DECADES before Trafalgar Square sought suggestions for what to put on its fourth plinth, Bolton had an idea of its own.

This curious photo appeared in our pages in 1960. The woman with the flowing skirt had been superimposed. As those were the days before computers, it had literally been cut and pasted.

But we are at a loss as to why someone would go to such trouble.

Dated March 3, it was too late to be an April Fool's Day so what on earth was going on?Could it have been a joke played on a member of reporting staff who was leaving? Was it an unsophisticated attempt to publicise a new look skirt?

If you can help solve the mystery, then please get in contact with us.

The real figure depicted on the plinth is of course Victorian doctor and philanthropist Samuel Taylor Chadwick