BOOTLEG booze and tobacco were seized from a lorry by customs and excise officers. Police stopped the vehicle in Ramsbottom on Friday night and called in customs officers. They detained 150 cases of beer, 50 cases of wine and 22kg of hand rolling tobacco
A NEW service offering telephone advice to children in Blackburn and Darwen has been launched. Children who feel they have a problem in their lives which can not be resolved will be able to use the line, which is part of Blackburn with Darwen Council's
BURNLEY are on target to reduce their annual loss by around £1 million during the current financial year. The Clarets reported a seven-figure trading loss and an overall deficit of £1.8 million for the year ended May 31 this year. But vice-chairman Ray
ALAN Kelly believes Rovers would have gone on to clinch victory over his former club had Jason McAteer not been red-carded in the first half. The Republic of Ireland international felt that was the turning point in a keenly fought contest at Bramall Lane
BLACKBURN Rovers do not expect Matt Jansen to follow Jason Wilcox to Premiership top dogs Leeds United. The Yorkshire club were reported to be lining up a £4 million bid for the unsettled young striker. But the only club to have shown an interest in Jansen
Division Two: Burnley 2 Cardiff City 1 - Pete Oliver's match verdict WHILE most of us tuck into turkey this Christmas, Stan Ternent, who happens to prefer beef, may also have some extra food for thought. To play 4-4-2, or 3-5-2, that is the question.
Division One: Sheffield United 2 Blackburn Rovers 1 - Andy Neild's match verdict IT'S been all laughs and smiles since Tony Parkes donned his caretaker's coat at the beginning of November. But the Ewood stalwart wore a more sombre look at Bramall Lane
EAST Lancashire's treacle mines - at Sabden and Tockholes - are the topic of laughable legends in our region's folklore, but did you know that they are real? No, this has nothing to do with the old nonsense tales about the ones at Tockholes being opened
LANCASHIRE police were getting tough in their Christmas drink drive campaign. So far they had more than doubled the number of tests that were carried out in the same period the previous year. They had carried out a total of 2,601 breath tests since the
HAWKS boss Bobby Haig admitted his side have a mountain to climb in order to reach the divisional playoffs after another average weekend of ice hockey. Saturday saw Hawks lose 13-5 on the road at Billingham, but when Sunderland came to town last night
RECOGNITION is due to Blackburn with Darwen Council's achievement of winning "beacon" status for the town's schools after running them as an independent education authority for just 18 months when, among other accomplishments, its schools now have 11-
A GOOD solid workmanlike performance from Dale, similar to their previous win at Mossley brought three points against championship contenders Skelmersdale. Playing in freezing conditions, Dale recovered from an early fright when the home side hit the
REGARDING the criticism of Sir Cliff Richard's hit single, George Michael bidding for publicity for himself by launching an unprovoked attack on Cliff's clever rendition of the Lord's Prayer, brings damnation on himself. Without turning to the object
DARWEN beat the weather and lowly Mechanics to move to the top of the First North Western Trains League Second Division. After the Anchor Ground had passed two pitch inspections, Darwen took full advantage to harden their promotion credentials with four
IS the government trying to ruin the country altogether? It has already killed off all our small shops and businesses with high overheads and silly rules and regulations brought in by Europe. Now, it wants to kill off our post offices. It seems to be
REGARDING the de-selection of Blackburn Labour councillor Dorothy Greenwood (LET, December 14), I can't help wondering what heinous crime she has committed to warrant such a punishment. Whatever the crime, I can only think that the punishment is rather
THE Christmas and New Year celebrations will be enjoyed by many people, but the festive season is also a time when strained and stressed relationships can come to a head. Marriage Care Blackburn and Burnley Centre is a registered charity and part of a
FORMER magistrate and public school teacher Philip Howarth is on his way back home after being escorted to the departure gate of a London-bound plane two weeks after being acquitted of a child abuse charge in a Thai court. Mr Howarth, 40, originally from
A POST mortem examination was due to be carried out today on the body of an elderly woman found dead in a Padiham street. The death is not being treated as suspicious. Officers are awaiting the result of the examination to establish a cause of death.
