Archive

  • Give blood before holidays

    BLOOD donations are badly needed as hospitals strive to reduce patient waiting lists while donors go on holiday. Local hospital demand for blood is already 4.5 per cent higher than last year, said Jim Moir, Northern National Blood Service Director. He

  • Waves makes a big splash

    A SWIMMING pool has made a big splash by winning a major regional tourism award. The Water Waves Fun Centre in Blackburn won the runners-up prize in the face of strong competition from rival attractions in the North West. Waves took the silver certificate

  • Ambulance crew 'confused' by accident sisters

    CONFUSED ambulance crew did a double take when called out to help a woman with an ankle injury. The same staff had treated her sister the day before and couldn't tell them apart. The crew, from Blackburn, were called to Zareena Khan's house in Rhyl Avenue

  • Paper mill job fears as production halts

    A PAPER mill has stopped production amid fears of job losses, just months after a £40 million investment programme was completed. But bosses at Sappi Europe hope the move is a short-term measure and are confident business will pick up soon. A seasonal

  • Pupils enjoy good life at school

    A HEAD teacher at a school praised by education inspectors has been told to spend less time teaching and more on leadership and management. Youngsters who attend the rural parish school of St Mary's RC Primary in Osbaldeston, Blackburn, looked forward

  • Valery goes back to Bastia

    PATRICK Valery re-signed for his former club Bastia last night, with Blackburn Rovers picking up £80,000 from the French League outfit. Manager Roy Hodgson's £10 million summer spending spree - which helped spark a surge in season-ticket sales - had left

  • Controversial mosque plan faces council refusal

    CONTROVERSIAL plans to incorporate a mosque into an islamic education centre in Clitheroe look set to be knocked back by councillors. Residents have bombarded Ribble ValleyCouncil with letters of complaint about the proposals and two petitions, one with

  • Just where are the eco-warriors now?

    REMEMBER those strident anti-motorway protesters who prophesied the M65's extension would mean an environmental nightmare for East Lancashire? Where are they now - when, just as this newspaper and the M65's backers said, it is proved the new motorway

  • CRICKET: Jason's emotional return

    JASON Gallian will make an emotional double return to his cricketing roots over the next three weeks. Yesterday's NatWest Trophy quarter final draw paired his new county, Nottinghamshire, with Lancashire at Old Trafford on July 28. And eight days earlier

  • Can we avoid a plunge in the economy?

    ONE of the problems of the morally-correct decision of Chancellor Gordon Brown to take the politics out of the control of interest rates by handing the job to the neutral Bank of England was the risk of the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street having a single

  • Drink worse than smoking

    REGARDING a letter June 24 on smoking. I fully agree with Littlewoods in giving people the right to smoke. Everyone in authority goes on about smoking adverts and the harm it does to people. In comparison to drinking it is nothing. Drinking does far more

  • CRICKET: Laycock aims to upset champs

    COLNE skipper Gary Laycock knows his side are second favourites in a two-horse race at Bentgate tomorrow. But he certainly hasn't given up hope of beating holders Haslingden in their re-arranged Jennings Worsley Cup semi-final. And the will to win is

  • Cruelty-free entertainment

    WHAT a delight it was to watch a circus which didn't profit from the degradation, humiliation and suffering of animals. The Moscow State Circus at Witton Park, Blackburn was excellent family entertainment and I left feeling happy instead of sad as I had

  • Put brakes on PM's spending

    GOVERNMENT Ministers have been urged by Chancellor Gordon Brown to reduce spending in their various Departments by as much as they can. Mr Brown should issue the same request to his next-door neighbour, the Prime Minister. In John Major's last year in

  • Disabled 'no go' areas

    AS an elderly disabled person, dependent on a battery-operated "scooter" to get about, I find it is extremely difficult, and often impossible to use the pavements. Where pavements have been lowered, I find they are often not dropped at the "other end,

  • Planners playing God

    HOW I agree with some of the comments made by Adrian Shurmer (Letters, July 3). In Billington, we are trying to put a stop to so-called traffic calming measures which will only add danger to the roads through our village. It all started when planning

  • Bargain buyers going to pot!

