A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Hyndburn Ramblers meet Plantation Street/Eastgate car park, Accrington, 9am. Tea Dance, Horncliffe Mansions, Bury Road, Rawtenstall, 2pm. Clitheroe Ramblers meet Chester
COUNCIL taxes are a hefty part of every family's budget and generally rising faster than inflation. For this reason, decisions about which band houses come into are vitally important to family finances and will affect standards of living. Changing those
TIME to reminisce. It is just 52 years since I wrote my first faltering words to be printed in a newspaper. Since then I have written millions. And it has been a privilege, helping to hold aloft this daily printed mirror of life in East Lancashire for
AROUND ten people were evacuated from a block of maisonettes on Sunnyhurst Road in Blackburn as firefighters cleared smoke after a blaze at 12.30am today. Rubbish and an arm chair had been deliberately stacked against an external security door and set
THE Area Committee of the Lancashire Association of Parish and Town Councils, representing Padiham and the seven other rural parishes of Burnley, wishes to support the small community of Dunnockshaw in their fight against the commercial giant United Utilities
BURNLEY General Hospital could grind to a halt unless plans to halt parking problems are put in place quickly, health bosses warned today. Lack of car parking space at the hospital in Casterton Avenue has plagued both trust chiefs and local residents,
A TEENAGER has been cleared of molesting two little girls after a week-long trial at Burnley Crown Court. Damien Finch, 19, was found not guilty of four allegations of indecent assault. The defendant, of Waddington Avenue, Burnley, who had denied the
A BURNLEY businessman has pleaded not guilty to possessing equipment that can be used to convert stolen mobile telephones. Philip Dickens, 26, of Padiham Road, Burnley, is charge with possession of a IMEI device identifier with intent to re-programme
THE RSPCA has launched a project to catch, neuter and treat feral cats, thanks to a legacy of £168,000. Cat collection officers Helen Taylor and Phillip Selley, have been recruited and equipped to target colonies of feral cats in the North West including
BUILDER Peter Dolby visited his student girlfriend but ended up losing his temper and smashing a restaurant window worth almost £2,000, a court heard. Lincoln magistrates were told that a security guard was a passenger in a security van travelling down
A BURNLEY solicitor is going on the run -- but its all in a good cause. Rachel Adamson, an associate partner at Farleys, is taking part in the London Marathon and is hoping nobody waves her off with: "Break a leg." Rachel, 35, smashed her ankle falling
PENDLE Borough Council is set to become a 'Fairtrade Borough.' Council officers are looking at ways of backing moves to tackle worldwide poverty by enabling disadvantaged producers from poor countries to receive a better deal. Arrangements are being made
A DRUG dealer who had cocaine and heroin with a street value of almost £2,000 is starting a seven year jail term. In March 2000 John Handley, 54, had slung a package of cocaine to the ground after police had followed a car he was a passenger in. Officers
NELSON is among one of the cheapest places to buy a house in the country, according to a new survey released today. The town ranked at 637 out of 643 areas in the Halifax Building Society survey, with an average house price of just £52,135. Bottom of
TYLDESLEY East community beat officer, PC Andy Wright will hold surgeries on: Tuesday January 28 (2-3pm) at St John's School, Mosley Common and Wednesday January 29 (3-5pm) at Garrett Hall School, Tyldesley.
