HAMPERS have been delivered by the visitation committee of the Blackburn and District Crippled Children's Aid Society to more than 30 families. The society, based at the Ragged School United Reformed Church, Blackburn, seeks to support families who have
TEENAGER Gemma Rooke found herself in the spotlight when she was asked to step into Peter Pan's shoes halfway through a theatre production. Gemma, 16, of Thornfield Avenue, Waterfoot, was suddenly promoted from the role of Nana the dog to the title role
A DRUNKEN man jumped 25 feet off the first floor of Blackburn multi storey car park in an attempt to get away from police. Blackburn magistrates heard that Darren John Hillary landed on a glass canopy, smashing it, before crashing to the floor unconscious
LIFELONG Blackburn Rovers supporter Nellie Whitehead had a fan-tastic celebration to mark her 100th birthday. Nellie, who is thought to be one of the club's oldest fans, had a memorable day at the party at Cornelian House in Blackburn, where she is a
FA Cup 3rd round replay: Blackburn Rovers v West Bromwich Albion WEST Brom are going through troubled times, but they still have a couple of match-winners capable of worrying Rovers. Blackburn boss Tony Parkes has highlighted the prolific Lee Hughes and
BUSES will run for the first time ever on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day for people in Blackburn and Darwen - free of charge. The 346, 50 and 51 services will run without charge in the afternoons to cater for people who may be without transport
HIGHWAYS chiefs in Blackburn are celebrating after being told the government has recognised their case for cash to build a 400 yard extension to Barbara Castle Way. Government highways bosses have told Blackburn with Darwen Council that they should put
FLYING winger Damien Duff will again be out to repay Tony Parkes' faith and help Rovers land a glamour tie at Liverpool by beating West Bromwich Albion at Ewood Park tonight. The prize for victory in tonight's third-round FA Cup replay is a televised
CLARETS midfielder Mark Robertson has been placed on stand-by for a four-team tournament in Australia in the New Year. As it stands, Robertson will be available for Burnley's games in January. But injuries in the Australians' latest pre-Olympic squad
ASYLUM-seeking refugees who want to take on British citizenship to escape from their homeland are being housed in Blackburn - and more may be on the way. Social services chiefs have taken in two refugees who claimed asylum when they arrived in this country
ONCE again blue skies and a sharp frost greeted the Accrington Road Runners handicap race. First off was Lorraine Potter followed by team-mates staggered at intervals relevant to race time throughout the year. It was a significant win for newly-appointed
A DOUBLE blow hit East Lancashire as the Government chopped millions of pounds of aid for industry and education. Blow number one came when the Government gave county education chiefs just £8.1 million of the £41 million needed to tackle Lancashire's
LEE McCash, the 18-year-old Pendle track star was so far ahead in the Karen Hoather five-miler at Littleborough, that he went off course. Lee had Stuart Stokes and Grand Cuddy for company when they made their unscheduled detour. However, they all eventually
FA Cup 3rd round: Bolton Wanderers 1 Cardiff City 0 BOLTON'S Franck Passi waited a whole month to earn himself a contract extension at the Reebok Stadium - but did more than enough to win a permanent deal with an inspired performance against Cardiff City
AFTER a week of heavy rain, the temperature dropped last weekend to make the Bronte moors hard and icy for the five miles of the Stoop fell race from Penistone Hill Country Park, near Haworth. Considering the sub zero temperatures, 70 hardy juniors took
THE full body scanner at Booth Hall Children's Hospital, Manchester, provided by the generosity of the people of the North West, will be 10 years old at the beginning of January. During the last 10 years, the scanner has helped to save the lives of more
ACCRINGTON Falcons bounced back in style from two consecutive defeats in Division Three to outplay Roefield C and dominate their match in all areas. With the league season now breaking for Christmas, many teams seem to have settled on their current positions
THE question in your legal feature 'Your Rights' (LET, December 1) was whether a Bill of Rights applies in this country. The answer given was that although the Labour Party has promised a Bill of Rights similar to that in use in the USA, none exists at
CONVICTED offenders have been helping police in a crackdown against crime. Operation Flaunt, now in its third and final week, has seen crime figures in the Pennine Division of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, shattered by 30%. Offenders who have been given
