THE Blues are back on song! The Burnley National Blues Festival will go ahead in the year 2000 with top musicians performing at a four-day event over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. After 11 years, the future of the event was put in doubt because of
COUNCILLORS are being urged to ignore "Not In My Back Yard" attitudes and support controversial planning applications for windfarms in Bacup and Littleborough. Burnley Council, as a South Pennine Authority, has been notified of the two applications -
A FORMER Labour councillor today cut her links with the party in protest after bosses failed to select her to fight a seat on Burnley Council. Marion Smith said her refusal to take part in "direct giving" in which councillors are expected to donate £10.50
BLACKBURN Rovers today sacked manager Brian Kidd just 11 months after he took over at Ewood Park. In a statement, Rovers owner Jack Walker said: "It is a sad day for me particularly and for everyone connected with the club." The club has once again turned
IT TOOK Brian Kidd just 20 minutes to win over Rovers fans after he was unveiled as the club's new manager before a basement battle with Charlton on December 5 last year. But less than a year on after racing down from the Jack Walker stand to come to
BUSINESSES in East Lancashire are being invited to two breakfast seminars in the New Year. The events are being staged by accountants BDO Stoy Hayward and the Institute of Directors at Ewood Park, Blackburn, as part of a series spread across the North
BUSINESS bosses in the region have attacked the "teabag tax" that could cost small firms thousands of pounds. A company was recently hit with a bill for thousands of pounds from the Inland Revenue for failing to declare it provided free tea and coffee
THE threat of drugs and violence to teenagers and the role schools play in combating them were put under the spotlight by a Pendle head teacher. David Farrant, head of Walton High, Nelson, told staff, pupils and guests at the annual prize-giving night
MIDFIELD man Paul Lynch grabbed the chance to resurrect his Accrington Stanley career in last night's friendly victory over Great Harwood at the Crown Ground. Lynch has been frozen out of the first team picture for most of the season but gave manager
NO doubt the result was influenced by anger at France's unlawful attempt to ban British beef imports, but the opinion poll that this week showed for the first time in 16 years that a majority of British voters want our country out of the EU altogether
BY Jove, it did not take them long. Hardly, had they given the boot to the hereditary peers in the House of Lords - whose spurious right to legislate was typified by the ranting lord who last week leapt on the Woolsack to protest at their demise, being
YOU see them everywhere - the employees dragging desperately on cigarettes in the doorways of their workplaces because smoking is banned inside. And why is it banned? Because bosses fear demands for hefty compensation from whingeing non-smoking wheezers
HUNDREDS of workers were today under new owners following the completion of a £505million deal. Ineos Group has bought ICI Acrylics, which employs more than 300 at its two sites in Darwen. The planned deal was announced last month and finally completed
MORE people than ever have been killed or injured on the deathtrap Grane Road in the last year - and the numbers are expected to rise further. The Lancashire Evening Telegraph can today reveal the startling figures - as Lancashire County Council's highways
CLARETS boss Stan Ternent praised the patience of his players and the Burnley fans in waiting for the torrent of goals at Turf Moor last night. Burnley thumped Wrexham 5-0 to move to within a point of new leaders Wigan after it had taken them 43-minutes
A TEENAGER was today fighting for his life after being seriously injured in an accident with a car as he walked to school with a friend. Terry Wong, 13, is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit of the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
BACK-TO-FORM midfielder Micky Mellon insists promotion-chasing Burnley can still get better - despite hammering Wrexham 5-0 at Turf Moor last night. The Clarets turned on the style with four-second half goals, one of which was a stunning effort from Mellon
CHAMPAGNE corks have been popping at Northcote Manor in celebration of a hat-trick of top awards. The Langho restaurant's chef patron Nigel Haworth has scooped two prestigious honours - the Life Magazines Chef of the Year 2000 and the Waterford Wedgewood
A CONTROVERSIAL town centre mosque could be opened in Clitheroe for a two-year experimental period so planners can assess its impact. But the plan looks set to cause a furore when it comes before councillors tomorrownight. Plans to build the mosque next
BURY'S much-maligned defence responded to their critics, and manager, in the best possible way . . . by keeping a clean sheet against one of the divisions' high-flying sides. It is no bad reflection on young keeeper Pat Kenny that this was only the third
BLACKBURN Under 15s bid to make it into the third round of the Heinz Ketchup Trophy when they travel to take on Blackpool for their second round replay on Saturday. The local youngsters fought out a goalless draw in their first match a fortnight ago and
TOP property men from across the North West headed for Blackburn to see Rovers' magnate Jack Walker's latest Blackburn business venture. His Bilsdale Properties arm urged agents to "Think Big, Then Think Even Bigger" at a reception at the giant Walker
