Archive

  • Rovers thinking big

    TODAY'S audacious bid by Blackburn Rovers to sign Eric Cantona from Manchester United will shock a lot of people - but not those who know Jack Walker. The man whose Ewood revolution turned Rovers from Second Division also-rans to English champions in

  • Kashmir killing fears allayed

    THE British High Commission has played down fears for four Western hostages after the deaths of six Indian tourists in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. They say the incident is unrelated to the abduction of the Western hostages, including Paul

  • 10 YEARS AGO: Racket in passports

    HOME office immigration officials were probing claims that passport racketeers were preying on East Lancashire's Asian community. The probe centred on allegations that Asians coming into Britain as visitors were being illegally offered false Home Office

  • Dukenhalgh tops survey

    A BUSINESS hotels survey has put the Dunkenhalgh top of the East Lancashire league. Hyndburn Council's business newsletter found that the Clayton-le-Moors hotel was most popular with local firms. The Sparth House Hotel was second and Blackburn Moat House

  • 'Bogus' PC theft alert

    POLICE have issued a warning to residents in Clitheroe to be on their guard against a sneak thief who may be posing as a policeman. An elderly couple disturbed the thief in their home in the Edisford area of town and as he ran out he shouted: "It's all

  • New home for Mentor

    A FLAGSHIP new office development has taken root! A tree planting ceremony at Mentor Systems headquarters in the town was held to mark the 50th anniversary of property developers Allen Commercial Developments' parent group. The firm has recently completed

  • Wildlife sightings

    SIGHTINGS have been sent in by Michael Jones, Wendy Ormerod of Colne, Vincent Taylor and Russell Carter of Burnley, Martin Gleason of Darwen and Pauline Hargreaves of Accrington. Sightings in the Rossendale, Todmorden, Burnley, Nelson and Colne area:

  • Vandals take wind out of farm's sails

    VANDALS have stopped the turbines turning at Coal Clough wind farm, Cliviger. The 24-windmill operation, the biggest in England, 1,300ft up on the moors above Burnley, has been closed down for repairs following attacks by stone-throwing hooligans last

  • The tragedy of Germany

    DUNCAN McVee (Letters, June 12) was totally wrong in saying that when Hitler came to power, Germany was already improving financially. The only reason Hitler was voted into power was because of the dire economic situation existing in Germany at that time

  • Castle wrath over OAP broken pledges

    TONY Blair has been accused of betraying Britain's pensioners, not once but twice, by one of his party's most senior and respected figures. Baroness Castle of Blackburn said his glossy new Road To Manifesto document ditched two key pledges to Britain's

  • Church airs heirloom appeal

    A CHURCH celebrating its 450th anniversary has launched a charity appeal in a bid to renovate one of its historic heirlooms. Volunteers at St James Church, Accrington, have organised a series of exhibitions on the parish's past to mark the anniversary

  • Portuguese star expected to join pre-season training next week

    PORTUGUESE star Bambo is expected to report for pre-season training at Turf Moor early next week. Burnley boss Adrian Heath was awaiting a fax from Boavista today. He expected the club to confirm their willingness to release the big centre forward for

  • GWS simply the best

    CRANE hire firm GWS are giving some of the world's biggest names a lift. The Great Harwood company is the leading crane firm used by stars including Tina Turner, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton and Oasis for building their stages around the world. This summer

  • Soul singer's in Utopia

    KENNY Thomas is the soul-singing celebrity to be the latest on the SuperScan fund-raising bandwagon. He will be perform at Utopia nightclub, Blackburn, on Friday and the proceeds from 500 tickets sold for the evening will go towards the £1 million campaign

  • Councillor raps MPs' 'hypocrisy'

    TWO East Lancashire MPs have been accused of hypocrisy by a Liberal Democrat councillor after joining the Commons vote to boost their pay by £9,000 a year. The 26 per cent pay increase was voted in by parliament at a session on Wednesday night and supported

  • Are we headed for banana republic status?

    A CHILLING vision of Britain in the decade ahead is revealed in a leaked Treasury report today. The pundits visualise a nation that has virtually shut down the welfare state and is destined to become poorer than countries like India, Thailand and Mexico

  • Rock alive and well

    I REFER to Mr Marsden's letter (LET, July 4) about what's what in the great rock and roll era. Rock and roll in spirit, transcends genre and the last surviving British roller is none other than Keith Richards - a man who epitomises the joy and salaciousness

  • Bedsit blaze death probe

    A POLICE investigation was launched today after a man died in a house fire. The man, who is believed to be in his 40s and is thought to work at a scrap plastic mill, was found dead in a bedsit in Franklin Road, Darwen, at around 7.30am. Firefighters were

  • JOHN BLUNT SAYS: Sickened by the bigots

    WATCHING Northern Ireland set ablaze again in an explosion of hatred and fear that puts the clock back years and probably kills off the peace process too, the issue, I think, is not who was to blame for the return of the madness and evil that had beset

  • Blessing in disguise

    AS THE so-called fairy-tale royal marriage of Charles and Di now ends in divorce, the Church of England's wishy-washy machine obligingly grinds into gear - with the House of Bishops setting up a committee to review Church policy on the remarriage of divorcees

  • TV licence

    I SEE in the Telegraph (July 6) that MP Gordon Prentice is on again about TV licence for pensioners in sheltered accommodation having to pay the full £89.50. Why can't all pensioners have their licence dropped? Whether we live in sheltered homes or our

  • JOHN BLUNT SAYS: Tokenist Tony doesn't fool anyone

    WHO is taken in by Tony Blair's pious gesture of refusing the 26 per cent pay rise that greedy MPs awarded themselves last week and accepting only the three per cent increase that he called for them to vote for instead? If he hopes to make out that, under

  • MP misled about land

    I WAS bemused by Hyndburn MP Greg Pope's recent comments, slamming local residents for having an opinion about the future use of land occupied, in part, by the former Huncoat Power Station. He attacks them for being 'negative.' What is negative about

  • Rovers bid £4m for Cantona

    BLACKBURN Rovers today made a sensational £4 million bid for Eric Cantona. The offer was tabled to Manchester United as an indication of Jack Walker's intentions to put Rovers back on top of the Premier League. Ewood chairman Robert Coar made the bid

  • 5 YEARS AGO: Repairs costs probed

    A MAJOR investigation was launched into the mounting costs of hospital repairs and East Lancashire MPs called for action. Junior health minister Stephen Dorrell revealed the size of the problem in The Commons and claimed the North West faced a repairs

  • Petrol prices

    HAVING just been on holiday in the Hampshire/Dorset area, we found the price of petrol there between 51.5p and 51.9p per litre, while motorway service stations in these areas were charging 53.9p per litre. We also visit the Fylde Coast regularly and the

  • Kind hearts rescue flood victim Esther

    THE plight of a pensioner who had no furniture or floor coverings in her home moved the hearts of Lancashire people who have showered her with donations. Esther Stanton is overjoyed with the gifts of furniture and now wants to say a huge thanks to everyone

  • Fairbrother blow as Lancs crash

    NEIL Fairbrother is almost certainly out of Lancashire's Championship game against Derbyshire at Old Trafford tomorrow after a disastrous day at Edgbaston, writes ANDY WILSON. Fairbrother suffered a calf injury trying to save a quick single early in the

  • Gunners aim for Sherwood

    BLACKBURN Rovers are in the mood to buy again, rather than sell, even though Arsenal are said to be ready to step up their interest in Ewood skipper Tim Sherwood. The London club, yet to make a close-season signing, are believed to have had their eyes