YOUR article of August 11 claims the proposed public rickshaw service round Bolton is a first for the North-west.

But this will not be the first time that a rickshaw has been seen on the streets of the town.

As the photograph shows in 1987, the Mayor of Bolton travelled by rickshaw when he took part in the Walk for the World, a walk from Glasgow to London, via Bolton, drawing attention to the plight of poor countries.

And the following year his successor rode in a rickshaw, and then painfully pedalled it to the opening of the new Christian TrAIDshop -- now Justicia -- in Knowsley Street.

I hope that, as people in Bolton enjoy using or watching the new rickshaw service, they will remember that in some Third World countries men work extremely hard trying to earn a living by pedalling a rickshaw for many hours a day.

Perhaps Boltonians might visit Justicia and buy goods which will provide additional income for needy families in some of the world's poorest countries.

Chris Cresswell

Brookside Close

Bolton