TALKS will take place in a few months on the £170million bid for government cash to bring some of East Lancashire's 19th century housing into the 21st century. It has been estimated that £1billion is needed over ten years to revitalise our homes and estates
HAVING had a very merry Christmas, indulging in festive food and drink and general seasonal revelry, now comes the time to make New Year's resolutions. In 2004, why not pledge to go veggie? It's good for us and our fellow animals. Giving up meat will
I'VE never written a letter to a newspaper before, and rarely feel the need to air my views to the general public. Possibly I'm getting old and grumpy, but I believe a situation has arisen in Blackburn recently which is particularly disturbing and I would
A TEENAGE mother and her young daughter were left terrified after arsonists targeted their home in a potential fatal case of mistaken identity. Amy Martin, 18, and her two-year-old daughter Ellie were woken at 5am by banging on the front door of their
STEVE Bruce believes that "the real Clinton Morrison" is finally starting to emerge as a major force with Birmingham. Morrison scored his second goal in three matches and gave further evidence of a flourishing partnership with Mikael Forssell. The Republic
BLACKBURN Rovers today shot down speculation linking them with a sensational swoop for Ewood old-boy Chris Sutton. A story in one of the tabloid papers over the weekend claimed Rovers were about to launch a £1.5 million bid to bring Sutton back to the
ANGRY Blackburn boss Graeme Souness admitted he read the riot act to his players after Rovers crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Birmingham City. The Blues avenged last month's heavy defeat in the Premiership with a thumping 4-0 victory at St Andrews
A TEENAGE terror who wreaked havoc near his Burnley home over six weeks has lost a battle to have an Anti Social Behaviour Order lifted. The 14 year old, behind a crime spree of violence and damage, had also been rude and insulting towards adults. He
REGULAR users of Padiham Leisure Centre have been talking about why they will be supporting the campaign to ensure the town keeps its sports facilities. Matt Marquis, 23, of Shakespeare Street, in Padiham, uses the gym and the swimming pool at the leisure
WHILE most people were wrapping up against the cold weather more than 30 brave swimmers stripped off and took the plunge at the annual Lee Butts Dam swim. The temperature of the water in the Todmorden dam was three degrees centigrade -- but many of the
POLICE are hunting three teenage robbers who forced their way into a Brierfield home and stole £100. The offenders, three Asian males, called at a house in William Street at 6pm on New Year's Day and barged past the 48-year-old occupant when he answered
HEALTH and safety bosses today said they will await the result of an inquest before deciding whether to take action over the death of a Nelson teenager at a theme park. Salma Saleem, 15, of Manchester Road, who had Down's Syndrome, fell 30ft from a ferris
A RESIDENT of a Lancashire mental institution may have been the oldest man in the country, it was revealed. Records suggested Tommy Alberts, a patient at Whittingham Hospital, in Longridge, could be 112. Tommy was found wandering the streets of Liverpool
A TEENAGE mother and her young daughter were left terrified after arsonists targeted their home in a potential fatal case of mistaken identity. Amy Martin, 18, and her two-year-old daughter Ellie were woken at 5am by banging on the front door of their
JET-SETTER Laurence Bridgeland has launched a desperate search to rehome his pet dog -- so he can start a new life Down Under. The former college lecturer is on the verge of moving 12,000 miles to live in Australia with partner Catriona Anderson. But
CLARETS boss Stan Ternent slammed Mansfield's bully-boy tactics following a fiery FA Cup third round tie. Town ended up with nine men for the third time this season following sending-offs for Jamie Clarke and Luke Dimech. Maltese defender Dimech, in particular
JAY McEveley's loan spell at Burnley is over following a freak knee injury sustained in the FA Cup victory at Mansfield. Boss Stan Ternent was first to commiserate with Blackburn defender McEveley, who faces up to three months on the sidelines after dislocating
ANGRY Blackburn boss Graeme Souness admitted he read the riot act to his players after Rovers crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Birmingham City. The Blues avenged last month's heavy defeat in the Premiership with a thumping 4-0 victory at St Andrews
A NEW source of finance is now available to give East Lancashire's would-be entrepreneurs a better chance of starting a successful business. East Lancashire Moneyline - a government-backed non-profit organisation - has launched two business loans, each
