A LOCAL man was due to appear in court today charged with making threats to kill Blackburn MP and Home Secretary Jack Straw. The man was arrested in Blackburn last Friday following an incident in the town centre. The 47-year-old local man has not been
BURNLEY will announce a record trading loss of almost £1 million at their AGM on December 16. And the club accounts reveal that the overall loss on the financial year ending May, 1999 was nearer £1.8 million. The Clarets are losing money on general trading
POLICE today appealed for witnesses who may have seen a gun gang making their getaway from a £20,000 supermarket robbery. Three men wearing stocking masks burst into Kwik Save in Bolton Road, Blackburn. One man was carrying a gun and another threatened
MIDWIVES have revealed that an increasing number of East Lancashire women are giving birth in their 40s. The news came after it was confirmed that Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair is pregnant at the age of 45 - and the pregnancy has been welcomed as
KELLY: Fully justified his selection ahead of John Filan and made one superb first half save from Paul Peschisolido to protect Rovers lead ... 7 GRAYSON: Ever dependable, making one or two timely interceptions when Peschisolido ran into the channels .
A DOCTOR'S surgery has won a £100,000 grant to fund research into diabetes and iron deficiency anaemia. Dr Thiet Duong and his primary health care team, based at Pringle Street Surgery, Blackburn, have been awarded £50,000 a year for two years by a North
Late Night Shopping, Blackburn Town Centre, until 9pm. David Essex, Guild Hall, Preston, 7.30pm. Craft Fair, Pendle Hippodrome, Colne, noon-8pm. Blackburn Theatre Trust Carol Singers, Cobden Court, Blackburn, 6pm-8pm. Blackburn and District Probus Club
DELVING into the past of Mellor, near Blackburn, to produce a history of the hilltop village as part of its projects to celebrate the new millennium, local resident Neil Summersgill has amassed an amazing amount of information - and more than 100 photographs
MORE than a century on from his most famous feat - the celebrated 'Walk to China' that got no further than Darwen Moors when the farmer he asked there for directions was unable to point the way to Peking - Blackburn's legendary, long-gone miniature muscleman
ENGLAND'S Lora Fairclough clinched the winning point as the Ladies' European Tour made it third time lucky against the Senior Men's Tour in the European Cup at Praia D'El Rey in Portugal. The men had won the inaugural contest and retained the trophy last
FA Cup 2nd round: Bury 0 Cardiff City 0 BURY turned in a disappointing display with Cardiff keeper Jon Hallworth not having to make a save. Mind you, neither did Bury keeper Pat Kenny. It was not the most entertaining of cup ties, but City assistant manager
MARTIN Aspinwall's second-half equaliser gave Harwood a point to leave manager Denis Underwood satisfied. Having dominated the first-half, Harwood were stunned to go behind to a penalty just before half-time. The response pleased Underwood, however, as
FA Cup 2nd round: Preston North End 0 Enfield 0 DAVID MOYES stood accused of making a classic mistake but his players refused to accept that Preston had under estimated their part time opponents. Moyes, quite understandably, felt he was able to play several
Sunderland Chiefs 5 Blackburn Hawks 2; Blackburn Hawks 8 Billingham Eagles 5 HAWKS boss Bobby Haig last night paid tribute to his spirited young side as he celebrated a memorable victory over league leaders Billingham. After tasting defeat the night before
A HEADED goal on the hour mark by defender Jonathan Smith gave Stanley the three points at lowly Gretna to record their third consecutive away victory. After a quiet opening Stanley almost took the lead on 24 minutes when a Mark Ceraolo shot was blocked
I AM going to watch with great interest the coming appointments to what will be the new House of Lords. You will note I use the word "appointment," not "election." It really is going to be yet another waste of taxpayers' money to appoint either some trumped-up
IN A complete reversal of the previous week's meeting between the two sides, it was Rossendale who were glad to take a point after coming from behind to level through Danny Heys. Looking a pale shadow of the side that had beaten Unibond League side Radcliffe
THE government's plan to levy VAT on new housing has attracted controversy. Marc Adams of the Housebuilders Federation was quoted, on October 21, as saying that this would "damage the housing market across the board." Although billed by John Prescott's
HEALTH professionals have been targeted in a 'work with us' recruitment drive by Burnley Health Trust. The hospitals and community care group enjoyed major success in attracting nurses back to work in a similar initiative earlier this year. Now, Trust