CRIME-cutting should be Burnley Council's top priority in the new millennium, says a new 1,000-strong panel representing the people of the town. Results of the first survey of Burnley Citizens' Panel have just been released and show members want the council
COUNCIL chiefs in Hyndburn are seeking employees' views on possible moves to reshape the authority's management structure. Chief executive Mike Chambers wants the council to strengthen its management of housing, leisure and cleaning services. The authority
A SIREN warning system is to be installed at a chemical factory which had two toxic gas leaks last year. Bosses at Nipa Laboratories in Oswaldtwistle, with help from Lancashire's emergency planning chiefs, tested an early warning klaxon system earlier
A WELL-KNOWN hospital worker who became one of the most popular "characters" in Clayton-le-Moors has died after suffering a suspected heart attack and falling from a ladder. The devastated family of Daniel Mercer, 76, right, of Pickup Street, Clayton-le-Moors
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy IT HARDLY seems to be a year ago that I set down my highlights of the East Lancashire countryscene in 1998. Doesn't time fly when your having fun! 1999 for me was the year of the wildfowl and birds of prey. In February I
THAT the world is a far from fair place is something that must be striking jilted Viscount "Johnny" Cobham right now. For he faces having to sell art treasures from his stately Midlands home in order to rustle up the £1 million divorce settlement claimed
THE body of a warehouse worker was found in the River Darwen yesterday after concerned colleagues raised the alarm when he failed to arrive for work. Bachelor Kenneth Ainsworth, 62, of Anchor Drive, Darwen, was found in the river off Foundry Street, at
LEISURE staff who struck gold in a national awards scheme shared their reward to help the lonely and depressed over Christmas and into the new millennium. Pool staff at Pendle Leisure Centre, Colne, received £1,000 as part of the BT Gold Pool Award scheme
A SUPERMARKET checkout worker Imran Latif pocketed a £10 note handed over by a customer. But Blackburn magistrates heard the customer was in fact a security officer from another store brought in to make a test purchase at Latif's till. Latif, 21, of Cromwell
CONTROVERSIAL plans to convert the former Barnoldswick town hall into a pub and restaurant will be decided by a planning inspector over the next few weeks. Inspector Anthony Davison headed a one-day informal planning inquiry into the long-running scheme
AN East Lancashire health watchdog chairman today called for a halt on the closure of a nursing home due to shut on Christmas Eve and said: "Let there be no mistake about it - people will die if this is rushed through." Coun Frank Clifford, chairman of
PRICES have been slashed for the Millennium Eve night at Colne Municipal Hall after organisers tried to charge £50 a head - and failed to sell a single ticket. The price was initially cut to £30 but when that failed to get people in the party mood - fewer
A fan's-eye view from Ewood Park, with Phil Lloyd GOD rest ye merry, Rovers fans, left watching in dismay. Now Tony's full-time manager, we start to lose away. With ten men down at Bramall Lane our tactics went astray. No tidings of comfort and joy, blue
FA CUP hopefuls Blackburn are optimistic their fans will turn out in force tonight to help guide them to a glamour tie at Liverpool in the fourth round. The Cup has so far attracted some disappointing crowds at the big grounds, with the timing of the
American Line Dancing Christmas Party Night, King George's Hall, Blackburn, 7.30pm. Christmas Late Night Shopping, Blackburn Town Centre, until 9pm. Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Blackburn Cathedral, 7.30pm. Sequence Dancing, St Paul's Church,
REGISTRATION for Red Rose Road Runners' annual Boxing Day 10K is at the Crofters pub on Leyland Lane, Leyland. Race starts at 10.30am on Sunday in Worden Park, and parking is available in the park. There will be prizes for the best fancy dress. There
THREE teams of receivers were investigating a financial crisis which could have involved up to 20 Blackburn-based companies. The accountants from three national firms moved in to unravel the affairs of a network of firms which grew out of local building
THE return all-Transport clash between A and B went pretty much the way of the first with the A squad once again racking up a high score, this time 15-3, enough to shoot them into top spot in Division Two and leaving the B squad well adrift at the bottom
RESULTS (Junior Race): 1 Ramiro Meeks, 2 Lee Leishman, 3 Nicola Leishman, 4 Poppy Cooper, 5 Andrew McDermott, 6 Joseph Sutcliffe, 7 Levi Sumner, 8 Jacob Cox, 9 Richard Cox, 10 Jack Gotts, 11 Daniel Hoyle, 12 Nik Holt, 13 Andrew Hoyle, 14 Sam Dew, 15 Jack
