Archive

  • Sue's going up in the world - for charity

    FINANCIAL adviser Sue Counsell is seeking sponsors to help fund a Himalayan trek in aid of cancer research. Sue, 37, of Livesey, Blackburn, needs to raise a minimum of £2,000 for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund before embarking upon the 60-mile trek

  • Police miss crime reduction targets

    POLICE failed to reach targets they set themselves 12 months ago for dealing with crime in Lancashire. The official statistics show Lancashire police have failed to hit the targets in several key areas. The police authority on Thursday will hear that

  • Injury to top striker is blow for Blackpool

    BLACKPOOL boss Nigel Worthington insists he isn't looking at the Second Division table. The Tangerines are within touching distance of safety after a 2-0 win over Reading on Saturday - only their second home success in 16 games. And Worthington clearly

  • History takes centre stage

    TWO centuries of education in Barnoldswick are featured in a new exhibition in the Heritage Centre. Photographs, school and church records and other educational artefacts are featured in a top-of-the-class display, compiled by the Heritage Trust and Barnoldswick

  • Crowded classrooms setback

    THREE out of ten primary schoolchildren in East Lancashire are being taught in classes of 31 or more as education bosses struggle to cut class sizes by 2001. A bleak warning came today in figures released from a new study by the Department for Education

  • Little back in squad

    GLEN Little will decide himself whether he is fit enough to take the attack to Blackpool at Bloomfield Road tonight. The Clarets winger missed Saturday's 1-1 draw at Oldham after going down with a bout of the flu. He has since returned to training but

  • Down by the Riverside

    A fan's-eye view from Ewood Park, with Phil Lloyd YOU could understand it if it were Old Trafford, Anfield or Highbury. The massed ranks of menacing part-time Mancunians, the lippy Liverpudlians, the grimacing, aggressive Gooners. But, I ask you, The

  • Parents stay away from 'danger' pub

    PUB managers have pledged to investigate how two-year-old Joe Hutcheon got out of the Moorings pub to the canal where he drowned. The move has come as anxious parents revealed how they have stayed away from the pub with their children because of their

  • Parents of meningitis victim tell of their anguish

    SHATTERED parents told today how their teenage daughter died from meningitis just 48 hours after complaining of a sore throat. Bowland High School pupil Helen Driver died in the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, after being struck down

  • FIVE YEARS AGO: Video nasties purge

    POLICE and trading watchdogs warned East Lancashire's pedlars of porn and video nasties: "We are coming to get you". It followed the Government crackdown on screen violence and renting unsuitable videos to under 18s. The new rules would mean sadistic

  • TEN YEARS AGO: Doctor's warning

    AMERICAN-style hospital care could be on the way in East Lancashire, a doctor had warned. Dr Francis Apaloo made the astonishing claim that Queen's Park Hospital and Blackburn Infirmary would provide care for people covered by medical insurance and Accrington

  • Old school friend sought

    I AM trying to trace an old schoolfriend, June Coombes, who attended Blakey Moor High School for Girls in Blackburn, between 1947 and 1951, and lived in Montague Street. I would very much like to hear from her or from anyone who knows of her. If you can

  • NON LEAGUE SOCCER: Better performance but still pointless

    Clitheroe 0 Workington 1 A GOAL from former Clarets loan striker Paul Stewart was enough to overcome Clitheroe who were left with nothing to show for a second-half onslaught. Stewart put the visitors in front after five minutes when he nipped ahead of

  • Hague's fate hangs on local polls

    WITH all the major parties' campaigns for next month's local elections launched this week, the wall of voter apathy into which they normally run headlong is less apparent this year since, coupled with the voting for the Scottish and Welsh assemblies the

  • Generous to a fault

    I WOULD like to put on record my appreciation of the generosity of the people of Blackburn. On Easter Sunday I took a stall on the market roof-top car boot sale on behalf of the British Red Cross in aid of the appeal for Kosovo. It was arranged quickly

  • SNOOKER: Justin's sounds of the sixties

    IT'S getting red hot at the top of the Darwen Hotels Snooker League. The top three teams all blasted 7-1 wins and there's still three points in it with just two rounds of matches to go. Anything can happen as the top four teams clash next week! Justin

  • CRICKET: Smethurst is set for debut

    LANCASHIRE threw open the Old Trafford gates free of charge today for the first day of championship action. It was a significant gesture by the Red Rose club who are leading the fight to attract new fans to cricket. Chief executive Jim Cumbes said: "It

  • SNOOKER: Ace McCulloch is pedal powered!

