SO a bar in Blackburn town centre has lowered its prices to just 50p a drink (LET, August 6) and, no doubt, competitors will feel compelled to follow suit. This will, without doubt, result in more rowdy behaviour, vandalism, and yet more vomit. Decent
I TOTALLY agree with Tom Howorth and Mrs Jean Pablo (Letters, August 7) regarding their annoyance about someone complaining about our emergency ambulance services. My work as a nurse involves dealing with people with both physical and emotional problems
AMBER has been found a new home after being in the care of Glencoe Kennels, Haslingden Old Road, Oswaldtwistle. She is likely to be Labrador height, but thinner, and is only four months old and should make a great family pet. Telephone the kennels weekdays
WINDMILLS will soon be lighting the way borough wide. Wigan Council have just signed a contract for all the electricity needed to power its 37,000 street lights and illuminated traffic signs to be generated from wind power. The 'green energy' deal will
JANET West (Letters, August 7) complained that she had been fined for speeding. By her own admission, she was driving significantly faster than the safe limit while eight months pregnant. I don't quite understand her problem with this. She was driving
POLICE will step up patrols around a Leigh mill after yobs pushed over a seven foot high boundary fence. The incident on Monday night was the latest in a spate of vandalism to hit the Welch Hill Mill units, rebuilt following a disastrous fire last year
CLARETS chairman Barry Kilby is to be applauded for banning ITV from Turf Moor - it is no more than they deserve. The way the whole ITV Digital crisis has been handled is a disgrace. If I were now negotiating for the League on a highlights package I would
A TEENAGER has been accused of wounding after an alleged attack left her partner fighting for life. Louise Berry, 18, was charged by police today after being arrested by detectives following the incident in Moorgate Street, Blackburn, which left Mandy
EGIL Ostenstad has revealed that Crystal Palace were the First Division club who made a recent enquiry about him. However, Palace boss Trevor Francis has now gone cool on the Norwegian after his initial interest.
DWIGHT Yorke's arrival from Manchester United has prompted a late surge in season ticket sales as Blackburn Rovers prepare to kick-off the new season against Sunderland this weekend. As things stand, Rovers are on course to sell nearly 16,500 season tickets
SUPERBIKE legend Carl Fogarty today backed Rovers to mount a charge for the top eight this season -- providing new-boy Dwight Yorke shows the necessary stomach for the challenge. Foggy knows just how tough it is to keep motivating yourself week in, week
A BANNED driver who helped himself to his mother's car has been given a 12 month drug treatment and testing order. Burnley Magistrates heard how John Timothy Kershaw, 34, a drug addict for 20 years, thought he had his mother's permission and believed
POLICE say they are concerned for the safety of a 14-year-old girl from Burnley who has been missing from home since July 19. Sarah Louise Watson went missing at 11.15pm when she took a taxi from her home in Leamington Road to go with her cousin to her
LANCASHIRE County Council has written to the Parish Council to say that it will pay for a village sign on Brownside Road son condition it incorporates a road safety message such as 'Drive with Care' or 'Take Care Get There'. A TRANSFER of a justice's
A CLARETS fan named the new British High Commissioner for Malta today revealed how he hoped the new role would lead to closer ties between his beloved football club and the Mediterranean island. Vincent Fean, 49, a former student at St Theodore's RC High
BURNLEY'S bowlers have called on the council to save their sport from extinction by investing in their clubs. Fans of the sport say bowling greens across the borough have suffered from years of neglect and that people are turning away from the sport.
A GARAGE cashier who pocketed almost £4,000 has escaped a jail sentence thanks to a Court of Appeal judgement. Burnley Crown Court heard Karen Gartside, 39, who helped herself to the cash to bail out her drug-addicted son, had already been to prison for
CHILDREN looking forward to their first day of classes in a brand new school were left disappointed today when it failed to open, despite an official ceremony. Some pupils at St Thomas Primary in Wheatley Lane Road, Barrowford, even enjoyed a sneak preview
YOBS as young as 10 are believed to have launched a terrifying fire bomb attack on a Radcliffe family, police said today. Three children set light to the front door of the house in Larch Avenue, Radcliffe, and ran away, leaving a 29-year-old woman and
A MAN ordered by magistrates to pay compensation to a woman he threatened told them he would never pay it -- and would rather go to jail. Ray Miller, 55, claimed the woman had "harassed" his son and insisted he would not pay her the £50 ordered by the
ELDERLY people in Colne are again being warned against bogus callers after two men called at the house of a 76-year-old woman. The pensioner had been at her home in St Stephen's Way at 10.40am on Monday when two white men in their mid 20s called, pretending
VILLAGES around Colne have been given their own dedicated bobby to tackle crime and disorder. PC Andy Eddleston, formerly a detective constable at Colne CID, has been appointed the borough's 12th community beat manager. He will cover Trawden, Laneshawbridge
A MAN let eight-year-old Daniel Threlfall's missing pet snake go, thinking it was wild. Daniel's mum Leigh, of Willow Street, Clayton-le-Moors, ripped out her skirting boards searching for it.