COUNCIL bosses have admitted that the benefit claims crisis which has resulted in elderly people receiving town hall letters telling them they could be evicted from their council homes has still not been resolved. Council chiefs in Burnley have ordered
A BOOK charting the contribution made by companies in Lancashire to the aero-engines over the past 90 years has just been brought out. Lancashire County Council has published the 'Classic and Modern Aero-Engines Associated with the North West of England
LITTLE: His switch back to the right flank brought the best out of the winger, who was mercurial in the second half when he did just enough to edge John Mullin out of top billing...9 COOK: After a quiet start, his quality on the ball shone through again
SKIPPER Gordon Armstrong was delighted Burnley avoided an FA Cup hangover thanks to a tactical switch that overcame plucky Cardiff and lifted the Clarets up to fifth-place in Division Two. Burnley's return to league duty following their cup shock at Derby
KELLY: Inspired on his return to Bramall Lane, pulling off a string of top saves...8 GRAYSON: Solid and dependable at the back but his forward runs had to be curtailed following McAteer's dismissal...7 HARKNESS: Caught out of position for Bent's opener
A KNOWN sex offender who kidnapped a Blackburn schoolboy and sparked a nationwide hunt is set to be jailed for a "very long" time today at Preston Crown Court. James Warke, 36, who lived in the Audley area of Blackburn, was found guilty of a string of
LENNY Johnrose stepped up his bid to face former club Bury on Boxing Day by claiming Burnley's winner against Cardiff with his first touch of the game. Johnrose came off the bench to score in the 69th-minute and earn the Clarets the 2-1 win which lifted
A PAEDOPHILE was today jailed for ten years for abducting a Blackburn schoolboy and indecently assaulting him and other children. James Alexander Warke, 36, who lived in the Audley area of Blackburn, was found guilty of a string of sex offences at Carlisle
TOWN hall education chiefs in Blackburn and Darwen have been told they are top of the class and an example to other councils in the way they run schools. After less than two years as an education authority, Blackburn with Darwen Council has been awarded
Friends In Bereavement meet Day Hospital, Burnley General Hospital, 7pm. Burnley Camcorder Club meet Central Methodist Church, Burnley, 7.30pm. Christmas Party. Blackburn Home Organists' Club meet St Stephens Conservative Club, Robinson Street, Little
DEVELOPERS were staying tight-lipped over plans for a desperately-needed £30 million facelift for Blackburn shopping precinct. Delays in producing detailed plans for the massive refurbishment would drag on into the New Year, and the precinct owners were
STACEY Houldsworth continued her progress towards a possible place in the Olympics with second and third place finishes at the British Winter Swimming championships in Sheffield. The Hyndburn teenager was third in Saturday's 400m freestyle, behind 16-
CLITHEROE got back to winning ways at last as they rolled over Kidsgrove to give manager Steve Parry plenty of early festive cheer. Two goals for debutant striker Steve Denny gave Clitheroe the points in this First North Western Trains League Division
WHEN people hear of the money being spent for the Millennium, it makes the majority feel sick at heart. Millions are waiting in agony for help and medical treatment on the NHS, but the Millennium will just pass us by. It is time the 'top bods' got things
WHEN a man with manifest mental problems and who poses a danger to others has to be remanded in prison because there is no secure hospital accommodation available, it is not just unfortunate. For, when the shortage is so severe that it can be months before
CHORLEY chalked up their seventh away win of the season but in the end it wasn't the pre-Christmas cakewalk which Flixton's lowly league position might have indicated. In fact, keeper Simon Marsh prevented the home side from taking at least a point with
SIR Cliff Richard's entry in the charts - and its apparent success, pushes one into the contrasting feelings of liking it, or loathing it. A cobbled mix of 'The Lord's Prayer' and 'Auld Lang Syne' may fit together, but many people can't get away from
ACCRINGTON Stanley made the long journey home from Borough Park, Workington, without a point after sloppy defending cost them the only goal of the game. They started brightly enough with stand-in centre forward Steve Carragher hitting the side netting
I MUST take issue with your wholly misleading report headed "Council cash report is not so bad" (LET, December 14). The 'report' referred to is, in fact, an addition to an item on the audit sub-committee dealing with internal auditing matters for 1999
BLACKBURN Rovers do not expect Matt Jansen to follow Jason Wilcox to Premiership top dogs Leeds United. The Yorkshire club were reported to be lining up a £4 million bid for the unsettled young striker. But the only club to have shown an interest in Jansen
EAST Lancashire businessman Jerry Daw has died a week after being involved in a road accident. Mr Daw, 48, managing director of Gaskell Carpets, Rishton, was trapped in the wreckage of his Jaguar car after it was involved in a head-on crash in Lytham
LENNY Johnrose stepped up his bid to face former club Bury on Boxing Day by claiming Burnley's winner against Cardiff with his first touch of the game. Johnrose came off the bench to score in the 69th-minute and earn the Clarets the 2-1 win which lifted
A WOULD-be burglar will spend his sixth Christmas behind bars. Mark Wilson, 22, who was spotted by a neighbour trying to get into a house with a garden spade and a broom handle, had spent every festive season since 1993 in custody and was institutionalised
A CABARET club at the centre of a row over Christmas party nights has revealed it will not deal with complaints until after the new year. Brassingtons in Burnley Road, Altham, has received a number of complaints from people unhappy with Christmas cabaret
NEW Year stay-at-homes could provide a millennium boom for Harveys Furnishings, the managing director of a furniture stores group predicted. Rob Templeton said: "In my heart I believe people will not be going out for celebrations on New Years' Eve and
A NEW product is set to be launched thanks to a scheme linking businesses with universities. RGS Electro-Pneumatics took part in the Government backed Teaching Company Scheme and has used the help to develop a new electrical component which it hopes will
AN 85-year-old woman woke to find a masked thief searching through drawers in her bedroom at her home in Nelson. Police said the pensioner, who has not been named, had dozed off in bed and was woken by a noise. The man escaped with items valued at £1,245
GLOBE-trotting teacher Fiona Ridley is heading home to Australia after a 12-month stint at a Darwen school. She swapped "lives" with Holy Trinity Primary School teacher Jackie Hunt as part of an exchange programme. Fiona was given a special send-off by
