BLIND singing talent Leah Todd will be returning to Bolton to perform on behalf of the charity which helped give her the independence to live a full life. Leah, 21, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, stayed at the Guide Dogs for the Blind training Centre in Bolton for three weeks, training with her first guide dog, Doris. Those three weeks in the town changed her life, bringing Leah, who has been blind from birth, the kind of independence she had never known.

And now, the talented singer, who appeared on Michael Barrymore's My Kind of People show two years ago, will be revisiting the town that gave her the liberty she holds so dear.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Training Centre in Lowndes Street, Bolton, caters for the entire North-west of England, and the town has a suitably active fund-raising association lending its support.

And members' next event on Sunday, May 31, is set to put more "brass" into the association.

The Bolton branch of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association holds a Whit Brass Band Concert on Sunday, May 31, at 7pm, which will feature not only Leah but Besses Boys' Band - the longest surviving youth band in Great Britain.

The event, sponsored by Transco, among others, is at the Albert Hall, in Bolton Town Hall. Tickets, £5 adults and £4 concessions, are available from the ticket and information office at the town hall. Further information is from 0161 724 8019 or 01204 491161.

While the association's main work is training guide dogs and helping people to use them safely and efficiently, it also provides other services such as long cane training, making household tasks easier, and teaching reading and writing with a variety of special equipment.

The aim is not only to provide guide dogs but the "independence, mobility, freedom, companionship and confidence" which comes with them.

Fund-raising targets start at just 65 pence - enough to help feed a guide dog for a day - through to £2,500 which sponsors a guide dog and owner partnership.

The Training Centre will be opening its doors to the public on June 14, 12pm to 5pm, when more information about the work it carries out will be on display, together with a variety of fun shows, stalls and displays.

Anyone interested in further information about the local committee of voluntary fund-raisers should telephone, chairman Mrs Georgie Stirk on 491161.

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