EXPATRIATE David Foster returned to fish a North West river and was rescued by helicopter after he became stranded. David Foster travelled from Botswana to stay with relatives in Cliffe Lane, Great Harwood, so he could fish the River Lune.
A WOMAN who suffered brain damage in a road accident is to begin rehabilitation treatment this week. Ann Marney, 44, of James Street, Great Harwood, was transferred to Blackburn Queen's Park Hospital over the weekend after being treated in the intensive
A NEW low-fare airline which is set to become the first to operate from Birmingham Airport has brought a welcome jobs boost to East Lancashire. MyTravel Group launched MyTravelLite last week and began taking bookings at its new Accrington call centre
TWO talented youngsters are to join 100 others from across the North West as part of Manchester Youth Theatre's 2002 summer season. Clitheroe Royal Grammar School pupils Graeme Bramwell and Natasha Finch are both from Langho and will take part in performances
CLARETS striker Gareth Taylor has retained his place in Mark Hughes' Wales squad. Last season's 16-goal top scorer has been named in the party that will take on Croatia in Barazdin next Wednesday. The striker forced his way back into the international
NEW Lancashire signing Harbhajan Singh today revealed that Muttiah Muralitharan played a key role in his decision to sign for Lancashire. 'The Turbanator' was wanted by a host of other counties but chose to join Stuart Law at Old Trafford on a one-year
CHERRY TREE'S Nigel Robbins is well-known as a batsman who bowls a bit. But after taking eight wickets for 40 runs against Clitheroe last weekend it might be time for him to start calling himself a bowler who bats a bit. The 37-year-old former Blackburn
THERE was a smack of desperate wheedling about the imploring of Bury magistrates not to ban Blackburn Rovers star Keith Gillespie from driving after he was done for tearing along the M66 at speeds of up to 102mph in his Jaguar XJ8. Though the bench was
DWIGHT Yorke's arrival from Manchester United has prompted a late surge in season ticket sales as Blackburn Rovers prepare to kick-off the new season against Sunderland this weekend. As things stand, Rovers are on course to sell nearly 16,500 season tickets
CLARETS striker Gareth Taylor has retained his place in Mark Hughes' Wales squad. Last season's 16-goal top scorer has been named in the party that will take on Croatia in Barazdin next Wednesday. The striker forced his way back into the international
A PUBLIC performance in Darwen's Bold Venture Park was a huge success. Members of the Blackburn with Darwen Council Forum will be told that a production of The Reluctant Dragon by the Illyria Theatre Company was a sell-out success when they meet tomorrow
A FORMER Darwen schoolgirl today praised the modern apprenticeship scheme. Sam Mercer, 28, spoke about her success after becoming external funding manager at the Learning Skills Council (LSC) Lancashire. She is responsible for spending a £10 million budget
A TOWN centre pub has adopted a lower strength alcopop in a bid to curb drunken behaviour. Bar Java, in Wellington Fold, Darwen, has started to sell the drink Java, produced by Surrey-based Coors brewery, which has one per cent less alcohol than other
A GRADUATE with ambitions to be a high earner is leaving home to work with Thai school children affected by HIV - for £15 a week. Lisa Crabtree, 23, left Staffordshire University this summer with a 2:1 degree in business studies, but has put plans for
AN approach is to be made to the North West Development Agency to look to fund a new site for Rossendale's direct labour and services organisations. Already the NWDA is looking to try to fund a new site for the council's workers, who are currently based
ROWDY pupils are to be made to sign good behaviour contracts if they want to travel on school buses after county council bosses revealed 578 complaints were made about youngsters last year. Complaints filed against pupils included 11 assaults on drivers
A PIONEERING recycling scheme in Rossendale will get under way next month, when people will be encouraged to sift their household rubbish. What makes the Valley scheme different, environmental services manager David Rigby told members of the development
A COUNTY councillor charged with a child pornography offence and inciting another man to commit abduction and murder has vowed to clear his name. Coun Bill Chadwick, deputy leader of the Lancashire County Council Lib Dem group and leader of Preston City
A COLLECTOR of military memorabilia has restored a piece of British Army history. John Brown bought a Norton Big 4 633cc motorbike and sidecar in Stockport. The owner had lost interest in it, but John, who has an enviable collection of Army memorabilia
A COUNTY councillor charged with a child pornography offence and inciting another man to commit abduction and murder has vowed to clear his name. Coun Bill Chadwick, deputy leader of the Lancashire County Council Lib Dem group and leader of Preston City
