JIM Allan has been appointed personnel manager of electrical firm Thorsman. The Blackburn firm employs 250 in the town and manufactures electrical and building fixings and cable management products. Mr Allan joins the firm after working at British Steel
BUSINESSWOMEN were given an insight into the challenges of running a mental hospital. Blackburn branch of the Business and Professional Women Club were given a talk by Janice Miles, general manager of Ashworth Hospital, Liverpool. "It is always good to
IHAVE to take my son to school, which is 20 minutes' walk away, and push my daughter of three months in her pram. Every Thursday, we have to leave earlier as we would be late otherwise because of wheelie bins left blocking middles of the footpaths. Some
IMMEDIATE action to force water companies, including North West Water, to tackle leaks has been called for by Burnley MP Peter Pike. He has backed a Commons motion expressing alarm at statistics which show that hundreds of thousands of people lost or
JIMMY Quinn was a late starter as far as professional football is concerned. But the former Blackburn Rovers striker is also a quick learner, as Manchester United may find to their FA Cup cost at Elm Park tomorrow. And, for a man who might be described
BURNLEY'S Wembley play-off winner Gary Parkinson rumbles back into contention against Bristol Rovers tomorrow with a stark message to the Turf Moor faithful: 'We are playing for promotion and our futures!' The reliable defender is expected to make a reappearance
WHILE I am against capital punishment, I sympathise with Michael Gavin's remarks regarding the attitude of MPs to the subject (Letters, January 19). I am convinced no matter how unpopular the Tories may now be that if they were at the next general election
TURMOIL elsewhere in the NHS, there may be. But on one health care front here in East Lancashire, the service is turbo-charged - and super-efficient. For take a bow, our 999 ambulance crews - they are officially rated the swiftest in the county. The response
IWAS so saddened to read of the horrible way that murder victim Angela Heyes met her death. But I was absolutely sickened to read the "obituary" given to this young woman by her own mother and sister (LET, January 17). Prostitute, sex-mad, whatever -
THEY'RE at it again - those smug councillors who cloak their decisions in public. Secrecy is what Labour councillors on Blackburn's community and leisure committee voted for when discussing £250,000-worth of cuts in services. It might be your money and
THE ROW over plans to shut 31 beds at Rossendale General Hospital has really revved up. And though the charges are hurled at health bosses poised with the axe are now larded with MP Janet Anderson's politicking, it is, in our view, all welcome grist to
COUNCIL bus services across East Lancashire could be under threat after a private firm snapped up a £2 million stake in a controversial deal. Councillors and union officials fear the deal between bus giant Stagecoach and Pendle Council could open the
A NEW £200 million business employing 2,500 people is to be set up in the North West. The company is being formed by United Utilities plc following the merger of North West Water and Norweb. It will handle services including meter reading and billing,
SINCE my remarks (Letters, January 12) on how the proceeds of the National Lottery should be allocated, many people have told me they agree with what I said British lottery money should be spent on. But now, we see that the lottery's charity board is
A STRAY dog has been saved from certain death by a woman who accidentally hit him with her car. Now Pamela Neary, who has paid £70 in veterinary bills to save the alsatian cross, is looking for a good home for the pup. Pamela, of Redearth Street, Darwen
SPEEDY ambulance crews in East Lancashire are quickest off the blocks when racing to 999 calls. Figures revealed today show that emergency response times in the county were fastest in the Blackburn and Burnley areas. Ambulance bosses disclosed that almost
DAVID Batty could be a man with nowhere to go - unless Newcastle are prepared to increase their valuation of the Blackburn Rovers midfielder. The Premiership leaders are known to want Batty, whose Ewood future has been in question since leaving Rovers
PATIENTS in a stroke unit will now be able to enjoy a competitive game of carpet bowls, thanks to a donation by an East Lancashire club. Members of the Blackburn West Rotary Club wanted to show their support for the work done on the stroke unit at Park
ALMOST £250,000 worth of cuts in Blackburn Council's community and leisure budget were discussed in secret after the ruling Labour group refused to debate plans in public. Conservatives said they were willing to put their budget proposals in public during
WE HAVE seen the true face of the Conservative Party recently - locally and nationally. Firstly, Hyndburn candidate Hugh Neil is found to be an undischarged bankrupt, then attacks the Press for not reporting the facts. Michael Heseltine, on a visit to