IT is estimated that chronic pain may affect as many as one in 14 of the adult population. If you are someone who experiences pain daily, or you know someone that does, Action On Pain, a campaign that aims to improve your quality of life, may be able
MUSIC to greet the new millennium will be performed at a special charity concert at St Peter's Parish Church, Burnley, in the New Year. The event has been organised by the East Lancashire Youth Orchestra in association with the church to raise money for
MAY I call Hyndburn Council leader Councillor Peter Britcliffe to account for his statement: "I am pleased that people who have fought to preserve this country's democracy have been able to see democracy in action on this day" (LET, November 12)? As one
BLUE Peter presenter Katy Hill and a Texas superstore boss are among the celebrities lined up by presenters from a high school's radio station which 'went live' today. Ivy Bank High School, Burnley, has gained a special licence from the Radio Authority
A DENTIST today spoke of her shock after she turned up to work to find her surgery had been destroyed in an arson attack. Dr Barbara Mitton and her husband, Frank, who works as the receptionist, were stunned when they arrived at the practice in Colne
A BURNLEY man at the centre of the Ken Livingstone London mayoralty row declared today: "I helped select him - but I won't be supporting him" Shahid Malik, son of Burnley Council deputy leader Coun Rafique Malik, was on the 12-person panel which finally
BURNLEY will announce a record trading loss of almost £1 million at their AGM on December 16. And the club accounts reveal that the overall loss on the financial year ending May, 1999 was nearer £1.8 million. The Clarets are losing money on general trading
POLICE who recovered £30,000 worth of drugs from a house in Accrington have released a man on bail. The man, in his 40s and living in Accrington, was arrested after he was attacked by a gang wielding baseball bats in Accrington town centre a week ago.
STAFF at a Burnley accountants are figuring out how to help needy children. Cassons has signed up to the Children's Promise appeal which is asking staff to donate the value of their final hour's earnings of the millennium to a fund set up by seven major
TWO men were treated in hospital for slash wounds following an incident in Accrington town centre in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police believe the two men were slashed with a razor type weapon and three men were due to appear in court today. One
A NEW commercial property company has been launched. Alex Taylor and Neil Weaver have bought H W Petty & Co's Blackburn operation where they both previously worked. They are currently handling properties including India Mill, the Globe Centre and
A BREAKFAST briefing on the danger of asbestos is being staged this week. The free event is being staged by the Business Environment Association on Wednesday to help firms know how to identify asbestos and how to deal with it safely and within the law
TEENAGER Ryan Sharp is cultivating a new career thanks to a training programme. Ryan has secured a job with Samlesbury-based Ashgrove Nursery through the XTEND programme for school leavers. As well as working at the firm, which supplies plants and shrubs
COUNCILLORS put criticism behind them when they attended the unveiling of a controversial sculpture featuring a bare bottom. Pupils from Darwen Vale High School and Lower Darwen Primary School, who helped create the piece, were at the unveiling ceremony
A POLICE hunt has been launched for a "vulnerable" 12-year-old boy who has not been seen since he disappeared from a children's home in Rossendale three days ago. Police fear for the safety of Ashley Roche, who they believe could have slept rough despite
PAUL CRICHTON: Made one excellent save to prevent Rotherham scoring at 0-0 and commanded his area well when required ... 8 DEAN WEST: Eager to join the attack at every opportunity, particularly effective in the second half ... 8 GORDON ARMSTRONG: The
AN ARSON attack gutted part of an isolated farmhouse just two days before councillors were set to decide on a controversial plan to convert it into a home for traumatised youngsters. Detectives and scenes of crime officers worked with fire investigation
SECURITY chiefs are planning to set up a mini police station at Blackburn Infirmary in a bid to curb the growing tide of violence and abuse against front-line hospital staff. The permanent police base will begin operating before Millennium Eve and will
PAUL Cook's lethal left foot kept Burnley's FA Cup campaign rolling on as he struck a vital goal for the second round running. The Clarets' midfielder followed up his first-round winner at Barnet with the goal that finally broke Rotherham's resistance
