ON holiday in Mexico last year I was allocated a horse called Tyson for a riding trip into the rainforest. It made me very nervous. This beast was as strong as an ox and clearly two stirrups short of the full saddle. While carrying me bareback through
TRIBUTES have been paid to Pendle's first Liberal Mayor, Fred Melling, whose funeral will be held in Colne on Tuesday. Mr Melling died on New Year's Eve, less than a month after the death of his wife Kathleen who was also a Liberal councillor. Council
THIEVES stole cash from an elderly woman in her own home. The men walked into the ground floor flat in North Road, Blackburn, at about 11am on December 27 and told the 78-year-old woman they were in the wrong house. They went into the living room and
HAVING watched Kevin Henderson in recent Burnley reserve matches, I see a much-improved individual, with added strength, fitness and skill to go with his undoubted scoring talent. So it was no surprise to note these characteristics displayed at the game
MIGHT I suggest another brace of heroes for Neil Bramwell's list of misplaced New Year "gongs" (LET, December 31)? First: Wasim Akram, for failing to perform for Lancashire for 10 years, except when it suited him or, as was the case this year, when he
RESIDENTS can have their names inscribed on special millennium plaques in a fund-raising drive to refurbish a town centre church. Members of St Alban's RC Church in Blackburn town centre have launched the plaque scheme to raise £250,000 to tackle dry
GARRY Flitcroft is about to emerge from his winter of injury discontent with a double boost, in the shape of the all-clear from the medical men and a new long-term contract at Ewood Park, writes PETER WHITE. The 26-year-old Blackburn Rovers midfielder
"Aladdin On Ice" pantomime, King George's Hall, Blackburn, 1pm and 7pm. Mother Goose" pantomime, Empire Theatre, Rochdale Road, Bacup, 7.30pm. Janet Anderson MP Surgery, Sudellside Community Centre, Darwen, 5.30pm-6.30pm. Blackburn and District Association
A HASLINGDEN man cheated death when he was on a Boeing 737 jet which crashed on the M1 only 500 yards short of the runway at East Midlands airport. Ian Swift, 24, was trapped in the tangled wreckage for three hours with a badly injured leg as rescuers
A QUICK-thinking 999 operator saved an 83-year-old woman after picking up background noises when frail Annie Mountfield disturbed an intruder. As she dialled 999, the thief snatched the phone and kicked her so hard he broke her leg. But the Blackburn
REGARDING Mr M Madigan's remarks (Letters, December 30) on the subject of black or Asian sections within a wider organisation. I agree with his comments and, in particular, that with regard to patronage. However, I am not too keen on the appellation '
I WOULD like to contact readers who are collectors of, or have unwanted books by Capt W E Johns, the author of Biggles, Worrals, Gimlet and Steeley, etc. As a keen collector of Johns' titles and other boys' adventure stories at the time of World War One
CLITHEROE reserve team boss Dave Burgess has hit out at Great Harwood manager Ian McGarry accusing him of 'inciting players' and 'appalling sportsmanship'. But McGarry today dismissed the claims as sour grapes because his side had won 3-1. Burgess has
THE Greens and their ilk are always critical of the modern world. They seem to think that the pre-industrial, pre-technological and pre-scientific era was a golden age for the human race. But the very opposite was the case. It was a world were people
WHEN is all this talk about 'cutting costs' going to come to an end? More important, when are all the cuts going to end? Because, if we let it, all this cost-cutting can go on for ever, until the final cut of all is made! It reminds me of the simple chap
PLANS to increase the number of Hackney cabs in Burnley have been put on hold following protests from the cabbies themselves. Licensed taxi operators claimed proposals to add up to 10 more licences to the 16 currently issued over the next five years would
THE results of a hospital investigation into events surrounding the death of a newborn baby at Burnley General will be announced this month - and decide the fate of two nurses suspended for the past two years. Charlie Louise Taylor died within 13 hours
RETAIL bosses in Accrington are looking to throw open their doors seven days a week if the early success of Sunday trading at the town's market continues. At the first-ever Sunday market last week, more than 80 per cent of stalls were filled and market
GARRY Flitcroft is about to emerge from his winter of injury discontent with a double boost, in the shape of the all-clear from the medical men and a new long-term contract at Ewood Park, writes PETER WHITE. The 26-year-old Blackburn Rovers midfielder
A PUB happy hour ended in tragedy when Stewart Craig Baldwin was in an accident with a car seconds after storming out because he was being charged full price for a pint. An inquest heard that Mr Baldwin died of multiple injuries sustained in the collision
FIRMS in the region are being urged to make a New Year's Resolution to become an 'export explorer'. The DTI wants to see more firms in the North West take part in its trips overseas to establish new trade routes. The latest Export Explorer programme includes
'MEN behaving badly' have been targeted in a new initiative to tackle domestic violence in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale. Men willing to accept help are being invited to join a programme of 26 weekly sessions in Nelson in a bid to change their violent
BLACKBURN with Darwen Council is bidding for success in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's Grimewatch competition. The council has submitted eight separate entries for the contest - the highest number from any local authority this year. Grimewatch rewards
A GRIEVING widow has paid tribute to her "gentle and caring" husband who died suddenly on holiday. Neil Anthony Boston, 38, suffered a blood clot on December 27 at an aunt's home in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. He collapsed and failed to regain consciousness
