TRIBUTES have been paid to ‘a legendary Boltonian’, former MP and council leader Bob Howarth, who has died at the age of 93. Born in Heaton in 1927, Mr Howarth was MP for Bolton East between 1964 and 1970 and leader of Bolton Council for 24 years from 1980, and chairman of Manchester Airport twice. He died on Good Friday after living with dementia for the past few years. Mr Howarth was the only surviving ‘Freeman’ of the metropolitan borough of Bolton and only the second individual to be honoured with that accolade, along with Bolton Wanderers legend Nat Lofthouse. After attending Bolton County Grammar School and Bolton Technical College he became an apprentice draughtsman at Hawker Siddeley Aviation in Bolton and later become a passionate union activist before joining the Labour Party.