    BARGAINS galore are on offer at Burnley's annual pot fair with a £1,260 Royal Doulton dinner service being sold at the knock-down price of £450! Barker Jason Halket, on the family stall for 18 years, said: "We still have china and tea services for a couple

  • Clarets supporter had CS gas sprayed in face

    A CLARETS fan was attacked with CS gas after rival groups of soccer supporters "squared up and began fighting". Burnley Crown Court heard how Grimsby fan James Goodwin sprayed the gas into the face of Stephen Hayhurst. Mechanical fitter Goodwin, of Isaacs

  • Ternent hopeful after trio talks

    BURNLEY boss Stan Ternent is sweating on star trio Paul Weller, Chris Brass and Paul Smith after contract talks with all three yesterday. But he remains "hopeful" that they will commit their futures to Turf Moor. Both Brass and Smith still have a year

  • Blaze nightspot pay-out soon

    THE boss of a blaze-damaged nightspot is hoping to pay staff and creditors within the next six weeks. Duncan Adamson, managing director of Martholme Grange, Altham, said a business interruption claim following a fire at the premises had been approved

  • Valery goes back to Bastia

    PATRICK Valery re-signed for his former club Bastia last night, with Blackburn Rovers picking up £80,000 from the French League outfit. Manager Roy Hodgson's £10 million summer spending spree - which helped spark a surge in season-ticket sales - had left

  • Inn with history on tap

    Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy FOR many years one of my favourite walks has been alongside the old Burnley to Nelson road at Coldwell. In the 1980s, the old Coldwell Inn was in ruins and ready for demolition. In 1985, however, it was decided to restore

  • New qualification

    A SOLICITOR has become one of the first in Lancashire to gain a new qualification. Phillip Thompson, a partner at East Lancashire-based Ramsbottom & Co, has qualified as a specialist in mediation which aims to resolve commercial and family disputes

  • Spring start on hotel?

    WORK could begin in the spring on construction of a 100-bed hotel at Ewood Park with 40 bedrooms having views of the pitch. The hotel would be incorporated into a new stand which would replace the present Walkersteel stand. Ewood chiefs say the hotel

  • Mum's death-trap play fear

    CHILDREN have been warned they could be the victims of a holiday tragedy if they continue to play in a vandal-plagued, former factory. The message has been delivered by company bosses and a worried mother following repeated attempts to board up and secure

  • Put the villages back on the map

    A COUNCILLOR has called for "forgotten villages" to be put back on the map. Signs at the entrances to Rossendale which mentioned the name of the nearest village have been replaced with signs that have only "Borough of Rossendale, twinned with Bocholt"

  • Objectors lose fight in town hall pub scheme

    A PUB company has been given the go ahead by licensing magistrates to convert a former town hall, despite objections by the police and the town council. Preston-based Inns and Leisure Ltd now has to get planning permission from Pendle Council to transform

  • Misbehave and you're out!

    A BLACKBURN head teacher has warned parents he will not shy away from permanently excluding disruptive children from his classrooms. Roger Eckton was speaking at Beardwood High School's annual prizegiving ceremony last night, following problems with a

  • Child knocked over by dog has teeth damaged

    A DISTRAUGHT father has told how a family walk in the park turned into a nightmare when his little girl was thrown to the floor by a runaway dog. And Tian O'Hara said he was astounded that the animal's owner did not even ask how his daughter was. Several

  • Ternent hopeful after trio talks

    BURNLEY boss Stan Ternent is sweating on star trio Paul Weller, Chris Brass and Paul Smith after contract talks with all three yesterday. But he remains "hopeful" that they will commit their futures to Turf Moor. Both Brass and Smith still have a year

