A TYLDESLEY man has become a main director of the country's largest regional Co-op, United Norwest.

Alan Parkinson, of Pine Street, has served as a member of the society's northern regional board for four years.

He joined the Co-op over 40 years ago and first became actively involved in its democratic structure in the late 1970s, when he became a member of the former Greater Lancastria Society's area committee.

Following a series of mergers, United Norwest Co-op is now one of the largest and most successful retailing Co-ops in Europe, employing more than 10,000 staff with an annual turnover of around £750m.

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