Radcliffe Borough 2 Bradford PA 0: CAPTAIN Danny Luker scored the first goal to inspire Radcliffe Borough to a much-needed Unibond Premier Division victory over Bradford Park Avenue. The new skipper headed his side in front from a Richard Battersby corner
COMEDIAN Jim Bowen is returning to Darwen Library Theatre in spring after two sell-out shows last year. The former Bullseye host will appear on March 20 from 7.30pm with the successful 'Audience With' format. Jim, who hosted the Evening Telegraph's Pride
CRAWSHAWBOOTH Art Group are celebrating their fifth anniversary this month and are boasting a full membership uptake. Formed in 1998 by former Rossendale Mayor Jim Holt, it was set up to give keen and budding artists a regular meeting point. The group
RESIDENTS in Ramsbottom and Rossendale are being urged to help the environment by volunteering with the Croal Irwell Valley Voluntary Ranger Service. Voluntary rangers work across Rossendale, Bury, Bolton and Salford, working closely alongside the Ranger
A SUSPECTED drink- driver who ended up in a field and then made off is behind bars for six months. Burnley Crown Court heard how speeding and uninsured Geoffrey Hewitt, 33, smelled of alcohol when he was eventually found, but refused to give police a
A FYLDE man has died and his mother left fighting for her life after being involved in a head-on collision with a Ferrari in Hambleton over the weekend. John Rossall, 50, and mother Mary, 76, were driving along Carr Lane, at Hambleton, when the accident
A BRAND new entertainment venue in Wyre has been unveiled with a glittering gala opening show. Thornton Lecture Hall was given a £350,000 facelift by Wyre Borough Council and has now been re-named Thornton Little Theatre. The building can still be used
A NEW report by government auditors into the performance of Blackpool Borough Council shows that most standards of service have not changed since last year. The report, published in December, is based upon a Comprehensive Performance Assessment inspection
DETECTIVES leading the hunt for a missing Blackpool schoolgirl have released a picture of jeans identical to those she was wearing when last seen more than eight weeks ago. More than 30 officers are working night and day on the investigation into 14-year-old
IT CAUSED fury among locals and was targeted by vandals, but now a controversial artwork 'eyesore' is repaired and back on Blackpool promenade. The £29,315 Frankenstein Project, a grey gas tank-like structure containing a whale skeleton, was attacked
A FYLDE woman has spoken of her "lucky escape" as her gangster ex-fiance begins a life sentence for murdering a Scottish teenager. Last week the High Court in Edinburgh gave Billy Ferris, 53, of Irvine, Ayrshire, a life prison sentence for the brutal
IT WAS a year of much promise and a fair smidgin of disappointment for the Seasiders faithful. The Seasiders almost mounting a play-off push, work almost starting on the new south stand and almost finding the formula that will end mo35re than a quarter
POLICE investigating the abduction of a Preston jeweller have appealed for help from other traders. Pratim Soni, 31, was bound, gagged and forced into the boot of his car by a gang of men. He was then driven to Blackburn and told to get out of the car
REGIONAL trains operator First North Western (FNW) is launching a package of initiatives designed to deter anti-social behaviour and improve safety for their passengers and staff. Measures include DNA swabbing kits and panic alarms being issued to front-line
LANCASHIRE County Council's typical council tax demand is set to top £900 a year for the first time, new figures have revealed. But officers at the authority have insisted the figure would have been higher had the Government not promised extra cash after
A £170 MILLION bid for support to transform East Lancashire housing has been submitted the government. The detailed plea for cash tells Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott how the money would be used to help revitalise communities within East Lancashire
ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman revealed he would only have a passing interest in this afternoon's FA Cup draw. The re-formed club have never reached the fourth round of the competition, but Coleman says he and his players cannot look too far
JOHN Coleman joked that Paul Cook lost a couple of follicles when his late bullet header almost fired Accrington Stanley into the FA Cup fourth round. But the Reds manager was pulling his own hair out after seeing his side squander a host of chances for
GREAT Harwood Town looked to be suffering from a festive hangover as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Chadderton at Andrew Street. Town were outfought and outran by their Oldham hosts, who went in front on seven minutes with a fortuitous toe-poke
