LOAD OF BULLOCKS: A runaway bullock caused havoc in Holcombe Brook when it trampled through gardens, broke down fences and frightened residents. The beast, which was scheduled for slaughter, made a dash for freedom from Fowl Coates Farm in the village.

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE. Bury firemen Kevin Almond and Malcolm Parsons rescued a young housewife from her ammonia-filled home. The toxic fumes had leaked from a faulty refrigerator and 22-year-old Mrs Susan Pollitt was trapped in the front room of her Laurel Street home in Bury until the firefighters came to her rescue.

BARN BLAZE: A 37-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were taken to Bury General Hospital after trying to fight a £15,000 blaze which destroyed a newly-constructed barn at Higher Wood Road Farm in Summerseat. Peter Mills and teenager John Barrett were working in the barn when an electrical short circuit set fire to 100 tons of straw.

BEER TODAY, GONE TOMORROW: The Good Samaritan pub in Ramsbottom was celebrating entry into the Campaign for Real Ale's new Good Beer Guide. The Hare and Hounds in Ringley Road, Radcliffe, was among those taken out of the book.