ROWDY pupils are to be made to sign good behaviour contracts if they want to travel on school buses after county council bosses revealed 578 complaints were made about youngsters last year. Complaints filed against pupils included 11 assaults on drivers
SHOPPERS and pedestrians have been promised that street art designed as the focal point of a £3.5million town centre revamp will be worth the wait. The promise was made as it was revealed that the much-delayed Transitions statues in Church Street, Blackburn
BURY Council is to take a tough stance on the problem of rent arrears among its tenants this summer. In July 70 people appeared in court for persistent non-payment, and this month 12 tenants face eviction for rent arrears. The council is launching a series
MORE young "affluentials" earning in excess of £60,000 a year are living in the south of the borough than Bury North, new figures have revealed. And although both areas are included in a newly-published North West "rich list," the borough cannot emulate
A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Access Summer Fun playscheme for children with disabilities, 8-19 years, White Ash School, Thwaites Road, Oswaldtwistle, 9am-noon and 1-3.30pm. Woodturning demonstration
CYNICS may well cast doubt on the bid to stop rowdyism on school buses by making unruly pupils sign good behaviour contracts. And, indeed, if they look at the amount of trouble on school buses -- with 578 incidents, including assaults on drivers, fires
EVEN though we have lots of warm summer days to come, there are already some signs that autumn is coming. Fruits are ripening and none is more beautiful than the berries of lord and ladies. These fruits are not actually lethal but they are poisonous and
WHEN I was a boy in the 1930s, the shopkeepers would call my father 'Sir' and my mother 'Madam.' If we are to go back to these old fashioned, courteous ways, shall I again by called 'sonny' as I was then? JULIAN PILLING, Railway Street, Nelson.
FOLLOWING the recent spate of letters over the use of speed cameras and their effectiveness in controlling speed and saving lives, we have one road in East Lancashire renowned for speed and accidents, that is the Grane Road between Blackburn and Haslingden
A GROUP of young people in Bury who have proved themselves to be a credit to their community are to reap their rewards. The Topping Fold and Fairfield Tenants' and Residents' Association staged a massive clean-up day on their own doorstep, which involved
THE Nationwide Conference season kicks off in East London this Saturday, with Leigh RMI in much better shape than they were a week ago. Steve Waywell has snapped up the signatures of ex-Oldham midfielder Phil Salt and former Wigan Athletic defender Neil
A DRIVER was trapped inside his car and pushed along in front of an articulated lorry for 60 yards in an horrific motorway accident which blocked one lane. Firefighters from Nelson cut the roof off the Ford Fiesta, driven by John Purtill, 68, of Lydgate
A PARK was sealed off today by police investigating a serious sex assault on two 14-year-old girls. A police van was today blocking the entrance way to remote Letcliffe Country Park, off Manchester Road, Barnoldswick, and the area was taped off. Two men
Bury 0 Cambridge 1 - SHAKERS' start to the season went from bad to worse with a dismal performance ending in a well-earned defeat. United had not won away from home for some 25 matches but, while never overwhelming their opponents, managed to boss the
A COUNCILLOR has urged people to be on the lookout for dud £1 coins circulating in the area. Coun Tim O'Kane got on the Hyndburn Circular bus in Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, to go to a cabinet meeting on Friday and was "gobsmacked" to be told the £1
WHITEFIELD residents are being invited to find out how they can transform their neighbourhood. On Saturday, from 11am to 3pm, a special Home Zones consultation event will be staged at the Wheatfield Centre on Victoria Avenue. People will be able to find
POLICE are appealing for information after a pair of cast iron gates and two sandstone wall finials were stolen from a house in Whalley. The gates, valued at £1,500, are 9ft wide and 5ft high, and feature vertical curved rails. The finials are 18 by 24in
FOUR people have been arrested following assaults in Bacup and Stacksteads last week. Mark Hall, 18, of Rochdale Road, Britannia, and Daniel Roache, in his late 20s, of Booth Road, Stacksteads, both suffered broken jaws and have had to have their teeth
A WOMAN who was allegedly flown out to India to pose as a bride also took part in four sham marriages in the UK, a court heard. And Jacqueline Grahams' home was attacked after she deliberately missed a flight to India. She was made to catch a later plane