BACUP certainly gave their visitors a lesson in how to score goals in the encounter with previously fourth-placed Castleton Gabriels. They dominated all over the park, attacking and defending well and creating numerous chances and the victory pushes them
A LEAK of hydrochloric acid gas had firemen racing to a chemical company. The alert at Cocker Chemicals factory in Nook Lane, Oswaldtwistle, began after residents reported a cloud of gas in the area. The chemical had dispersed by the time the emergency
HURST Green kept the flag flying for the East Lancashire Football League in the Lancashire Amateur Shield. They reached the third round of this season's competition with a narrow 1-0 home win over Furness Cavaliers. The league's other two survivors, Chatburn
WITH reference to my recent correspondence (Letters, September 29), when I asked for the comments of your resident farming critic, John Blunt, can I just say (especially in the light of recent revelations regarding the confirmation of the revolting and
BRUFC youth section announce the appointment of Lyle Wilson to the post of Colts team manager,. Lyle has extensive senior level rugby experience having played in Scotland for 30 years. Mike Holden, chairman of Mini and Youth said: "Lyle will bring a much-needed
THE second round of the Knockout Trophy was played at the weekend and almost every result ran to form. In the matches involving nine Division One clubs against clubs from a lower division, eight resulted in wins for the Division One teams. The one Division
TV CAMERAS are now a part of our daily lives. I noticed them first many years ago, monitoring traffic flows at some traffic lights. Stores use them to deter would-be shoplifters and city streets have them to look out for incidents which can be sorted
THE Under 18s representative team travelled to Warrington to play in the quarter-final of the LFA's Inter League competition and were well worth the 1-1 draw. The match was played at a fast and thrilling pace throughout and a wealth of footballing skills
I WOULD like to say an enormous thank you to all the people who supported the Michaelmas Music concert, performed by Martin Roscoe in Blackburn Cathedral on Saturday, September 25 - those who gave their services free and to the sponsors for their generous
I AGREE with Councillor J Hirst (Letters, October 22) - there is more to the Common Market than money. In 1650, George Fox, the Quaker, opposed the belief that judges had the right to 'bully' juries, and Fox won the Bushell Case. I am not impressed by
TOXICOLOGY tests are being carried out to try to find the cause of death of Burnley man Anthony Fallows. Mr Fallows, 47, of no fixed address was found slumped on a bed at a house in Parkinson Street, Burnley, last Wednesday. An inquest was opened in Burnley
NOVEMBER 9 will mark the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a potent symbol of the end of the Cold War and the opening of the eastern bloc. As the veil of communism lifted across central and eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, a severe
THE country's largest employer of disabled people, Remploy, which has a factory in Burnley, has achieved Investors In People accreditation. The status covers all of the packaging company's 21 factories and comes after two years of hard work. In Burnley
A COUNCIL has been brought to book over a complaint that a council officer gave the wrong advice to a businesswoman. Local government ombudsman Patricia Thomas found maladministration causing injustice and recommended that the Rossendale Council pays
A TEENAGE boy was in a serious condition in hospital today after what appeared to be an unsuccessful suicide bid. The 16-year-old boy, of Cliffe Street, Colne, apparently tried to hang himself, but was discovered and cut down. He was taken to Burnley
THE most senior health manager in East Lancashire earned more than £1,600 a week last year. David Peat, chief executive of East Lancashire Health Authority, took home £86,000 between April 1998 and 1999. Chairman Bill Ashworth, who will relinquish his
RESIDENTS will be given three choices when they have their say on controversial proposals for the A56 by-pass. A series of exhibitions along the road's planned route will be held in early February. Visitors will be asked for their comments on whether
FAMILY doctors in East Lancashire have called for a ban on body piercing for under 16s amid fears about its effect on youngster's health. GPs in the county want tough new guidelines to clamp down on the dangers after 95 per cent of those surveyed said
A MAN from Blackburn was allegedly involved in a plot to supply a quantity of amphetamine, a court was told. Preston Crown Court heard claims that Stephen Machie travelled in convoy to the Merseyside area where he introduced two men to each other. One
RAMPANT Burnley rapped out a five-goal warning to their promotion rivals as they roared back into the top two of the Second Division. A second-half goal-feast brought Wrexham to their knees and confirmed the Clarets' standing as serious candidates for
MORE people than ever have been killed or injured on the deathtrap Grane Road in the last year - and the numbers are expected to rise further. The Lancashire Evening Telegraph can today reveal the startling figures - as Lancashire County Council's highways
Blackburn Artists' Society meet St Gabriel's Church Hall, Brownhill Drive, Blackburn, 7pm. Workshop. "In The Footsteps of Wainwright," Blackburn Library, 7.30pm. Union Dance Company, Charter Theatre, Preston, 7.30pm. "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Burnley
