THE story of the swinging 60s in Widnes is being told for the first time in a new book called The Changing Face of Widnes.

The book is more than 100 pages long and is the work of Widnes-born author Cliff Hayes and local historian Bob Martindale.

"Really, I have been working on the book forever because you build up your collection of pictures and memories over a lifetime," explained Cliff.

"Because I was so much part of the scene I wanted to do a chapter on the swinging 60s, so we have photos and articles on all the bands and the clubs.

"Bands like Gerry and the Pacemakers used to play at the Queens Hall all the time."

The book also has a 22-page section on Widnes RLFC.

Cliff said: "There is no other history of Widnes RLFC in print but here we have all the famous players.

"There is also a complete history of their record at Wembley, right from when they were formed as Appleton in 1873.

"The team was part of the town and the town was part of the team. The only two things we talked about in Widnes was the weather and rugby league."

Bob Martindale supplied most of the photos from his collection of 5,500 and wrote the chapter on the famous old halls of Widnes.

Bob added: "People didn't realise how many beautiful halls there were in Widnes. At one point there were 12 but today there is only Cronton Hall.

"When I first started collecting photos I would get about half a dozen pictures a week if I was lucky. Now I don't even need to ask, they just pour in through the letter-box!"

Bob has been involved with half-a-dozen books but this is the first time he has written anything.

"It is the first time I have had my name on a book," he said "and it's nice to finally see my name in print."