I WAS highly interested in your article 'Fighting talk in battle of pubs' on February 6.

I was born in the St Albans area and spent many of my early years there. I am well aware of the Fighting Cocks' claim to be the oldest pub in the country. However, as I have lived in Westhoughton for many years, I think it is better to be neutral in this dispute.

A few years ago my wife walked past a charity shop on Market Street, Westhoughton. She returned to look into the charity shop window, as she thought she recognised the picture displayed -- it was the Fighting Cocks of St Albans. It appears to be a print of a painting bearing a name, but, unfortunately, too faint to see the name properly. The mystery of how the picture came so far as to be in Westhoughton still remains. And it still hangs on my wall.

Alfred Thorne

Church Street

Westhoughton