton kicked off with a bog-eyed early-morning jog for Smithills School pupils.

Mayor John Walsh gave the children a lift in the Mayoral car to Bolton Arena where, in fancy dress, they jogged around the running track.

And the Bolton public took up the challenge of this year's Red Nose Day -- subtitled "The Big Hair Do" -- which urged fundraisers to organise events with a crazy hair theme.

Children at Bolton School's nursery turned up with bad hair, while staff took the chance to make manager Claire Thompson look silly by washing her hair with custard.

Nursery children at Breightmet's United Reform Church joined in with their own crazy hair day, as did youngsters at Harwood Meadows primary school's after-school club.

Church Road primary school, in Smithills, had a school full of mini mad scientists. Headteacher Stuart Hudson said: "We combined our science week with Comic Relief.

"We decided to finish the week off with all the children making a donation to dress up as a mad scientist."

Children at St Peter's school in Farnworth spent their day lining up copper coins to see how much they could raise.

Ruth Lomax, a chatterbox hairdresser at Lock 'n' Roll hair salon, has raised £300 by remaining silent for the day.

Known by regulars for her tales and banter, she had to stay silent from 9am-7pm, or face one of a series of forfeits, which included clucking down the street like a chicken.

Staff at Take a Break cafe in Farnworth sprayed their hair red and were splatted with red goo. Workers at Rediveg -- including delivery drivers -- wore fancy dress for the day, and staff at Unity Accountants dressed in red.

Costa Coffee's Richard Knowles had his head shaved, and Asda worker Dominic McGinty joined in with the hair removal by having his leg waxed.