This is footage of the harrowing moment a gang of thieves chased down a victim on e-bikes before hacking him with a machete.

Shocking CCTV shows three balaclava-clad thugs patrolling around Leigh, Greater Manchester, before they spot their target.

The robbers pursued the innocent rider, who was wearing an orange coat, in an attempt to steal the Surron electric bike he was riding.

Taking place on April 17, 2025, the incident saw the victim make a bid to escape, riding to his home on Melrose Avenue.

But he was unable to stop and slammed into a wall outside, after which one of the thugs was heard shouting, ‘Grab him now.’

The victim was punched to the ground, with one gang member pulling out a blade and repeatedly striking him while he screamed ‘no’ and tried to hold onto his bike.

The victim suffered serious injuries during the attack, including a severe laceration to his thumb and cuts to his face, before the offenders stole the bike and fled.

Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation, and one of the thieves was later identified as 20-year-old Kade Cox.

Officers were able to trace Cox through extensive CCTV and telephone enquiries, including social media scanning and mobile phone evidence.

Cox, of Walker Road, Salford, was arrested and charged with robbery, burglary with intent to steal and two counts of burglary where bikes were stolen during both incidents.

He was sentenced to 10 years at Bolton Crown Court on Monday, August 17, after pleading guilty.

Due to the severity of the machete attack, he must serve at least seven-and-a-half years in custody before he will be eligible for release.

It was later revealed that he was part of a string of three other incidents between April and July 2025, all involving the theft or attempted theft of motorbikes and electric bikes.

They included a shed in Leigh being targeted by three offenders on June 4, 2025, resulting in two motorbikes worth thousands being stolen.

And on July 19, offenders broke into a Tyldesley garage and stole three bikes, including a Honda motorbike and an electric bike.

A week later, three offenders forced their way into another Leigh garage but were forced to leave empty-handed, as there weren’t any bikes inside.

Senior investigating officer PC Richard Kelsall of Wigan’s neighbourhood team called the knife attack ‘horrific’, adding that Cox and two others ‘looked to incite fear and violence through any means possible’, purely to steal a bike.

‘This was a sustained and targeted series of thefts and burglaries, one of which left a victim with significant injuries.’

He went on to praise the ‘courage’ of the victim for ‘bravely supporting the investigation’ and sentencing.

‘Through extensive CCTV enquiries, officers were able to link four separate offences and identified Cox as being involved throughout.

‘We hope this sentence demonstrates our determination to pursue offenders who target our communities and commit violent offences for their own personal gain.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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Marcus Rashford looks to have already decided against a move to Fenerbahce with Manchester United still open to him departing this summer

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is set to turn down a transfer to Turkish club Fenerbahce, according to reports. The 28-year-old has been reintegrated into the United squad by Michael Carrick despite looking destined to leave his boyhood club permanently this summer.

Following a falling out with former head coach Ruben Amorim, Rashford enjoyed loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona. The latter turned down the chance to sign him permanently after the 2025/26 campaign concluded which saw him return to Old Trafford following the World Cup.

He joined up with the squad for their final part of pre-season and was brought on at half-time in their Premier League opener against Hull City with United losing 2-0. He was unable to make an impact but has impressed Carrick in the short time he has been back.

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Transfer links have remained, however, with the latest of those coming out of Turkiye and claiming that he is Fenerbahce’s top transfer target after they qualified for the Champions League.

However, Rashford is set to snub an approach from Fenerbahce as they look to make a statement signing, as per the Sun. Their report claims that Rashford has never had any interest in moving to Turkiye.

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Given his hefty wages, United may still be keen to move him on. Arsenal have been touted as a potential destination for Rashford if he is still looking for a move away as the Premier League champions look set to sell Gabriel Martinelli without a direct replacement lined up.

Instead, their focus is on Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid with his dream move to Barcelona unlikely to be sanctioned. Hansi Flick’s side are yet to replace Robert Lewandowski but have splashed out on Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyeim as opposed to signing Rashford.

Amad’s injury is likely to result in more minutes for Rashford, who is also capable of playing through the middle. Benjamin Sesko is expected to start against Ipswich Town this weekend after returning from injury with a cameo last weekend.

Joshua Zirkzee is the other player that can be deployed as the striker but he looks set to leave in the final days of the window with Fiorentina in talks to bring him back to Italy on a season-long loan.

