THE basic weekly state pension is just £67.50 for a single person and £107.90 for a married couple.

That's after the 75p rise that was added on last spring.

Every one of the pensioners the BEN spoke to in a snap survey on Bolton Market yesterday said they felt as angry with the Blair government as they did with the paltry sum.

Some said they had assumed it would be a turning point when Labour came to power -- but all said they now felt totally let down.

Among them was 83-year-old Bob Sherrington of Horwich who served for nearly 20 years as Bolton's town crier.

Bob, who lives in Horwich, said he felt like shouting from the town hall steps that pensioners were getting a raw deal.

"I worked on the railway so I have superannuation. But I can't imagine how anybody would live on the pension alone. Members of the government certainly couldn't live on it."

John Sumner, 80, from Bromley Cross said people who had only the state pension were angry that money was wasted on the Dome, while pensioners were forgotten. "I paid into a company scheme for 40 years, thank goodness. I expect the state pension will rise by about 35p this time."

Great grandmother Annie Farrell, 84, of Great Lever said: "When the bills come it's a struggle. But pensions have been low for so long we have got used to looking for bargains all the time. The way things are looking, we don't expect any increase this time."

Widow Constance Smalley, 72, of Astley Bridge said: "I worked at British Telecom and without my company pension I don't think I could exist. I feel so sorry for people who only have the state pension."

Joyce Dobson, 80, from Leigh is assistant catering supervisor at Bolton Age Concern centre and knows better than most how many pensioners struggle.

"But I'm one of the lucky ones," she joked. "When I turned 80 this summer I got an extra 25p on top of the 75p we got last spring. I just don't know what to do with all the extra money. I'm rich."

Richard Flanagan 80, of Doffcocker used to work at Wadsworth Lifts in Bolton and reckons a giant lift is what pensioners want.

"The pension should rise by £10 at least. I don't know how some pensioners manage. I have a company pension and most of the state pension goes on paying the council tax," he said.

Les Hewitt, 65, from Chorley said: "It was supposed to be a government for the working classes, but now we have seen the truth. I think that if Tony Blair doesn't take pensioner poverty very seriously the Conservatives will walk back in. I have been talking about this on the bus into Bolton and all the pensioners thought the same." Annie Farrell Bob Sherrington Constance Smalley John Sumner Joyce Dobson Les Hewitt Richard Flanagan