THE first trickle of compensation claims has been received by Hyndburn Council after it took council tax direct debit payments out four days early. The council's 11,000 council tax and business rates payments were taken out last Thursday instead of Monday
TIME IS running out for Accrington Royal British Legion after a campaigner blamed apathy for a lack of volunteers. Earlier this month the Church and Oswaldtwistle branch committee agreed to take over the administration but their vice-chairman Roy Lockwood
BOOKIES across East Lancashire were put on alert today after a convicted fraudster known as the "Pencil Man" went on the run. John Bailey, 32, who is said to be the bookmakers' most feared punter, was once convicted following a con at a Rishton shop.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26 BLACKBURN: 10am-1pm: Astons Pharmacy, 95 Accrington Road; noon-1pm: Geloo Brothers, 1 New Wellington Street, Mill Hill. DARWEN: noon-1pm: Geloo Brothers, 14 Union Street. ACCRINGTON: noon-1pm: Aston Pharmacy, 351 Blackburn Road; noon
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 BLACKBURN: To 9pm: Lloyds Pharmacy, 4-6 Railway Road; Cohen, 63 Whalley Range. To 8pm: Johnston Pharmacy, 50-52 Johnston Street. To 7.30pm: Aston Pharmacy, 95 Accrington Road. To 7pm: Moss Pharmacy, 314 Bolton Road; The Pharmacy, Oakenhurst
COMMUNITY artist Andrew Williams offers an open invitation this weekend to join him and help create a little art in the park. Andrew will be in Philips Park, Whitefield, putting together a sculptural piece which will be made from natural objects gathered
A BUSINESSMAN was slashed with a machete as he tried to fight off four raiders. The 57-year-old, who has asked not to be named, was struck on the head and the arm during the attempted robbery at his Mail UK shop in Bury Old Road, Whitefield. His son activated
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after thieves targeted a Royal Mail sorting office in Clitheroe. The Chester Avenue sorting office was targeted by three offenders at 9.40am on Wednesday. They drove a silver Ford Fiesta into the compound and pulled
AN East Lancashire man caught with internet child porn, following investigations by US authorities, has been jailed for nine months. Gordon Robinson was also told that his name would be on the sex offenders' register for ten years. The 39-year-old was
Weekly round-up of all things Claret Read all about it . . .we go international! WITH my wife about to leave me to work in China - well for four months anyway - we decided to go on a fact-finding mission together and taste a bit of the culture. But with
LEE Briscoe is back from his groin injury and knows he faces a real fight to keep his place in the side - and he could not be happier. The versatile player was very frustrated as he missed over a month, including the busy festive programme, after limping
LEE Briscoe is back from his groin injury and knows he faces a real fight to keep his place in the side - and he could not be happier. The versatile player was very frustrated as he missed over a month, including the busy festive programme, after limping
TWO councillors will next week attempt to get council backing for their campaign to get the name of East Lancashire's motorway service station changed. Husband and wife David and Karimeh Foster, who represent the Whitehall ward of Darwen, have tabled
A TEAM of slimmers from Darwen have lost 265 stone -- just under four metric tonnes -- between them in a year. That is an average of five-and-a-half stone. And Weight Watchers bosses were so pleased with the fat-busters that they awarded their leader,
A CHARITY shop wants to set up a soup stall for the homeless and less well-off in Darwen. Broken Arcs Christian Charity Shop on Duckworth Street is already inundated with visitors wanting to donate goods to the International Aid Trust and now volunteers
ON Sunday, February 2, Radcliffe Cricket Club will be preparing for the coming season with the start of a nine-week course of their annual winter net sessions held at Radcliffe High School sports hall. These sessions are open to players of all ages interested
Witton Albion...2 Radcliffe Borough...2 by IAN HANNAY: A GOAL ten minutes from time denied Boro a victory against fellow promotion hopefuls Witton, but a draw was a fair result in an end-to-end encounter. Leading scorer Jody Banim was restored to the
A 20-YEAR-OLD woman took the "moral decision" to give up shoplifting and go 'on the game' in order to finance her drug addiction, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that Lisa Watson's latest offence - theft of doughnuts from Tesco - was simply
A MAN making giant steps in the battle against heroin addiction was finding it equally difficult to give up shoplifting, a court heard. And Blackburn magistrates were told that the sheer quantity of shoplifting offences committed by the average drug addict
POLICE cracking down on an "alarming" rise in car crime. Up to 40 officers will be used for a day-long operation once a month until the trend in Blackburn and Darwen is reversed. Police believe thieves are finding it too easy to fund their drug habits
POLICE are putting the brakes on car crime with the help of new technology. They have enjoyed initial success with an operation using a system called automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). The moves comes after an "alarming" rise in offences in Blackburn
A ROW over parking spaces at a new £90million super-hospital has been resolved after developers warned costs would spiral. Councillors were forced to rush an amended plan for the parking around the new Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, after developers
THOUSANDS of pounds of council tax have been handed back after it was revealed residents had been paying too much for nearly a decade. And the woman leading the crusade to get the money back for people living in the Livesey area of Blackburn today urged
THE Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Alan Chesters today announced he will retire in August as leader of the Anglican Church in Lancashire. The Bishop, who was 65 in August, said he will leave Lancashire "tremendously optimistic" for the future of the
CANCER Research shops are appealing for donations of secondhand clothes and "bits and bobs". Two shops in particular need are 74 The Rock, Bury, and 448 Bury New Road, Prestwich. Direct any enquiries to Bury manager Warren Tonge on 0161 762 9705.