United have mostly been busy in the midfield market this summer with Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba joining and they are not done there with Toby Collyer set to join West Brom.

A teenage girl required urgent medical attention, while the other three children thankfully emerged largely unscathed

Emergency services rushed to a Welsh beach after four children got into difficulty in the water. A teenage girl required urgent medical attention, while the other three children thankfully emerged largely unscathed.

The shocking incident has led to emergency services issuing a warning to the public to be careful entering open water during changing weather conditions.

Moelfre RNLI was called to Benllech Beach on Anglesey alongside paramedics from Wales Ambulance Service on Tuesday to reports that four children had found themselves in difficulty in the water. They were told the children were struggling in challenging weather conditions at the popular beach.

The incident prompted multiple lifeboat rescue teams to be dispatched to the area and by the time they had reached the beach worried members of the public had already entered the water in an attempt to help the children and pull them ashore. However a teenage girl needed urgent medical attention.

A spokesperson for the RNLI said: “The lifeboat with her crew of three launched in challenging easterly conditions and were under way within 10 minutes of the call. Whilst on route it was discovered that the children had been assisted ashore by members of the public who had entered the water to help, however one teenager needed urgent medical assistance.

“The crew landed the inshore lifeboat (ILB) ashore and, along with our colleagues Moelfre Coastguard Rescue Team, immediately began first aid treatment. The Welsh Ambulance Service was also requested and once their paramedics arrived the care of the teenage girl was handed over to them.

“She was conscious and alert but needed further medical assessment in Ysbyty Gwynedd. The other children and Good Samaritan involved were also checked out and treated for minor cuts and grazes.”

Moelfre RNLI helm Mike Hughes–Roberts said: “This was an excellent effort by all involved and the children were very lucky to get out of the challenging conditions relatively unscathed.

“There was 1.5-2m breaking surf on the beach which had overwhelmed the children. Fortunately bystanders had seen it all unfolding and called for help straight away.

“If you’re planning on venturing out on or into the water, please consider the weather conditions, have means of calling for help and ensure you let someone know your plans.”

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A theme park has been forced to close a state-of-the-art rollercoaster after it was linked to deaths and serious injuries.  

The X2 ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, was promoted as a ‘[rite] of passage for the ultimate daredevil’, but a new report shows that its twists and turns may be more extreme than the human body can handle.

It was shut down on July 12, a day after the second of two catastrophic brain-injury incidents that occurred less than a week apart.

However, a report by the news broadcaster CNN has found that these were only the latest in a decades-long string of incidents allegedly leading to life-altering disabilities, comas, and deaths.

According to CNN’s investigation, Pamela Guillen, 40, of Hawaii lost consciousness shortly after riding X2 during a family holiday.

After being rushed to hospital, doctors found brain injuries normally associated with high-speed collisions that left her in a coma for two weeks.

Just days later, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, from Los Angeles, was taken to hospital after riding the same rollercoaster and remains, as of CNN’s report, in a coma.

A park spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘The ride remains closed at this time.’

What injuries has the ride caused?

According to medical records, depositions, and legal filings, X2 has been linked to more than a dozen serious injuries and hospitalisations since it opened in 2002.

For example, in 2014, 17-year-old Selena O’Neil rode X2 with her friends.

Immediately after exiting the ride, her head began to ache, her vision blurred, and Selena struggled to walk straight.

Her right leg started to shake whenever she put weight on it and it stuck out at an unusual angle.

After doctors examined the otherwise healthy teenager, they discovered a subdural hematoma, an injury that occurs when blood collects on the surface of the brain.

In 2019, hospital doctors detailed her case in a medical journal without naming X2, directly blaming her injuries on acceleration caused by a rollercoaster.

The doctors warned: ‘Advances of rollercoaster technology and industry competition for thrill–seeking patrons may ultimately improve acceleration and performance beyond the passenger’s physical ability to tolerate them.’

Medical experts have found that the extreme forces created by the ride are capable of causing brain injuries (pictured) usually associated with high–speed collisions 

However, court filings made by Selena’s family and seen by CNN revealed that prior to her injuries, at least five riders had visited the hospital after riding X2.

Those included a 62-year-old man who had sued the park in 2009 after suffering a traumatic brain injury he alleged was caused by the ride.

