A RETAINING wall at Burnley's £28million health and leisure centre collapsed after heavy rain caused a landslide. Councillors have called for an urgent risk assessment of the St Peter's Centre, which opened in summer 2006, to protect members of the public
A MAN has been charged with raping a 12-year-old girl. Nelson Claudino, 26, is alleged to have "picked" up the girl in Blackburn town centre, police said. Officers said it was claimed the youngster was taken to a Travel Lodge hotel room at Junction
AN accident blackspot where campaigners have called for better lighting was the scene of another smash tonight when two cars were involved in a head on collision. The accident occured in Accrington Road, Whalley, close to Spring Wood picnic site just
STALLHOLDERS vented their fury over the future of Blackburn Market at a meeting with council chiefs tonight. The meeting at King George's Hall, Blackburn, was part of the Neighbourhood Voices scheme and gave traders the chance to quiz regeneration bosses
PATIENT care in the area's hospitals is now so bad their bid for foundation status should be delayed, an East Lancashire peer has claimed. Liberal Democrat Lord Tony Greaves told the House of Lords the Government should defer its decision on the proposal
TWO workshops are being held to help people considering starting their own business. The workshops will be held in The Petrus Suite at Pendle Business Centre, Nelson, and will run for about two hours (refreshments provided). One of the workshops
A MAN jumped into his shower and came face to face with a three-and-a-half foot snake. Nasir Javed, 29, first thought his wife Yasmin, 30, put a toy snake in the bathroom as a prank, but ran out when he saw the black and orange corn snake uncoil itself
A PRODUCTION of Snow White became a real life fairy tale when the leading lady's boyfriend proposed during the show. Maria Masterman, 27, was acting out Snow White's deep sleep after her character had eaten the poisoned apple at Burnley Mechanics. But
A WOMAN who allowed household waste to accumulate in her back garden blamed ill-health for the lapse. Blackburn magistrates heard Hayley Wignall was specifically banned from keeping household waste in her garden "to the detriment of her neighbourhood
A MOTHER is in a 'critical' condition with severe burns after a cigarette caused a fire in her bedroom, fire services said. Dorothy Clarke suffered serious burn to the chest, neck and face in the fire at her home in Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, last night
Burnley's operational director Brendan Flood says he was hopeful to have midfielder Besart Berisha fit and available again before the end of the season. The Albanian international, who signed from SV Hamburg for £340,000 in the summer, tore his cruciate
Ballymena United defender Johnny Flynn is set to join Blackburn Rovers. The 18-year-old spent two weeks on trial at Brockhall and put pen-to-paper on a three-and-a-half year deal last night after passing a medical. Chairman John Williams said: "Johnny
Paul Gallagher may stay at Blackburn Rovers after the transfer window closes despite renewed interest from Preston North End, according to Rovers chairman John Williams. North End boss Alan Irvine is keen to have Gallagher, who spent three months on
A FORMER Burnley schoolgirl has swapped the Big Apple for the North West as she bids to help householders avoid cowboy traders. Former Walshaw High pupil Andrea Ogunkoya, who moved to East Lancashire from her native Nigeria aged 10, is the brains behind
AN ACCRINGTON man's drunken Christmas Day advances to his ex-partner ended in violence. Hyndburn magistrates heard that Steven Dunn had been on a 24-hour "bender" during which he drank 15 litres of cider, when he went into Carol Lord's bedroom at 11am
IT does look as though we'll get to the Government's crazy "pay as you throw" proposals for domestic refuse in the Climate Change Bill committee tomorrow. I expect two or three hours of fun (yes I do enjoy these things!) since most of the probing amendments
HOSPITAL bosses have got a £17,000 refund after being over-charged for maintenance jobs. A damning National Audit Office report on private finance schemes found that the Royal Blackburn Hospital had paid £486.54 for a new door lock - when the same job
TWO members of staff from Nelson-based Daisy are packing for their holidays after winning employee awards. Sales adviser Mike Smith, of Burnley, and PR executive Katharine Butler, of Accrington, were awarded sales person and employee of the year, in
National Farmers' Union livestock board chairman, Thomas Binns, of Downham, is in the running to be vice president of the organisation. Voting has begun amongst NFU members. Mr Binns farms 1,600 acres on a tenanted basis. He has 2,500 breeding
A FIREARM which went off in the hand of a 12-year-old trespasser was installed as an alarm, according to a businessman. Skip hire firm owner Jack Clarkson, 63, was arrested after the home-made device exploded and injured the boy. The device could be
A TEENAGE girl critically ill after a "frenzied" knife attack has been named by police. Fourteen-year-old Jessica Knight was found with multiple stab wounds by a passer-by in Astley Park, Chorley, at 5.30pm yesterday. The passer-by called the police
