BOLTON could be placed back in Lancashire - 33 years after becoming a part of the newly-created county of Greater Manchester, MPs in the town have said.

David Crausby and Dr Brian Iddon are supporting a Parliamentary Bill which is campaigning for traditional town and county boundaries to be reinstated on maps and road signs.

The Traditional Towns, Counties & Communities Bill is scheduled to be debated in Parliament tomorrow and it would mean Bolton would be recognised as being geographically in Lancashire rather than Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 with Bolton being one of the 10 boroughs making up the new area.

It followed the passing of the Local Government Act of 1972 and, with 2.55 million people, Greater Manchester became the second most populated urban area after London, something supporters of the county says attracts fresh investment to the area.

Although the Greater Manchester County Council was abolished in 1986, the county continues to exist in law and as an administrative frame of reference.

But Dr Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South-east, said: "I'm the patron of the Friends of Real Lancashire and we are trying to protect the old county boundaries. I will be there on Friday and will listen to the bill and if it is along those lines I am minded to support it."

And David Crausby, MP for Bolton North-east, added: "I think it is right that this has been brought up. I am a Lancastrian, not a Greater Mancunian, and we should protect the traditions of the town. However, from a local authority point of view it works very well, and if it is about altering the emergency services I would not support that."

Greater Manchester is made up of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

Unlike most other modern counties, including Merseyside and Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester was never adopted as an official Postal county by Royal Mail for postal addresses and delivery.

Chris Dawson, chairman of the Friends of Real Lancashire, said: "People are not only concerned about the loss of identity of our traditional historic counties, they want the place where they live to be recognised. Bolton is traditionally in Lancashire and people should be made aware of this by having signs in the correct place."

Simon Cronin, from the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: "There is a lot of affection for the old county boundaries but Greater Manchester is now an established area known throughout the country.

"There are a lot of organisations which are based on this model, including the police and fire service.

"It would have a big impact on the existing organistations and we would not support this. It goes back to 1974 and it is a bit late to start changing things back now."