Has anyone died after riding X2?

In 2022, college graduate Christopher Hawley, 22, rode X2 with his cousin and brother.

According to court records filed afterwards, the three relatives were flipped like ‘rag dolls’, and Christopher hit his head on his seat several times.

Shortly before exiting the ride, Christopher complained of being light-headed, and he was taken to nearby Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.

Doctors discovered that his brain was bleeding so badly that it was crushing his brain into one side of his skull, causing it to bulge out when surgeons opened his skull to release the pressure.

Despite being in excellent health when boarding the ride, Christopher was dead less than ten hours later.

Christopher Hawley (centre) died in June 2022, the day after visiting the park and riding the X2 rollercoaster

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The LA County Medical Examiner later ruled that Christopher died as a result of blunt head trauma less than ten hours after riding X2

Previously, in 2010, a 28-year-old single mother named Hilda Farias also died after riding X2.

Experts suspected that her death was caused by a brain abnormality that ruptured due to the intense forces of the ride.

Why is X2 so dangerous?

Typically, the forces that people experience on a rollercoaster are well within safe bounds.

However, X2’s ‘four–dimensional’ design makes it significantly tougher on riders’ bodies.

In addition to reaching a top speed of 76mph (120km/h) and featuring a 215ft (65m) drop, the seats also rotate independently.

During two so-called ‘raven turns’, the carriages spin upside down while looping, sending the riders backwards into sheer drops.

There are only two other rollercoasters in the world with a similar design, one in China and one in Japan.

Scientists have found that the forces created by most rollercoasters are lower than those exerted by football headers, but X2’s unique design created a much greater impact

Those additional twists and turns add extra forces to each turn that can cause extremely rapid acceleration in the brain.

As the brain accelerates within the skull, this creates ‘very rapid deformations in the brain, which can lead to diffuse axonal injury, tissue tears, and vascular disruptions’.

Are rollercoasters safe to ride?

Despite around 300million people riding rollercoasters each year, the number of people injured is relatively low.

However, injuries and even deaths are not unheard of.

A 2005 study found that there were 39 deaths associated with rollercoasters in the US between 1994 and 2004, 15 of which were caused by bleeding of the brain or cardiac problems.

Similarly, a 2013 study found that 4,423 children in the US went to the emergency room each year between 1990 and 2010 for treatment of injuries ‘resulting from amusement park rides’.

Common injuries were to the head and neck, usually caused when the child fell off, on to or against a ride.

Studies show that the peak velocity exerted on the brain by a rollercoaster is comparable to sprinting and less than a header, but exceptionally dangerous rides like X2 require further investigation 

But these injuries tend to be minor, and deaths usually occur as isolated cases, rather than the repeated incidents associated with X2.

Overall, hospitalisation rates for rollercoasters are low, sitting at just 1.5 per cent annually, with an average of 4.5 deaths per year.

Likewise, studies suggest that the forces exerted by a typical rollercoaster are generally not sufficient to cause brain trauma.

According to one 2017 study, rollercoasters lead to brain strains smaller than mild football headers and comparable to the forces exerted while running.

Co-author of the report, Professor Lyndia Wu, of the University of British Columbia, told CNN: ‘I personally don’t think head injury should be an expected risk from going on a rollercoaster ride, and there is no reason a ride can’t be properly designed to prevent injuries like this.’

However, the researchers note that some higher-risk rides, such as X2, need to be investigated further.

Nearly 40 Victorian skeletons have been discovered beneath the Queensgate roundabout in Peterborough during the City Link redevelopment project

Almost 40 skeletons have been unearthed at a major construction site in a UK city centre.

A total of 37 sets of human remains have now been found beneath the Queensgate roundabout in Peterborough, where extensive redevelopment works are currently underway.

The remains were first discovered in late July during work on the City Link project, with the tally of skeletons subsequently climbing to 37. Archaeologists on site have also brought to light tombs and burial chambers.

Councillor Angus Ellis, cabinet member for transport at Peterborough City Council, said: “Work is currently continuing at the site, with staff from M Group working alongside Oxford Archaeology following the discovery of human skeletal remains. Archaeologists have now discovered 37 skeletons along with tombs and burial chambers.”

Peterborough City Council has confirmed that all skeletons uncovered to date are Victorian.

