Netflix Bank of Dave star pledges to fix broken memorial to Lancashire legend Fred Dibnah

An inscribed paving tile remembering steeplejack Fred Dibnah is still in a damaged state eight months after it was first reported to Bolton Council. In January, after being informed of the shattered tile, Bolton Council said they were ‘planning to replace the stone’. This week, they have again pledged to ‘restore it to its former glory’ in ‘the next few weeks’.

The prolonged condition of the memorial in Churchgate has led to an offer by Bank of Dave founder, David Fishwick to replace it.

In a post on Facebook which has been shared 160 times, Mr Fishwick, from Nelson, said: “Bolton Council please contact Bank of Dave and we will take care of all costs for this damage to be made right. Fred Dibnah MBE is a legend and was a wonderful man who did so much for lots of good causes and helped put Bolton and the north on the map. This isn’t the way to remember him – fix it please.”

Mr Fishwick, who ran a successful minibus supply business, opened Burnley Savings and Loans in 2008, for which used the advertising slogan ‘Bank on Dave’. That venture was the subject of the Channel 4 series Bank of Dave. His efforts at setting up a bank and investigating payday loan firms were later adapted for the 2023 Netflix film Bank of Dave and its sequel Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger, released this year.

Fred Dibnah died in 2004, aged 66. He was born in Bolton in 1938 - then part of Lancashire - and rose to fame in 1978 when a BBC television show showed his traditional steeplejack and chimney demolition methods, which included explosives and base fires. His warm personality and strong Lancashire accent endeared him to viewers.

A statue of him, unveiled in 2008 stands on Oxford Street, close to a working steam engine and the memorial stone was also installed showing his birth and death years and one of his sayings ‘Did you like that?’.

What does the council say?

A spokesman for Bolton Council, said: “Fred Dibnah is one of Bolton’s best loved sons, and his statue is a fitting tribute to him and our borough’s proud history. We are determined to return his statue to its former glory, and the stone has now been remade and is being scheduled in for installation in the next few weeks.

“In the meantime, we would like to thank all those offering to repair the statue free of charge, which underlines how much he is loved by locals and visitors to Bolton.”