WHEN award-winning Burnley butcher Stephen Berkin pulls down the shutters on his shop in Rosegrove there is nowhere he would rather head off to on a sunny day than the rolling hills of the Ribble Valley. Stephen, 40, who was recently voted the cheeriest
UPSTAIRS in our house is a photograph of my late father. He is in the uniform of the Royal Artillery. The photograph was taken in 1942 before he left for the service in North Africa, which led to the invasion of Sicily. My father thought that he might
FIRST MEMORY: I had just started school in Sabden and my parents received news that my brother, Frank, had been killed in action in France. It was 1940 and he was the first Sabden lad killed in the war. I remember coming home and my parents were devastated
WHEN I saw the weather forecast I decided to take a gentle stroll into the Lake District. It promised bright sunshine and, as there was already snow on the mountains, I set off early in order to explore Ullswater. These days it is easy to visit this lake
THEATRE manager Dave Smith's career as a musician has allowed him to work with some of the country's top stars. OVER the decades of a glittering career, musician Dave Smith has rubbed shoulders with many of Britain's finest performers. He has worked on
REGARDING your report (LET, January 16), as someone who learned to swim at Brinscall Baths, I feel it would be a shame to see such a magnificent landmark closed down. STEVEN READ, Prospect, NSW, Australia.
I DO not agree with an all-Muslim state school (LET, January 10). Do the Government and Blackburn with Darwen Council not realise that if this sort of thing escalates, we will have a situation like the one in Northern Ireland? GLADYS ROBINSON, Edge End
REGARDING your report (LET, January 15) about Mr Richard Elliot, of Nelson, being taken off the critical list two weeks after being injured when he ran into the path of a taxi. I know him from work at Manhattan Showers and wish his family well and I hope
IT's fantastic that PC Geoff Chadwick, on retiring, is returning to teaching road safety in primary schools (LET, January 16). I remember sitting through many assemblies at my old primary school -- Hippings Methodist, Oswaldtwistle -- listening to him
IN reply to Mr P McCann (Letters, January 14), I agree that some of the British people have not contributed to the system. But that their parents or grandparents will have contributed at some time in their lives, otherwise, the system wouldn't be in place
RETIRED miner James Walker died from industrial disease, Bolton Coroner Jennifer Leeming decided. Leigh-born Mr Walker, aged 76, of Sherwood Drive, Astley, had been a miner for 25 years, from the age of 14 until he was forced to take early retirement
REGARDING the closure of Holt's Jewellers (LET, January 15), as yet another long-established specialist retailer bites the dust in Blackburn, the executive member for regeneration says the council is sorry they are leaving; the market tenants' chairman
BOOKIES across East Lancashire were put on alert today after a convicted fraudster known as the "Pencil Man" went on the run. John Bailey, 32, who is said to be the bookmakers' most feared punter, was once convicted following a con at a Rishton shop.
FORMER Lance Todd Trophy winner Leroy Rivett has joined the Centurions. Winger Rivett won the award for his four try Wembley final show in 1999. He has been released by Warrington and joins Leigh on a match-to-match basis. Coach Paul Terzis said of his
IT'S full steam ahead at Hilton Park as Leigh Centurions put the final preparations in place for Saturday's historic match against Russian champions Locomotiv Moscow writes Mike Hulme The Centurions aim to make it a night to remember on and off the pitch
Weekly round-up from the Rovers end Souey does a 'Swiss Tony' BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness had the gathered media in stitches earlier this week when he came out with a line straight from the Fastshow! When asked a question about Andy Cole and Dwight
BLACKBURN winger Damien Duff could soon be celebrating an end to his hamstring problems once and for all - thanks to the help of club physio Dave Fevre. Fevre and his medical staff have just spent the last 48 hours monitoring all aspects of Duff's life
ACADEMY starlet Jay McEveley could find himself at the centre of a club-versus-country battle between now and the end of the season. England coach Les Reed has been keeping close tabs on the 17-year-old since he first broke into the first team at Ewood
BURNLEY College is once again celebrating full marks for design students for the eighth year running. The group's achievements include six credits and 39 distinctions for the Level One Design and Visual skills course. Andrew Scanlan, head of construction