Following the initial find in July, the council had indicated that an archaeologist believed the remains originated from a cemetery dating back to the medieval period, reports the Express.

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However, the authority later confirmed that the remains discovered so far were Victorian in origin.

A council spokesperson said: “The depth we have dug to is deeper than what was excavated in the 1970s, ’80s.”

They went on to note that given the roundabout’s proximity to Peterborough Cathedral, “there was always the possibility… that these discoveries could have been earlier”. The Queensgate roundabout itself was constructed during the 1970s on land that had formerly housed a Victorian cemetery, which ceased accepting burials in 1858.

The findings may also affect the schedule for the substantial redevelopment scheme.

An initial four-week setback was anticipated while the remains were extracted, though the council has subsequently indicated the project might be pushed back by as much as eight weeks.

Cllr Ellis said: “This is due to the nature of the work that the archaeologists are undertaking, which is intricate and time-consuming. We are looking at options to reduce this possible delay in later phases of the project and will announce updates in due course.”

The City Link walkway seeks to regenerate the area and establish a route linking Peterborough railway station with the city centre.

It represents part of the £65million Station Quarter redevelopment, which commenced earlier this year.

The roadworks are presently scheduled for completion in summer 2027.

Police attended the scene after receiving reports of a ‘suspicious device’ being found

A treasure hunter discovered a First World War explosive hidden in a Cambridge river. Not long ago, treasure hunter Harvinii Richards discovered a World War One medal in the River Cam near Jesus Green.

While out on another treasure hunt on Thursday (August 27), Harvinii was searching the same part of the river where he found the medal, when he came across what he thought was a spray can.

“It was this really big thing. When I took it out and I realised its shape, I realised it was an artillery shell and I panicked,” said Harvinii. He added: “I was careful. I disconnected the shell and put it in a bucket of water, then I called the police.”

Cambridgeshire Police attended the scene at around 4.50pm after receiving reports of a “suspicious device” being found in the River Cam. A police spokesperson said: “Officers attended and the device, believed to be a howitzer shell, was found not to be viable.”

Once an officer confirmed to Harvinii it was a howitzer shell, he said it “blew my mind”. He added: “I’ve found grenades, guns and knives, but I’ve never found anything like an artillery.

“It was around a foot long and very heavy. When the police told me it was a howitzer I did some Googling and found out they were crucial to winning the war. To me, it’s a piece of Cambridge history.”

As it was not viable, Harvinii was allowed to take it home. He is now working on de-rusting the shell and trying to get it back to its original state.

He said: “This is a piece of Cambridge heritage. We all know people fought and died in World War One. It feels like a responsibility to do the honourable thing.”

Harvinii also hopes to eventually get in touch with Cambridge Heritage to see if the shell could be displayed in a museum.

I can’t think of anyone who wasn’t saddened to hear of the death of Dolly Parton this week, such was her natural ability to charm all kinds of people. Sharp, funny, warm and with a huge heart – much like her character Doralee in 9 to 5 – she constantly wrong-footed people with the way she looked and who she really was.

There’s a lovely photograph of (pre-artifice) Dolly being endlessly posted on social media, showing her possibly in her thirties, smiling as she looks straight into the lens, all dimples, mischief and eyelashes. It’s a delight to see her caught in the moment so naturally, doubtless cracking a joke. She is truly luminous in this image.

Later, evolving into what seemed like a cartoon version of herself, she once quipped: “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!” But Dolly Parton was a savvy woman, who had grown up in a post-war America of rural poverty in the backwoods of Tennessee. Her music spoke to all kinds of people, with her sweet, timbrous voice and lyrics that nailed emotions and lodged themselves in your heart.

“I’ve always believed that a part of my magic, if there was any, was that I look so artificial, but I am so totally real. I think when you hear these kinds of songs, you know that has to come from the heart,” she once said.

Music researcher Wendy Hargreaves sums up the genius of this heartfelt songwriting in three top Dolly Parton tunes. From the unvarnished ache of a vulnerable woman appealing to her younger rival in Jolene, to the foot-stomping feminist anthem of 9 to 5, and the original unshowy version of I Will Always Love You, these three songs point to the breadth and depth of Dolly’s artistry, revealing her profound ability to connect with others through bittersweet melodies, affecting lyrics and that extraordinary voice.

