FOUR years after the foot and mouth epidemic swept through East Lancashire, it is easy to forget the devastating impact the disease had on the area's rural communities. But today two farmers show us that they are still counting the emotional cost of the
IT was little more than five years ago that Vikki Bowker had no interest or involvement in cricket whatsoever. She had no family connections to draw her to the game and turned a deaf ear to the sound of leather on willow. But now, five years on, she is
A MAN buried alive under hundreds of tons of concrete in a quake-hit city has been saved by firemen from East Lancashire. It is believed the victim had been trapped in the collapsed block of flats in Muzaffarabad for more than 30 hours. He was dragged
A WOMAN was allegedly attacked and raped by a "repulsive" man a court ordered to stay away from her, a jury was told. Burnley Crown Court heard the alleged victim was knocked to the floor, pinned down, grabbed by the hair and raped by Naseer Ahmed, 40
A MAN buried alive under hundreds of tons of concrete in a quake-hit city has been saved by firemen from East Lancashire. It is believed the victim had been trapped in the collapsed block of flats in Muzaffarabad for more than 30 hours. He was dragged
THE thing with Bloc Party is that, while every song sounds perfectly good on its own, it's never different enough from their last to maintain interest. Two More Years is their first new material since debut album Silent Alarm but it sounds like it should
ONE Self, the brainchild of hip hoppers DJ Vadim, Yarah Bravo and Blu Rum, have gone from strength to strength since the release of their debut single, Be Your Own. The summer release of the beautiful Bluebird was also met with critical acclaim, and now
SINCE the release of his debut album, Music by Cavelight, Blockhead has attracted a broad base of fans to his unique brand of emotional, instrumental hip hop. Downtown Science follows the same path of offbeat sounds, strange samples and gentle rhythms
POLITICAL hip hoppers NMS (Nephlim Modulation Sessions) combine polemical fury with loud, angry rapping. The album certainly gets the message through even if at times it is too obvious. Opening track Chess With The Galaxies hits hard. Raw, in-yer-face
SATURDAY, June 9, 2001, is a date that Andrew Bristol will never forget. It was the day the slaughtermen arrived to destroy his entire stock. "We sent the kids away that morning because we didn't want them to see," said the West Bradford farmer. "We didn't
MORE bad news on the injury front for Blackpool as youngster Phil Doughty suffered a badly broken leg in a youth team match on Saturday. Doughty, who was expected to press for a place in the first team squad this season, is set for a lengthy spell on
Colin Hendry's injury woes continue as his side prepares to welcome Colchester to Bloomfield Road on Sunday. The Seasiders manager is set to have five players unavailable to him on Saturday - and every one of them is a striker. Keigan Parker is suspended
BIG Brother has played a part in ensuring that Burnley players returned for training yesterday in tip-top condition. The majority of the Clarets squad have enjoyed a week's break from Gawthorpe thanks to the enforced international break. However, all
LUCAS Neill could prove to be a valuable asset for Blackburn boss Mark Hughes this winter after impressing in a new central defensive role for Australia. The 27-year-old has spent most of his career at right-back but Australia coach Guus Hiddink showed
NEW YORK'S Thomas Truax is a troubadour - but not like any you've ever seen before. Truax (pronounced troo-aks) is the inventor of strange self-made instruments. See him and them in Lancaster on October 14. As well as his now legendary Hornicator - a
MANCHESTER-BASED melodic indie rockers Haven are to play in Blackpool for the very first time as part of a short, three-date tour. They'll be at the Beat Club on October 20. Haven have released two albums so far - the debut Between The Senses hit the
SINCE its humble beginnings in the front room of a dodgy boozer in Manchester's red light district, Akoustik Anarkhy has flourished into a live music extravaganza, record label and travelling party collective. It comes to Preston on October 28. The nomadic
NEW Order's Peter Hook is heading to Blackburn as guest DJ for a night at the North Bar. He'll be in town on October 14. The legendary bassist has become much in demand as a DJ and travels all over the world to play -- but so far he's missed out Blackburn
LITTLE Barrie's latest single hints at Ocean Colour Scene and Gomez, but is rawer and rougher in comparison. The DJ Nu-Mark remix of Burned Out complements the bluesy lead track Greener Pastures, making the EP a real jazzy number. With Edwin Collins lending
A PARK and Ride scheme for Rawtenstall is among the suggestions aimed at improving transport in the valley. A report to be discussed at a meeting of Lancashire County Council's local meeting next week lists the idea among suggestions for reducing road
