A HUNDRED parents and children staged a Save Our School placard protest at Rockwood nursery, Burnley. They are campaigning against Lancashire County Council proposals which could see the closure of stand-alone nursery schools. The nursery places would
VIP guests were given a sneak preview of the revamped facilities at Darwen Library Theatre during a special showcase of local talent. The concert included performances by Blackburn People's Choir, the Eastern Sangeet Society and the Northern Jazz Orchestra
TWO women were seriously ill in hospital today with horrific leg and foot injuries after a pet dog went berserk and attacked them. The incident happened yesterday afternoon when Bernadette Thompson, 52, took her Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross-bred dog
REVITALISED midfield man Lenny Johnrose is hoping his inspired performance against Oldham will earn him a regular place in the Clarets side - continuing at Stoke City on Saturday. Johnrose's starting appearances in the League this season are just getting
EAST Lancashire funeral directors selling their services on an internet site to be launched on Friday say it will not mean an end to personal service, Waring McKenna, which has two offices in Blackburn, and the Co-operative Funeral service in Ramsbottom
MIDFIELD lynchpin Lee Carsley has revealed he is raring to face Newcastle in the FA Cup next week. The Blackburn Rovers skipper missed Saturday's 5-1 defeat against Barnsley at Oakwell with a stomach bug. But the Republic of Ireland international is now
Blackburn Artists' Society meet St Gabriel's Church Hall, Brownhill Drive, Brownhill, Blackburn, 7pm. Audio visual presentation with Malcolm Roberts, "Light On The Land," St James C E School, Regent Street, Haslingden, 7.30pm. American Line Dancing, King
COUNCILLORS in the Ribble Valley have backed a proposed council tax increase of less than two per cent. They could have approved an increase of up to four and a half per cent, but at last night's special meeting of the Ribble Valley Borough Council's
A LORRY driver was today seriously ill in hospital after falling 20ft head first from his vehicle - as his bosses launched an inquiry into how the accident happened. Geoff Smith, 47, of Waddow Close, Waddington, is in hospital in South Yorkshire with
EAST Lancashire was picking up the pieces after a battering from a horror hurricane. The region escaped the worst of the killer storms, which claimed 42 lives, but gales left a trail of destruction. Savage winds overturned vehicles and ripped up trees
SHOKAT Ali's Regal Welsh Open hopes were dashed at the first-round stage as former champion Paul Hunter renewed his love affair with the tournament at the Cardiff International Arena. Hunter, who two years ago won the title as a 19-year-old, advanced
BOLTON boss Sam Allardyce has a clean bill of health ahead of tonight's Worthington Cup semi-final second leg clash at Tranmere. Bolton welcome back midfielder Paul Warhurst and goalkeeper Keith Branagan from injury, whilst on-loan defender Paul Ritchie
ROSSENDALE United earned themselves a crack at in-form Unibond League Premier Division side Barrow in the last eight of the Marsden Lancashire Trophy thanks to Neil Ollerton's early goal. Ollerton, playing up front alongside Craig Sargeson in the absence
I WOULD like to thank all the people who helped me when I fell off the escalator near Tesco Metro, Blackburn, on Saturday, January 15. These include: The Asian gentleman with a grey beard, who held me and got me off the escalator at the top and on to
AUSSIE leg-spinner Stuart MacGill is keen to play county cricket next season - but Lancashire could face a battle to sign him. MacGill is the name at the top of Lancashire's hit-list following the shock news that Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan
CHAMPIONS Darwen are throwing their weight behind the Northern League's Premiership status in a bid to make the new-look cricket league a success. But chairman Peter Lamster believes the league's future well-being could stand and fall on the feeder league
I AM writing on behalf of Action Research, one of the UK's leading medical research charities, to appeal for support for the Pot of Gold Coffee Party between April 10 and 15. My support of Action Research stems from its vital research work into the pregnancy
A YOUTH sneaked into an acquaintance's house and helped himself to a bike and a CD player. Burnley magistrates heard how Nicholas Ian Macro, 20, later took the cycle back, but could not recover the player. Macro, of Morse Street, Burnley, is awaiting
PLAYING the stock market with his student loan money has paid off for teenager Jimmy Norris. For the midas touch Jimmy developed with his loan cash has helped him beat off competition from 17,000 other contestants - including stock market experts - to
REVITALISED midfield man Lenny Johnrose is hoping his inspired performance against Oldham will earn him a regular place in the Clarets side - continuing at Stoke City on Saturday. Johnrose's starting appearances in the League this season are just getting
THE CULTURE, sporting history and industrial heritage of Accrington have been spelled out to producers at Yorkshire Television after a character in hit drama series Heartbeat accused the town of being a dump. Council chiefs in Hyndburn believe Accrington's
MIDFIELD lynchpin Lee Carsley has revealed he is raring to face Newcastle in the FA Cup next week. The Blackburn Rovers skipper missed Saturday's 5-1 defeat against Barnsley at Oakwell with a stomach bug. But the Republic of Ireland international is now
A FIREFIGHTER was taken to hospital after being injured in a suspected arson attack on an Accrington house today. A neighbour told how she was woken by the noise of a woman shrieking at a man to get out of the burning house in Eddleston Street at 2am.