  • Weekend events in East Lancashire

    SATURDAY Summer Fair, Holy Trinity Church, Hoghton, 2pm (inside if wet). Various stalls, bouncy castle and refreshments. Summer Fair, Mill Hill Gardens, Chapel Street, Blackburn, 11am-2pm. Summer Fair, St Peter's Church playing field, Haslingden, 10am

  • Boss saves skill share scheme

    A TRAILBLAZING adult education scheme has been saved from closure by the intervention of a charitable trust. The Skillshare scheme at the Trinity Youth and Community Centre, Clitheroe, was faced with closure after losing its annual £26,000 grant from

  • Ports alert in search for stolen horse

    A MISSING racehorse's heartbroken owners today renewed their appeal for information as the search for the £25,000 thoroughbred was stepped up by police. Lionel and Kath Snowden, who head the Sabden-based Valley Paddocks Racing syndicate, have received

  • FIVE YEARS AGO: Sunday markets ban

    THRILLED villagers were preparing to return to normal life after a public inquiry put an end to Sunday markets. Gisburn residents suffered "serious disturbances and inconvenience" as a result of Sunday markets, said inquiry inspector Steven Fox. He threw

  • TEN YEARS AGO: Surcharge crackdown

    TOUR firms should not be allowed to scorch holidaymakers with big surcharges just before they head for the sun, said Hyndburn MP Ken Hargreaves. He backed proposals from the Association of British Travel Agents to crack down on the sharks and said: "Tour

  • CRICKET: Nawaz turns up heat

    SHAHID Nawaz's season has been simmering very nicely for some time - but it's about to reach boiling point. With more than 600 runs to his credit - only one batsman has outscored him so far - the Ribblesdale Wanderers professional has all the credentials

  • SUPERBIKES: Foggy's Lag jetting

    CARL Fogarty looks the part going into round eight of the World Superbike Series - after new features on his Ducati put him back in the championship race. The Blackburn bike ace used a host of power boosting new parts to bag a much needed 40 point haul

  • Back to the future!

    YOUR report (LET, June 25) on proposals to change the road network in Blackburn to open up the south side of the town centre for commercial development just demonstrates how "recent" the planners are. They are obviously unaware that the majority of these

  • Baby inquest

    AN inquest will be held next week into the death of baby Keiran Hetherington. One-year-old Keiran was found injured in a bedroom at his home in Bridge Street, Padiham, by his distraught mum, Kirsty. He was taken to Burnley General Hospital where he was

  • Three years for shop robber

    A TRAINEE bricklayer who carried out an armed robbery has been sent to a detention centre for three years. Philip Mathews, 20, who had no previous convictions, turned to crime when he fell victim to the scourge of heroin, Burnley Crown Court heard. Sentencing

  • Bank branch 'will not shut' promise

    BANK bosses have denied that the Accrington branch of NatWest is to be closed after some work is moved out of town. A letter has been circulated to account holders at the St James Street branch informing them about changes affecting the branch. The letter

  • Man, 29, had sex with girl, 13, and assaulted another

    AN Accrington man had sex with a schoolgirl after letting her stay at his house, a court heard. John Bainbridge, 29, pleaded guilty at Hyndburn magistrates to having unlawful sex with the 13-year-old. He also admitted indecently assaulting the same girl

  • Song of summer on a windswept hilltop

    IN winter, the wind thunders along the Alden Valley so fiercely that it once lifted the roof off a barn at Cronkshaw Fold Farm. But, in summer, it is the sound of 60-odd six-year-olds singing "Old MacDonald had a farm" that raises the rafters! Farmer

  • Marketing skills

    AEROSPACE firms were given advice on how to brush up on their marketing skills. The Consortium of Lancashire Aerospace, which represents more than 120 local firms, helped stage the seminar at Northern Technologies in Nelson. Converted for the new archive

  • Success on the cards after £188m buy-out

    THE head of the new owners of a greetings cards factory has predicted many happy returns for the group. Keith Alm, chairman of American giant Hallmark, said the £188 million buy-out of Creative Publishing was an important step in creating a worldwide