Archive

  • Thanks to 'think tank'

    RESIDENTS have been asked what improvements they would like to see in their neighbourhoods, in a bid to spruce up areas and reduce crime. Community action and regeneration group Groundwork Blackburn has National Lottery funding to set up a Participatory

  • Gang of four should lay-off Wilson

    THE Home Secretary has had a difficult sporting week. First Jack Straw had to decide on a tricky issue of immigration. And, having decided to let Manchester United back into the country, he then had to rule over allowing the evil Tyson to bring his travelling

  • Rumpus over school 'windfall' cash

    RIVAL councillors clashed in a row over the amount of money which will be spent on East Lancashire schools in the next financial year. Conservatives on the county education committee accused the ruling Labour group of over hyping the amount of money they

  • Woman in drug tragedy

    A WOMAN of 50 died after a decade of abusing drugs, an inquest heard. Margaret Nelson had started by taking two or three times the prescribed dose of drugs such as sleeping pills. But as her problem grew worse, drug dealers became regular callers to her

  • Bid to 'breathe new life' into centre

    PLANS to stop drivers using busy town centre roads to get from one side of Blackburn to the other look set to finally be given the green light. The move is part of a council strategy to make the town centre more shopper friendly and the council says it

  • Liam blasts late leveller to thwart cup holders

    FA Youth Cup 4th round: West Ham United 1 Blackburn Rovers 1 A STUNNING last-gasp equaliser from substitute Liam Blakeman earned Rovers a richly deserved replay from this clash of Youth football's heavyweights in the Capital last night. Robert Kelly's

  • Licence rules tightened up

    A TIGHT reign is being kept on licensing hours in the Ribble Valley. A new public entertainment policy, which provides a benchmark against which the council can judge individual applications for music and dancing, was approved by the policy and finance

  • Junior schools ban mobile phones

    PRIMARY schools in East Lancashire have banned mobile phones as children as young as seven have started bringing them into the classroom. Headteachers have banned the hi-tech gadgets after problems with calls disrupting classes and worries about the expensive

  • Star out to impress boss McIlroy

    REVITALISED winger Damien Johnson is hoping his recent form with Blackburn Rovers will help him to win over new Northern Ireland boss Sammy McIlroy. The 21-year-old wide man has been given a new lease of life thanks to Rovers boss Tony Parkes. And after

  • Good food earns top star status

    BOTH of East Lancashire's Michelin starred restaurants have retained the accolades for the year 2000. Northcote Manor at Langho and Paul Heathcote's restaurant at Longridge both boast the coveted Michelin stars for culinary expertise. Paul Heathcote's

  • Golf club payment row

    CLITHEROE Golf Club has been criticised by councillors for appealing to Ribble Valley Council for a business rate discount. The club asked for a 15 per cent rate relief, which is given to sports groups at the discretion of Ribble Valley Borough Council

  • Head woke me up for sex, claims tearful teen

    A SECOND teenager has claimed he was sexually molested by a headmaster at a top Catholic boarding school. The jury at the trial of Robert Francis O'Brien watched as the 15-year-old broke down in tears as he told how he was indecently assaulted by the

  • Beware those hidden costs

    Val Cowan's Web World FANS of online shopping are being warned that they could face unexpected bills if they order goods from overseas. Customs and Excise can charge taxes on purchases from America and other non-European countries. Manchester-based e-commerce

  • FIVE YEARS AGO: Shock sickness call

    WORKERS in a Rossendale Council department were taking one day off sick every three weeks on average, shock figures revealed. And councillors demanded action to cut down sickness levels which would be considered unacceptable in private industry. The worst

  • Money, money money

    OH dear! Jack Straw has done it again. It is disgusting that Mike Tyson should be allowed into this country. And why? It is all about money, but then that is what everything is about these days. Why are our politicians doing this to our country, bringing

  • New traffic plan is only a stop-gap

    PLANS to ease the congestion in Blackburn town centre and make life a little easier for both pedestrians and motorists are expected to be approved tonight. They have been an awful long time in the melting pot, but that is hardly the fault of councillors

  • SUPERBIKES: I'm fine, says fall-guy Fogarty

    CARL Fogarty today laughed off suggestions that a skiing accident was threatening his chances of launching his World Superbike title defence. The Blackburn rider fell on the first day of a holiday with the Ducati team boss in Italy. Ligaments in his shoulder

  • Needled by latecomers

    PEOPLE never cease to amaze me. I refer to your front page report regarding flu jabs. Did the 67-year-old man not realise he was 67 in October? He shares the same health centre as me and the availability of flu jabs was widely advertised then. Equally

