STEVEN Reid fired Blackburn Rovers a step closer to the Champions League at Sunderland on Saturday and then declared: I'm in the best form of my life'. The Republic of Ireland international, who was recently linked with a £6 million move to Manchester
AFTER Accrington Stanley suffered their first defeat in 21 outings in midweek, manager John Coleman insisted that he had every faith in himself to motivate his players. Saturday's emphatic comeback was proof, if anyone needed it, of that. As the Reds
BURNLEY boss Steve Cotterill has dedicated the Clarets' Championship victory over Norwich City to the memory of tragic teenager Tom Smith. The 14-year-old Clarets fan, from Forrest Beck, Bolton-by-Bowland, finally lost his life in February after a three-year
GIFTON Noel-Williams believes being sucked into a relegation battle with Brighton will "buck-up" his own game. The Burnley striker began his loan spell with the Seagulls in the best possible way at the weekend with a debut goal in the 1-1 draw with Luton
STEVEN Reid is not afraid to admit he nearly choked on his cornflakes when he picked up a copy of a Sunday tabloid recently and read a story linking him with a summer move to Manchester United. As the unsung hero of this Blackburn side, Reid is used
MARK Hughes has warned Blackburn fans to tighten their seat belts because he expects the battle for Europe to go right to the wire. Rovers took another giant step towards a top six finish by securing a vital Premiership victory at Sunderland, courtesy
A YOUNG writer is set to record one of his poems about his favourite sounds for a BBC 7 Radio show. Casey Holland, eight, is one of six children in the country being asked to read his poem entitled "Ear This" on children's radio programme The Big Toe
COUNCIL bosses in Hyndburn have admitted that a plan to create a new "gateway" into Accrington has stood still for three years. Officials at Hyndburn Council hope to regenerate the canalside area around the former Hargreaves Warehouse and Commercial
THE organisation behind the biggest anti-war marches in London has announced plans for a rally in Blackburn ahead of the visit of Condoleezza Rice to Blackburn. The Stop The War Coalition has put out a national appeal to its members to travel to both
A man collapsed and died while cycling through Whalley. The 72-year-old was found collapsed by the side of the roundabout at the junction of Mitton Road and Clitheroe Road at around 2.30pm on Thursday. A passer-by called the emergency services and the
What's wrong with slippers? I was horrified to discover how the item of footwear has been officially declared "out of fashion". Thinking about it, slippers have become a rare sight. We rarely spot them gracing the feet of women up and down the country
Children as young as nine are to get advice on drugs when a new board game is launched in Lancashire's primary schools this week. The game, called Joint Efforts - Primary Edition', has been designed to help educate nine to 11-year-old children along
THIS is a thank you to all those who attend the Age Concern New Era Social on Friday mornings. Numbers have risen from a humble beginning of 10 to 25 plus. What a difference it makes when everyone mixes around the room, sharing each others' experiences
THE report by David Higgerson on the intended closure of the Lewis Textile Museum in order to save £23,000 a year includes comments from the council leader Kate Hollern that "We don't have a hangman any more....nor do we employ a gas lighter-upper....
PUPILS from Darwen Vale High School will tomorrow put their leadership skills to the test. Year-10 pupils undertaking their junior sports leaders award and a BTEc leadership course have organised a sports festival for pupils from six local primary schools
HISTORIC buildings in Darwen town centre are to be restored to their former glory. Blackburn with Darwen Council has received confirmation that it is to receive £1million in funding. The borough was successful in the first stage of its bid for the
A MARRIED father-of-two toured Lancashire with a 14-year-old girl and her friend after telling hotel staff they were his nieces. But a judge ruled that it was not in the public interest to jail bus driver Aaron Porter after being told no sexual activity
A 34-YEAR-OLD man struggling to come to terms with the break-down of a relationship confronted his ex at her town centre workplace, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that Ian Aspin kicked the door of Exchange Coffee, Flemming Square, and
A MOTHER has slammed the "lenient" sentence given to a man who indecently assaulted her daughter when she was five. Darrell Glasgow, 39, who admitted kissing the girl intimately, walked free from court after a judge said jail would destroy him. The
The Queen will become the Colonel-in-Chief of the new Duke of Lancaster's Regiment when it is formed on July 1. The new regiment will be launched following the merger of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, the King's Regiment and the King's Own Royal Border
THE Foreign Office has formally confirmed the visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Blackburn and Liverpool this weekend. She and the town's MP Jack Straw, her UK counterpart as Foreign Secretary, will deliver keynote addresses on international
A MAN who lost his leg to MRSA was put in a home full of pensioners vulnerable to the disease while he was still infected. Norman Turner, a former hospital cleaning supervisor from Darwen, said that hospital bosses released him before tests which revealed
A POLITICAL row has broken out between two of Burnley's most prominent politicians over controversial plans for one of the town's new super schools' Council leader Stuart Caddy has threatened to report his opposition rival Gordon Birtwistle to the councillors
£95 millions sounds a lot of money. It's certainly more fivers than we can imagine, and more than most of us would know what to do with if we suddenly found ourselves with a lucky ticket. If we are to believe what we read in the papers it's even enough
BURNLEY MP Kitty Ussher claimed she was proud' of Labour's record with the NHS on the day health bosses announced that local hospitals will lose 417 beds. Mrs Ussher came under heavy fire after making the comment in an interview on the Guardian newspaper's
Children will be given the chance to win themselves some chocolate on Easter Saturday when a community event will be held at the Bacup Leisure Hall. The event will take place on April 15 between 10am and 2pm and will include an indoor Easter Egg Hunt
