Fred Dibnah, one of Bolton's best loved sons, steam enthusiast, world famous steeplejack and TV personality was born in Bolton in 1938.

Why have Fred on a Wigan website then?

Because I am a massive fan and Fred lives only 20 miles away from me in neighbouring town Bolton.

I am indebted to Tony Haslam for setting up the meeting with Fred. Tony is a good friend of Fred and is assisting with the safety aspects of Fred's latest project, the sinking of a coal mine. Since the initial visit in March I have been lucky enough to visit Fred most weekends.

I was going to write a paragraph or two about Fred, and his work but decided against it. Everyone knows about Fred, his career as a steeplejack and his numerous programmes that have appeared on television. If you would like to know more about Fred, visit the sites listed on the links page.

This is a 'mini' site in its own right. The home page is:

www.wiganworld.co.uk/fred

Most of the photos on this site have been taken by Tony Haslam, John Haslam and myself. Photos sent in by others include their name with each pic.

If you have some photos of Fred you would like to share, then please email them to me along with a short description, date (or approx) and your name.

Feel free to send comments/suggestions to brian@wiganworld.co.uk