DRUGS are the scourge of our society - a problem that has grown over the last 20 years to wreck so many lives. It's not just the users and their friends and families who are afflicted either. The majority of burglaries, thefts and robberies are now attributed
LATEST details U7 Section A: Boothstown Brazilians 9 Westhoughton Rangers 0; Eagley Rangers Orange 2 Elton & Walshaw Panthers 1; Horwich RMI Reds 2 Brandlesholme Warriors 1; Horwich St Mary's Tornadoes 4 Bromley Cross Aces 4; Westhoughton Jun Stripes
SCHOOL discos and Shakespeare don't usually mix, but Burnley Youth Theatre will demonstrate they're the perfect match in The Lunatic, The Lover and The Poet, staged this week from Thursday to Saturday at the Quarry Theatre. The story unfolds through the
AS far as I am concerned, the night of November 22 will be remembered for a long time to come. Seeing the culmination of months of organising and hard work coming together on the night is something that local amateur societies thrive off and get their
LYTHAM ST ANNES ... 4 PRESTWICH HEYS ... 3: HEYS' participation in this county wide competition once again came to an abrupt end as they lost out to opponents from a lower league. This has happened far too often in the past and it seems to be a combination
IN MY opinion the visit of George Bush to this country is disgusting. As for him meeting relatives who have lost loved ones, that is despicable. Also as disgusting is all the money being spent on security and all the policemen involved when the powers-that-be
THE 90 year old you highlighted who had money and valuables systematically stolen by a 15 year old she felt sorry for is my great grandmother. I think what happened is sickening. Along with my own father, Jim Whittaker, I would quite happily go to jail
I AGREE with Councillor Hardman when he says that the needs of the whole borough should be catered for (Letters November 17). Indeed the Community Development Service supports and engages with local residents through a range of activities for all ages
PEOPLE are being urged to celebrate Lancashire Day to keep the identity of the county alive. On Thursday (Nov 27) there will be events taking place across Lancashire to promote its national heritage. The Friends of Real Lancashire (FoRL) have been campaigning
A 12-YEAR-OLD girl has died after being hit by a car on a Blackburn estate. Police today said the driver of the vehicle left the scene of the crash but officers later arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with the collision. The girl, who has not been
CHILDREN receiving trendy new powered scooters for Christmas may be driving straight into trouble with the law. Council chiefs have warned that electric or petrol-powered scooters, which can reach 35mph, come under the same category as regular motorbikes
A HOAX suicide bomber who sparked a massive police operation with a bungled publicity stunt is starting a 12 month jail term. Jonathan Metcalfe, 31, rang the BBC in London and claimed he was heading for a Nelson mosque with an explosive device strapped
"SAME again please" is the message Phil Starbuck has given to his Leigh RMI side as they travel to Burton Albion on Tuesday night writes David Magilton RMI have drawn their last two Nationwide Conference games with vastly improved peformances against
BURNLEY MP Peter Pike will lead a delegation to Romania next week. The four-strong party leaves on Monday to spend three days in the former Eastern Bloc Country looking at its moves to joing the European Union. Three other MPs will be joining the Labour
A MAN who indirectly caused the death of his father when they had a scuffle has walked free from court after the family's plea that jailing him would only serve to cause further suffering. After a trip to the pub, Wayne Heaton punched and kicked his 54
TALENTED Burnley dancers are launching a fundraising campaign to help them compete in next year's World American Freestyle Championships. Dancers at Lisa Garstang's School of Dance, Green Street, recently competed in the European Championships held at
RESIDENTS have been warned they could miss out on more than £200,000 of regeneration money earmarked for improvements in parts of Burnley. Residents in the Accrington Road and Trinity areas have just a few days to identify appropriate blocks of houses
A HOAX suicide bomber who sparked a massive police operation with a bungled publicity stunt is starting a 12 month jail term. Jonathan Metcalfe, 31, rang the BBC in London and claimed he was heading for a Nelson mosque with an explosive device strapped
DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott has promised that East Lancashire's Elevate bid will tackle the region's housing problems. His pledge came after Pendle MP Gordon Prentice revealed that almost 2,500 homes in the area were so run down they sold for
A PRIMARY school teacher who tried to escape from police was almost three times the drink drive limit at 9am a court heard. Burnley magistrates were told how Thomas Prendergast, 46, tried to get away from police after they had attempted to get him to
CHILDREN at a Colne primary school have spent a week enjoying the pleasure of reading. The book week at Primet Primary was given a boost by Lancashire County Councillor Tim Ormrod, who read from his favourite book Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
THERE can't have been too many happy faces filing out of Turf Moor on Saturday but perhaps one man who would have been happier than most is the club's Chief Executive, David Edmundson. In the week leading up the Rotherham game, Edmundson had been giving