HAVING bowed to public pressure and done a U-turn on its cars-are-bad dogma, the government gives Blackburn an encouraging nod - though not yet the cash - for building a 400-yard extension to the town's Barbara Castle Way. This is a small but important
THE Whinberry Naze Boxing Day Dash - December 26 - a tradition for two decades, has been saved thanks to the intervention of Rossendale Harrier member Steve Duxbury. The race, which at its peak attracted almost 300 runners, looked set to disappear from
THE instinctive reaction of soccer clubs will, no doubt, be to give a deaf ear to the call today by the government's Football Task Force for them, in effect, to be less greedy by giving the less well-off cut-price tickets, ending their quick-change act
MY friend and I were outraged to hear of the 'victory' of retired postal worker John Taylor in the European Court on December 16, regarding the extra five years of winter fuel payments that women get as opposed to men. We feel that any person who spends
TEAM of the moment Queen's Park who have recently hit a rich vein of form, clashed with Whitbread in a magnificent match this week in Division One which went right down to the wire. Although second placed Queen's Park took an early lead, Garth Winder,
THE Friends of Queen's Park Hospital thank everyone who supported their raffle during the week commencing November 28 which raised £731. This will be used to purchase equipment for the rehabilitation wards at Queen's Park. Prize-winners have been contacted
HAVE our food producers learned nothing? After bringing us animal cannibalism, BSE, salmonella, etc., they've done it again - they are promoting duck as the new health Christmas meat and supermarkets are going along with it. In fact, it's almost all factory-farmed
AFTER watching the BBC2 programme 'The Dome - Trouble at the Big Top,' on December 16, I am astounded that Peter Mandelson and Michael Heseltine still believe and support the project. We often hear about 'follies' that have been built, but I think this
A FORMER accountant has taken to books of a different sort and put pen to paper to write a novel. 'Through The Mill' is the first time that John O'Hara has written a book, but it has already been so successful people are asking him to write the sequel
SIX artists have been given permission to embark on a magical masterpiece tour - by creating works of art on East Lancashire buses. Burnley-based Mid Pennine Arts has been given the green light to launch an unusual artist-in-residency scheme, which is
FORMER Burnley man Philip Howarth today triggered an international police hunt after jumping plane in Athens as police in Britain waited to interview him. Sacked public schoolteacher Howarth, 39, was cleared of sexually abusing a young boy by a Thai court
A 14-year-old boy charged with attempting to murder Kalsoom Bibi, of Richmond Road, Accrington, on October 24, has been committed to Preston Crown Court. The boy, from Accrington, who can not be named for legal reasons, appeared before Hyndburn youth
CLARETS midfielder Mark Robertson has been placed on stand-by for a four-team tournament in Australia in the New Year. As it stands, Robertson will be available for Burnley's games in January. But injuries in the Australians' latest pre-Olympic squad
A FORMER Huncoat councillor has made a scathing attack on Hyndburn Council and accused it of neglecting the Within Grove estate. Colin Feeley, 53, of Bolton Avenue, Huncoat, said that home owners' properties had been drastically devalued because many
WORKERS at a pie factory are being urged to put their thinking caps on to earn cash. Bosses at Hollands Pies will pick up a £1 voucher for each idea they have to improve the company - even if they aren't used. And there will be bigger prizes for the best
FROM traditional Thai dishes to a Lancashire bakery, Thai-born Wantanee Jackson has had a wide and varied catering career that has taken her across the world. Her latest culinary adventure is making traditional English Christmas puddings, mince pies and
The opinions expressed by John Blunt are not necessarily those of this newspaper FISH 'n' chips used to be the great British takeaway that fed millions of families for a few coppers. Not any more it isn't. The way prices are set to rocket, now that Brussels
FORMER Tory front-bencher Shaun Woodward is someone few voters had heard of before his defection to Labour over the Conservative Party becoming, in his view, too extreme and right wing. He is also someone who will soon be forgotten once his purpose of
ALL little Laura Graham wanted for Christmas was a wheelchair. And now all her Christmas wishes have come true after a Lancashire Evening Telegraph reader stepped in to put up the cash after reading our story yesterday about Laura's plight. Kind-hearted