  • Money, money, money

    SO Straw does it again. After the debacle of letting in Chile's General Pinochet, then holding this decrepit old man prisoner for 18 months, he starts another chapter in "how to be an awful Home Secretary." This time it is one Mike Tyson he's letting

  • Keep the spirit alive

    WITH reference to recent correspondence about religion and the evils of the world, human beings are born naked, fragile, vulnerable and individual on an isolated, beautiful but often hostile planet. It is hardly surprising therefore that fear and insecurity

  • Cabbies in road protest

    POLICE motorcycle outriders led a fleet of taxis as cabbies staged a protest procession to Burnley town hall. More than 20 cabs travelled through the centre to object to council plans to remove the most popular taxi rank in town, as part of the multi-million

  • Violence charges

    A MAN accused of several offences of violence was granted bail by Hyndburn magistrates. Che Dearden, 24, of Edmund Street, Accrington, is charged with grievous bodily harm, assault occassioning actual bodily harm and two counts of assaulting police constables

  • Shock of teacher's death at 51

    HIGH school staff and pupils are in shock following the death of a long-serving teacher, the school's head said today. Design technology teacher Dennis Winkley, 51, had taught at Rhyddings High School, Oswaldtwistle for 25 years. He was found dead by

  • By George, it's good to learn!

    A NEW club aimed at encouraging people to learn new skills is celebrating its 1,000th member after it doubled the number of recruits taking part. The East Lancashire Learning Club is run by East Lancashire Training and Enterprise Council and offers financial

  • Teen vandals upset the elderly

    NUISANCE teenagers and vandals are upsetting elderly residents in Accrington - but councillors hope that planned new youth facilities will give them something better to do. Residents made a plea for action to tackle juvenile nuisance in the Sandy Lane

  • Clarets blast link with Bradford striker Grant

    CLARETS chief Stan Ternent has quashed rumours linking him with a possible move for Bradford City striker Gareth Grant. And the Turf Moor boss is not expected to step up his interest in defender James Hindmarch either after the trialist played in the

  • Photos mix-up leaves newly weds with wrong snaps

    A NEWLY-WED couple are devastated after their wedding pictures were lost by photo processors. Anne and Anthony Sharples married at Great Harwood United Reformed Church at the beginning of December and held a reception at The Plough in the town. Anne,

  • Father's human torch threat

    A FATHER being pursued for maintenance money by the Child Support Agency doused himself in petrol and tried to set fire to himself outside an Accrington nightclub, a court heard. Police were called by staff at Afrika's nightclub to help restrain factory

  • Noise notice bid rejected

    ANGRY parish councillors criticised the county council for its attitude over their request for help in discouraging car loads of young men from playing loud music in the early hours of the morning at Quaker Bridge, Reedley. They asked for a warning notice

  • Woman drank litre of vodka a day

    A WOMAN died from alcoholic poisoning after drinking a litre bottle of vodka a day, an inquest heard. Catherine Littlejohns, 49, of Parker Street, Nelson, died at home on Saturday, January 8. Her husband, Robert, told an inquest at Burnley: "Over the

  • Castaway hopeful is cast off

    WOULD-BE castaway Jack Holden today spoke of his experiences and said: "There are certain people I'm glad I won't be sharing that deserted island with." Jack, 69, was one of 36 adventurers shortlisted by the BBC as potential "castaways" to spend a year

  • Archive will put 2000 in picture

    A MILLENNIUM Image Archive will be launched next month at Blackburn Central Library. Photographs are being requested to add to the archive, a database of more than 6,000 photographs that will be added in 2000. As their contribution to Festival 2000, Blackburn

  • Call for care home closure inquiry after two die

    A HEALTH watchdog has branded the decision to close a care home "criminal" after two elderly people died soon after they were moved. Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Community Health Council has called for a public inquiry after revealing that Liz Hoyle

  • Top marks for school

    STAFF, parents and pupils at Blackburn's St Luke and St Philip's CE Primary School are celebrating their recent Ofsted report. The school in Hancock Street was described as good and improving following an inspection by the Office for Standards in Education

  • Volunteers group receives share of £20m

    VOLUNTARY services for young people in Blackburn and Darwen have been given a cash boost by the Government. The borough's Council for Voluntary Services is one of nine organisations in the North West to receive a share of £20million to help 16 to 24-year-olds

  • Anger at swim session charges

    PARENTS are angry at a decision to change the payment system for children's swimming lessons at Marl Pits leisure complex, Rawtenstall. The scrapping of 'make-up' lessons will leave parents out of pocket, they claim, losing £2.50 every time a child fails