A 38-YEAR-OLD man has been cleared of a drunken sex attack on a woman cabbie in an early hours fare dispute. Mark Rinaldi was found not guilty of indecent assault after a three-day trial at Burnley Crown Court. The defendant, of Rossetti Avenue, Burnley
A FATHER and son were taken to hospital after they were attacked in a road rage melee after they pipped their horn. Burnley Crown Court heard how Rolf Goodall was dragged from his car, struck on the back of the head and kicked and punched after he fell
A MIDDLE-AGED man said by a judge to be a danger to little girls has been jailed -- and has also been banned from having any contact with children under 16. Alan Pate, 58, was sent to prison for two and a half years, with a two and a half years extended
THE Barnoldswick watercourse of Stock Beck is set for a breath of fresh air, thanks to a £4m clean-up campaign. United Utilities has just started work to upgrade its wastewater treatment works in the town, to ensure the sewage is cleaned to a higher standard
SCHOOLS in Clayton-le-Moors and Altham could soon be joining a county-wide scheme to promote road safety and ease congestion, as part of Lancashire County Council's Safer Routes to School initiative. Children and their parents will be given questionnaires
CATERING students at Accrington and Rossendale College will be heading for Bonny Scotland this summer after impressing a top chef. Colin West, executive chef at one of Scotland's most highly regarded restaurants, Westin Turnberry, worked with students
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30 BLACKBURN: To 9pm: Lloyds Pharmacy, 4-6 Railway Road; Cohens Chemist, 63 Whalley Range; To 8pm: Johnston Pharmacy, 50-52 Johnston Street. To 7.30pm: Aston Pharmacy, 95 Accrington Road. To 6.30pm: Donald Wood Ltd, 53 Fishmoor Drive
MONDAY, JANUARY 27 BLACKBURN: To 9pm: Lloyds Pharmacy, 4-6 Railway Road; Cohen, 63 Whalley Range. To 8pm: Johnston Pharmacy, 50-52 Johnston Street. To 7.30pm: Aston Pharmacy, 95 Accrington Road. To 7pm: Moss Pharmacy, 314 Bolton Road; The Pharmacy, Oakenhurst
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29 BLACKBURN: To 9pm: Lloyds Pharmacy, 4-6 Railway Road; The Surgery (Chiropody), 132 Lammack Road; Cohen, 63 Whalley Range. To 8pm: Johnston Pharmacy, 50-52 Johnston Street. To 7.30pm: Aston Pharmacy, 95 Accrington Road. To 7pm: The
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28 BLACKBURN: To 9pm: Lloyds Pharmacy, 4-6 Railway Road; Cohen, 63 Whalley Range. To 8pm: Johnston Pharmacy, 50-52 Johnston Street. To 7.30pm: Aston Pharmacy, 95 Accrington Road. To 7pm: The Pharmacy, Oakenhurst Road; Geloo Bros, Cleaver
THE Clarets' new French star Drissa Diallo believes his mixed upbringing has helped him develop as a player and person and he is hoping he can take the best bits out of the English character to improve still further. "I have spent a lot of time in both
CLARETS-mad Dan Milner may live in Southampton but he is never far from Turf Moor. That is because he has paid his own tribute to his beloved Burnley by naming his house after his team's home ground. And his devotion to the Clarets cause has extended
FIREFIGHTERS lifted a 200 metre exclusion zone after it was put in place following a fire. Around 200 people were evacuated from their homes in Prestwich at midnight on Wednesday after a garage containing an acetylene cylinder was set alight. They were
BLACKBURN winger Damien Duff could soon be celebrating an end to his hamstring problems once and for all - thanks to the help of club physio Dave Fevre. Fevre and his medical staff have just spent the last 48 hours monitoring all aspects of Duff's life
A WOMAN has told how a council threatened her with court action after its officials took five months to process her benefit claim. Gail Halstead receives housing benefit as she earns a low income at her Bacup-based hairdressers. But Gail, 50, of Earnshaw
THE construction of a police base at Blackburn train station has been delayed again -- giving its 100-year-old predecessor another reprieve. Chief Superintendent John Thompson said the building's age was causing construction problems and that they wanted
HOUSES in one of Blackburn's most rundown streets have become some of the area's most sought after -- and the whole lot could be yours for just £40,000! Twin Valley Homes has received more than 100 inquiries since announcing it planned to sell the empty
A WOMAN whose life relies on regular blood transfusions is urging people to sign up to be a donor. Marion Richards, 69, visits Blackburn Royal Infirmary every fortnight to be given new blood to combat myelofibrosis -- a condition affecting the red blood
A MONTH after taking over at Hilton Park, Mark Patterson will oversee his first league game at home knowing that only a victory against Woking will do. The long battle against relegation started with victory against Burton Albion last week, but far from
