MEMORIES of the town’s first Asian settlers will be shared in a new lottery funded project.

The Sunnyside Club in Bolton has been given a £10,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to explore the arrival of the first Asian immigrants to the borough for a special photographic exhibition.

It is hoped by encouraging the first generation of Asian people to make Bolton their home share their fascinating memories, it will help combat isolation.

The project is appealing for old photographs, newspaper articles and documents from the 1960s to 1980s, particularly those about leisure, social and recreational activities in people’s spare time to be used in a display and archive for future generations.

Organisers say they will reproduce the images so those contributing can keep hold of the originals.

Salma Patel is helping to co-ordinate the project, which is run by volunteers.

She said: “A group of local residents are running the project for the older generation, the first people who moved to Bolton, to get involved with as a social activity.

“There is a lot for young people to do but not as much for older people.

“We want them to share their pictures and memories about what life was like when they moved here.”

The project is entitled Bolton Asian Immigration and has enlisted a team of volunteers, of which more are wanted to help run and organise events as part of the project.

Mrs Patel, who lives in Bolton, said the group are hoping to put on the exhibition in partnership with Bolton Library.

She said: “We want the younger generation to involve their older relatives.”

The project is still developing and future ideas include creating a lasting portfolio of the memories collected.

It is hoped the exhibition will be on display in the next few months.

People can follow the project on social media under the title Bolton Asian Migration on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.