PRESTON, fourth in the Second Division and drawn at home to Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup, have bigger fish to fry than the Auto Windscreens Shield. But that's not to say they will take tonight's first round tie at Burnley lightly. Manager
POLICE chiefs are promising a crackdown in Bacup after figures revealed the town was being targeted by criminals. A survey of crime trends in the Rossendale Valley has showed that the town accounted for almost half of all offences in the borough. And
EDUCATION chiefs in Lancashire have been given more than £600,000 by the government to promote basic reading and writing skills in primary schools. Education Secretary David Blunkett doled out the cash yesterday as two studies endorsed the government's
Blackburn Rovers Reserves 1 Sunderland Reserves 1 A TERRIFIC second-half comeback saw Rovers Reserves salvage a deserved point from high-flying Sunderland, who fielded a very strong side at Ewood last night. There was plenty of senior experience on view
A fan's-eye view from Turf Moor, with Stephen Cummings IT IS generally said that this is the season to be jolly. Having glanced at the fixture list for December, I feel compelled to differ. It leaves me with anything but a warm festive glow. As any football
HEALTH chiefs look set to approve a £1.3 million scheme to extend the East Lancashire Hospice in Blackburn. The plan to build a two-storey 'day therapy unit' will allow the hospice to treat more terminally ill patients. Medics recognise that the current
NEW Rovers boss Brian Kidd has explained his first major decision at Ewood Park -- the sacking of first-team coach Derek Fazackerley. Fazackerley was released from his contract yesterday as Kidd started a re-shuffle of the management team. And Kidd revealed
Auto Windscreens Shield (North) 1st round: Burnley v Preston North End - big match preview ANDY Cooke assumes the mantle of potential match-winner for Burnley again tonight. With leading scorer Andy Payton serving a one-match ban and Glen Little sidelined
CONFEDERATES and republicans from the American Civil War battled in East Lancashire yesterday -- helped by booklets to tell them how to do it safely. Members of the Health and Safety Executive used the event at Hoghton Tower to launch a safety document
A fan's-eye view from Ewood Park, with Phil Lloyd ON his debut and playing initially in an unfamiliar role, Rovers' latest signing was rather anonymous for the first few minutes. Then, a positional switch brought him into the heart of the action, from
CHURCH-GOERS face losing full-time vicars unless they dig deeper when the collection plate comes round. The Bishop of Blackburn has warned that unless churches take on more fund-raising activities and find more cash some rural parishes could lose clergy
AXED Ewood coach Derek Fazackerley said today -- I would have loved to have had the chance to work with Brian Kidd. Fazackerley, who held the club record of League appearances for Blackburn Rovers before rejoining the club from Newcastle in September
CASTLE Cement and the Environment Agency have been criticised for their handling of the burning of Cemfuel, in a new report which gives the controversial fuel the all-clear. But today a protest leader branded the report, the result of 18 months study
GANGS of Asian youths caused havoc on Pendle streets, and Asian community leaders were working with police to try to solve the problem. Coun Frank Clifford said the thugs, who had smashed property and roughed up elderly people, would get into much more
AN independent coach operator claimed he had been driven off the road by "Big Brother" operators who had forced him to pull out of operating service routes. Wheelchair-bound Accrington coach boss Ray Pilkington claimed some big operators had started duplicating
HOW many people realise that, under an EU ruling, leaded petrol will no longer be on sale after December 31, 1999. This, at a stroke, will remove millions of cars from our overcrowded roads -- all those cars an E or F or earlier registration. Who do these
A HOSPITAL supremo today told of his disappointment after Health Secretary Frank Dobson failed to let him know whether he would be reappointed. Brian Foster, 61, is waiting to discover whether he will hold on to his job as chairman of the Burnley NHS
AXED Ewood coach Derek Fazackerley said today -- I would have loved to have had the chance to work with Brian Kidd. Fazackerley, who held the club record of League appearances for Blackburn Rovers before rejoining the club from Newcastle in September
ROCK band Geckko hit the right note at an event held to raise awareness of human rights issues across the globe. The Brooks Club, Accrington, hosted the gig for Rossendale and Hyndburn Amnesty International, to mark the 50th anniversary of the United
A PENSIONER is 'comfortable' in hospital after she was pulled from a burning house by firefighters. Doris Gardner, 74, was trapped in a bedroom at the house in Dill Hall Lane, Church, after a chip pan caught fire in the kitchen. Fire crews found Mrs Gardner
SHOPPING centre manager David Horth has no problem with making a spectacle of himself as long as it focuses people's attention on a worthy cause. Colne and Nelson Lions, together with the Admiral shopping centre, Nelson, had the vision to join forces
PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice is spearheading a Commons campaign to urge the government to set improved national standards of care for people with multiple sclerosis. The Labour backbencher is secretary of the all-party MS group in Parliament and president
CHILDREN, staff and parents involved with a Pendle primary school have been rewarded for their environmentally friendly efforts during an awards ceremony in honour of the Queen Mother. Sacred Heart School, Colne, was the only school in the North West
