AT least two Samaritan volunteers will be on duty in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale every minute of the day and night over the Christmas and Millennium festivities. Staffing levels will be at the same level as the rest of the year and volunteer Christine
A PIECE of history from the last millennium has been reconstructed thanks to a local fund-raising campaign. The 10th Century stone cross was unveiled at Colne Library in front of 60 guests. The original arm of the cross was unearthed at an unknown site
A WOMAN was in a critical condition in hospital today after being run over by a car being towed behind a van using a seatbelt. Police said Mabel Shipley, 71, of Bolton Street, Colne, was crossing the road at the junction of Guy Syke and Albert Road, Colne
BLACKBURN Rovers star Ashley Ward met his namesake when Ward No 9 went to Ward No 9 - and joined his teammates for an important home fixture at Blackburn Royal Infirmary! Other players including Lee Carsley, Nathan Blake, boss Tony Parkes and mascot Roar
WITH all the accumulation of wealth by the super-rich football clubs and the money paid to the overrated stars of today - and when Roy Keane of Manchester United, held out for a weekly wage in excess of £50,000 - it made me smile to see an article in
A fan's-eye view from Turf Moor, with Stephen Cummings NINE thousand seven hundred and fifty three. Not a bad attendance. Not a bad attendance at all. In fact with the notable exception of one or two clubs, the majority of chairmen in Division Two would
GRAHAM Branch has staked his claim for a return to the Burnley starting line-up and given manager Stan Ternent a pre-Christmas selection headache. Branch turned in one of his best performances in a Burnley shirt when he played for over an hour in the
DESPITE the fact that we have had to endure the usual, different day/different name scenario, if the newspapers are to be believed, I find it incredible that Blackburn Rovers' board have opted for the four names which have been mentioned, instead of choosing
PAEDOPHILE James Warke began his 20-year reign of terror when he was just 15 after claiming he was himself abused as child, it was revealed today. The 36-year-old was sent to prison for 10 years by a judge at Preston Crown Court yesterday for a series
TONY Parkes insists that he wants striker Matt Jansen to stay at Ewood Park. But the Rovers boss admitted that the player's advisers may have different ideas about Jansen's long-term prospects with Blackburn. Parkes dismissed transfer talk linking Jansen
Rossendale Lions Club's Christmas Sleigh, Broadway, Haslingden, 6.30pm. Late Night Shopping, Blackburn Town Centre, until 9pm. Line dancing, 7.30pm-11pm (absolute beginners, 7.30pm-8pm), Longshaw WMC, Bryan Street, Blackburn. British Sub-Aqua Club, Great
HEALTH campaigners were to form a candlelight "ring of hope" round Accrington Victoria Hospital as part of their bid to save the hospital. The vigil, organised by members of the "Save Accrington Victoria" campaign, was set to highlight a visit by Professor
THE abysmal weather again forced Great Harwood Town's FNWTL Floodlit Trophy second round home tie against Warrington Town to be postponed last night. Tonight's scheduled Floodlit Trophy games - both subject to early pitch inspections - are another second
ACCIDENT-PRONE Alan Fenton was cursing careless drivers after having his car hit FIFTEEN times in ten years! The pensioner, from Cambrian Close, Blackburn, had been elevated to near celebrity status by insurance companies because of the number of accidents
BEING a long time, but now long-distance, Rovers supporter, I was fortunate to see the recent Fulham and Bolton wins. Tony Parkes has certainly turned things around and we all hope he can keep it up. One thing I noticed, which appears to be questionable
REGARDING the planning approval for the Logwood Street Mosque in Blackburn (LET, December 17), originally, we were told that the application would be refused on grounds of "impact on amenity and traffic congestion." But now, all of a sudden, the Labour
A FLOURISHING after-school club has been given a £38,000 boost from the National Lottery to pay for equipment for its new premises. When Kinderbear Nursery opened in Thompson Street, Padiham, in 1995, for babies from birth to four years old, after school-club
Harry's Stable Whispers RACING has suffered from the severe weather over the last week, but owners have suffered financially more than any other party, including jockeys, trainers, punters and officials. Last Wednesday, the clerk of the course at Catterick
