SUPERSTAR steeplejack Fred Dibnah has joined the battle to prevent Bolton's industrial treasures being shipped out of town. Fred is steaming over plans to send some of Bolton's textile heritage on long-term loan to other museums.

And Britain's most famous steam enthusiast has invited councillors to his home to work out ways of keeping historical machinery including Samuel Crompton's Mule, James Hargreaves' Spinning Jenny and Richard Arkwright's Water Frame in Bolton.

Fred and his wife Sue are backed by hundreds of BEN readers and local history groups who are furious at the council's plans first revealed and condemned by the BEN a fortnight ago.

Fred said: "Not content with selling off some of the finest mill buildings in the country, engines built by great industrialists of the past and dismantling pieces of our national heritage, they are now planning to get rid of machinery which made this town great."

The arts sub-committee has agreed to loan the machines to Manchester Museum of Science and Industry and Helmshore Textile Museum for five years because there was nowhere available locally to display them.

But Sue hit back: "There are numerous fine old buildings in Bolton which have been left to rot and then sold for a song.

"People in other parts of the country, with nowhere near as many artefacts as Fred has, have got money from Europe, opened a heritage centre and pulled in tourists. All this council is interested in is building bigger shops."

Now, the Dibnahs are inviting the council to their home in Radcliffe Road for talks on developing tourism by saving the machines.

Fred said: "If I can meet the council, look at what we have and what I have here, then together we can develop something which will bring the tourists into Bolton."

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