The lost pub locals warned people not to go near

Some remember a now vanished pub fondly as a 'hive of the community' full of 'people and laughter', while others remember 'the roughest dodgiest pub' they had ever had the misfortune to set foot in.

The Rocket pub on New Lane, Top-o'th'-Brow in Breightmet, opened in 1961. Like The Flying Shuttle, another notorious Bolton boozer, it gained an unsavoury reputation over the years, yet many locals loved its unique charm and sense of community.

The Manchester Evening News ran a story on the pub's opening day on November 29, 1961. Mr Shields, chairman of the Magee Marshall brewery, told the journalist that they built the pub "in keeping with its surroundings".

He said the name The Rocket was chosen because the brewery wanted to escape from the traditional pub names. It was thought that the name, referring to George Stephenson's railway engine and the modern space rocket, fitted the bill.

A quarter-page advertisement that appeared in The Bolton News the same day boasted the new pub offered 'maximum comfort in extra pleasurable surroundings' while being conveniently placed on the route of the number six bus.

In January 1970, a fire broke out at the pub just as the landlord, Clifford Mann, and his family prepared to go to bed. The Bolton News reported that a fire had started in one of the pub lounges as they watched television upstairs.

"We were lucky," Mr Mann said. "If we had gone to bed, it could have been much worse." The landlord and his sons were able to put out the blaze, which they believed may have been caused by an electrical fault or a cigarette end.

Mr Mann said the damage was "fairly serious," but it would not close the pub. "We haven't got any lights back in the pub yet, but we'll be open tonight, even if it means