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Jolene, I Will Always Love You and 9 to 5: the genius of Dolly Parton in three songs

Fragile states

Late Fame is a wry, tender meditation on ageing, artistic ambition and the possibility of a second act. Willem Dafoe plays Ed Saxberger, a once-promising poet on the periphery of the 1960s Beat generation, now a humble postal worker in the Lower East Side of New York. Out of the blue, his one slim volume of poetry is discovered by a group of slumming-it rich kids who urge him to return to his brilliant work.

Flattered by their attention, Ed is drawn back into a world he thought he had left behind, attempting to write again but finding the page remaining stubbornly blank.

The film also features a gorgeous performance by the very watchable Greta Lee as Grace, someone who has also been adopted by the wannabe boho group with literary pretensions.

Grace, whose sophisticated facade belies a much sadder reality, seduces Ed into taking a last-chance shot at literary ambition, but will he fall for the attractions of late-blooming fame?

Late Fame is in cinemas now

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Given the extreme temperatures in the south of England this summer, Between Land and Tide is a timely and startling work of outdoor performance art inspired by the sea, the shoreline and Portsmouth’s coastal landscape. Featuring a wearable starfish sculpture inhabited by five “seaborn guardian” women, each forming a limb of the sea creature, the performance draws attention to the fragility of our environment and our deep-seated relationship with the sea as islanders.

Between Light and Tide runs till September 27 at various locations around Portsmouth

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Humans and aliens

This year marks the anniversaries of two culturally significant sci-fi dramas: James Cameron’s Aliens (the better-than-the-original sequel to 1979’s Alien) marks 40 years, while groundbreaking spaceship series Star Trek, which first aired the month after I was born, celebrates 60 years. If you’ve never seen them before, you’re in for a treat, especially if you are a sci-fi fan.

Anyone who sat quivering in a darkened cinema in 1986, adrenaline pumping as they watched luckless spacestation personnel being gruesomely picked off one by one, will never forget that encounter with Aliens.

The huge black acid-dripping creature with cavernous jaws heralded a new era of special effects and slick, mesmerising monsters. But even more formidable was Sigourney Weaver’s statuesque, no-bullshit Ripley who instantly became the new gold standard in kick-ass heroines – uttering the memorable and much-imitated line: “Get away from her you bitch!” Essentially though, this was a tale of two females fighting to protect their young, so maybe there was a little more common ground than they imagined as they fought unflinchingly to the death.

Aliens can be streamed on Disney+

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Star Trek meanwhile may have aged less well, and at times feels comical with its studio sets of 1960s-imagined alien landscapes and a scenery-chewing William Shatner as Captain Kirk.

But as history and culture expert Stephen McVeigh points out, Star Trek remains important because it used the subject of space exploration (when the US-Russian space race was at its height) to examine what it means to be human. Its lasting legacy, he maintains, is not technological prophecy, “but in recognising that the most fascinating and vexing mystery remains humanity itself”.

The original Star Trek series can be streamed on Paramount+

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Right-wing influencer Milo Yiannopoulos, who used to be Kanye West‘s chief of staff and is now his publicist, has reportedly been detained by ICE.

Sources claim the British firebrand was taken into custody at an airport in Louisiana, with inmate records indicating he is now at a detention center in the state, via TMZ.

Yiannopoulos, who was allegedly seized in the New Orleans area, now faces a final order of removal, per US officials and government records obtained by CBS.

His reasons for traveling to Louisiana remain unconfirmed, although West is scheduled to perform at the Superdome in New Orleans on Friday.

Since his rise to fame as a political commentator, Yiannopoulos has been a staunch advocate of immigration restriction and mass deportations.

He said in 2017 that he was in America on an O-1 nonimmigrant visa, which is granted to aliens with an ‘extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics,’ according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services policy manual.

The Daily Mail has contacted Yiannopoulos and ICE for comment. 

West is pictured with Yiannopoulos in Beverly Hills in November 2022, the same month they visited Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago with Nick fuentes in tow

O-1 visas, which require sponsorship by an ‘agent’ or employer, can also be given to individuals of ‘extraordinary achievement’ in movies and TV.

Yiannopoulos enjoys a longstanding association with West and acted as director of political operations on his 2024 US presidential campaign.