A CHILD'S cries sparked a major search of moorland around Shawforth last night by members of Rossendale Search and Rescue Team. A farmer and his wife from Top of Shore Farm, off Old Lane, heard a child crying for his mother and grandmother and called
THOUSANDS of pounds are to be spent on security measures to stop wreckers vandalising an historic Pendle Church under plans to go before councillors next month. The Vicar of Colne, the Rev Peter Mott, has applied to Pendle Council for planning permission
AN SOS message has been issued by residents across Rossendale who are pleading for health officials to Save Our Services. Several times during a meeting at Rawtenstall town hall, residents claimed the borough's hospital had "sacrificed enough" to Burnley
A COUPLE plan to mark their 70th birthdays by riding tandem from Land's End to John o' Groats in a fund-raising trek for charity. Frank and Kath Thompson, of Queensway, Waddington, hope to undertake the 1,030-mile trip in June to mark their birthdays
THE Ministry of Defence has taken steps to stop the cost of the Eurofighter spiralling further out of control and is now being urged to impose them on all major weapons and equipment contracts. It has imposed "maximum price contracts" on the main suppliers
MARK Robertson has been ruled out of two of Burnley's next three games after winning an international call-up by Australia. The Clarets' midfielder will face Bristol Rovers on Saturday before flying Down Under to join Australia's under-23 Olympic squad
REGARDING Neil Bramwell's article (LET, December 17) pointing out the weaknesses of the England Test team, I thought it quite funny of him to suggest that though putting Dame Edna Everage and Rolf Harris in the line-up would have weakened the Aussie team
IT TAKES a lot to get me going, but reading the remarks of a so-called lifelong Rovers' supporter (Sports Letters, December 22), my blood was boiling. I am sick to death of listening to a succession of these fans whingeing and complaining about the Top
IT is becoming increasingly apparent that, in the European Union, it will be Germany calling the shots. The Central Bank of the EU is in Frankfurt. The German finance minister has called for tax harmonisation - a fancy word for tax increases. As the Labour
YOUR Insight article on the life of beggar Micheal Herrington was certainly an eye-opener. It stated that, once he had £10 to £20, he went home. Many - too many - people in security work have to work 10 hours a day and more to earn £20. This means people
THE plans by several education authorities to cut the schools' long summer holiday - to around a month, with the axed two weeks being spread between a new school year of five terms instead of three - will meet with a lot of parental approval. For the
OF ALL those delighted at the announcement of the engagement of Prince Edward to Sophie Rhys-Jones, none was probably more gladdened than Prime Minister Tony Blair starting his three-day visit to South Africa. He will be grateful to it for the relief
HAVING spent Christmas and New Year in Ward C6 at Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, I would like to thank all the staff from the bottom of my heart for their nursing skills, expertise, kindness and understanding when I was at my lowest ebb. I could not
GERMANY has at long last succeeded in dominating Europe. France has been invaded three times by Germany in little more than 100 years. Their view is that if you have been raped three times, you might as well be married. Most British people do not want
RONNIE Baxter, who has few fond memories of the Lakeside stage down the years, has fallen in love with the place this week after recording a second successive whitewash in the Embassy World Darts Championship last night. Number two seed Baxter roared
THE old Labour Exchange in King Street, Blackburn (LET, December 28), reminds me of one thing only - poverty. Before the last war, it was classed as a place of doom, with no work, no money, just signing on. They called it 'playing off' - working a week
A FURTHER post mortem examination is to be carried out on former paratrooper Christopher Alder who died in police custody. His sister Janet, from the Manchester Road area of Burnley, is hoping the independent analysis will finally confirm how her brother
MARK Robertson has been ruled out of two of Burnley's next three games - after winning an international call-up by Australia. The Clarets' midfielder will face Bristol Rovers on Saturday before flying Down Under to join Australia's under-23 Olympic squad
TENANTS who flee their council homes leaving debts are slipping through the net and remaining in the borough, sometimes moving just a few doors away, Hyndburn Council was told. The council's housing services committee was slammed by Conservative councillors
THE author of a best-selling guide to Hyndburn has slammed council chiefs amid claims that more than 100 streets and places of interest - and an entire village - are missing from a new map of the borough. Adrian Shurmer, a former Lancashire Constabulary
CAR parts group Lucas Varity, one of East Lancashire's biggest employers with sites in Burnley and Accrington, has confirmed it is in talks with other companies which could lead to a merger. The company said it was discussing a wide range of "strategic
Peake Practice, with Ray Peake - a new contributor to our food column FROM the position of biscuit sales monitor at St Paul's Primary School, Hoddlesden, in the '60s, I have progressed through being a teenage waiter and dishwasher at Schipol Airport,
A BOOM in armchair holiday bookings saw staff at a busy call centre deal with more than 20,000 inquiries over the Christmas break. Connections Plus in Burnley handled a deluge of calls in response to holiday firm adverts for brochures for the summer season
CONTROVERSIAL chemical company Nipa Laboratories will face prosecution over an acid gas leak at their factory in May. The Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive have been investigating the events which led to the leak of steam and acid
A YOUNG mother told she had just hours to live after being struck down by a liver-destroying virus three weeks ago today celebrated the best possible New Year's gift - her safe return home. Days before Christmas Sarah Cockshott, 26, and her husband Steve