FOUR new caretakers will be litterpicking in Bacup, Haslingden, Rawtenstall and Waterfoot. In Bacup the new caretaker will be Edward Whittle, with Ghulam Ahmed in Haslingden, Susan Fagen in Rawtenstall and Paul Birt in Waterfoot. They will be responsible
BLUEPRINTS for a huge revamp at Padiham Leisure Centre look to become a reality after Burnley council's executive backed far-reaching proposals. Councillors have app-roved a £1.25million bus-iness case for the venture, of which the local authority must
LUXURY stretch limos are set to become a more common sight on the streets of Pendle under a planned change to licensing regulations. Previously limousines, popular with celebrating GCSE students and stag and hen parties, could not legally be hired on
STOP using our school as a political football - that's the message from the chairman of governors at Hameldon Community College. Governors are appealing for the Burnley school "to be left alone to do our jobs" after it has repeatedly been at the centre
TEACHERS in Lancashire are to be a balloted for strike action over pay. Leaders of the Lancashire National Union of Teachers said they had been "left with little choice" due to the Government's offer of a three-year pay deal for teachers in England
Haslingdens's Longshoot Post Office on Birch Avenue is one of 23 East Lancashire post offices expected to close in the near future. Customers and other individuals have six weeks to register their views and concerns. I know many pensioners use the
SPORTS club leaders in Padiham have won a battle with residents against more double yellow lines near their historic ground. Neighbours have claimed that no-waiting restrictions are necessary for people living in Arbory Drive, due to parked cars resulting
BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder David Dunn swung into action when asked to help promote grassroots sport. Blackburn brewer Daniel Thwaites launched the Lancaster Bomber Grassroots Sports Personality of the Year award two years ago. This year, they recruited
BOSSES have confirmed 24 East Lancashire post offices are to be closed. The Lancashire Telegraph revealed yesterday that a quarter of the area's 96 offices faced the axe, with MPs and councillors claiming the move would "tear the guts out of the community
John Mullen took this photo of Foxhill Nature Reserve in Oswaldtwistle at 3.45pm. "It looks like the work volunteers did on Saturday has had the desired effect. Soon after the rain subsided, the reserve had drained to the point were you could see the
A CONVICTED paedophile has launch-ed a legal challenge against a police bid to keep a tighter rein on his activities - including a ban on associating with children under 16. Former engineering firm boss Robert Enright, 51, from Brierfield, was made subject
John Mullen took this photo of Foxhill Nature Reserve in Oswaldtwistle at 9.30am. "What a shame after all the hard work the volunteers did on Saturday, Tinker Brook has flooded the nature reserve again. You can see the floodwater between the poplars
WITNESSES are being urged to come forward after a Czech holiday - maker died in a car crash on a notorious stretch of road. The 19-year-old, who had been visiting East Lancashire, is the second person to be killed on the A671 Accrington Road, Whalley
BEAT bobbies in Rawtenstall are to feature in a prime-time documentary series. 'Beat: Life on the Street' follows PCSO Pauline Cadman and Rossendale south Community Beat Manager Gareth Henderson as they patrol Rawtenstall, build relationships with the
KEITH Murray has withdrawn from a darts competition in memory of his wife to safeguard the future of the event. He admitted he was concerned when two players withdrew from the opening weeks of the Sharon Murray Grand Prix due to illness. Now he has
The Blackburn Branch of the SAMARITANS has elected their new Director. She is Margaret Jepson (pictured left) and has been a SAMARITANS volunteer for 8 years. Elected to serve as Director for three years Margaret is well placed to fulfil her new
A MAN banned from pubs in Padiham abused and attacked a landlady when she caught him having a drink, a court heard. Burnley Magistrates heard how heroin user Kenneth Waterworth, 41, abused Clare Jackson and threw his glass of cider at her, which hit
THE organiser of a darts competition is hoping the game's recent high profile will attract more players to the sport. Vinny Holden, who is currently running a panel darts tournament, is hoping that last week's televised World Championships will encourage
TWO men and a woman arrested on suspicion of seriously assaulting a man in Blackburn have been released without charge. A fourth man, aged 29, who was arrested in Blackpool in connection with the alleged attack, has been detained under the mental health
PIGEON fanciers across East Lancashire are delighted to see the return of the Lancashire Telegraph Cup. Members of the Blackburn and District Federation will once again compete for the trophy which has been resurrected for the forthcoming season. The