EAST Lancashire rail enthusiasts can hop aboard a charity train on a mission for a church restoration. The train will be hauled by a class 47 diesel from Crewe and travels from Southport to Edinburgh on Saturday March 30, calling to pick up passengers
THE competition to run Pendle's sports centres and swimming pools is on again. And it means that a period of uncertainty for about 100 council staff is likely to last until next year. The winner of the new contract to manage sites such as Wavelengths
A HARD-HIT community was boosted by the announcement of 134 permanent new jobs at an Accrington-based mail order company. The extra staff were taken on this month as Express Gifts geared up to operate at capacity following a £20 million investment programme
WORKERS at an East Lancashire wallpaper firm were hit by a closure bombshell which meant the loss of 87 jobs. The shock decision to close down all printed wallcoverings production at the South End Mill plant of William Morris Wallcoverings, Darwen, was
REPLYING to J Taylor's question of whose side the water industry regulator, Ofwat, is on (Letters, January 8), Dilys Plant, Ofwat's Head of External Relations, seems to have had her feathers ruffled. Well, she might be able to tell us whether North West
MAY I suggest that Mr D Pearson, who objected to the allocation of lottery money to Third World countries (Letters, January 16), petitions Virginia Bottomley, the minister responsible for deciding on the distribution of lottery funds, to drop this category
AIRTOURS today warned that the summer holiday market remained under a cloud. Airtours Holidays is showing a 34 per cent fall in bookings so far in the current financial year compared with the same period last year, shareholders were told at the annual
CAMPAIGNERS are hoping people-power will cause a U-turn over Pendle Council's bus shares sell-off decision. Members of the public are being urged to take to the road tomorrow to voice their opposition to the sale of 50 per cent of Burnley and Pendle Transport
FUT-SAL may not be familiar to the casual sports fan but in Pendle they play Fut-sal for England. Literally! The only area in the country where the game is played, Pendle's finest represent England at international level. Like England's cricketers, however
HISTORY will be made at the Sparth House Hotel, Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, tomorrow when the first wedding is held. Rishton couple Denise Topham and John Kelly will tie the knot in the oak room at the 10-year-old hotel, recently granted a wedding
EAST Lancashire is in for a snowy weekend. Further outbreaks of snow are expected later today and overnight and strong winds could cause drifting in some areas. Forecasters at the Manchester weather centre say snow will continue to fall throughout the
IN MY opinion, it is people like David Pearson (Letters, January 17) who are responsible for the uncaring attitude of others. He obviously resents helping the poor, of whom there are far too many. With a little generosity on everyone's part, no one in
LOUISE Bramley, special projects manager at Pendle Enterprise Trust, is on the move. She is leaving her post and relocating to the Cotswolds at the end of this week. Samantha Smallridge, the trust's operations manager, will take on Louise's duties including
BABY Maisie Bibby, the tiny tot saved from certain death by a helicopter mercy dash when she had less than 24 hours to live, is back home in her mother's arms The six-month-old, born 13 weeks premature, was air-lifted for emergency treatment in Leicester
A KEEN fell-walker has taken on the mammoth money-raising mission of scaling Africa's highest mountain for the SuperScan Appeal. Mr Graham Howarth, 33, of Colne Road, Burnley, will be jetting out with a group of climbing enthusiasts in March to conquer
WHITE collar workers at Blackburn Council are paid above average and staff, in general, "know more" and "feel better" than those in most other authorities. But it's still not enough to push overall sickness statistics down to average. A survey by independent
RESERVE team goalkeeper Wayne Russell was on red alert today with £1 million pound rated Marlon Beresford on the brink of major surgery for a double hernia. I can reveal that the Clarets deputy 'keeper has been placed on emergency standby for tomorrow's
AARON Titherington is a cheerful, happy-go-lucky seven-year-old who loves school and likes nothing better than a game of football with his friends. But there is something extra special about Aaron, of Brown Street West, Colne, as he tackles and races
RESERVE team goalkeeper Wayne Russell was on red alert today with £1 million pound rated Marlon Beresford on the brink of major surgery for a double hernia. I can reveal that the Clarets deputy 'keeper has been placed on emergency standby for tomorrow's