A SEMINAR to help firms get to grips with direct marketing is being staged next week. Business Link East Lancashire is organising the event to help local firms understand the basics of direct marketing to promote products and services. It will also cover
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy IF you want to celebrate a wildlife success for Lancashire you need look no further than the wildfowl and Wetland's Trust at Martin Mere situated near Burscough. The reserve made national news this last week as more than
TWO tireless fund-raisers helped ensure the new millennium got off to a great start at Pendleside Hospice, Reedley, by donating the amount it costs the unit to operate for one day. John Whitford and Brenda Ellis, of Appleby Drive, Barrowford, handed over
CAMPAIGNERS in Pendle have written to MPs and the House of Lords highlighting the plight of people living in war-torn Kashmir. Around 100 families in Pendle have relatives in the Bhimber and Chamb sector of the ceasefire line between the Indian and Pakistani
I WOULD not put it past some bloody-minded bloke to now go to work in a frock in order to be ordered home by his employer. He would in turn suffer from hurt feelings worth at least £50,000 in compensation - which is what an industrial tribunal is likely
WERE we not giving a telling insight into the bossy thou-shalt instinct that drives the politically-correct minds in New Labour with the disclosure this week that senior members of the party's National Executive Committee want the government to legislate
The opinions expressed by John Blunt are not necessarily those of this newspaper DO not know how many people in this age of anything-goes share the view of the leader of Scotland's 750,000 Catholics, Cardinal Thomas Winning, that homosexuality is a "perversion
THE main road between Waterfoot and Stacksteads was blocked for about two hours today by an accident involving a bus and heavy goods vehicle. No-one was hurt in the collision, which happened shortly after 8.30am. The incident involved a goods vehicle
FIVE vehicles were involved in a double accident in Burnley Road, Rawtenstall, today. The first collision at about 10.50am involved a Vauxhall Nova driven by Jane Whitehead, 30, of Thorn Street, Rawtenstall and a Mercedes van driven by James Baker, 42
A DISABLED fund-raiser who plans to scale Snowdon on his scooter has paid tribute to a friend who died less than a month before he was to join him in the challenge. Geoff West, 61, of Hempshaw Avenue, Loveclough, planned to travel to the top of Snowdon
A MAN on trial for allegedly trying to kill a friend has admitted a wounding charge. A jury had been told that Paul Guy stabbed Gerald Connor after the pair got into an argument. The 23-year-old defendant, of Earlesden Avenue, Earby, pleaded guilty on
MORE than half the commercial vehicles targeted by Lancashire police in the nationally co-ordinated Operation Mermaid were found to be defective. Police stopped 113 heavy and light goods vehicles last Thursday on the motorway network and in the Samlesbury
Burnley Reserves 2 Manchester City Reserves 0 BURNLEY moved level on points with second-placed City in the Pontins League Premier Division thanks to two late goals at Turf Moor last night. The deadlock was broken 13 minutes from the end of an entertaining
BLACKBURN Rovers Youth team are hoping to burst West Ham's bubble in The Times FA Youth Cup tonight. Rovers' young guns are up against the current holders and competition favourites at Ewood in a fourth round replay (kick off 7pm). But after a brilliant
TWENTY-two schoolchildren and teachers were snowed in at Pendle Ski Club where they were forced to spend the night. The groups, from St Augustine's High School, Billington, and Our Lady's High School, Preston, realised they were trapped when they tried
I RANG my doctor's surgery in October, shortly after my mother in law had her routine flu jab, to request a jab for my husband. My request was refused as he does not fall within their 'at risk' group. He is not yet fully recovered from the flu symptoms
I WAS driving along Revidge Road in my blue Vauxhall Corsa towards Preston New Road on January 19, between 9.30-9.45am, when a car came out of Whitehall Road, hit my car and shunted me towards Edgeworth Road. It carried on, leaving me with a damaged car
