A brand new “secure dog park” has opened up in Bolton today – and it’s already proving popular with locals.
The Westhoughton Dog Park – which is around half an hour away from Manchester, in the Bolton town of Westhoughton – is a two-acre plot surrounded by secure fencing and featuring RSPCA-approved agility equipment, which gives dogs the chance to stay fit, have fun and run free without the risk of escape, or being taken by thieves.
The park is the brainchild of husband and wife team, Donny and Dawn Janciauskas, who run a stables and showjumping business in the area.
After the couple’s usual work of buying and selling horses from Europe had to be put on hold due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they hatched a plan to put their vacant land to good use.
The inspiration for the new venture came after Dawn saw a woman walking her German Pointer, who was wearing specially-designed dog boots.
ADVERTISEMENT
As well as the boots becoming a talking point for the two, Dawn also noticed that the dog was on a long bungee lead, and the woman explained that these precautions were all in the name of safety as she wasn’t confident at letting her dog run free.
And from this, the Westhoughton Dog Park was born.
“An enclosed area where dogs can run free is something that is missing in the area,” Dawn said.
“Lots of owners are worried about dog thefts, while I know many women feel uncomfortable walking their dogs alone, so my husband and I came up with the idea of creating the park [and] the kids came on board and helped us set it all up.
“[So] we got the agility equipment and we’ve also created a shelter for the owners to stand under if it rains.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Owners can book a slot online, they then receive a code to unlock the gate, and the parking is fully secure too.
“For social distancing reasons, it’s one household at a time”.
While the dog park may have only officially opened today, it’s proving to be a hit among the local community, with the first week of slots already booked up, and Dawn admitting: “We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the response so far, it’s clearly very popular [and] I think we may even expand to a second field so we can accommodate more dog-walkers”.
Slots at the Westhoughton Dog Park will set you back just £10 for up to two dogs, with an added £3 for additional dogs.
You can find more information and book your slot here.
ADVERTISEMENT
___
Please adhere to COVID-19 guidelines and do not travel out of area.
For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
#StayHome
Trending
More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner
Emily Sergeant
More than 12 million Brits would argue that your Christmas dinner needs a side of Yorkshire puddings, a shocking survey has revealed.
The survey in question carried out by retailer Next – which polled a total of 2,000 Brits about their Christmas dining and tableware habits – has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track when it comes to, what we can all agree is, one of the biggest and heartiest meals of the year.
It turns out, Brits like a lot of unusual items on our Christmas dinner plate.
Some of the most obscure finds the survey is that two million people admitted to eating onion rings alongside their turkey and sprouts, and a further 5% (3.4 million) Brits like tucking into a bit of seafood on Christmas Day.
A surprising 4% (2.7 million) of people admitted that they like to add ketchup to their Christmas dinner plate – with mac and cheese, chips, and sweetcorn also making the top 10 list.
More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner / Credit: Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)
If all of that wasn’t mad enough as it is, one of the most shocking stats from the survey is probably the fact that a whopping 1.4 million respondents even said that they wouldn’t consider it a Christmas dinner without the addition of baked beans.
But when it comes to Christmas dinner, there’s probably one debate that’s bigger than them all, and is still yet to be decided – do Yorkshire puddings belong on your Christmas dinner plate or not?
Well, 12.7 million Brits believe that they do, and we reckon a good chunk of that number is us northerners.
The UK’s top 10 non-traditional Christmas food items
Yorkshire Puddings (19% – 12.7 million)
Bread sauce (5% – 3.4 million)
Seafood (5% – 3.4 million)
Ketchup (4% – 2.7 million)
Mac and cheese (3% – 2 million)
Onion rings (3% – 2 million)
Chips (2% – 1.2 million)
Bread (2% – 1.2 million)
Sweetcorn (2% – 1.2 million)
Beans (2% – 1.2 million)
A new survey has revealed has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track for Christmas dinner / Credit: Lisa Baker (via Unsplash)
While previous research has shown that the most common items on a British Christmas dinner are roast potatoes and gravy, these latest stats reveal there are some people out there who just like to do things a little differently.
But no matter how you like to eat it, a delicious Christmas dinner is always going to be something to celebrate, right?
An old clip of Tyson Fury talking about Oleksandr Usyk has come back to haunt him – twice
Danny Jones
This weekend saw Oleksandr Usyk emerge victorious over Tyson Fury for a second time in less than a year as the Ukrainian won the highly-anticipated rematch on points, and now an old clip of the Manc fighter dismissing his opponent has resurfaced online. Again.
Oh, the irony…
After losing following a split decision for what was his first career defeat back in May, Fury lost following a unanimous decision this time around and while some have questioned the scorecards (as tends to happen with these things), there can be no question over Usyk’s dominance now.
However, rewind to a few years ago before the 37-year-old had even won his first fight against Anthony Joshua and Fury’s naive not to mention controversial comments regarding the possibility of ‘giving’ him a fight look pretty silly now:
Tyson Fury a few years ago refusing to fight Usyk
“I want the big fights and that ain’t one of them. He’s a foreigner in a westernised world. The heavyweight champion should be from Britain or America and nowhere else.”
As you can see in the interview from 2020, the now 36-year-old Wythenshawe-born boxer was pretty dismissive about the prospect of fighting Usyk, who ultimately went on to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 following the first win over Fury.
Despite already having an Olympic gold, multiple cruiserweight titles and an undefeated record to his name, Usyk had only fought and won two heavyweight bouts at this point, which is perhaps why ‘The Gypsy King’ felt comfortable downplaying his potential back then.
However, although Usyk had a comfortable division debut against Chazz Witherspoon in 2019, he also went on to best Fury’s familiar foe Derek Chisora – a man he’s beaten on three different times but maintains he admires both in terms of personality and ability – so there were signs of what was to come.
Moreover, not only was Tyson clearly foolish enough to underestimate him back then but the divisive and inflammatory nature of his remarks in this clip has been labelled ‘offensive’ and ‘xenophobic’ by many online, both at the time and after reappearing on social media once again.
Regardless, it seems that Usyk was just as unphased by his posturing then as he is now, coming out in the post-fight press conference to shrug off his trash-talking to reiterate his “respect” for someone who ultimately believes is “a good man”.
Nevertheless, Fury has now lost two him twice and still maintains he didn’t get the right decision on both occasions, dubbing this latest defeat “an early Christmas gift” for his opponent.
In the previous clash, the Greater Manchester athlete even claimed that fans and judges unfairly favoured him because of the war in Ukraine – a response which also received plenty of backlash.
You can hear how he believes he was ‘robbed’ along with his full reaction following the fight down below:
Emily Sergeant -
19th March 2021 
