25 YEARS AGO

SEX should be banned from cigarettes advertisements under a voluntary code announced today. Cigarettes must not be seen to make people better lovers, more courageous, more relaxed, or better at their jobs. Tobacco may be natural, but smoking cigarettes should not be seen as natural.

TWO tennis players each collected three titles in the Bolton Charity Lawn Tennis Tournament at Chorley New Road on Sunday. The triple champions were Steve Denner and Barbara Wadsworth. They each retained their singles titles, teamed up to win the mixed crown, and made it three each by gaining their respective doubles titles.

50 YEARS AGO

FARMERS in the Over Hulton and Middle Hulton districts, incensed by the threat to their farms by open-cast coal mining operations, are making representations in the hope of saving their land. Boring operations at different parts of the land have revealed seams about 6ft. thick at varying depths. 'I'll fight to the last ditch', said Mr H. Heaton, of Umberton Farm, who faces the prospect of losing 71 acres of good agricultural land. Although land can be requisitioned for open-cast mining by Act of Parliament, coal being considered the most urgent immediate need, many MPs are becoming more doubtful about the value of this policy, especially when good farming land is involved.

125 YEARS AGO

AFTER three days' delay on account of the unfavourable state of the weather, Captain Webb took the water at three minutes to five yesterday afternoon, with the avowed intention of swimming the Channel and landing somewhere on the French main. He seems (should the weather remain fine) confident of success. He is, moreover, in splendid form. A lugger, with the representatives of the London press, accompanies him, and a smaller boat, containing one of the oldest and experienced boatmen belonging to Dover, and also one who is fully conversant with the sets of the currents, precedes him on his hazardous and toilsome journey. He calculates being in the water, we believe, some 18 hours, and he has taken with him about 3lbs of underdone beef, 1lb of coffee, and a gallon of old ale, with a small quantity of brandy, which last, however, he will not touch unless in extremis.