BACUP boss Brent Peters is targeting maximum points from his side's derby game against Ramsbottom tomorrow. Peters will be without Lee Anderson and Ian Hughes, both suspended, with Ian Barker out injured and Lee Oldham a serious doubt with a knee injury
Nelson face Colne in a tasty looking derby. The Blues have recruited Daniel Stubberfield from Atherton Collieries and he will go into the squad to face their near neighbours. But Nelson caretaker manager Gary Bradshaw is unlikely to make any changes
Ramsbottom and Tottington Lions Club raised £1,500 on its annual Christmas sleigh ride. Residents donated the money during the six-night tour of Holcombe, Hawkshaw, Greenmount and Tottington. The cash will go towards local causes.
HASLINGDEN Library is staging an exhibition to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27. The event will promote awareness of the Holocaust around this year's central theme Same. But Different' which aims to emphasise the benefits of a diverse
A WIFE whose husband was accused of murdering her close friend, Burnley charity worker Michael Blakey, has told of her relief after police released him. Rachel Owen said she never had any doubt that her husband Pawan Bhardwaj had nothing to do with the
A NURSERY which put children at risk through a catalogue of failings has been closed by government inspectors. Ofsted bosses closed Smiles on Faces, St Peter's Street, Blackburn, because children would be or maybe exposed to the risk of harm. The nursery
Mark Hughes is convinced his Blackburn Rovers side's spirited win over Liverpool will have a major bearing on their battle to climb away from the Barclays Premiership danger zone. Rovers bounced back from their 6-2 mauling at Arsenal in fine style, beating
A PROPOSAL to convert a former village post office to a house is set to be refused. The Blacko post office building has fallen into disrepair, and last month it was painted black, with the words "sex shop" and "for adults only" daubed over its door.
A BLIND pensioner has welcomed the decision to withdraw the licence of a taxi firm that refused to let her guide dog on board. And Brenda Midgeley said she hoped that what had happened to Nelson-based Four Star Taxis would serve as a warning to other
ROSSENDALE manager Derek Egan has issued a rallying cry to the Valley's football fans to turn out in force and save the club from going under. And he has promised to repay them by keeping up their push for promotion. The Stags' off-field financial problems
The Holcombe Old English Game Fowl Club is hosting its game cock show on New Year's Day for the first time in two years. The 163rd Ye Olde Gamecock Show will take place at the Old Dun Horse Hotel, Bolton Road, Ramsbottom. The event attracts exhibitors
BURNLEY FC have defended their policy to change both their home and away kits each season and stressed: "Fans look forward to the new shirts". It comes as Blackburn Rovers were criticised for bringing out new kits for the second year running. A spokesman
DOZENS of historic documents were left for up to 10 months in a part of Darwen town hall's basement contaminated by asbestos. And the town's Local History Society has blasted Blackburn with Darwen Council for not moving the papers earlier. Brown asbestos
A LONG-serving police officer loves his job so much that he has refused to retire for the second time in eight months. Sgt Keith Jackson, 49, retired after 30 years in April but was back in work at the road policing unit, in Accrington, after just one
WHAT do you get if you cross Michael Welch with two Argentinians? The second best goal of 2006, according to BBC3 programme Goals Goals Goals 2006'. Accrington Stanley fans would find it hard to top the defender's 40-yard thunderbolt against Stockport
MORE than 30 patients were left waiting over four hours in casualty on Boxing Day - more than five times higher than the rest of this month. A surge in numbers during the afternoon has been blamed, but bosses said this was a one-off due to extra pressures
THE mum of a terminally-ill Bacup boy has thanked volunteers who offered to give up their time so the youngster could spend possibly his last Christmas at home. Following an appeal by the family of seven-year-old Jack Heath for a trained resuscitator
BANDS from all over Pendle will be rocking against racism in a special concert next week. The young musicians and DJs from 10 bands will be taking part in the 12-hour marathon gig at the Palatine Club, Nelson, in a bid to bring people from different
ALL that lottery millionaire Mark Fielden wanted for Christmas was a new battery for his old tractor. But the Todmorden farming enthusiast was not too disappointed when he opened his presents to find that he had missed out on the one thing at the top
A TEENAGER who lost her brother to cancer on Christmas Eve has revealed how holding a party in his memory had helped her cope. Christopher Smith, 16, from Franklin Road, Blackburn, died at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital just five weeks after being
POLICE working in a Burnley community are asking residents to join forces with them in a new neighbourhood watch scheme. Officers have set up the scheme in Loweswater Crescent of Burnley and are appealing for more local residents to jump on board. A
A WOMAN who has spent 11 years cooking for hungry fire crews - only to see them run out of the door when she served a meal - has retired. Cook Marie Fairbrother, 63, of Colenso Road, Shear Brow, steps down from Blackburn fire station this week after
A DUKE of Lancashire Regiment solider has died in Iraq after a roadside bomb attack. The soldier was taking part in a routine vehicle patrol which came under fire, the Ministry of Defence said. The soldier was airlifted to a field hospital at Shaibah