LANDLORDS in Leyland continue to unite with police in a bid to deter trouble makers. The Broadfield Arms and Dunkirk Hall have joined the Pubwatch scheme, which began in May. Landlord Bob Parker, 54, of the Crofters, Leyland Lane, is also a member of
WE are very lucky to live close to the limestone dominated scenery of the Ribble Valley. In recent months we have all complained about the amount of heavy rain which has led to some flooding. Millions of years ago, however, what is now the area between
CONGRATULATIONS to Blackburn with Darwen Council -- after holding the record for having the most holes in the road, they have now merited entry in the Guiness Book of Records for having the most expensive car park in the country (LET, August 10). It cost
A PARK was sealed off today by police investigating a serious sex assault on two 14-year-old girls. A police van was today blocking the entrance way to remote Letcliffe Country Park, off Manchester Road, Barnoldswick, and the area was taped off. Two men
JUST when you thought it was safe to pick up a paper again after Roy Keane bored the pants off everyone with his antics at the World Cup this summer now the Manchester United midfielder is up to his old tricks again. 'Keane: The Autobiography' is being
FOUR young Pakistani cricket fans accused of violence after a Lord's match against Australia last summer have walked free from court for a second time. All four were arrested following an appeal on BBC's Crimewatch by police investigating an injury caused
AN offender took to the rooftops in an attempt to give police the slip -- but ended up walking straight into the arms of the law. Burnley Crown Court heard how John Gabriel, 28, crashed through a neighbour's skylight, met the occupant on the landing,
A GROUP of young people in Bury who have proved themselves to be a credit to their community are to reap their rewards. The Topping Fold and Fairfield Tenants' and Residents' Association staged a massive clean-up day on their own doorstep, which involved
A VAN carrying gas cylinders erupted into a fireball after petrol flooded its engine at 11pm yesterday in Blackamoor Road, Blackburn. The road was closed between Roman Road and Guide, while Blackburn fire fighters tackled the blaze. Leading firefighter
TWO brothers and a friend ended up in hospital when violence put paid to a celebratory night out, a jury heard. Burnley Crown Court was told how birthday reveller Brendan Georgy was smashed in the eye and spent the night in casualty at Blackburn Royal
THE owner of a talented and rare parrot, which has its own caravan, today made a heartfelt plea to thieves who broke in and snatched the bird from her cage. Derek Howard, of Whinney Corner Stables, Edisford Road, Clitheroe, was devastated to find African
A POPULAR weekly car boot sale has been forced to move because of the proposed British National Party event in the Ribble Valley at the weekend. John Pratt is from Ribble Valley Promotions, which has held the sales every Sunday for eight years in a field
LEE DAGGETT lifted himself off the treatment table to clinch four wickets and the Worsley Cup for Ramsbottom. The young bowler had been having trouble with his back and would not have been able to bowl on Sunday when the game began or on Monday night.
AMONG all the aspects of the case in which a Blackburn mother is threatened with jail over her 15-year-old son attending school for just one week in a year on account of it being, in his view, "boring", did not the court hearing provide an illuminating
A BASKETBALL coach has landed his dream job organising basketball leagues and encouraging youngsters to take up the sport. Steve Warburton, 46, of Bacup, worked as an advertising representative but on September 3 he will begin his new job as basketball
A STORE detective was alerted when a man walked in wearing a large coat during a hot day, a court was told. The security man's suspicions were confirmed when Mark Talbot proceeded to conceal an item inside the coat and made to leave without paying. Talbot
LEARNER driver Carl Marsden collided with a taxi after driving off in his girlfriend's car after an early morning row, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that following the collision Marsden had panicked because he thought the taxi driver was
AN East Lancashire publisher, whose adventures have taken him rowing across the Irish Sea and riding across the deserts of America, today revealed his biggest challenge. Mark Ward, who own's Blackburn's Mulberry Books, said the outbreak of foot and mouth
A TEENAGER has been accused of wounding after an alleged attack left her partner fighting for life. Louise Berry, 18, was charged by police today after being arrested by detectives following the incident in Moorgate Street, Blackburn, which left Mandy
LANDLORDS and landladies across East Lancashire are to go head-to-head for the right to land a dream holiday in the Canary Islands... and give the Magic Eye Scanner Appeal a massive cash boost! Warm-hearted brewers Daniel Thwaites have put up the superb
