A PEER in the House of Lords has issued a rallying cry to the people of Bolton to rise up and fight plans to close the town's magistrates' courts.

The Right Honourable Lord Phillips of Sudbury, who is campaigning for peers from all parties to act against the controversial plans, said closing the Le Mans Crescent building would severely affect justice in Bolton for years to come.

Speaking after tabling a debate on the proposals in the House of Lords on Tuesday, the Rt Hon Phillips said: "People should campaign anywhere and everywhere to raise the profile of this enormously important issue. Magistrates should come out of their bunkers to make their case in public.

"We are determined to keep pushing and I would urge the people of Bolton to do the same. If these court closures continue then local justice will be severely damaged for years to come."

The Liberal Democrat peer said magistrates' courts have closed at a rate of five per cent a year. There are now 435 magistrates courts in England and Wales, he said.

The Greater Manchester Magistrates Courts Committee (GMMCC) wants to close Bolton Magistrates Court because it claims the building is too expensive to modernise.

Bolton cases would be dealt with by courts in Manchester, Bury and Trafford, meaning staff, the police, defendants, witnesses and their families would have to travel outside the town.

Legal representatives from Bolton are to keep Lord Phillips informed of developments.

The Rt Hon Phillips blamed the closures on central government cash cuts.

Backing the BEN's campaign to save the court, he added: "There were 12 speakers in the Lords and every single one supported the thrust of my amendment. It must stop."

The news comes as University professor Bill Kapila continues his independent study into the impact any closure would have in Bolton. It is likely to be finished by mid-January. The GMMCC will also publish the results of their consultation document.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, who is in charge of courts across the country, would then carry out a review and give a decision sometime after July.