    SNOOKER star Ian McCulloch is gearing up for a crack at the World Championships - with the aid of pedal power. The Accrington-based professional's marathon 10-9 victory over Gary Wilkinson in Telford last week earned him a place in the televised stages

  • NON LEAGUE SOCCER: Darwen's day of reckoning

    STEVE Wilkes is hoping to have the last laugh tonight as his Darwen side prepare for their biggest match in over 20 years. The Anchor boss is still seething over the Lancashire FA's decision to switch their ATS Trophy final clash with Morecambe from Deepdale

  • Young ideas for bright future

    SECONDARY school pupils were invited to put pen to paper to say how they would improve Burnley in a competition organised by the town's Rotary Club. The winning essay was penned by Hannah Baker, 12, of Walshaw High School and she was presented with a

  • Share advice

    SHARES in several East Lancashire firms are tipped as 'buys' by a firm of stockbrokers. In its latest monthly review of companies, Henry Cooke Lumsden is upbeat about the prospects for Blackburn-based Scapa, Silentnight Holdings of Salterforth, Skillsgroup

  • Bus loan offer until the end of June

    OUR scheme offering free loan of a T-reg 16-seater mini bus to schools in East Lancs has been extended to run until the end of June. Sponsors of the project, Lancashire Leyland DAF, Accrington, have generously offered the extra month for any school visit

  • MP Jack captures moment

    HOME Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw got the lowdown on a high technology firm in his constituency. Mr Straw performed the official opening of Cad-Capture's new building at the Greenbank Technology Park in Blackburn. Cad-Capture has outgrown its

  • BAe boss joins the Guardian Angels

    A SCHEME to provide 'Guardian Angels' to fledgling firms in East Lancashire has attracted a top VIP to its annual awards ceremony. Sir Richard Evans, chairman of British Aerospace, will be presenting the 1999 Guardian Angel award at the County Hotel,

  • Green business park scheme

    A SCHEME to create a green business park in East Lancashire has moved a major step nearer. A report outlining the findings of a feasibility study into the proposed park at Carrs Industrial Estate in Haslingden has now been sent to the Regional Development

  • Sum total for real sports

    SCHOOLS throughout East Lancashire are discovering that 25 + 25 + 25 = 10. Since when? Since the launch of our NIE Sport Extra project aimed at promoting an interest in reading, writing, maths and geography through sports linked assignments for KS2 and

  • Soccer contest seeks new recruits

    A SIX-A-SIDE football tournament aimed at recruiting more ethnic minorities into the Army is being organised jointly by Nelson and Colne College and the Army. The contest for school age youngsters will be held on May 8 between 10am and 4pm at Nelson and

  • On target to meet 2000 deadline

    0MANAGERS are confident they will meet the Government deadline to prevent the "Millennium Meltdown" of hospital equipment in Blackburn. Information technology experts have until September 30 to complete alterations to computers and other electronic equipment

  • Learner driver fled from police

    A TRIP round the block in his father's car proved costly for legal student Ifraz Khan. Blackburn magistrates heard how the 18-year-old provisional licence holder panicked when he saw a police officer patrolling on foot. When the officer signalled him

  • Deer's severed head found in wood

    A DEER'S head has been found in an area where hunters have been targeting a small herd of roe-deer. Police are increasingly concerned for the safety of the small animals and residents in the area after reports of gunshots in Crawshawhall Woods, off Burnley

  • Scapa sold in £329m German deal

    A UNION today voiced concerns over jobs after it was announced that one of Blackburn's biggest factories is to be sold to a German firm. East Lancashire based industrial group Scapa revealed it was selling off large parts of its business including the

  • Cummings and Goings

    A fan's-eye view from Turf Moor, with Stephen Cummings ONLY three months into the job, and already the combined, positive influence of Messrs Kilby and Ingleby are being felt in and around Turf Moor. For example, the recent appointment of a general manager