  • Pupils dig in for green scene

    PUPILS from Gibfield Special School, Colne, dug in to help plant trees on a local Millennium Green. They joined Mayor of Pendle, Councillor Edwina Sargeant, in the Waterside area of the town and spent the day planting trees on the six-acre site. Between

  • Bid for extra police in crime hot spots

    EAST Lancashire is in line for more than its share of an extra 152 police officers being bid for by Lancashire Constabulary. The county-wide bid looks to secure a realistic share of the 5,000 officers proposed by the Government. David Brindle, the constabulary's

  • Empty houses may come down

    EMPTY council homes may soon be demolished as Bacup's housing crisis deepens, despite the council's efforts to attract new tenants. The number of empty council houses in the town has shot up by 41 per cent since the beginning of the financial year, making

  • Asbestos theory of wife's death

    TESTS are taking place to show whether an Earby woman died from the industrial disease asbestosis. Dorothy Watson, 75, of Kenilworth Drive, Earby, died on January 12. Her husband, Thomas, told an inquest in Burnley that in the years immediately after

  • Call for care home closure inquiry after two die

    A HEALTH watchdog has branded the decision to close a care home "criminal" after two elderly people died soon after they were moved. Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Community Health Council has called for a public inquiry after revealing that Liz Hoyle

  • Fears grow for post offices

    PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice is to meet local sub postmasters and sub postmistresses amid growing concerns about their future. Many fear that moves to computerise the Post Office Counter Network by the spring of 2001 could lead to many closures of village

  • Gender on the agenda

    NINE events have been lined up to mark International Women's Week, which has been incorporated into Blackburn with Darwen Council's Festival 2000 millennium celebrations. Women's week is celebrated every year in the borough but has this year been given

  • Leaders too tough for Burnley youngsters

    Port Vale Reserves 1 Burnley Reserves 0 BURNLEY Reserves suffered their first defeat in the Pontin's League since September 13 last night when a young side travelled to league leaders Port Vale. The Clarets had to do some stern defending in the game,

  • Ternent blasts link with Bradford striker Grant

    CLARETS chief Stan Ternent has quashed rumours linking him with a possible move for Bradford City striker Gareth Grant. And the Turf Moor boss is not expected to step up his interest in defender James Hindmarch either after the trialist played in the

  • Owner sells up after 30 years

    ONE of the oldest restaurants in the Ribble Valley has served its last meal. Owner Christine Marshall said the Miles House Farm Restaurant in Ribchester has shut its doors on more than 30 years of catering for residents and visitors of the Ribble Valley

  • Events in East/Central Lancashire on Friday, January 21st

    St Mary's Panto Group present "Merlin and the Sacred Map," Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre, 7.30pm. Citizen's Advice Bureau Advice and Information Session, Darwen Health Centre, 1pm-4pm. Jazz Evening, The Holden Arms, Grane Road, Haslingden, 9pm. Blackburn

  • School trip to Nepal

    TEENAGERS from an East Lancashire school will be finding out about life in the Third World on a trip to Nepal. Twenty pupils aged 14 to 17 from Stonyhurst College, Clitheroe, are aiming to raise £50,000 to travel to the Buddhist country for more than

  • Thumbs up for centre cash

    COUNCILLORS in the Ribble Valley have given the go-ahead to spend £20,000 on a specialist centre for rural businesses which could lead to the creation of more than 50 jobs. The proposed Ribble Valley Technology Management Centre, will house Enterprise

  • TEN YEARS AGO: Would you believe it!

    THE audience did not believe their eyes when the curtains went up on a production of Godspell this month. Believe it or not, the actor playing Jesus was also appearing in the cult television show Blind Date. And the young lady Douglas Whittaker, 21, of

  • Phone fad is a sign of times

    IT is a sign of the times when seven-year-old children turn up at school sporting mobile telephones. Several East Lancashire headmasters have banned mobiles from their premises and we agree with them. The prospect of 30 youngsters in a classroom answering

  • Priorities all wrong

    I HAVE just been watching the news on television. First it said that Mrs Mavis Skeets has had her throat cancer operation cancelled four times, because of the 'flu crisis and the shortage of beds and has been told her condition is now inoperable because

  • SOCCER: Peter closer to dream place with the Reds

    PADIHAM prospect Peter Corvino has taken a further step towards his goal of becoming a professional footballer with the biggest club in the world. The 14-year-old Ivy Bank School pupil has been a member of Manchester United's academy set-up for the last

  • COUNTY CRICKET: Simpson search

    LANCASHIRE Chairman Jack Simmons will look to Sydney and new coach Bobby Simpson before finalising the top three on the county's hitlist for a new overseas player. Simmons is currently in South Africa following the England tour with fellow committee men

  • Love it? Oh yes we did!

