MP JANET Anderson has signed up for Edgworth Women's Institute ... and promised to take on board some of their concerns.

The MP for Rossendale and Darwen MP Mrs Anderson -- whose constituency includes North Turton, Entwistle and Belmont - had such a good time when she attended a meeting to give a talk, she joined the group the same night.

It is a contrast to Prime Minister Tony Blair who had a famously stormy time when he spoke the WI annual conference earlier in the year and faced booing from the audience.

And although the ladies of Edgworth gave MP Anderson a traditionally warm welcome, they still had few issues they wanted her to tackle.

Marjorie Openshaw, from the WI, said: "She was very impressed with the kinds of things we do at the WI. She says she will come to our meetings when she is not in London. She gave us a very informative talk about what it's like to be an MP. But we insisted she could not be party political."

The MP has promised to investigate one of the problems faced by pensioners from Turton who wish to attend adult education lessons in Bolton.

The elderly cannot take advantage of special Senior Citizen rates because Edgworth and surrounding villages are in the Blackburn authority - even though their nearest education centre is Turton High School in Bolton.

The high-flying MP, who is Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting, will write to the two local authorities to find out whether they can come to an agreement.

The MP, who has three grown up children and lives in Darwen, was also told of concerns about the lack of public transport in the villages of Turton.