  • Worker stole £5.75m from print company

    A BUSINESSMAN has pleaded guilty to stealing £5.75million from the printing firm where he worked. David Edgar, 45, admitted 20 charges of theft and asked for a further 278 similar offences to be taken into consideration when he appeared before Bradford

  • Aid worker tells of Kosovo shell horror

    AN aid worker has told how starving Kosovar refugees are living in fear after troops shelled an Albanian border village. Kate Ogden, 37, of Castle Road, Colne, said she believed Serb troops had shelled the village from across the border, killing two people

  • Awards night for street art

    STREET art and prominent buildings schemes across Blackburn are in line for prestigious prizes at an art ceremony tomorrow night. A civic award scheme has been organised for the town's buildings and public works of art. Many familiar locations from pubs

  • Brass shows steel

    Division Two: Blackpool v Burnley - Pete Oliver's big match preview CHRIS Brass is banking on Burnley's strength of character to produce a successful climax to their relegation struggle. The Clarets have shown some inner steel to drag themselves out of

  • Stan's tactics are so mind-boggling

    I READ Stephen Cummings's column every week and it is very gratifying to find that we do agree on an issue regarding the Burnley manager, Stan Ternent. You headed it with "Questionable Tactics," which I have argued with my youngest son since he arrived

  • Higher water bills to pay for clean-up

    WATER bills in East Lancashire could be set to rise by up to £13 a year to help pay for a massive improvement programme. North West Water has warned that prices would increase substantially more than inflation if the watchdog Ofwat accepts proposals to

  • Where are they now?

    Pete Oliver traces the life and times of former Clarets star ALBERT CHEESEBROUGH ALBERT Cheesebrough was the archetypal local lad made good. But being born in Burnley and graduating through school and county sides to the first-team at Turf Moor didn't

  • Look at the big picture, Neil

    IT'S not often that Neil Bramwell can be accused of jumping on someone else's bandwagon, but his comments last week over Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler's white line antics seem, like all the national papers, to have missed the point of the lad's actions

  • My disastrous season - by Chris Sutton

    CHRIS Sutton today summed up his aborted season in one word - disastrous. The Blackburn Rovers striker has been forced to face the fact that the groin injury which cost him a possible second England cap has now ended his part in the Premiership survival

  • Let Ford make his Mark, Stan

    I AM a Burnley fan who is very annoyed with Stan Ternent. Not because of recent events but because Mark Ford is not given a start on the subs bench. He is an excellent player, with class, skill, guts, determination, a good attitude and the ability to

  • Events in East Lancs tomorrow (Wednesday, April 14th)

    Pendle Archeological Group meet Concert Artistes Club, St James' Row, Burnley, 7.30pm. Speaker: Chris Salesbury. St John's Operatic Society present "Carousel," Pendle Hippodrome, Colne, 7.15pm. Painting Group for the Over 55's, Age Concern, King Street

  • Shop sold 'green slime' chicken

    CHICKEN pieces sold from the Spar shop in Whalley smelled, were discoloured and wet and had green slime on them, Blackburn magistrates heard. Environmental health officers found the chicken to be five days past its sell-by date. The owners of the Spar

  • Jealousy sparked attack with trowel

    AN ex convict who slashed a neighbour he believed was having an affair with his girlfriend has gone to jail for 18 months. Joiner Michael Wilson, 35, armed himself with a finger trowel at his door and left John Middleton with three injuries, including

  • SOCCER: Soaraway Wearsiders come to Gigg

    SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid, himself a former Shaker, brings his champions-elect to Gigg Lane tonight, to present Bury with a massive barrier to their survival prospects. Sunderland can ensure their own promotion with a win and have sold their allocation

  • SOCCER: Nogan doubt for Preston

    KURT Nogan could be missing when Preston bid to reclaim an automatic promotion spot via an away trip to nearby Wigan Athletic tonight (kick off 7.45pm). The former Burnley hitman is a doubt after taking a knock in Saturday's shock defeat by bottom club

  • Milosevic the winner

    INTERNATIONAL development minister Clare Short blew a hole in the Government's plan for Kosovo's refugees to come to Britain. She is correct - Slobodan Milosevic has got what he wants. It will take ground troops to get victory there, but I don't think