YOUR article (LET, December 11) about allowances claimed by members of Blackburn with Darwen Council might have given readers the impression that there has been a further increase in the scale of allowances since 1997. This is not case. The Council's
TAKE a piece of land which has been declared an area of general flooding, an old land-fill site, as being contaminated by arsenic, lead and other dangerous chemicals. It is also one with very dangerous access leading on to a road that has been narrowed
BURNLEY'S senior judge has led more tributes from the legal profession to solicitor Peter Lawson, who died at the weekend in Pendleside Hospice. Judge Raymond Bennett, who said he counted himself among the many people who would greatly miss the father-of-two
A JILTED man who "stalked" the woman he loved has been given six months to prove he can "let her live in peace." Nicholas Speak, 21, threatened his ex-girlfriend Joanne Harrison and told her: "You're dead." He banged on her door in the early hours and
A SHOPLIFTER who asked a judge to cut a jail term ended up having it doubled. Victoria Hurrell, 28, sent down by magistrates for two months, was given four months on appeal - after Judge Raymond Bennett had asked her counsel what was wrong with the original
GRAHAM Branch has staked his claim for a return to the Burnley starting line-up and given manager Stan Ternent a pre-Christmas selection headache. Branch turned in one of his best performances in a Burnley shirt when he played for over an hour in the
NEARLY 3,000 families in Hyndburn will be an average of £1,250 a year better off because of a new government initiative, according to MP Greg Pope. Mr Pope said that 2,959 families could benefit from the new Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC), which replaces
TONY Parkes insists that he wants striker Matt Jansen to stay at Ewood Park. But the Rovers boss admitted that the player's advisers may have different ideas about Jansen's long-term prospects with Blackburn. Parkes dismissed transfer talk linking Jansen
A FORMER British boxing champion has paid tribute to his mother - the woman who showed him how to box - after she died, aged 82. Des Rea, who became British Junior Welterweight champion in 1968, said he would not have become a boxer if it wasn't for his
A BOY aged 16 has been expelled from an Accrington school in the aftermath of a gang assault on the headteacher. But the schoolboy's parents, who do not want to be named for fear of reprisals, today claimed that their son was trying to protect Moorhead
OUR great new NIE educational resource has come full circle to support literacy and numeracy in the Rossendale classroom of a teacher who helped to write the material and has received a big thumbs up from pupils. Over 150 attention grabbing ideas in our
SINGERS made it a golden Christmas by presenting their 50th anniversary year festive concert to a capacity audience. Nelson Civic Choir's three sections - primary, junior and ladies - gave a programme including Christmas favourites, items from their Celebration
LITTLE Laura Graham is facing an uncertain Christmas and new millennium after being struck down with a mystery illness. Laura was just like any other five-year-old until she fell ill two months ago and now she is housebound and cannot walk. Her mum Carol
DEVASTED staff and elderly residents at a Rossendale nursing home were facing an uncertain future today after being told it will close on Christmas Eve. Receivers who took control of Rowell Grange Nursing Home in Waterfoot two years ago pulled the plug
A CONCERNED grandmother has hit out at parents who drink too much in the run up to Christmas while in charge of their children.ight Close, Blackburn, was shocked to see a drunken man in charge of a three-year-old boy in a shop in Ouseburn Road near her
JASON Wilcox has gone to Leeds in response to their injury crisis! Rovers response to injuries is to sell one of their better players. Is this part of the strategy to trim the first team squad so we can stay in the First Division? To come down from the
FAMILY doctors today issued a plea to patients as the festive period loomed: "Only ring us if it is a true emergency." GPs are putting the finishing touches to plans to cover the Christmas and Millennium period. But they have appealed to people only to