    I FEEL compelled to respond to Mrs H Hamer's views on Blackburn's pantomime on ice (Letters, January 6). I took three of my children and a friend on Sunday, January 9, and I must admit I felt slightly apprehensive after reading her remarks. The panto

  • Ten new JPs sworn in

    TEN new magistrates have been sworn in and will start sitting in courts from March when they have completed their training. The swearing in ceremony was performed by Judge Raymond Bennett. The new members of the Burnley and Pendle bench are Gerald Barker

  • We still need God

    MR L Lawes (Letters, January 4) is obviously an atheist or unbeliever in God, and not familiar with the Holy Scriptures. People like him have been around for centuries, trying to undermine and explain away God and Christianity, but without success. Communism

  • Beds shortage 'desperate'

    STAFF sickness knocked out specialist high dependency beds at Burnley General Hospital at the height of the flu outbreak, a health chief has revealed. Health Trust chairman Brian Foster told patient watchdogs the hospitals were working on 95 per cent

  • Chance to wipe the slate clean

    POLICE are to introduce a unique scheme urging offenders to confess and turn over a new leaf for the new millennium. Operation New Leaf will target Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale from tomorrow in what is believed to be the first project of its kind in

  • Firm reports sales surge

    A SALES surge has been reported by Marks & Spencer supplier Lambert Howarth. The Burnley-based firm said the current fashion for 'pashmina' women's shawls helped push sales higher. The shoulder wrap style favoured by Patsy Kensit, Catherine Zeta Jones

  • Wine importer jailed for cheating Customs

    A WINE importer who cheated Customs and Excise out of £60,000 duty has begun a nine-month jail term. Burnley Crown Court heard how former restaurateur Giovanni Pilliteri, 36, ignored a "warning shot across his bows," lied to Customs officers and went

  • Football task-force kicks off

    HYNDBURN Soccer Task Force aims to launch a development plan for the borough at a conference in April which it hopes will be attended by some high profile names within the game. The plan contains actions and targets to regenerate soccer in the borough

  • Shop thefts clampdown paying off

    A CRIME-busting strategy which bans persistent thieves from town centre shops has helped cut Christmas shoplifting in Accrington by two thirds. And the Hyndburn Association of Retail Traders (HART) scheme has become so successful that thieves are now

  • Teen 'angel' in mini crime wave

    POLICE are warning shop staff to be on their guard for an "angelic-looking" teenager who has stolen purses and handbags from stores and hairdressers' shops in Accrington and Oswaldtwistle. Two boys aged between 12 and 15 are believed to be responsible

  • Rovers star out to impress boss McIlroy

    REVITALISED winger Damien Johnson is hoping his recent form with Blackburn Rovers will help him to win over new Northern Ireland boss Sammy McIlroy. The 21-year-old wide man has been given a new lease of life thanks to Rovers boss Tony Parkes. And after

  • Court house nightmare!

    Reporter MIKE RIBBECK continues his diaries on giving up smoking FOR most of this week I have been exiled to Crown Court and have not spent much time in the office. Usually covering court is something I look forward to but not this time around. The courts

  • Seeing is believing - the scanner in action

    IT was bought after a huge appeal which captured the imagination of East Lancashire people. Doctors said it was an absolute necessity and would save lives. But the use of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scanner has been strongly criticised in some

  • Three elected to Link board

    THREE new directors have been elected at Business Link East Lancashire. David Brown, Gary Roberts and Susan Shuttleworth were among 20 candidates up for election to the board. David Brown is joint managing director of wallpaper firm Graham & Brown

  • Failure rate bucks the trend

    THE number of company failures in the region has fallen despite a rise nationally. North West receiverships fell by five per cent last year from 159 in 1998 to 151, compared with a rise of two per across the country. "Last year was one of contrasts. At

  • Jim leaves his mark on the millennium

    BOMBER pilot turned businessman Jim Mason has been named as one of the local economy's most influential 'men of the millennium'. The Blackburn-born former councillor has been included in a list of the North West's top businessmen in Entrepreneur magazine

  • £25 million spent, but hand-outs don't match

    PENDLE people spent over £25million on National Lottery tickets in five years - but were not winners when it came to getting handouts for good causes from the profits, says Gordon Prentice. Now the MP has called for the borough to get a greater share