MOST Bolton folk would pride themselves on being caring and considerate members of the community. Indeed, our track record as one of Lancashire's friendliest towns is well deserved. So how on earth have we now acquired a reputation for animal cruelty that's one of the worst in the Greater Manchester area?

According to the Bolton branch of the RSPCA, the 900 complaints of alleged animal cruelty and neglect they investigated last year, represented almost a 17 per cent increase over the previous 12 months. This catalogue of misery took in everything from cage birds to cats, rabbits, dogs - even turtles!

Obviously this increase in cases has put an extra strain on the already hard-pressed resources of organisations like the RSPCA. Their work-load has also risen because of TV pet programmes, encouraging people to become more vigilant. So instances of suspected pet abuse are now reported more promptly - which is exactly how it should be.

However, as long as it remains so easy to obtain a pet - just like buying a bar of chocolate, according to the RSPCA - we will have to rely on such vigilance - and the public shaming of people convicted of such animal cruelty. Scheme makes sense WE are often accused of raising a junk food generation of children, addicted to sweets, canned soft drinks and TV dinners.

So the news that Bolton education chiefs have agreed to bring back daily free school milk for children of nursery and reception age, for a trial period, will have a lot of older readers applauding the wisdom of such a move.

A small step, perhaps, but with many diet experts trying to convince us that what we eat and drink determines our fate to a great extent, it's a scheme well worth trying out for at least a year.

Such a step might make New Labour's Tony Blair smile with even more intensity. But we wonder what Margaret Thatcher (The Milk Snatcher) would make of it all?

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.