COLNE and Padiham produced a humdinger of a North West Counties Football League Division Two encounter at a fog-bound Holt House ground on Saturday which had not one, but two goals in the final minute of the game to produce an astonish finish to this
ALTHOUGH the Magpies shaded a gripping and entertaining derby, Dale carved out enough chances to have rewritten the scoreline. But with Chorley hard-pressed to hold onto a single-goal advantage, a series of glaring misses in front of goal, with Brian
RICARDO Fuller rescued PNE's FA Cup dream with two goals which cancelled out a brace of bizarre own goals by a Preston defence apparently determined to commit suicide. Shaun Goater nodded Reading into the lead on seven minutes when he diverted a dangerous
OPERA singer Michael Kennedy has said he would give his backing to any East Lancashire campaign to encourage more youngsters into music, after revealing his plight to make it professionally. Michael,44, believes more should be done for youngsters to penetrate
A CAR careered into a garden wall after mounting a pavement. A 10ft section of the one-metre high wall was flattened after the Honda Civic ploughed into it outside a house in Rhewlas Drive, Bury, at 1am on Sunday. Firefighters found the car damaged and
IT'S that time when we think about the year ahead and start making plans for the future. With that in mind, JENNY SCOTT shares her wishes for things she would like to see happening in the celebrity world in 2004. . . Get a proper job GETTING a job, preferably
IN response to Keith Reynolds letter (December 29), he puts forward a valid but insignificant question on whether the capture of Saddam Hussein would be a cause for celebration for Tasaddiq Rehman and the Muslim Civil Rights Movement. However, what matters
ENVIRONMENTAL health bosses in Wigan are on the look out for packets of a curry powder which contain the illegal food dye Sudan I, which can cause cancer and is banned in this country. The packets of Laziza International Pasanda Masala Spice Mix are thought
THE brother of millionaire Manchester United soccer star Ryan Giggs was subjected to a terrifying car-jacking before his £25,000 Porsche was driven to Blackburn. Rhodri Giggs, who plays football for Bacup Borough FC, was in his 911 Carrera outside a takeaway
Warrington Wolves 34 Leigh Centurions 16 by Mike Hulme: LEIGH Centurions showed off the youngsters they hope will become rugby league stars as they lost 34-16 in a friendly at Warrington. New signings Oliver Wilkes and David Larder made their debuts in
Woking 2 Leigh RMI 0 by David Magilton: LEIGH boss Phil Starbuck admits he is at a loss to explain his side's inconsistency. RMI have produced a series of Jekyll and Hyde peformances all season and this was no exception. This was their fourth successive
AN afternoon that began with a power-cut ended with Graeme Souness blowing a fuse as the lights went out on Blackburn Rovers' cup hopes for another season. Birmingham City, who were so crudely embarrassed when these two sides met here in the Premiership
DETECTIVES were today hunting an armed robber who held up a taxi driver at gunpoint. The driver was called to a house in Emily Street, in Burnley, just before 8pm on Friday to pick up a customer when the man struck. As the driver waited in the street
Lincoln City 2 Bury 1: BURY have been told to toughen up after they were left bruised by Lincoln City at Sincil Bank. The Shakers' hopes of avoiding an eighth successive defeat were dashed inside the opening half hour. And veteran defender Colin Woodthorpe
NELSON and Colne College is offering a range of new activities in its spring prospectus. There are leisure and recreation classes including yoga, keep fit, line dancing and badminton, as well as IT classes and creative classes, including embroidery and
A STUDENT who was badly injured when he fell under a float during a Rag Day parade is to sue the police who saved his life. Matthew Halstead, from Nelson, broke his leg and pelvis when he fell under the wheels of the 18-tonne articulated lorry carrying
THERE is still time to catch the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk in Colne. The production of the panto at the town's Municipal Hall is on until Sunday, January 18. It stars the Children's ITV presenter, Leigh Morrison, as Jack and features the comic
BUSES in East Lancashire were to be savagely cut as transport chiefs frantically re-arranged schedules to cope with shortages in the supply of fuel. Burnley's buses finished at 8pm whereas Rossendale's stopped at 6pm. And Platt Saco Lowell the big textile
LILY Jane Southworth, from Gladstone Street, Blackburn, explained how she preferred writing to anything else. The 41-year-old started writing in earnest four years ago and had since had 13 of her stories published in an Indian magazine. And Tommy Briggs