POLICE have seized £250,000 worth of drugs in Burnley in just three months. And today officers fired a warning to anyone dealing in the borough and insisted that they would be locked up. So far this year as part of the Burnley Residents Against Drugs
A MAN who keeps making scenes and upsetting the public asked a judge to cut a 12 hour a day curfew, but was out of luck. Richard East, 39, had earlier been given the four month 6pm to 6am daily order after admitting four charges of being drunk and disorderly
A former self-employed builder died of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, an inquest was told. The inquest heard that James Kay, of Ellesmere Avenue, Colne, regularly came into contact with asbestos and would often come home from work covered
AN alcoholic drowned in the canal as he made his way to the police station because he feared gunmen were targeting him, an inquest heard. However, it was not known whether Kevin McGough killed himself or drowned by accident in the canal at Barden Lane
THE widow of former Burnley chairman Bob Lord has died at the age of 98. Hilda Lord, who had been widowed for 25 years, died on Friday night. Today Burnley Football Club and former players paid tribute to the woman behind the legendary club chairman
A WOMAN who appeared on cult reality TV programme Wife Swap is to stand trial accused of fraud after allegedly telling benefits staff she was single. Becky Fairhurst, 30, of Derby Street, Colne, has been charged with three counts of failing to notify
AN 82-year-old man suffered burns after his pyjamas caught light when he was trying to start a fire. The incident was in Manor Lane, Nelson, at about 11.15am yesterday. The man, named as Cyril Grimshaw by neighbours, was trying to light his coal fire
A BURNLEY business suffered hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage in a suspected arson attack. Fire crews were called to PD Global, Smallshaw Lane, off Accrington Road, after a fire started in two wagons full of stock ready for delivery. They arrived
STEVE Cotterill believes new signing Alan Mahon will force Burnley to play better football. The Republic of Ireland international was limited to a 27-minute debut as a substitute during last Friday night's thrilling 2-0 victory over Norwich City. Cotterill
BLACKBURN Rovers defender Michael Gray admitted he didn't take much pleasure from inflicting further misery on his former club Sunderland at the weekend. Gray and his Blackburn team-mates pushed the Black Cats a little closer to the Premiership's relegation
ROSSENDALE is set for a jobs boost at one of the Valley's biggest employers. Hospital equipment manufacturers Smiths Medical, based in Haslingden, is to take on more posts after company bosses announced plans to transfer 534 manufacturing jobs from its
A 66-YEAR-OLD Clitheroe man repeatedly called a police communications operator to complain about a faulty video tape he had bought on the market, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that John Robert Buller made at least seven calls to police
JUST when you thought it was safe to go back into the water... along comes Channel Four and offers up yet another instalment of The Games. Not content with filling our screens over the last two weeks with uninspiring celebrities' indulging in a little
A MAN with a history of alcoholism drank himself to death, an inquest heard. The hearing was told Bernard Quinn was found collapsed lying in the hallway of his Mercer Crescent home in Helmshore, on December 6 last year by post woman Julie Wright. Neighbour
THE Victorian parts of Blackburn Royal Infirmary are to be turned into homes after hospital bosses struck a deal with property developer Barratts. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has agreed to sell the hospital site once it moves all services to
A TOURING theatre company is being used to boost the speaking and listening skills of East Lancashire pupils. Cragrats is visiting primary and secondary schools across the area as part of a new scheme to help the youngsters develop skills. The group's
I AM collecting used stamps, postcards and picture phone cards for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I was wondering if any of your readers would be kind enough to send me any of their used stamps. Please send all stamps, postcards and picture phone cards to
THE other weekend, we came to Blackburn for a shopping trip. As I travelled along the so-called orbital route from Audley to Eanam, I noticed a lot of litter, grime and dirt that seemed to be never swept for a number of months. As we went to the town
A WOMAN was given a suspended jail sentence after attacking a soldier's wife when the couple were on a night out. The victim was left with blood pouring from her broken nose, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that Julie Perry accepted punching
BOSSES at one of Blackburn's oldest stores fear they will be driven out of business because road changes have left their customers driving round in circles. Managers at Mercer's, the Northgate-based department store which has been in the town for nearly
A TERMINALLY ill cancer patient enjoyed the fairytale wedding she had always dreamed of after friends helped organise her perfect day. Karen Hegarty had always dreamed of having a big wedding but it was too expensive when she got married at 17. So when
THE chief executive of Accrington Stanley has vowed to ban any troublemakers after fans were involved in violence following Saturday's win at York. Accrington won their Nationwide Conference away game against York City 4 -2 to move a step closer to a
Anyone only familiar with The Knife's electronic calypso-indie single Pass It On from last summer might be a little surprised at the dark direction this latest album takes. Those familiar with the reclusive Swedish siblings' politics, and their unwillingness
As an ex-librarian and a classically trained composer, Simon Bookish might seem to be unusual underground pop star on paper. But Bookish, real name Leo Chadburn, has dapper, foppish looks in his favour, and has made the switch from cerebral, minimalist
Like many things, musicians have a limited shelf-life, and for Morrissey I wonder if he should ever have made a comeback at all. This latest offering is another predictably morbid dirge about death and nothingness. But rather than bearing the charged
Loka first appeared on a Ninja Tune compilation in 2000, and it has taken six years for their first long player to finally appear. The Merseyside pair has spent their time wisely. Their instrumental jazz sound is frequently cinematic and could easily
