THREE former Mayors of Bolton, who among them have served on the council for more than 80 years, are to be made Honorary Aldermen.

Two of the three -- Jack Foster and Gerry Riley -- served on both the former County Borough Council of Bolton and the Metropolitan Council which came into being in 1974 under large-scale reforms.

The third former Mayor, John Monaghan, was elected to the Metropolitan Council sin 1980. The longest-serving is Mr Foster, who was first elected to the old County Borough Council in 1958 and served an unbroken 42 years on the County Borough and later Metropolitan Borough Council.

Mr Foster was Mayor in 1975-76. He also served on the former Greater Manchester Council before it was dissolved in the mid-1980s and was chairman of Bolton Planning Committee for many years.

Mr Riley, a former Leisure Services Committee chairman, was elected to the Bolton CB Council in 1972 and served until 1975. He was re-elected to the Metropolitan Council in 1977 and became Mayor in 1991-92. He retired from the council in May this year. Mr Monaghan, who represented the Blackrod ward, served on the Metropolitan Council from 1980 until May 2002 when he also retired. He was also a member of the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority for a number of years and served as Mayor of Bolton in 1999-2000.

At tomorrow's council meeting, each will be presented with an illuminated scroll marking the conferment of the title of Honorary Alderman by the Mayor, Cllr John Walsh OBE. It recognises their "eminent services rendered to the council".