THE name may have altered but the results haven't -- but hopefully that is all about to change. JFC Dynamoes Under 12s have gone up an age group and are now known as Sporting Athletic. Now they are hoping the new name could be the dawn of a new beginning
I WRITE in response to plans for a 1,000 plot cemetery at Old Langho. Since green belt land is so precious and the Ribble Valley is a place of outstanding natural beauty, offering pleasure to millions of people from all over the world, surely this proposal
WHEN is this Government and parents going to realise that it is not just what children eat that makes them fat, it is total lack of exercise. They don't play in the street like we used to, out in the fresh air playing rounders, skipping ropes, hopscotch
A COMPANY which makes erotic cartoons for mobile phones has been hired by Blackburn with Darwen Council to create a non-pornographic cyberspace star for its website. The move has been condemned by domestic violence campaigners who said the council shouldn't
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to stop the development of land they say should be turned into a nature reserve have set up camp on the site. Their protest yesterday turned into a sit-in after they successfully stopped bulldozers from Persimmon Homes moving on to
BIG Brother has played a part in ensuring that Burnley players returned for training yesterday in tip-top condition. The majority of the Clarets squad have enjoyed a week's break from Gawthorpe thanks to the enforced international break. However, all
INDIVIDUALLY they have carved their names into rock history -- together they represent the soundtrack of a generation. Dead Men Walking are in Morecambe on October 15. With Mike Peters (The Alarm), Kirk Brandon (Spear of Destiny), Slim Jim Phantom (Stray
TWENTY one-year-old James Loynes isn't your average young guy hoping to make his name in the heady world of showbusiness. See for yourself in Darwen on October 15. He's got the requisite spine-tingling voice and looks to melt many a teenage heart. But
THE SEARCHERS soared to fame in the Swinging Sixties with hits including Needles And Pins, Sugar And Spice and Sweets For My Sweet. They're in Burnley on October 16. They toured the world, sold millions of records and set teenage hearts a-flutter. In
FOOTBALL'S coming home -- to Darwen -- with more than half a million pounds on its way to improve pitches and changing facilities in the town. Blackburn with Darwen Council today announced it had been successful in securing a grant from the UK's largest
A COMPANY which makes erotic cartoons for mobile phones has been hired by Blackburn with Darwen Council to create a non-pornographic cyberspace star for its website. The move has been condemned by domestic violence campaigners who said the council shouldn't
A MAN buried alive under hundreds of tons of concrete in a quake-hit city has been saved by firemen from East Lancashire. It is believed the victim had been trapped in the collapsed block of flats in Muzaffarabad for more than 30 hours. He was dragged
BLACKBURN United finally beat bogey team St Matthews to maintain their perfect start to the season. United made it six wins out of six thanks to two goals from Shakeel Butt and further strikes from Khalim Hafeji and Javid Master. Despite their fine start
SINCE the appalling events of 7/7 in London there has been much debate and discussion about multicultural Britain. The Archbishop of Canterbury has reminded us that theology -- what we think about human beings, their relationship to one another and to
LUCAS Neill could prove to be a valuable asset for Blackburn boss Mark Hughes this winter after impressing in a new central defensive role for Australia. The 27-year-old has spent most of his career at right-back but Australia coach Guus Hiddink showed
WITH an ex-member of dEUS and Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) in the Millionaire ranks, one could expect great things. One would be disappointed. Paradisiac is all noise and Alice-in Chains-esque heavy metal dirge, though the odd track stands out
BLACKPOOL'S loan bid for controversial Millwall midfielder, Sammy Igoe, fell through at the last minute last Friday. The former Swindon ace had been expected to join the Seasiders before the Swansea game, but instead chose to stay and fight for his place
ALAN Price emerged from the 1960s British Beat Boom when his band The Animals became the first British group after The Beatles to chart a Number One single in America. Catch him in Blackburn on November 14. The Animals were a huge success thanks to Price's
Jo was the one with the voice in S Club, so it's little surprise that she's finally released her solo debut. Songs like To Ease Your Pain, Never Felt Like This and Rainbow's End feel like she's trying to shake off the pop tag, but then bright and breezy
