A SILENT vigil was held in Victoria Square to remember the victims of the world's first deployed atomic bomb and to make a stand against nuclear weapons.

At noon, about 20 people took part in a 30-minute silence to mark 74 years since atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

They also called on Bolton Council to support the global Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Campaigners raised a large banner urging passing members of the public to "remember Hiroshima" and "remember Nagasaki."

The two explosions, dropped by American B-29 bombers, immediately killed some 120,000 people, though tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure.

Peace campaigner Malcolm Pittock, aged 89 from Breightmet, said: "I'm one of the few people who remembers the broadcast news which talked about the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

"I was horrified and I remained horrified.

"I think it is absolutely wicked to use nuclear weapons and to threaten to use them.

"I do not know what this world is coming to."

Mr Pittock has been calling for nuclear disarmament since the 1950s.

He joined members of Bolton Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and Stop the War group, who organised the vigil.

Members laid wreaths at the war memorial opposite the Town Hall, where they held the silence.

The campaigners called on the UK government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons — a global nuclear weapons ban signed by 70 states.

In November last year, Manchester City Council became the first European city to formally support the treaty after unanimously passing a resolution in its favour.

They also called for the decommissioning of Trident as a contribution to world nuclear disarmament.

Barry Mills, secretary of Bolton CND/Stop the War group, said: "We would like to see Bolton Council, like Manchester City Council, making a statement in support of this country engaging with the nuclear weapons treaty process.

"This is a huge movement. We need to apply more pressure on government, and this is something Bolton can be involved in."

Leaflets were handed out to raise awareness about the devastation caused by the atomic bombs, and to urge residents to get involved in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.