TIME was turned back nearly 100 years when a plaque was unveiled at a Bury funeral parlour.

The plaque, at the Co-op Funeral Service on Silver Street, dates back to 1905 and marked the jubilee celebrations of the first 50 years of the Co-operative movement in the town.

It was found by the former president of United Co-operative Bill Hoult after it had been put in storage.

It has now been fully restored and is on display at the funeral home almost 100 years after it made its first appearance in the Society's Assembly Hall.

Bury Co-op Funeral's manager, Brian Robinson, turned detective to find out more about the plaque, and with the help of the Co-operative College, used a book called "The Origin and History of Co-operation in Bury" written by Thomas Rigby in 1905.

It revealed that Bury Co-op started in the greenhouse of the home of Richard Sully who lived in Heywood Street and opened its first dedicated shop in Market Street in 1858. The Bury Co-op also founded the Bury Permanent Co-operative Building Society.

Mr Hoult said: "The plaque is an important piece of Co-op heritage which also commemorates the history of the town.

"It not only demonstrates the good work that Bury Co-op did, but also its wider role in helping to make Bury the town it is today."