From the Evening News, 1992 - A BOLTON vicar has told parents they must act now to stop their children running riot in the streets of Harwood.

And he has blamed adults who "moan but do nothing" for part of the problem.

The Rev. David Brierley, vicar of Christ's Church, Harwood, has called for co-ordinated community action after unruly mobs forced one local youth centre to close down and threatened the future of another. Mr Brierley believes much of the teenagers' behaviour can be blamed on either drink or drugs.

25 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

November 27, 1977

RESCUE workers are still counting the cost of the hurricane force winds and freak tides which flooded more than 6,000 homes in the Blackpool, Morecambe and Fleetwood areas and reduced a pier to a maze of twisted scrap iron.

In Morecambe, the floods which roared over the top of the sea wall on Friday, Nov. 11, raced down town centre streets, flooding more than 1,000 homes and smashing furniture to matchwood. It is feared that the pier, built in the 1870s, may never be re-opened.

The worst flood disaster for 50 years in Fleetwood left between 4,000 and 5,000 homes flooded and about one-third of the town under water. Blackpool had 1,100 homes flooded.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

November 27, 1952

IF a survey could be conducted to find out what is considered to be the dreariest of household chores, probably half the housewives questioned would reply "the washing up", it being one of the jobs which cannot be done in advance, postponed, or even carefully forgotten.

A patent dishwasher, which is now on sale in a Bolton shop is therefore of interest to all the town's housewives, and the gallant husbands who help with the washing up. This labour saver, rather larger than a washing machine, takes the number of dishes which would be used by a family of eight for a four-course meal, washes them, dries them, and part-sterilizes them in the course of three minutes.

100 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

November 27, 1902

BETWEEN 180 and 200 men employed in the boiler, fitting, erecting and moulding shops of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company's works at Horwich were on Tuesday, it is stated, given a week's notice to cease work.

It is customary to stop a number of employees during the back-end season, and slackness of trade is stated in some quarters to account for the present stoppage. A rumour is also current that the company are about to cease building so many engines as has been the case, and are awaiting developments in connection with the new electrification scheme, which it has been decided to try between Liverpool and Southport.

It is known that extension has taken place in the electrical department of the works, and this may be taken to mean that the company are experimenting and watching keenly the progress made by electricity as a motive power.