TWENTY-five dangerous criminals are on the run in Lancashire at any one time, new figures have revealed. The violent offenders, "category A" criminals who have been accused of committing offences including rape and sexual assault, have absconded before
A MAN who was stabbed in a "vicious" Nelson street brawl could have been the latest victim of a gang war, police said. Two groups of men were involved in the fight outside the Hour Glass pub, Nelson, at around 8.20pm on Wednesday, in which the 34-year-old
EAST Lancashire Muslims have the opportunity to bring a commemorative Eid tradition into the 21st Century for this weekend's festive celebrations. Instead of popping down to a local butcher, Muslims can log on to the internet and buy an animal online
I am wearing a new tie today thanks to the sales. I was going to get up again at 5 o'clock this year, but decided it was no longer worth the effort. In recent years I have, among other things, been physically assaulted by a woman when I picked up the
DOGS which have been allowed to roam free in a Pendle park, fouling and urinating on the war memorial in the centre, are set to be banned from the land. At the moment, dogs are allowed throughout Barrowford Park and, although it is illegal to allow a
ACTOR Sir Ian McKellen has left Burnley's civic leaders red-faced after revealing that a plaque marking his birthplace is outside the wrong house. The world-famous stage and screen actor, known to a new generation as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings
PARTS of Burnley's new £29million health and leisure centre were left an inch under water thanks to a leaky pipe. A suspended ceiling on the fourth floor collapsed following the flood at the St Peter's Centre, Church Street, which opened in March. Firefighters
BLACKBURN Rovers manager Mark Hughes waved off two fans as they set off on a 4,000-mile fundraising adventure. Julie and Peter Turner, of the Ribble Valley, are "The Blackburn Rover" team for the Plymouth to Banjul Challenge, which will see them drive
TEN new nature reserves could be created in Hyndburn as part of a multi-million pound plan. The scheme includes proposals to invest £1m to transform an Accrington park into a 40-hectare wildlife park - which would be the largest in Lancashire. The plan
STEVE Cotterill admits he will stick to tried and tested methods as Burnley aim to round off 2006 on a positive note. The Clarets make the long M62 journey to Hull tomorrow bidding to improve a run of form that has seen them glean six Championship points
ROBBIE Savage is ready to banish the memories of his red card hell by exacting his revenge on Middlesbrough tomorrow. In the same fixture last season, Savage was harshly sent off for the first time in his domestic career after committing two bookable
A DISABLED woman has been left virtually housebound after thieves stole a disability scooter she needs to get around. Susan Black, 37, of St David's Avenue, Feniscowles, had the vehicle stolen while she was enjoying a drink with her husband John in
A FEW years ago, along with West End Youth and Catholic Club and many other worried parties, I objected to the proposed siting of a bail hostel on Clayton Street near Blackburn town centre. At the time I lived over my former business premises close to
I AM writing to ask anyone considering their New Year's resolutions for 2007 to think about volunteering with disability charity Leonard Cheshire's North West Community Services (North). We support around 90 disabled people in the Blackburn and Darwen
TO my fellow taxpaying citizens of Barnoldswick, who may be wondering how the Fire Authority can justify the loss of a fire appliance in the town. Here's a sobering thought. In the relentless pursuit of slashing public services, the pesky problem of
ROAD safety campaigners are celebrating after their pleas for traffic-calming measures following the death of a neighbour were accepted. Residents living in Preston New Road, Mellor Brook, launched a campaign after pedestrian Michael Parker, 61, died
HUNDREDS of pounds was stolen when a robber armed with a knife threatened staff at a 24-hour Blackburn petrol station. The thug entered the Total Garage in Preston New Road at 12.20am yesterday and forced his way behind the counter to the till.
A DOMESTIC violence victim has spoken of her joy after the group which helped her escape a volatile relationship was saved. Rossendale Domestic Violence Forum was facing closure due to lack of funding until the charity was last week awarded £460,000
POLICE are appealing for witnesses to a hit and run which left an 81-year-old woman with serious head injuries. The incident happened about 6am on Montague Street, Blackburn, when police officers say an old model, dark blue Honda Civic struck the woman
CLARETS hitman Andy Gray is almost certainly sidelined until February following a second scan on his broken foot. The 10-goal striker underwent another X-ray on his injured right foot, a month after suffering a triple-metatarsal break in the Championship
THERE'S nothing like the sugar-coated, sherry-tinged, warm fuzziness of the festive season to get you in the mood for a good old moan. And BBC3's alternative review of the year, The Most Annoying People Of 2006, was just what the doctor ordered after
JOHN Coleman hopes it will be third time lucky against Mansfield Town. Accrington Stanley have recorded a draw in League Two and a defeat in the FA Cup against the Stags, who are under new management after Billy Dearden returned for his second spell
ANDRIY Nesmachniy's hopes of a dream move to the Premiership hinge on the future of Lucas Neill. The 27-year-old defender impressed during a trial spell with Blackburn Rovers in the days before Christmas, but his chances of securing a permanent switch
