A MAN was due before a Bolton court today charged with four attempted murders following the dramatic Westhoughton bank robbery.

It is nearly eight months since a three-man gang struck at the Market Street branch of Barclays Bank, escaping with thousands of pounds and leaving three police officers and a woman passer-by with gunshot wounds.

Lst night a police spokesman confirmed a 21-year-old Salford man would appear before Bolton mgistrates today, on charges connected with the raid.

Stewart Darren Grainger, 21, has been charged with two counts of armed robbery - one relating to the Westhoughton incident and another to an incident in Salford in February - four attempted murders and theft of a vehicle.

Four months after the raid, two police officers who were wounded by shotgun pellets, were still off work as they continued to recover from their injuries.

Up to eight customers had been in the bank when masked gunmen struck. The raid on April 13 featuring on the BBC's Crimewatch programme in May and a £30,000 reward also being tabled by bank bosses.

A getaway car which was dumped in Church Street, Westhoughton, was seized by forensic experts for a detailed examination as part of the police manhunt. A team of 10 detectives, headed by Det Supt Mick Gorrill, have been working on the case.