EDUCATION can hardly have had a higher national priority than since Labour came to power with it as its key policy. Yet, even with this boost, a major problem for the country - and, in particular, for regions like ours - is the widely-held notion that
CLITHEROE made life hard for themselves but eventually made it through this Floodlit Trophy second round clash. Goals from Lee Sculpher, Darren Calderbank and a penalty from Barry Hart sent Steve Parry's side through to the third round, but some slack
FEELING depressed after a bout of flu which has made me literally housebound since Christmas, I managed this week to refill all the nut containers in the garden for the birds and an occasional squirrel. It cheered me to watch the birds. Then, our squirrel
JOHN Fielding (Letters, January 17) tells us that any attempt to champion English nationalism is ruthlessly suppressed. How has his letter got into print under this ruthlessly suppressive regime? I can accept the points in his final paragraph, but have
A RECENT multi-billion dollar trip to the planet Mars failed completely because of a mix-up between avoirdupois and metrication. To we old codgers, who were taught in real money, the metric system is a strange grey area. Admittedly, it does not over-tax
YOUR double page feature showed what a great facility the new Rovers Academy is for aspiring young footballers. Unfortunately, for those who live close by, it is not a very good neighbour. There is already a problem with traffic and time will tell whether
POLICE want people to leave their mark on valuables to help increase the chances of recovering them if they are stolen. Now, in the latest stage of the Burglary Safe campaign, special marking packs are being made available to all residents in Burnley
THE canalside setting of Burnley Wharf provided the backdrop for the launch of this year's Lancashire Hill Country Visitor Guide. Civic dignitaries and tourism chiefs from all over East Lancashire sampled the transport of yesteryear when they gathered
NATIONAL waste services group Biffa has won the £11.2million contract to clean streets and empty bins in Burnley for the next seven years. The High Wycombe-based company beat off the challenge of five other firms, including present contract holder UK
NEW tenants will subsidise existing council householders in Burnley after the sell-off of the authority's estates, councillors were told. Independent Socialist Andrew Holder was the only councillor to oppose the transfer of the town's 5,300 council homes
FIGHTING fit grandma Ada Gibson is setting about her latest swimming challenge - and hopes to raise money to help people with epilepsy. Ada, 84, of Grange Street, Clayton-le-Moors, hopes to swim 600 lengths of Great Harwood's Mercer Hall pool before the
A HOSPITAL patient barricaded himself into a room and threatened police with two tables legs, a court was told. Burnley magistrates heard how Brian Michael Holden, 37, gave himself up when a "back up team" arrived and when he was charged replied "sorry
GOVERNORS at an East Lancashire primary school are to draw up an action plan in a bid to tackle a series of weaknesses identified in an Ofsted report. Inspectors working on behalf of the Office for Standards of Education compiled a mixed report following
THOUSANDS of East Lancashire taxpayers are risking hefty fines by missing a tax deadline. Blackburn-based Diane Eatough, president of the North West Society of Chartered Accountants, said there were around 25,000 tax forms still to be returned under the
A DESIGNER clothing business has won £10,000 in prizes after coming first past the post in a business contest. Pretty Ponies of Whalley, which specialises in manufacturing designer clothing for horse riders, has won the Parcelforce Worldwide Small Business
IT IS a misfortune that falls upon many couples with a hefty mortgage to pay. One of them loses their job and, suddenly, they are in deep trouble with their finances. But how many, I wonder, have the luck to have all their cares dispelled at a stroke
A HEAD lice epidemic is feared to be sweeping schools in East Lancashire after a family said their son had suffered from infestations at least eight times. The parents of Jamie Ball, seven, a pupil at Sacred Heart and St Edward's Primary School in Darwen