THINK of pigeon racing and to many it conjures up images of Jack Duckworth tending to his feathered friends in his Coronation Street backyard. But there is a lot more to the sport - or hobby as it is still classed in this country - than being used as
THE future looks bright at Hyndburn Athletics Club if recent results are anything to go by. For the club's under 11s boys cross country team have excelled in both the Red Rose Cross Country League and the recent Lancashire Cross Country Championship
Burn moved six points clear at the head of the North Lancashire/ Cumbria league table following a scruffy win at Kirkby Lonsdale. This was the only game to be played in the league as all other scheduled fixtures succumbed to the weather. The hosts
A MAN who called the emergency services after a smoke alarm alerted him to a blaze in his neighbour's flat has said he only did what any neighbour would. Charlie Fowles, 75, of Pleasington Grove, Burnley, called fire crews after he and another neighbour
A HOUSE was left smoke damaged by a fire believed to have been started by a cigarette. Firefighters were called to the mid-terrace property in Nancy Street, Darwen, just before midnight on Sunday. The male occupant was downstairs and smelled smoke coming
GRAHAM Alexander believes Clarets powerhouse Ade Akinbiyi is more than capable of filling the targetman void vacated by Andy Gray. Akinbiyi made only his fourth Championship start of the season on Saturday, and he grabbed his chance to shine with a lionheart
Robbie Savage said the pure joy of playing again justified his move to Derby - even though they slumped to a 12th defeat in their last 13 Premier League games. Savage, who joined from Blackburn for £1.5m earlier this month, said: "It was 100 per cent
PASSENGERS' journeys are set to return to full speed after a period of rail engineering works. Network Rail is to carry out work at a number of locations on the East Lancashire line this weekend to remove various temporary speed restrictions that have
A CHIPPING school has won £5,000 for its efforts to achieve sustainability. Brabins Endowed School is one of 56 schools to in England to win the grant, awarded by the National College for School Leadership. Brabins was presented with its permanent green
YOUNG people in East Lancashire are taking part in a pilot project to give them more of a say in their religious education (RE). The Youth SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education) is one of only a handful of groups in the country set
WE HAVE just received a Christmas card five weeks after it was posted by a (very) elderly lady who lives in the south of England. You might think that this is an example of Royal Mail inefficiency but this is far from the case when the following factors
IT IS sad to read all the complaints in the Lancashire Telegraph about the sorry state of the bus services in Blackburn, but I do have to say it was bound to happen. Since Lancashire United took over, it is clear what they have planned for the future
WILL someone tell me why a lot of Polish migrant workers can come to this country and find a job when hordes of our own people can't? I ask myself is it something to do with a complaint called lazy-itis and the wage they receive every week from the government
I AM writing in reply to Steve' (LT, January 15) who wrote to say kids today are no worse or better. Kids today are much, much worse than they ever were. They are defiant, cheeky, troublesome and cause upset and misery on the streets for decent people
MICHAEL 'The Count' Bisping enjoyed a night on the other side of Ultimate Fighting Championship's 6ft steel cage when the sport returned to the UK. Although he wasn't competing at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena, on Saturday, he was there to cheer on his
IPSWICH Town are today bracing themselves for a bid from Burnley for striker Alan Lee. Sources in Suffolk suggest the Clarets have made contact with the Portman Road side as to Lee's availability and the fee Town would want for his services. And manager
BLACKBURN Rovers chairman John Williams has slapped a "not for sale" sign on David Bentley as the transfer window enters its final days. Sources in the North East suggested that newly-appointed Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan had the England international
SEX appears to be the overriding news, the predominant interest today. Magazines and tabloids are constantly trying to outdo each other to bring a seemingly insatiable public the latest stories of who is 'sleeping' with whom, a bit of a misnomer if
Lyndsay Metcalfe of Waddington sent in this photo of Waddington Road in Clitheroe.
THERE'S something that's been bothering me for a while now. Ross Kemp: he's an actor, right? The Cockney 'ardman character Grant Mitchell he played in EastEnders was just a role, right? This is the actor who, before EastEnders, appeared singing
MIDFIELDER Gary Roberts has revealed he would have considered re-joining Accrington Stanley on loan. But the 23-year-old insists he has no intention of quitting the Championship on a permanent basis. The Reds were rumoured to be weighing up a move for