HUNGARY thwarted England 6-3 at the Empire Stadium, Wembley. Hungarian legend Puskas, the galloping major, scored in the rout. About 3,000 boys under 16-years-old were set to be prohibited from working underground by new legislation in the Mines and Quarries
POLICE have appealed for help after a spate of burglaries in sheltered accommodation by a bogus official. Three incidents happened within 15 minutes of each other around 5pm on Friday. In the first, a man went into Springfield Mews, Oswaldtwistle, and
POLICE were today trying to establish the identity of a man who died after jumping from a motorway bridge. The man plunged to his death after leaping from the bridge in Stanhill Lane,Oswaldtwistle, on to the hard shoulder of the M65. The man, who police
UP TO 6,000 patients could benefit from a new dental treatment centre planned for Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley, it has been revealed. Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust will submit a bid to the Department of Health in the next two weeks to
CLITHEROE Grammar school will share in a slice of £1million to help boost links between independent and state schools. The extra money over the next two years aims to promote partnerships between the schools for the benefit of all students. Edge Hill
WORLD Cup hero Will Greenwood today revealed the thought of his late son Freddie spurred him on to rugby glory. The former Stonyhurst College pupil, from Hurst Green, spoke as the victorious team were given a jubilant welcome when they touched down at
STEVE Coppell shares Stan Ternent's frustration over working with a threadbare squad. The Reading manager has inherited a tight knit bunch from Alan Pardew, who quit the Madjeski Stadium earlier this season to take over at West Ham. And Coppell knows
THE term 'confidence crisis' sends a shiver down my spine. As a striker it is invariably trotted out every time you've gone around half a dozen games without a goal. Last weekend, it was manager Stan Ternent who admitted the whole team was lacking in
STAN Ternent reckons a Royal command performance can get Burnley's season back on track. The Clarets need to break down one of the meanest defensive records in Division One when Reading roll into town tonight. Steve Coppell's Royals have conceded just
LORRAINE Robinson is aiming to be a cut above the rest when it comes to being a landlady. For the 41-year-old hairdresser has just taken over the Roebuck Inn, in High Street, Rishton -- across the road from her barber's shop! Lorraine has owned 'Fellaz
BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness is considering a move for Romanian international hit-man Adrian Ilie. Souness wants to boost his fire-power by adding a striker to his squad and he's invited Ilie to Ewood in order to have a closer look at a player who is
ALAN Shearer, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry may be world-class strikers -- but they have to bow to Radcliffe Borough's Jody Banim when it comes to one particular scoring record. For Banim's feat of scoring in 14 consecutive league and cup matches
CLICKING the wrong computer button proved costly for a 26-year-old Darwen man. Blackburn magistrates heard that Scott Parsons thought he had obtained motor insurance via the internet. But when he was stopped by police and asked to produce his documents
A DARWEN man who received nearly £15,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled, while working as a taxi driver, has escaped a prison sentence. Blackburn magistrates heard the fraud went undetected for 18 months, during which time David Holden, 28,
A MAN escaping from a row with his wife was breathalysed after police were called to the matrimonial home in Oswaldtwistle. Blackburn magistrates heard that Michael Anthony Murphy was nearly double the legal limit as he drove away from his problems. Murphy
ROSSENDALE has been given its own dedicated crime-busting team to increase the number of high visibility patrols throughout the valley. PC Chris Adams, 39, is one of six new community beat managers to be appointed in Rossendale. The posts have been funded
A 39-YEAR-OLD Blackburn man pushed his estranged wife during a doorstep row witnessed by their 11-year-old son. Blackburn magistrates heard that Susan Bond suffered ligament damage in the fall and would be on crutches for two weeks. Michael Bond, 39,
BLACKBURN MP Jack Straw hosted a star-studded gathering to launch a new campaign aimed at raising funds for cystic fibrosis sufferers. The Foreign Secretary's official residence in Carlton Gardens, London, was the venue for the glittering bash which marked
A 12-YEAR-OLD girl has died after being hit by a car on a Blackburn estate. Police today said the driver of the vehicle left the scene of the crash but officers later arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with the collision. The girl, who has not been
LANCASHIRE leaders today welcomed the news that the county has been given £75million of government cash to find a long-term solution to its household waste problem. Environment minister Elliot Morley was in the county to announce a boost to recycling
POLICE today urged members of the Asian community to help them in the fight against drugs -- and take action over a problem they claim is being ignored. A meeting has been organised to encourage Asian people living in the neighbouring Blackburn areas