WHAT on earth is Carl Fogarty blathering about? His comments about the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award (LET, December 12) just show what a poor sportsman he is and that he didn't deserve to win. He claimed that the viewers' poll was fixed and
DARWEN Dashers hold their annual relay race from the Lychgate at the top of Tockholes Road, Darwen on Tuesday, December 28. The event is considered to be a perfect day out for the family as teams of four must include one veteran, one female and one junior
ONLY two League games survived the winter conditions last weekend. In the Under 11s Blue section AC Blackburn strengthened their top spot with a comfortable victory over Great Harwood Town. In the Under 11s Red section Clitheroe Wolves moved into second
LEADERS Prince of Wales had their feathers ruffled in the Darwen Hotels Snooker League by Cemetery B who came away with a 6-2 win. Jonathan Kenyon starred for Cem B with a sparkling performance against Andy Heyes and the Prince are now hanging on grimly
LANCASHIRE FA are running a full time football education programme in association with Accrington and Rossendale and Hopwood Hall Colleges for September 2000 entry. The scheme is a full time course designed for players of proven ability who wish to continue
THE tragedy that has struck little Laura Graham is dreadful enough without it and the nightmare her parents must endure being worsened in the way it is by an NHS backlog that is as lamentable as it is mystifying. Tiny, five-year-old Laura is housebound
CAN anyone tell me why episodes of Coronation Street are constantly being shortened? On December 6, it lasted only 22 minutes. That was only one night. Just add up over one week how much is being cut. EastEnders is also fast catching up with shortened
BOLTON Wanderers are on a hiding to nothing against FA Cup third round opponents Cardiff City tonight (kick off 8pm). Wanderers entertain the second division strugglers at the Reebok Stadium after their original fixture was "rained off" 11 days ago. But
I AM trying to contact relatives in the Blackburn area and would appreciate it if readers can help. My mother came from Blackburn - she was Mary Agnes Kershaw (1912-81), who married Ernie Allcock (1911-87) from Manchester in 1942. She had nine brothers
A BILL to put fire prevention further up the public agenda will be introduced in the Commons this week by Burnley MP Peter Pike. It would require fire services to ensure prevention of blazes has a high priority for the first time. At present, brigades
THE facts and figures on gross weekly earnings in your East Lancashire 2000 supplement's winter edition beggar belief. Whoever wrote them must be living in cloud cuckoo land. For example, a full-time male manual worker in Lancashire is said to earn £288.70
A BILL to put fire prevention further up the public agenda will be introduced in the Commons this week by Burnley MP Peter Pike. It would require fire services to ensure prevention of blazes has a high priority for the first time. At present, Brigades
BURNLEY'S senior judge has led more tributes from the legal profession to solicitor Peter Lawson, who died at the weekend in Pendleside Hospice. Judge Raymond Bennett, who said he counted himself among the many people who would greatly miss the father-of-two
SANTA is packing a hard-hitting message for criminals over Christmas and New Year in an unusual crime-fighting campaign by Lancashire Police. Officers in the police's Pennine Division, which covers Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, are hand delivering Christmas
THREE men from Oswaldtwistle appeared in court following a street attack which left two men with slash wounds to their heads. Lorry driver William Alexander Fullerton, 37, of Hornby Close, is charged with two counts of wounding with intent and one of
Father Christmas and his little helpers choose their favourite treats CHRISTMAS wouldn't be Christmas without mince pies. But there are so many different types for sale in every shop, supermarket and bakery just how do you choose the best ones to keep
A SOLDIER from Darwen is among an 11-strong team from the Corps of Royal Engineers who have completed the first week of a 22-day non-stop run across Great Britain. Former Darwen Moorland High School pupil Lance Corporal Jonathan "Ginge" Waller, 25, has
MOTORISTS were forced to abandon cars and walk to work as snow and ice created treacherous road conditions in parts of East Lancashire today. Side streets in Darwen were worst affected and further traffic hold-ups were caused when a number of heavy goods
