BOLTON Council will tonight be asked to oppose plans to put fluoride in the town's water supply.

The local authority has been a fierce opponent of fluoridation in the past.

But there are fears that the debate is about to be opened up again with the publication of the Government's Public Health White Paper.

Water companies have not been allowed to put fluoride in the water supply when there has been opposition.

Campaigners for fluoride have also argued that children who don't have it in the water supply have a greater chance of tooth decay than areas where it is provided.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Bob Ronson will call on the local authority to reaffirm its opposition to fluoride at tonight's full council meeting.

He said: "The addition of fluoride appears to be aimed at children living in poverty, but we should be attacking the underlying causes of poverty rather than bringing in mass medication for the whole population.

"A return to a universal entitlement to proper dental treatment, regardless of the parent's capacity to carry private health insurance would also ensure equality of treatment.

"Referenda have been held in Bolton in the past. In both cases, they showed an overwhelming rejection of fluoride in the water supply."