HAVING recently returned from a most interesting and informative trip to Kirkham open prison, I would like to re-emphasise the most up-to-date position on introducing life sentence prisoners there. No life sentence prisoners will move to Kirkham before
MANY reservoirs are starting the summer less than half full despite £85-million of investment by North West Water. But weathermen claim the signs for a damper summer are already apparent. And amateur East Lancashire meteorologist Tom Suttie says rainfall
HEALTH managers were planning to close a life-saving breast cancer service in a bid to save £63,000, it was revealed today. Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley health authority had drawn up plans to axe the 'self examination' service when new mammography
EWOOD PARK was rocked today by claims that Blackburn Rovers players went on a drunken rampage at a hotel. Mr Steve Hajiyiani, manager of the New Continental Hotel, Plymouth, said some of the players 'behaved like animals' during their stay after a match
THOSE dozen Tory MPs and two Labour members who defied the new "Nolan" rules on declaring the extra earnings they receive through their positions at Westminster defy integrity too. For if they insist that their additional income is nothing to do with
THE issue of whether or not Lancashire County Council was right to withdraw 24-hour home care on costs grounds from a now-dead East Lancashire stroke victim, aged 88, is one of those cases in which the ideal world clashes with the real world. But does
THE return of passenger trains on the Blackburn-Clitheroe line has been a great success, a survey says. But what takes the edge off it is the turn-off for travellers inside Blackburn station. It's frightening, gloomy and freezing, they say - and has few
A HOME for the treatment of women with Princess Diana-type eating disorders has been given the go-ahead in Reedley - and councillors who twice blocked the move will have to cough up costs. A Government inquiry has ruled Pendle planning chiefs acted unreasonably
CUTS in rail services will bring chaos to Lancashire and the North West, Lancashire County Council leader Louise Ellman warned today. Plans for privatisation reveal serious service reductions, says Mrs Ellman. And she pledged: "We intend to stand up for
LANCASHIRE firms are being urged to "mind their language" to boost exports. The DTI believes companies should take action to improve the way they communicate with potential customers overseas. "Businesses must always remember that competitors are not
GOAL ace Alan Shearer has a new partner up front - a six-foot orange monster! The Blackburn Rovers star joins the Honey Monster character on the front of boxes of Sugar Puffs. The Rovers star, who is currently advertising a denim-wear firm and has featured
TWO charities will benefit from a fund-raising coffee morning - and organiser Ruth Loft hopes it will be a record. Ruth has already collected more than £18,800 for Breakthrough - a charity aiming to raise £15 million for the UK's first specialised breast
SPORTING solicitors are stepping out in style to show their support for SuperScan. And two members of the team of five from Taylors Solicitors in Exchange Street, Blackburn, will be jogging round one of the 20-mile courses on Sunday, May 19. The solicitors
LAST autumn I visited Beacon Fell and I decided then that I would have to return in the spring, writes RON FREETHY. Last Sunday I left the busy lines of traffic along the M6 and A6 between Preston and Lancaster and followed the signs to Beacon Fell. I
THOUSANDS of HGV drivers could be forced off the road by new Euro eyesight regulations, says Burnley MP Peter Pike. Under a new licence directive, drivers over 40 will have to undergo tougher eye tests. And it means testers won't give passes to guys who
THE Clitheroe to Blackburn rail service is on line to success just two years down the track, a new survey shows The number of passengers could even exceed original forecasts by the end of the three-year introductory period, says the study commissioned
ANGRY nurses have hit back in the growing row over controversial moves to force hospital staff to park-and-ride their way to work. A war of words has broken out since health chiefs revealed plans for staff at Blackburn Infirmary to park at Queen's Park
PETER Reid is expected to make a seven-figure bid for Blackburn Rovers' 20-year-old goalkeeper Shay Given when newly-promoted Sunderland return from an end-of-season break. But Sunderland boss Reid already suspects what the answer will be from Ewood -
EXCELLENT! Straight off the front page of Vogue magazine. With great use of stripes and colours to extenuate the subtle shape, topped off with a very fashionable multi-coloured mini (roundabout). I refer, of course, to the new-look Harwood New Road (opposite
PUBLIC opinion in Pendle is moving decisively to Labour, with the 'burned out' Tories heading for general election defeat, says MP Gordon Prentice. He believes last week's council election results provide a key pointer to how the parties will fare in
ICE hockey starts Oleg Sinkov and John Haig have joined the exodus from Blackburn Arena...by signing for Super League outfit Humberside. It's as double blow for Hawks fans who have already seen top striker Steve Chartrand quit in favour of Solihull. With
CLUB owner Margo Grimshaw has announced she will stand in the General Election for the second time. The owner of Blackburn's C'est La Vie and Never Never Land is undecided whether to stand independently or as one of Sir James Goldsmith's referendum party
GARY Parkinson said no to a new Turf Moor deal today. The Clarets defender has turned down the offer of a one-year contract - 24 hours after it was placed on the table by manager Adrian Heath. And today he outlined his reasons to the Lancashire Evening
SADDLE-SORE staff from Asda's store, Colne, had the honour of crossing the "finishing line" in a national fund-raising bike ride aimed at raising money for a children's charity. Eight members of staff got on their bikes and rode the 39 miles from Colne
THE Prime Minister said recently that anybody who believed that Britain, outside the European Union, could be a trading haven was living in cloud cuckoo land. Well, I'm afraid there's a growing majority in Britain who must be living in cloud cuckoo land
CAMPAIGNING MP Janet Anderson still hopes the Government will make a U-turn and back her Bill to make stalking a crime - despite a cool response from the Home Office. Blackburn MP Jack Straw has written to Home Secretary Michael Howard calling for him
ENVIRONMENT watchdogs are examining a proposed clean-up scheme at Clitheroe's Castle Cement to see if a £4m project will be the answer to pollution problems. And experts at the Environment Agency, formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution, have
BLACKBURN Council blames everyone but itself for the swingeing increase in council tax. It is the Tory Government which, they say, must be held responsible, not their own incompetence and adherence to political dogma. Yet these same councillors put themselves
AN orange badge holder has blasted hospital bosses after he was landed with a parking ticket at Blackburn Royal Infirmary. Mike Firth found an empty parking spot when all the disabled spaces were full. But, when he returned from visiting the hospital,
PLAYING some of their best football of the season, Darwen closed out their North West Counties' League campaign in style with a well-deserved draw at Hollinwood Road. Indeed, with some luck, they could have gained a win. Kidsgrove took the lead after
A CANADIAN citizen who has spent all his life doubting his family origins has discovered he is British and is now trying to trace the father he never knew. William Sheard was born on June 5 1942 in Burnley. His mum is Josephine Dixon who, at that time
COLLEGE bosses are celebrating after receiving Investors in People awards. Blackburn College and its commercial arm the Business Development Bureau picked up the training and staff development standards at a special presentation event. The Business Development
