Bolton out in front

SIR – Historic England’s claim for Bolton as the birthplace of the trainer in 1895 just won’t do (report, June 17).

The earliest known running shoes were made for Viscount Althorp, later 5th Earl Spencer, by London shoemakers Thomas Dutton & Thorowgood in 1857 and can be seen at the Nottingham Boot and Shoe Museum.

If Bolton wants to celebrate historic firsts, they have a number to choose from: the first purpose-built music hall (The Star, 1840), the first powerdriven merry-go-round (1863), the first football goal-nets (1890) and the first ice-cream sandwich (1905).

Patrick Hickman-robertson Eastbury, Berkshire