I WAS not amused by Coun Bill Goldsmith's remarks (Letters, December 18). Doesn't he realise that this Tory government is still trying to get us out of the mess which they inherited from the last Labour government? If the country elects a Labour government
LITTLE Stephen Fahy thought the fire engine he got for Christmas was the real thing and decided to try it out - by setting fire to his bedroom! And the four-year-old's prank came only hours after he flooded the bathroom at his home in Lodge Street, Accrington
Premier League: Derby County 0 Blackburn Rovers 0 - Peter White's big match verdict THE Premiership year ended for Blackburn Rovers as it began, a goalless draw away from home - hardly indicative of the drama and turmoil of an eventful 12 months in between
A NINETY-year-old widow was left injured on an ice-covered pavement after a handbag snatch attack. The pensioner had been on her way to buy presents when the thief pounced in an alleyway known as Back Wavell Street, Burnley. She was on the ground for
SOMEONE could be trapped and killed by fire in the derelict flats at Trafalgar Gardens, fire chiefs warned today. The empty flats have been set on fire three times over the weekend despite security fencing round the site following a series of earlier
CAR-driving vandals careered over a golf course wrecking fairways and greens. They crashed through a fence at Whalley Golf Club and tore around the course causing around £300-worth of damage. Tyre marks damaged three of the greens and some of the fairways
BOB SAXTON was fired as the manager of Blackburn Rovers, after five-and-a half-years. Coach Tony Parkes was put in charge of the team, assisted by Jim Furnell, until a permanent appointment was made. Spirits and cash worth more than £1,500 were stolen
EXPERIMENTAL electronic tagging of young offenders has, in the Home Office's view, proved so effective that it is to be extended to juvenile law-breakers, too. Given the contribution of juvenile offending to the crime totals generally, we are sure that
TWO old people's homes were plunged into darkness after a road accident caused a power failure in Blackburn. Staff and residents at Magdalene House Private Home, Shear Bank Road and Whitecliffe Nursing Home on East Park Road were left in the dark as the
FATHER Christmas delighted youngsters when he dropped in at their school and left them a £500 organ. Michael Toole did not don a red cloak or white beard but donated the gift to pupils at Peel Park County Primary, Accrington, after their nativity. He
SICK jokers diced with death and risked the lives of train passengers when they trespassed on railway tracks to play a deadly prank. The culprits twice ignored the risk of a blind bend and walked on to rail tracks near Darwen railway station to place
A look back at a lively year on the Stock Market IT was a bumper 1996 on the Stock Market for many East Lancashire companies - and several of the tycoons behind them saw their paper fortunes soar. Nearly all the companies in our list of local quoted firms
TRAVEL agents across East Lancashire today reported a boom in early summer trade sparked by industry claims that holidays could "sell out". But the Consumers Association urged people not to be manipulated into booking holidays before they are ready. The
IN reply to N Jackson (Letters, December 13) who waited 18 months to respond to my letter of June 6 1995, to "prove to himself that birds of prey have decimated most of our song birds," I would agree that song birds, skylarks in particular, are in rapid
SHADOW Home Secretary Jack Straw's attack today on the "simply unacceptable" power of Tory hereditary peers is an exercise conducted with all the ease that comes with criticising a manifest anachronism. For, in addition to pointing out the flawed democracy
A DANCING lesson led to love for Golden Wedding couple Robert and Violet Hunter. Robert, 75, met his bride-to-be at Provident Dance Hall, Darwen, after moving from his home town of Southport. He said: "In those days, I had two left feet and Violet helped
POLICE are trying to trace the owner of a briefcase which sparked a massive security alert after it was left at a police station. Nelson town centre was sealed off for four hours and bomb squad officers called in after an officer spotted the case in the
Division Two: Burnley 5 Gillingham 1 - Tony Dewhurst's big match verdict GALLANT Paul Smith hit Gillingham with a fierce blast of friendly fire. And Turf Moor's shooting star has landed a new nickname on the terraces after this five-star Burnley show.
SO, here we are, almost halfway through winter, yet as ever at least a quarter of all motorists, no matter how overcast, dark and dismal it is in 'daylight' hours, will not put their lights on. They simply cannot grasp that the idea is not to 'see' but
A YOUNGSTER who suffered serious head injuries after skating into the path of a car has made an amazing recovery. Desmond "Dessie" Cassidy, 13, is now set to return to Darwen Vale High School less than a month after the accident in which he fractured
Eric Leaver's Monday HAVING given us a couple of world wars, several breeds of vicious dogs and poolside sun-lounger snatching, it should come as no surprise that our German cousins are also responsible for also providing us with the word, schadenfreude
FOLLOWING a very successful publicity campaign on BBC Radio Lancashire, I write to remind readers of the Disabled Drivers Motor Club. The club has in excess of 15,000 members nationally and is highly influential within government. The DDMC is the leading
JIMMY Mullen received a golden handshake in excess of £50,000. The figure, believed to be closer to the £70,000 mark, was revealed at the 99th annual general meeting at Turf Moor on Saturday. Mullen was sacked by the Clarets in February and last month
A SUPERMARKET chain is battling back against raiders by installing anti-burglary water sprays in its stores across East Lancashire. The crime prevention system, linked to existing alarm equipment by Asda, covers intruders in a colourless and odourless
CHRIS Sutton defended himself today against a scathing verbal attack by Derby County's bad-boy skipper Igor Stimac who accused the Blackburn Rovers striker of trying to get him sent off. Sparks flew as the pair clashed off the ball in Saturday's relegation
