BOLTON is fighting back to recapture lost trade with its first high profile television advertising campaign.

The £25,000 campaign will involve 15 peak time slots - including some in between Coronation Street on the run up to Christmas.

The offensive is the brainchild of Bolton Town Centre Partnership to fight off competition over the festive period from surrounding towns and Manchester city centre.

Town centre manager Marie Appleton announced the exciting campaign at yesterday's traders' committee meeting.

She said: "The partnership feels that this is the year to have an advertising campaign of this kind.

"We have new developments opening in Bolton and we have a strong message to get across - 'Come to Bolton'."

The 20 second adverts, which have yet to be filmed, aim to target shoppers from Bury, Wigan and Leigh. The first series of adverts is expected to be broadcast on October 30 and 31 and on November 2. This will promote the big switch-on of Bolton's Christmas lights and the festive parade.

Mrs Appleton added: "We don't know of any other towns in the surrounding area using television advertising. We feel this is the best way of getting the message across.

"We will be supplementing these adverts with newspaper advertising and of course the larger shops and centres in Bolton will have their own campaigns."

Bolton Town Centre Partnership chairman Mr Arnold Wilcox-Wood said: "We have been complacent over the last few years letting places like Oldham and Wigan catch up on us.

"It's now Bolton versus the rest and that is why we have decided to advertise in this way."

The advertising campaign has been made possible through £35,000 funds from Bolton Town Centre Partnership. Launched last year, it is a working partnership between Bolton Council and the private sector.

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