ACCRINGTON Stanley winger Rory Prendergast has been put on the transfer list by mutual consent. However, the door has not been closed to the 24-year-old former York City player as manager John Coleman revealed he could yet still remain at the Interlink
ACCRINGTON Stanley will be desperate to right the wrongs of Saturday's hiding at the hands of Telford when they take on Chester City tonight. But they couldn't have asked for a more difficult task as they square up to Mark Wright's current Nationwide
ROSSENDALE United start a testing trio of cup games at Vauxhall Motors in the second round of the UniBond League Challenge Cup tonight. Although the UniBond Premier side will give Paul Lynch's side a tough test at Rivacre Park, the manager is using the
RAMSBOTTOM caretaker manager Ged Walsh has made his first signing. Former Clitheroe, Salford City and Rossendale United striker Lee Buggie has joined the Riverside troops but won't be available for tonight's FA Vase second round replay at home to Fleetwood
MOSELEY ... 16 SEDGLEY PARK ... 23 BIRMINGHAM University's lovely ground was a fitting backdrop to Sedgley Park's latest victory. It was yet another comeback, yet another breathlessly close finish in a season of close games. Moseley stand-off Ollie Thomas
AN undercover agent has smashed a plot to cheat the Football Premiership after a firm pirated TV packages on pay-per-view matches. The Horwich-based bosses of the company sold Satellite TV deals to unsuspecting publicans across Britain, enabling them
A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Sequence Dancing, Longshaw Community Centre, Manxman Road, Blackburn, 1.30pm-3.30pm. Life Drawing Class, Mid-Pennine Gallery, Yorke Street, Burnley, 7pm-9pm. Queen's
A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Cornholme Mothers Union meet St Michael's Church, 1.30pm. Speaker Rev McKee from the Leprosy Mission. Children and Families Forum meet Blackburn Library, 10am-12.30pm
PATIENTS could soon be booking hospital appointments over the phone, or on the internet, under new plans. A call centre could be opened in East Lancashire next year to handle bookings initially, but health chiefs plan to go electronic by 2010. By 2005
EAST Lancashire's Muslim communities were today preparing to celebrate Eid and the end of Ramadan. Many Asian businesses were set to close as families prepared to get together for prayers and feasts. Coming with the new moon, the festival marks the end
A HILARIOUS spoof in the Agatha Christie tradition awaits audiences in the Rossendale Players' production of Murdered To Death. Set in a country manor house in the 1930s, the play has a "Cluedo-esque" cast of characters, including Bunting the recalcitrant
IN HIS letter (15 November) Tim O'Kane quoted two statements made by Michael Howard, 16 and 12 years ago respectively, yet Mr O'Kane fails to realise what his own party leader, one Anthony Linton Blair, was up to in those days. He was still wandering
MAY I congratulate you on your coverage on Remembrance Sunday, but there was no mention of our town's wreath-laying in Bold Venture Park on Sunday afternoon. We in Darwen never get the chance to join in with the rest of the nation at 11 o'clock because
OLD STANDIANS...2 AFC BLACKLEY...0 IT took Standians until the middle of November to put back to back wins together, and when they did it was at the expense of a shocked second placed AFC Blackley. Standians had two strikers out with injuries -- leading
AN undercover agent has smashed a plot to cheat the Football Premiership after a firm pirated TV packages on pay-per-view matches. The Horwich-based bosses of the company sold Satellite TV deals to unsuspecting publicans across Britain, enabling them
METROLINK was well and truly caught cold on Monday when services were severely disrupted due to ice on overhead line equipment. Hundreds of passengers faced delays during the morning rush-hour, with Bury, Eccles and Altrincham services all hit by the
YOUNGSTERS in Brandlesholme can now have a ball, thanks to the transformation of a former schoolground. The opening of a £110,000 ball zone project at the weekend marked the completion of a £230,000 Bury Council programme of investment in youth and community
BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness is considering a move for Romanian international hit-man Adrian Ilie. Souness wants to boost his fire-power by adding a striker to his squad and he's invited Ilie to Ewood in order to have a closer look at a player who is
A MAN was more than three times the legal drink-drive limit when stopped in the early afternoon. Blackburn magistrates heard that Nicholas Cliffe had only had one pint that afternoon and the rest of his alcohol level was down to his drinking the previous
TRANSPORT police say yobs risked the lives of passengers and a train driver when they hurled a rock or brick through the front window of a fast moving train. The driver of the First North Western train from Colne to Blackpool suffered cuts to his face
A FORMER stylist to the stars is launching her own fashion venture - in an ex-chip shop. Married mum-of-two Julie Dickson, 36, is the former fashion editor of Looks magazine, where she dressed celebrities including Cat Deeley, Louise Nurding and Ant and
A FATHER-of-two fondled a care assistant's leg as she travelled home alone on a bus after work, a court was told. Burnley Magistrates heard the victim was the only passenger on the bus, but Hassan Saadi, 38, sat next to her. He squeezed the woman's knee
