Ministers are being called upon to provide clarity on Bolton’s COVID rules after it emerged that local leaders and residents were unaware of restrictions on travel and gatherings.
Published government guidance urges people to avoid all but ‘essential’ travel in areas where the Indian variant is spreading fastest – including Bolton, Bedford, Blackburn and Darwen, Burnley, Kirklees, Leicester, Hounslow, and North Tyneside.
People in these COVID hotspots are also being told to work from home where possible and avoid indoor gatherings.
Yet public officials, leaders and residents seem to have been largely unaware of the guidance – which was quietly updated online as recently as May 21 without an official announcement.
There's changes to travel guidance in Bolton. Local health officials and politicians say they weren't consulted or informed. https://t.co/mXPNqmV7Tl
Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi confirmed to The Bolton News that she was “not told” about the new guidance and only found out on Monday (May 24) when the story broke in the MEN.
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“I have only just found out about this new guidance, and it just shows the incompetence of the Government in dealing with this,” The MP stated.
“If this guidance was so important, why did no one know about it?
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“I am very angry and upset on behalf of my constituents who may have booked to go away to see family, paid for rail tickets, made arrangements. Had they known about this guidance I am sure the majority would not have made plans. It leaves them in a very difficult situation because these new guidelines are advisory.”
A government spokesperson has since told the MEN: “We provided additional guidance for those living in affected areas when we became aware of the risk posed by the variant, to encourage people to take an extra cautious approach when meeting others or travelling.”
Govt also pointing to PM words on May 14th: “those living in Bolton and other affected areas, there is now a greater risk from this new variant so I urge you to be extra cautious.”
Bolton is one of the worst-affected areas in the UK for COVID cases and continue to trend upwards.
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In the latest week May 14 – May 20, the region recorded 451 cases per 100,000 people. The average area in England had 12.
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon also announced last week that Bolton, Blackburn and Bedford residents would be banned from entering the country from Monday 24 May due to high rates of infection.
She said the restrictions were “hopefully temporary”.
Featured image: Philip Platt / Geograph
Bolton
Bolton man sets Guinness World Record for most fish fingers eaten in a minute
Emily Sergeant
A man from Bolton has set a very unique world record.
Nathan Davies, from Westhoughton in Bolton, is on a roll – first he won £98,000 on ITV‘s hit gameshow The 1% Club, and now he’s a world record holder.
After telling the show’s host, Lee Mack, that he wanted to break a world record, the 32-year-old has followed through on the promise he made on national television by claiming the title for the most fish fingers eaten in one minute.
The dad-of-two managed to scoff down 15 fish fingers in 60 seconds.
A man from Bolton man has set the Guinness World Record for the most fish fingers eaten in a minute / Credit: Guinness World Record
Nathan chose fish fingers as they’re a staple in his household thanks to his two young boys, and after first testing how quickly he could eat four of them, he decided to go for the official Guinness World Record attempt.
“I decided fish fingers was achievable given that I’ve got a few less formal eating records, so it’s up my street,” Nathan explained of his world record attempt.
Despite his impressive effort though, Nathan admits he was still a little gutted about how many he managed to chow down in the allotted time, adding: “I think I could have done more if I had let them cool down longer, but just happy to have the record.”
Nathan says it’s a ‘bit strange’ to have an official Guinness World Record for eating fish fingers, of all things, but he is ‘very proud’ of it all the same.
And when asked if he was planning to break any more records in the future, Nathan joked: “Not if my wife has any say.”
Featured Image – Guinness World Records
Bolton
Woman charged with murder of 75-year-old man inside block of flats in Bolton
Emily Sergeant
A woman has been arrested and subsequently charged with the murder of a 75-year-old man in Bolton over the weekend.
Officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called to Hargreaves House on Ormrod Street in Bolton at around 8am this past Friday morning (17 July), but upon arrival, they sadly located the body of a 75-year-old man inside the address and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 49-year-old woman was arrested and taken into custody for questioning, but now it has been confirmed that she has been charged with murder.
The woman, whose name is Samantha Nuttall, of Bradford Street in Bolton, has been remanded into custody, and will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court today (Monday 20 July).
Formal identification of the victim is yet to take place, but next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported at this time.
GMP’s Major Incident Team have launched a murder investigation and are continuing to pursue multiple lines of enquiry to establish the full circumstances.
“It is our priority to obtain some answers regarding the full circumstances of this tragic incident, and we are appealing for information from the public to help us progress our investigation,” commented Detective Inspector, Louise Kelly.
Can you help? Anyone with any information, CCTV, or mobile phone footage that may relate to the investigation can provide it via the Major Incident Public Portal here, or contact police on 101 or via the Live Chat at gmp.police.uk, quoting log 744 of 17/07/26.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
The Manc -
25th May 2021 