BURNLEY boss Stan Ternent is relishing the prospect of pitching his Second Division promotion-chasers against Premiership strugglers Derby County in the third round of the FA Cup. The Clarets will travel to Pride Park on Saturday, December 11 after their
Division One: Blackburn Rovers 2 Fulham 0 - Andy Neild's verdict A STUNNING display of wing-wizardry from Irish international Damien Duff gave Blackburn Rovers the edge in the battle of the Nationwide League's big spenders. Just three days after descending
FA Cup 2nd round: Burnley 2 Rotherham United 0 - Pete Oliver's verdict SWELTERING in Brazil watching the European Champions coin it in against another 'world power' from the other side of the globe, or freezing at Turf Moor watching some honest English
A POTENTIALLY lethal gas cloud rolled down a town centre street after "idiot" pranksters opened the valve on a 30,000 litre liquid nitrogen cylinder at Thwaites' Brewery, Blackburn. Firefighters said the vandals who opened the valve on the liquid nitrogen
BLACKBURN Rovers have targetted Barnsley boss Dave Bassett as their number one choice as the new manager. But that would mean Bassett would have to walk away from his job at Oakwell. Bassett, who has just signed a three-year contract, said today that
VANDALS who were continually breaking into a crumbling old mansion were dicing with death, a leisure boss said. Hyndburn council's head of leisure, John Knowles, told a public inquiry into the demolition of Accrington's 19th century Oak Hill Mansion:
HOSPITAL bosses distanced themselves from a leaked letter by a top doctor suggesting they merged to form an East Lancashire "super trust". The private letter, from Blackburn's medical director Dr David Grimes to a senior Burnley consultant, proposed a
Division One: Bolton Wanderers 2 Grimsby Town 0 GREAT Dane Bo Hansen has clearly made an impression on Sam Allardyce. Hansen's rich vein of scoring form continued on Saturday when he took his goals tally to four in as many matches to deflate Grimsby's
THE Bishop of Blackburn, the Right Rev. Alan Chesters, invites the ire of anti-hunting and right-to-roam campaigners when he dubs their campaigns as "trivial" in comparison to the crisis affecting farming. Bishop Chesters is spot on with his priorities
IT IS, of course, a grim commentary on the times in which we live, when a police station has to be set up in an East Lancashire hospital to protect staff from violent and abusive patients. For it used to be that hospitals were among the safest and calmest
A PERFORMANCE full of character brought Chorley their fifth away win, to which newly signed defender Tony Gaffey made an impressive contribution on his debut. The Magpies got off to a great start when Paul Allen's near post header from a Neil Mitchell
COUNCILLOR Jim Hirst (Letters, November 11) certainly does have a legitimate point in criticising the present government's so-called reforms and legislation affecting local government. The cabinet structures, elected mayors and the two tier level of councillors
SCOOTER club members could be motoring on to national television, if a Burnley businessman has his way. Steve Rigg, of TV production firm Unit Video Productions, filmed the annual rally from Burnley to Morecambe by members of Burnley and Pendle Scooter
THE heat was on as youngsters battled to become fire safety champions. The East Lancashire Junior Fire Safety Quiz was held at Michelin Sports and Athletic Club, Burnley. More than 100 primary schools from across the area initially took up the challenge
EX-CLARET Mike Conroy is hitting the net Down Under - using cyberspace to keep in touch with fans from his former clubs. Conroy, now playing in Australia for Melbourne-based club Carlton, has been receiving messages of support via the club's web site.
THREE companies have been fined a total of £24,500 for their involvement in polluting the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in Accrington. The firms pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safe disposal of their waste at a hearing before Hyndburn magistrates. Spa
COMPANIES in Lancashire are taking longer to pay their bills, according to a survey out today. And it is the biggest firms which are the worst culprits, according to the report by business information firm Experian. Small firms in the region take an average
A SUPPORT group for family and friends of people killed or injured in road accidents is to be set up in Pendle by a couple who lost their young daughter in an accident. Keith and Sue Sainsbury were at a service of remembrance for road victims yesterday
FAMILY and friends of a trainee hairdresser from Rossendale were today trying to come to terms with his death. Mark Tattersall, 18, of Rawtenstall, died in hospital after being treated for heart problems. His funeral will be held at St James the Less