  • NON LEAGUE SOCCER: Do or dire for Stanley

    ACCRINGTON Stanley must beat Winsford United at the Barton Stadium tonight to avoid relegation from the UniBond Premier Division. The Reds earned themselves a stay of execution after an excellent 3-2 home victory over Marine at the weekend. But with just

  • Paul's hand on the pulse

    MAY I thank your newspaper, and especially Paul Barry, for all the help I have received while promoting musical events in the East Lancashire area. Paul always mentions us in the gig guide in his 'Pulse' column and for our new Soul night at the Comfort

  • SOCCER: Wanderers wait on Sellars

    SCOTT Sellars has not ruled out the chance of making a much-needed return when Bolton Wanderers entertain Bristol City tonight. Sellars will wait until the last moment before deciding whether to make himself available for the crucial Reebok date with

  • Mobiles a road danger

    THE present day phenomenon of mobile phones is presenting problems which could be serious. While negotiating a narrow winding road in Cumbria recently, a large wagon headed towards me at speed. I pulled over to the side, almost into a ditch, realising

  • SOCCER: Blackburn Sunday League

    SUNDAY saw the semi-finals of the Blue and White Rosebowl Cup and both matches turned out to be very close encounters. Kings Inn met Bee Hive, whose keeper Mick Dwyer made a string of excellent saves to keep them in the tie. However, he was beaten 10

  • Planners share blame

    I AGREE totally with your opinion (LET, March 31) about children being allocated to schools outside their locality, but would point out that it is not just with Blackburn schools that this is happening. We live in Mellor, part of the Ribble Valley catchment

  • SOCCER: Blackburn Combination

    MIDWEEK games in the Blackburn and District Football Combination were a mixture of league and cup games, with some hopes raised and others dashed. Last Tuesday evening saw the semi-finals of the Birtwistle and Eddleston Cups take place, plus Ewood Amateurs

  • Wright is all wrong

    IT is heartening to read such articles as that written in 'Soapbox' by the Rev John Faraday (LET, April 1) and to learn that present-day standards of behaviour are not acceptable to everyone. Over the past decade or so, standards have fallen in every

  • Egg runs glorious

    I WANT to thank everyone who helped make our 'Easter Egg Run' this year such a success. The behind-the-scenes helpers, often forgotten, included club members who wrote letters, paid visits and collected the eggs. Our thanks also go to the people who gave

  • Bombing must stop

    I HAVE sent the Prime Minister a petition opposing the bombing of Yugoslavia, signed by 140 people in Accrington town centre. The brutal actions carried out by the regime in Yugoslavia are unacceptable and have been rightly condemned. Those responsible

  • Man admits child sex offences

    A MAN is awaiting sentence after admitting a string of child sex offences. Paul Emsley, 31, was remanded in custody until June 18 for pre-sentence and psychiatric reports. Judge Raymond Bennett, who said prison was inevitable, said he wanted the help

  • Artists make their marks

    A RESPECTED Accrington artist is featured in the latest exhibition of paintings at the town's Haworth Art Gallery and another East Lancashire artist has walked away with a £1,000 cash prize after scooping a top award at an annual exhibition. The Accrington

  • Congratulations

    CONGRATULATIONS to the following pupils in year 6 at Crawshawbooth County Primary School, Rossendale, who all achieved their reading targets in our Super Story Search literacy project. Names of these pupils continue from those of the first half of the

  • The real world of mathematics

    STUDENTS in a Blackburn school are getting a taste of real-life maths through our NIE material. Housing prices, the cost of cars and football results are just some of the subjects studied in the classroom by a group of pupils in year 10 at Witton Park

  • Scapa sold in £329m German deal

    A UNION today voiced concerns over jobs after it was announced that one of Blackburn's biggest factories is to be sold to a German firm. East Lancashire based industrial group Scapa revealed it was selling off large parts of its business including the

  • Parents of meningitis victim tell of their anguish

    SHATTERED parents told today how their teenage daughter died from meningitis just 48 hours after complaining of a sore throat. Bowland High School pupil Helen Driver died in the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, after being struck down