BLACKROD councillor Eric Johnson will tonight be named as the next Mayor of Bolton.

Labour Cllr Johnson will officially take over from Cllr Alan Rushton in May.

Cllr Johnson, aged 73, of Latham Road, Blackrod, and his wife Ida have both been Mayor of Blackrod twice.

He said: "It is a great honour for me. I am very, very elated. It is always something I have been interested in and I am extremely grateful to my colleagues for choosing me."

Originally from St Helens, Cllr Johnson came to the Bolton area in 1977 to work at the former Horwich loco works.

He worked in the railway industry for 47 years, taking early retirement when the loco works closed in 1983.

He became a councillor in 1979 and is chairman of the environment and consumer sub-committee. Famous for his fiery speeches, Cllr Johnson admitted that there will be times when he will have to bite his lip and stay silent as Mayor.

"I am sure that I may well want to say something. But I have enough common sense to realise that you must keep out of politics as Mayor and represent all the town's people."

Meanwhile, two former Mayors will tonight be made honorary aldermen. Former Tory Cllrs Ernie Crook and Geoff Smith were both defeated in May's local elections. Mr Crook, who represented Bradshaw, was Mayor in 1992-93 and Mr Smith in 1990-91.

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