AN outspoken clergyman has called for people to remember international arms traders and weapons makers in their prayers. The Rev David Ashforth, vicar of St Leonard's Parish Church, Balderstone, has written in his parish magazine putting forward a case
PLANS for a £385,000 revamp of a town centre church, which counts Ultraframe magnate John Lancaster among its congregation, have been slated - for the style of windows being used. The criticism, from English Heritage, concerns St James's Church, Clitheroe
TO the person who stole my purse near Morrison's store in Blackburn on Saturday, October 23, I am an 83-year-old pensioner and registered blind. I hope you are proud of yourself. Many thanks to the staff at Morrison's who rang the police, made me a cup
REGARDING the annual fireworks blitz causing weeks of aggravation to everybody, the time is well overdue for a ban on all fireworks that explode with a bang. It is an outrageous situation that the majority of people are compelled to endure this anti-social
IN DIVISION One a stupendous performance by last season's runners-up H&S Plumbers enabled them to become the new leaders. The terrific trio of Colin Parkinson, Frank Hamer and Phil Blake crushed H&S 2nd 10-0. Although Ian Luker and crafty Fred
ALBEIT with his homosexual history hung like an albatross around his neck, ex-Defence Minister Michael Portillo successfully launched his political comeback last night - when his return to the Commons was virtually guaranteed as he was chosen by the Tories
REGARDING your article 'Andrea's clowning around' (LET, October 19), the church hall in question was not vacant, as Mrs Shepherd stated, but was very much in use. Our local pre-school used the hall every weekday morning. The hall was also used in the
ON two issues today, both rooted in the countryside, the government, though armed with the kind of majority that ought to put its decisiveness in no doubt, comes across as weak and vacillating. It has backed down once more to the French over their illicit
REGARDING the Grane Road traffic problem, this has always been a B-road and it is persistently used as a short-cut from the M66. Any driver with any modicum of intelligence will not hurl around the bends - this road does not lend itself to speed. The
RESULTS -Cup (Round 1) Under 9: Akzo Juniors Blue 1, Gt Harwood Tigers 0; St Joseph's 2, Blackburn Boys 3; Readstone United 1, Borrowdale United 2; Blackburn Dynamos Boys 1 Town Mouse Jnrs 0 (aet). Under 10: Rishton United 4, Osw'twistle Villa Tigers
IN THE Under 12s section of the Hyndburn & District Boys Football League (sponsored by McDonalds Accrington), Waterfoot Juniors gained their first point of the season with a 2-2 draw at home to Lammack Juniors. In the Under 14s Blue section, Huncoat
A SHORT while ago, we had the chief executive of the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust telling us one advantage of demolishing the Blackburn Infirmary was movement of patients would be eliminated between it and Queen's Park Hospital. Now
A NEW company providing a free collection service of cardboard and newspapers to local businesses has won the annual Burnley Borough Environmental Award. Paperworks Recycling, of Billington Road, received the award from former environment secretary John
POLICE investigations into possible proxy voting fraud in Burnley are nearing completion and a report is expected to be forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service within the next few weeks. An inquiry was launched following suggestions of abuse of the
A LANDLADY has told of a series of suspicious incidents leading up to an arson attack that closed her pub. Sue Bowman, of the Britannia, Nuttall Street, Accrington, was asleep in her home above the pub when a window was smashed and the bar set alight.
RESIDENTS last night raised fears over a controversial £5million scheme to build a supermarket in the heart of a Great Harwood. But developers and bosses behind plans to build a 25,000 sq ft United Norwest Co-op in Queen Street, Great Harwood, said it
TIMBER firm Palgrave Brown has hit the acquisition trail with a £2.7million buy. The Chorley-based firm has acquired joinery firm Allan Brothers from the Rugby Group. Allan Brothers, based in Berwick-upon-Tweed, becomes the 14th site in the Palgrave Brown
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy FEW people in Lancashire are aware that since the 1940s the acknowledged expert on the lapwing has been the Burnley naturalist KG Spencer. For many years Ken edited the Lancashire Bird Report and has done much to help the
PREPARATIONS are well underway for the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce Millennium Appeal fundraising dinner. Hundreds of businesses are expected to attend the event at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel on November 19. The dinner, with Jimmy Tarbuck as guest speaker
A DEVASTATED colleague today paid tribute to a health worker who died after falling from a motorcycle she was learning to ride. Mother-of-two Elizabeth Firth, 33, of Meadow Heights, Newchurch-in-Pendle, died when she fell from the Suzuki 125 bike she
Boss David Moyes will give Sean Gregan every chance of making tonight's Division Two clash with Bournemouth at Deepdale. Moyes will delay naming his side until the last minute to allow his captain all the time he needs to recover from a hip injury. Gregan's
"GOOD morning, madam, I am from the council." "About time, too - it must be six months since I rang up the town hall about my drains." "No, missus, I am from the new Punch and Judy investigation outreach agency project team, stroke, domestic violence
