From the Evening News, November 19,1992 - BALLOON dancer Dave O'Byrne was celebrating today after a tribunal found that he was unfairly dismissed from his top job with electrical giants Dixons.

Dave, of Belmont, and another manager, Allan Dwan, of Liverpool, had stripped off for a naked balloon dance at an office party at a Norwich hotel. They were sacked for misconduct after doing two dances for the cheering crowd.

Tribunal chairman Mr Lloyd-Parry said: "This kind of performance was a time-honoured tradition after similar forms of entertainment at earlier company parties."

25 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

November 18, 1977

A FRESH ceiling collapse scare at Bolton General Hospital has forced 70 psychiatric patients to be evacuated to temporary accommodation. Seven months ago the ceiling in the psychiatric wards directly below caved in, forcing the evacuation of 75 patients to the old maternity block.

Miss Sweden, 20-years-old Mary Stavin, won the Miss World competition in London last night.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

November 19, 1952

A SHORT bus ride from Bolton are hundreds of families with a new lease of life. Many are experiencing a boon little appreciated in the balmy days before 1939 . . . they have a house of their own.

These families live on the mushroom Mountskip estate, Little Hulton, and each one has been pulled out of the busy hub-bub of Salford. They are what the planners call "overspill".

"Eh, lad, but its wonderful to have a place to myself," declared one other, Mrs Elsie Robins in her two-up, two-down semi yesterday. She said that she and her husband and family had spent 10 years with her mother at Kersal.

100 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

November 18, 1902

HENRY Mack (29), the Bolton labourer whose crime has been investigated at Manchester Assizes, was on Saturday sentenced to death by Judge Jelf for the murder of Esther Elizabeth Bedford, a woman with whom he had been living at Oldham.

Prisoner betrayed no nervousness. - Mr Jordan, for the defence, admitted that for 14 weeks of the 16 during which the parties lived together, there was evidence of ill-usage. Among other things, prisoner had taken deceased by the legs and swung her against the wall and had ruptured her; but he urged on the jury to return a verdict of manslaughter. - The Judge said the verdict must be "murder" or nothing, and after 30 minutes the jury returned with a verdict of "Wilful Murder".

Mack, asked if he had anything to say why the sentence of death should not be passed on him, replied: "My lord, no one on this earth thought more of that woman than I did. In fact, when I had known her to be drunk I left my business as a bookmaker, where I earned £2 and £3 a week, found her, and brought her home." The Judge put on the black cap and sentenced prisoner to death.