A MAN who has been sending abusive and threatening letters to a Bolton MP has been branded a coward by his victim.

Dr Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South-east, has received five chilling notes, some of which contained death threats, as a result of his support for a family of asylum seekers.

The latest letter was received just before Christmas and has now been sent off for forensic examination.

The author, who claims he is an ex-soldier, has branded Dr Iddon a 'traitor' and makes threatening, abusive and racial comments.

Dr Iddon said: "Anonymous letter writers are cowards.

"They should come forward in person if they have an argument to make."

Dr Iddon has spoken out in favour of the Sukula family, who live in Great Lever but face deportation to their homeland, the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, under tough immigration laws.

He has given his backing to the Bolton Evening News campaign Let Them Stay, which calls for the family to be allowed to remain in Bolton, despite losing their claim for asylum last year.

Det Insp Paul Hitchen, of Bolton CID, said: "The letters stopped for a while but then another was sent in December.

"There were no specific threats in the latest one but it was as abusive as the others.

"We are treating the matter extremely seriously. Anyone who has any suspicion about who is writing the letters, should contact us."

Anyone with information should call Bolton CID on 0161 856 5740.