A FORMER music teacher who took on the identity of a Nelson man in a £12,000 bank deception is behind bars for 10 months. Burnley Crown Court heard that bankrupt Timothy Burton, 44, has a degree in medical laboratory sciences and at one time worked at
FORMER Bury footballer Andrew Feeley was sentenced to a 240 hour community punishment order after he admitted harassing and assaulting his wife. Feeley, aged 42, of Ainsworth Lane, Radcliffe, appeared at Bolton Crown Court on Monday accused of offences
SAFE and easy guided cycle rides will carry on through the winter after proving popular. Pendle Forest Cycling Club will lead rides on the third Saturday of each month after being impressed with the friendly atmosphere created by autumn events. Each ride
POLICE are urging parents to buy cycle helmets for Christmas presents after a ten-year-old escaped serious injury thanks to his helmet. The boy spent several days in hospital with a number of fractures following a crash on Keighley Road, Colne, on Tuesday
PHILP Clark, headteacher of Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, said there was an "education apartheid" being created in the country by the government, which did not help poorer pupils. And a dramatic bid to rescue two terriers trapped down a fox hole
A FAMILY broke its silence over a war crime suffered by their son during the battle for the Falklands. Royal marine Pilot Sergeant Andrew Evans from Accrington was shot at by Argentine soldiers as he swam in the sea after his helicopter was shot down,
IT'S always worth making the effort to make the trip to Old Trafford. The Scandinavians, Scottish. Irish, Welsh, Cockneys and the odd few from Manchester there give it such a cosmopolitan feel. So much so that if there was no 'Manchester United' sign
TWO brothers forced their way into a house and attacked the occupants in a "low level drug deal" which got out of hand, a court heard. One of the victims was so terrified he jumped through a double glazed window to escape the brutal assault. Today one
DELROY Facey has hinted that first team football holds the key to his future plans. The Bolton striker could be signing off at Turf Moor tonight following a three-month loan spell with Burnley. Clarets boss Stan Ternent is still trying to strike a deal
BLACKBURN is welcoming a new landlord and landlady couple to the fold this week. Joanna and Neil Mcvey have taken over The Sportsman's Arms in Shear Brow. Joanna has worked at the pub as a barmaid for 18 months so is already well known by the locals.
BURNLEY'S nightspots are expanding and getting even hotter in the run-up to the busiest clubbing time of the year. XS on Hammerton Street is set to open at the end of this month and will boast four bars, two dancefloors, a lounge and a conservatory. The
DELROY Facey has hinted that first team football holds the key to his future plans. The Bolton striker could be signing off at Turf Moor tonight following a three-month loan spell with Burnley. Clarets boss Stan Ternent is still trying to strike a deal
A DARWEN councillor has failed in his bid to get overgrown trees cut down to size. Sudell representative Paul Browne asked for the trees in Moorland View to be trimmed, at Blackburn with Darwen planning and highways meeting. Coun Browne said: "The trees
RESIDENTS and councillors have won their battle to stop an amusement arcade opening at the M65 motorway services in Darwen. An application for a licence to run the arcade was withdrawn after Namco Operations Europe Limited heard of opposition to its plans
THE chairman of the Rossendale Valley Motorbike Show has resigned after 11 years . But show bosses today vowed that the popular show -- which attracts around 50,000 people from all over the world -- would continue. Tony Winder was one of the show's founders
RADCLIFFE Borough were beaten 5-4 in a thrilling Unibond Premier Division clash at league leaders Droylsden on Monday night. Borough were 3-1 up after only 24 minutes in an end-to-end first half, but were ground down by Droylsden's long ball game. Ian
WHEN Freemason Tony Hayden's seven-year-old son was looked after in Blackburn Royal Infirmary during six weeks intensive surgery to his legs he wanted to find a way to thank the staff. He contacted the Freemasons' Blackburn and Darwen District Charity
A LATE night takeaway curry proved too hot to handle for James Hughes. A court heard that as he drove home his supper caused the car windows to steam up and Hughes crashed into roadside railings. And the curry-fuelled collision cost Hughes £200 and a
SENIOR police officers were today due hear a progress report on the review into the force's safeguards against racists. The internal inquiry was launched following the BBC documentary 'The Secret Policeman,' which shocked the nation when it was broadcast
A DELEGATION from Eastern Europe has been brought to East Lancashire in a bid to improve trade links between the two regions. Visitors from Tarnow in Poland are due to spend three days being shown the sights in Blackburn, a town with which they have already
POLICE officers were today studying CCTV footage in a bid to identify a man who could have caused a disaster when he released more than 1,000 litres of diesel fuel on to a residential street. The shaven-headed trespasser entered a warehouse compound belonging
BURY youngster Victoria Grabowski has been named Greater Manchester Police's thirteenth Young Citizen of the Year. Victoria, aged17 , picked up the award for her dedication and commitment to the needs of others, beating off tough competition from 11 other