POLICE are worried about a patient who has been missing from Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, since Saturday. Lisa Jordan, 23, disappeared from one of the hospital's psychiatric wards. She has family and friends in the Accrington area, but has not been
TRAINS through East Lancashire are back on time after a nightmare autumn of delays and cancellations. Passengers flooded train operator First North Western with complaints about unreliability, and cancellations of services were well above the threshold
BURNLEY defender Chris Brass goes into tonight's derby showdown with Preston North End on a double mission. Brass is looking for a Turf Moor success to take his side into the second round of the Auto Windscreens Shield. And the Clarets' stalwart is also
ELADD -- Parents' Support meeting for children with ADHD and associated learning disorders, Blackamoor School, Roman Road, Blackburn, 7.30pm. Parkinson's Disease Society meet Temple Street Resource Centre, Burnley, 7.30pm. Christmas Party. "Beauty and
A DRIVER was killed in a head-on crash in the Ribble Valley today. Emergency crews were called after a Land Rover Defender and Ford Escort were in collision on the A682 Gisburn to Long Preston road, about half a mile outside Gisburn at 8.25am. The dead
ULTRAFRAME today announced record results with a 44 per cent leap in profits. Shares in the firm jumped when the figures -- slightly better than expected by city experts -- were released this morning. They gained 10p in early trading taking the share
Blackburn Symphony Orchestra, at King George's Hall, Blackburn ANYONE who did not go to this concert missed a treat. The programme for the evening was Mozart's Piano Concerto No 23 and Mahler's Symphony No 1 (The Titan). The orchestra acquitted itself
THE Burnley NHS Trust is a £90 million undertaking on which thousands of people depend. But, at present, no-one is in charge. For chairman Brian Foster's three-year term of office ran out more than a week ago. He waits to find out whether he has been
THE village church, along with its vicarage and clergy, are such traditional features of Britain. But it seems that the church, or at least its full-time contribution to the community, is now just as much threatened as the village pub, post office or
Clitheroe 7 Oldham Town 2 MAGNIFICENT Clitheroe served up a goal feast at Shawbridge to cruise into the quarter finals of the Floodlit Trophy. An expectant crowd turned up anticipating a high scoring encounter after rock-bottom Oldham were tubbed 13-0
I AM a 73-year-old pensioner and I worked from the age of 14 until I was 61. Last Saturday afternoon, while shopping in Darwen town centre, someone stole my wallet out of my shopping bag. It contained my pension book and quite a large sum of cash, which
I OBJECT most strongly to your coverage of the school league tables (LET, December 1). Although you quote the comments of the headteachers of the most 'successful' schools, you appear to take no notice of what they say as you indulge in inappropriate
COMMUNITY groups in Burnley are being urged to scramble for a gamble on winning National Lottery cash. Sums of between £500 to £5,000 are up for grabs in the Small Grants Scheme, with 41 charities and groups in the North West recently successful with
A BID by trades unionists to oppose Burnley Council electing controversial councillor Eddie Fisk mayor in millennium year has been defeated. Burnley Trades Council rejected by a 5-4 majority a resolution calling on Burnley Council to reconsider its invitation
A FATHER of two involved in peddling drugs to the tune of £8,500 to undercover police has been jailed. Anthony Swales, 28, took part in six deals, four of cocaine and two of amphetamine, over two months. He supplied to another man who handed over the
THE jewels in Burnley's crown have become financial burdens which should be supported by extra government cash allowances, say council bosses. Gifts and acquisitions from the past, such as historic Towneley Hall, acres of parklands, the Thompson leisure
BURNLEY defender Chris Brass goes into tonight's derby showdown with Preston North End on a double mission. Brass is looking for a Turf Moor success to take his side into the second round of the Auto Windscreens Shield. And the Clarets' stalwart is also
A CORONER has recorded an open verdict on a builder who died from a lethal mix of heroin and cider after hearing conflicting evidence. The Hyndburn inquest heard Carlos Brankin, 24, died at his flat in Elder Court, Huncoat, early on August 30. But circumstances
CONGRATULATIONS to the following pupils from Woodnook County Primary School, Accrington, who have achieved their Super Story Search literacy targets. Rebecca Macdonald, Rebecca Kayley, Matthew Nightingale, Gemma Staves, Michael Beanland, Hader Ali, James
FRONT pages were held, headlines written and news information and advertisements slotted together, all with only seconds to spare as youngsters in a Barnoldswick school worked against the clock. Pupils at Coates Lane County Primary School spent a morning
Rainforest, by Barbara Taylor, Dorling Kindersley, £3.99 I REALLY enjoyed this book, even though I did not find it so easy to read and had to think carefully about some of the words. But the colour and photographs are excellent. I especially liked the
DISASTERS and dramatic incidents were all in a day's work for students in a Darwen school during their newspaper-based Industry Day. News came thick and fast from the Newstream computer programme giving teams of young journalists a taste of working under
ULTRAFRAME today announced record results with a 44 per cent leap in profits. Shares in the firm jumped when the figures -- slightly better than expected by city experts -- were released this morning. They gained 10p in early trading taking the share
CHURCH-GOERS face losing full-time vicars unless they dig deeper when the collection plate comes round. The Bishop of Blackburn has warned that unless churches take on more fund-raising activities and find more cash some rural parishes could lose clergy