In 2022, during his time as West’s political honcho, he helped arrange the rapper’s explosively controversial Mar-a-Lago summit with Donald Trump and the self-described ‘white identitarian’ streaming star Nick Fuentes.

Yiannopoulous has since dramatically fallen out with Fuentes, whom he now relentlessly derides on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

In 2017, he exchanged vows in Hawaii with a black man whom he publicly referred to only as ‘John,’ otherwise carefully concealing his identity.

As such, it remains unconfirmed whether Yiannopoulos became eligible to obtain American citizenship or a green card via marriage to a US national.

Yiannopoulos has characterized himself as ‘ex-gay’ since 2021, and has commenced divorce proceedings with his husband.

His reported ICE woes come after his client, West, was banned from Yiannopoulos’ native Britain over the antisemitic diatribes that torpedoed his career, including praise for Hitler and a vow to go ‘death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.’

Sources claim the British firebrand was taken into custody at an airport in Louisiana, with inmate records indicating he is now at a detention center there, via TMZ; pictured 2017

West took out a full-page ad apologizing for the comments in the Wall Street Journal this January, three months before he was prohibited from entering the UK.

He had been scheduled to a headline a music festival at Finsbury Park in London that was called off altogether after his appearance there became impossible.

West has also seen planned concerts canceled in Poland and France this year as a result of the continuing backlash to his tirades about Jews, as well as to a past embrace of Nazi iconography so extravagant that he released a single called Heil Hitler and sold merchandise splashed with swastikas.

He was set to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg in October, which would have made him the highest-profile western artist to play Russia since the outbreak of the Ukraine War, but those shows were also scrapped amid blowback.

However he has been able to stage concerts in America, as well as in Mexico, Turkey and such post-Soviet countries as Georgia and Kazakhstan.

In his Wall Street Journal ad, West blamed his antisemitic remarks on his infamous 2002 car crash, which he claimed left him with brain damage that went ‘unnoticed’ and led to the development of his subsequently diagnosed bipolar disorder.

The closure of the award-winning Queen O’ T’owd Thatch in South Milford, between Leeds and Selby, was announced yesterday (Thursday) on social media.

The statement said the closure was with ‘a heavy heart’ but added there were many factors behind it.

It explained: “Running a pub takes a huge amount of time, effort and commitment, and it also relies on having the right support around it.

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“We have done our very best to keep the doors open and to provide somewhere for people to come together and enjoy. However, over recent months, the challenges have unfortunately become too much to continue as things stand.

“We have been trying since February to employ a new management couple or a chef but the industry is on a decline, we have been unsuccessful due both management couples & chefs are leaving the industry to do other jobs. High overheads are also adding to the hospitality industry decline.”

The statement thanked those who had supported the pub, calling it “incredibly sad” to close the pub until a “suitable tenant can be found.”

The closure, which began today, comes despite the pub earning good reviews on social media.

Google awards the venue 4.9 stars out of five based on 31 reviews.

Tripadvisor awards 4.1 stars out of five based on 56 reviews, ranking it 488th out of 1,979 restaurants in Leeds.

However, the Press has reported the gastropub has previously faced challenges due to higher rents and other costs leading former managers to leave the pub in 2023.

Last month, the pub commented on Facebook that business seemed quitter than usual, which might have been due to the holidays, or festivals.

The post continued: “Well, pubs don’t stay open on good memories and Facebook likes. They stay open because folk walk through t’door, have a pint and put the world to rights and keep the lights on.

“Your local isn’t just somewhere that sells beer. It’s where birthdays are celebrated, friendships are made, darts are argued over, politics get serious, and someone always knows someone who knows your dad!

“So instead of saying, “We really should go,” just go!!

“One pint. One visit. It all helps.

“Because once your local’s gone, all that’s left is everyone saying, “It were a cracking pub, that.”

It added: “We’re open to any suggestions of things you’d like to see other than what we already offer!”

The nine photos from The Bolton News archive were taken in 1974, when flares were very much in fashion and Mud, The Rubettes and Paper Lace released some of the best-selling singles of the year.

Perhaps you were at school in Bolton at this time. You might even be in one of the photographs.

Hopefully they will bring back fond memories for some Looking Back readers who are probably wondering how those five decades have flown by.

To share your memories of schooldays in Bolton, email bygones@nqnw.co.uk and don’t forget to include some photos, as we’d love to see them.