BOLTON'S homeless and unemployed will benefit from huge Government grants being announced today.

Jobless residents in Tonge and Burnden will be boosted by a £1.8 million slice of Single Regeneration Budget cash, earmarked for Greater Manchester.

And, in a separate allocation, housing ministers have recommended a £50,000 grant for The Bolton Bond Board to support the town's young homeless people.

News of the massive SRB windfall came this morning as the latest beneficiaries were announced. It will provide half the money needed for a special scheme 'Bolton - the Learning Town', providing education and training packages for Burnden and Tonge residents to help improve job prospects.

The five-year £3.5m project will create more than 60 jobs and will involve 74 Bolton businesses.

Nearly 1,900 pupils will also benefit from the scheme, while more than 700 young people will take part in schemes to promote social and personal development.

Home office minister George Howarth announced Bolton's cash bonanza at a press conference this morning at Manchester United Football Club. He said: "I congratulate the winning partnerships for creating such visionary projects to rejuvenate their areas and help the people in them.

"Above all these are realistic initiatives, designed to make a real difference to some of the region's most needy areas."

Bolton Bond Board, based in Newport Street, are a voluntary organisation who help the town's homeless.

Rebecca Slack, project co-ordinator for the registered charity, said: "This is great news.

"It means that a part-time support worker can now be taken on full-time."

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