A FORMER care home closed by officials with just two hours' notice could be turned into a day-care centre for children. Businessman Stephen Pearson has applied to Hyndburn Council for permission to convert Great Harwood Lodge to a centre to cater for
YOUNG people in Whalley are being urged to put forward their suggestions on how to improve facilities for them in the town. The local Social Issues Action Group is drawing up ideas on how life can be improved for young people in the Ribble Valley village
LIFE-SAVING lamp-posts which crumple if hit by a car are being tested in the Ribble Valley to see if they save lives. Highways bosses want to find out if they new-style lighting columns reduce the number of fatalities on the county's roads before deciding
HOPES are high that a 15-year wrangle over access to the Ribble Way could finally be solved this year, with a space-age £500,000 bridge. Lawyers working for Lancashire County Council are currently trying to buy up land which would enable the authority
JAY McEveley's loan spell at Burnley is over following a freak knee injury sustained in the FA Cup victory at Mansfield. Boss Stan Ternent was first to commiserate with Blackburn defender McEveley, who faces up to three months on the sidelines after dislocating
STAN Ternent has never been short of a few words. But a damning national newspaper headline and a spot of tape - gaffer tape, naturally - was all he needed in the dressing room to gear the Clarets up for the cup. 'Burnley flops to Curle up and die' screamed
HOT ON the heels of "survivor" guides to Christmas, come a glut of new rules advising us on stress-free January sales. Be sure you like an item before you buy it; check all items for defects before you reach the till; measure up carefully if buying furniture
DARWEN Cemetery is the early favourite to take in a war memorial saved for the town by council bosses. The 15ft-high stone memorial bearing the names of 15 First World War soldiers was due to be moved 100 miles from the old Park Road Methodist Church
A MOTHER has warned families to throw out their chip pans after a blaze nearly destroyed her kitchen. Marie Alderson was sitting with her son in the living room of their home in Olive Road, Darwen, when the kitchen door blew open in an explosion of flames
THE family of a former Lancashire Evening Telegraph employee today paid tribute to his life. Albert Haworth, 83, known as Bert, of Beech Street, Rawtenstall, died from pneumonia on Tuesday, December 30, at Burnley General Hospital. He had been ill for
A PERVERT who ran away with his 14-year-old 'toy girl' to a Blackpool B&B was this week facing a jail sentence of several years. David Milner, 46, admitted abduction, five charges of indecency with a child and five charges of unlawful sexual intercourse
THE fight against homelessness in Blackpool has been boosted by a quarter of a million pounds in new funding. Blackpool Council has been handed the third biggest grant in the north west as the Government announced grants worth £3.4 million for councils
JANUARY - IT WAS a taxing start to the year for Blackpool folk with a planned 12.9 per cent council tax hike. Wyre and Fylde residents were also less than pleased with Lancashire County Council's plans to add £70 to council tax bills. The Fylde's new
WEST Coast Main Line train services are being diverted through East Lancashire while engineering work takes place between Preston and Lancaster. Virgin services from London to Glasgow will reach Carlisle via Blackburn and the Ribble Valley every weekend
THE brother of millionaire Manchester United soccer star Ryan Giggs was subjected to a terrifying car-jacking before his £25,000 Porsche was driven to Blackburn. Rhodri Giggs, who plays football for Bacup Borough FC, was in his 911 Carrera outside a takeaway
MIDFIELD maestro Paul Cook thought he had done enough to fire Accrington Stanley into the FA Cup fourth round. The 36-year-old, who signed for the Reds following his release from Burnley in the summer, capped an outstanding display with a bullet header
JOHN Coleman believes his players proved how much the gap between the Nationwide Conference and Football League has been bridged. The Accrington Stanley manager was proud of the way his players performed against Second Division high fliers Colchester
NELSON slid to defeat at Oldham thanks to an injury time goal by substitute Wesley Cathcart. The outcome may have been different if Craig Bradshaw had made more of his chances in the first half but the Blues fell behind after 58 minutes when a defensive
DARWEN'S 2004 got off to a flying start with 1-0 win over Winsford United at the Anchor Ground. The hosts' first fixture of the year was barely 14 seconds old when a Dennis Hill cross was flicked into his own net by a Winsford defender, which was enough
