FORMER Bolton MP Peter Thurnham has presided over a major expansion in his Midlands-based refrigeration engineering business.

WR Refrigeration Ltd in Leicester, which Mr Thurnham founded in 1972, has seen its workforce grow from 220 to more than 600 over the past four years.

The boom has followed increased demand for energy-efficient refrigeration systems for supermarkets and food processors.

The company now has 26 branches throughout the country, including Salford and Leeds.

It was listed among the 100 fastest-growing companies in the UK in a Sunday Times list published earlier this year.

Mr Thurnham, aged 63, whose education included spells at Cambridge and the Harvard Business School, became the hard-working Conservative MP for Bolton North-east in 1983 and represented the area until 1997.

He hit the national headlines when he defected to the Liberal Democrats in 1996.

In recent years, however, he has slipped out of the political scene and dedicated his considerable energies to his activities as chairman of WR Refrigeration.

After spending 14 years visiting numerous Bolton companies, he found himself on the other side of the fence recently when the company welcomed Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt.

Mr Thurnham and managing director Rob Dyment showed Ms Hewitt the company's designs for refrigeration units at a Morrison's supermarket in North Wales.

They told the minister that it would cut the plant's annual operating costs in half, saving £40,000.

The company is aware that supermarkets are seeking new ways of reducing the use of power following the introduction of the Government's Climate Change Levy.

Mr Thurnham's son Tim, an engineer, missed the visit because he was in Tenerife preparing to row the Atlantic.

He and his crew mate Will Mason, an NHS surgeon, were due to set off yesterday to compete with 49 other boats in a 3,000-mile race to Barbados.

WR Refrigeration is sponsoring Tim and Will as they seek to raise more than £70,000 for children through SPARKS (Sports Action Research for Kids).

Mr Thurnham lived in the Lake District during his spell in Parliament, but he has since moved to Gloucestershire.

His association with Bolton continues through support for local charities including Bolton Hospice and Bolton Lads and Girls Club.

He said he would be glad to hear from other worthwhile causes in Bolton.

"I am very involved with my elder son's participation in the Atlantic Challenge over the next two months but can always be contacted through the Bolton Hospice campaign office," Mr Thurnham said. I enjoy maintaining links with Bolton and I am especially proud to wear my Bolton Wanderers tie."itt