A BURNLEY man has been cleared of assaulting a shopkeeper following a row over parking spaces. It had been claimed that Terence Lee twice butted businessman Alan Elrick, causing him to be treated for a suspected fractured nose. Mr Elrick had been unloading
POLICE in Burnley have launched a new crackdown to combat cheats reporting bogus burglaries, it was revealed today. Officers in the town are warning fraudsters that they could face hefty fines or even prosecution if they are found to be breaking the
TODMORDEN town centre will become a show of colour and music as Carnival Day moves into a car park. Centre Vale Park is a no-go area because of the flood alleviation work, so the carnival organisers have turned to Calderdale Council for help and members
A NEW radio station dedicated to the Pakistani community is set to hit the airwaves in Pendle. The station, based in Carr Road, Nelson, has been granted a five-year licence by Government watchdog Ofcom. And it will cater specifically for the Pakistanti
BURNLEY Council is to employ more people from the town to boost the local economy. The authority is to install social clauses in its contracts, giving jobs to Burnley folk in an attempt to lower unemployment. The moves follows a successful pilot scheme
A businessman has been fined more than £2,000 after stuffed animals were seized from his shop in what is believed to be the first operation of its kind in the country. But today Alec Cunningham insisted he had been made an example of for not having the
THE son of a Pendle woman who was brutally murdered 15 years ago today called for her killer to be brought to justice. And police are confident that could be soon after an appeal on BBC's Crimewatch programme this week revealed a number of new leads.
THE stars were out as Burnley held their traditional end of season awards ceremony at Turf Moor last night. But none shone brighter than Clarets trio Jon Harley, Chris McCann and Graham Branch, who all won individual honours to cap memorable individual
BLACKBURN Rovers hitman Craig Bellamy reckons he's playing some of the best football of his career now he's finally shaken off all his injury problems. The former Newcastle sharpshooter, who joined Blackburn in a bargain £4 million move last summer,
GRAHAM Branch has signed a new one-year deal at the end of a champagne week at Burnley. The club's longest serving player yesterday revealed that he wanted to end his playing days at Turf Moor. And after picking up a clutch of awards at two Player of
BLACKBURN Rovers are facing up to the fact they could be involved in an end-of-season play-off with Newcastle United for a place in next season's UEFA Cup. With just over a week of the season to go, both clubs boast virtually identical records in the
A £33MILLION scheme to revamp the Valley Centre in Rawtenstall could begin within the next 12 months. And the outdated shopping precinct, which was built in the 1960s, could be given a new name if the public support plans to help re-brand the area.
A NEW £200,000 Clitheroe skate park has already attracted youngsters from all over the north of England, before its official opening at the weekend. The gates to the park, which sits in the Woone Lane corner of Clitheroe Castle grounds, were opened on
A MAN forced his way into his ex-partner's home after she told him to go away and locked him out. Blackburn magistrates heard that once inside, Peter McDonagh sat on the sofa watching television and that was where he was when police arrived. McDonagh
BLACKBURN'S new super-hospital is to be called Royal Blackburn Hospital, health chiefs have revealed. Once the £113million project to massively extend Queen's Park Hospital is completed in July, it will signal the end of the town's old Blackburn Royal
AGE Concern Lancashire has won backing from The Big Lottery to extend its information and advice service for another three years. The service originally started in April 2003 and has helped many older people and their families deal with a variety of
STAFF at Blackburn's Daisyfield Pool are running a spring programme to attract more swimmers. Every Monday from noon until 12.30pm and 12.30pm until 1pm it will stage ladies only lessons. From 7pm to 8pm, disabled sessions will take place. A parent
BUS bosses have launched an investigation into claims that a man disabled by MRSA was left stranded in the rain by a driver. Wheelchair-bound Norman Turner, who lost his left leg to MRSA last year, said that a Blackburn Transport driver shut the doors
MORE than two dozen MPs have backed a Commons motion applauding Accrington Stanley promotion to the Football League, claiming "football is coming home". Hyndburn Labour MP Greg Pope tabled the Early Day Motion after the team beat Woking 1-0 ten days
A COUPLE have been fined after admitting illegally docking their pet dog's tail. The offence came to light after Victoria Walmesley, 22, and Leon Warner, 21, of Chapel Street, Rishton, sold the chocolate-coloured Doberman pup in November 2005. Accrington
TWO young brothers suffering from a terminal illness are about to jet off on the trip of a lifetime thanks to the generosity of local people. Joshua Borwick, six, and Kirk Pinder, three, of Clarendon Street, Accrington, have the muscle-wasting condition
CHILDREN from the Darwen School of Kung Fu performed a Chinese Lion Dance to help bring good luck to a new business in the town. The dance team presented a traditional opening ceremony at the official opening of the Cantonese Kitchen at Lynwood, in Blackburn
THE death of a Darwen man which prompted police to arrest his son could have been triggered by a family row, an inquest heard. Charles Poore, 73, collapsed and died during an argument between his wife and son at their home in Laneshaw Close in January
A TEENAGE drink driver mounted a central reservation at a busy Blackburn junction and crashed into a lamp post. Blackburn magistrates heard the post was knocked over and landed across the carriageway at Brownhill round-about. And sentencing 18-year-old
A BLACKBURN clothes shop has just sewn up its most unlikely sale three matching royal blue duffle coats for singing trio The Beverley Sisters. Staff at Grays, which has shops in Penny Street and Northgate, were contacted by the veteran trio after selling
Blackburn and Chorley residents could hold the key to catching a "despicable" conman who fleeces cash out of women by pretending to be a fireman. Detectives have launched a nationwide hunt for the man whose victims in the last 12 months include women
MUSLIMS are being given tips on spotting potential terrorists in a bid to prevent a London bombing-style attack on Lancashire. The initiative is part of a ground-breaking package of counter-terrorism tactics by Lancashire Constabulary which forces across
FIRE chiefs are warning youngsters who attack firefighters that they will be prosecuted. The warning came after a teenager who threw stones at a fire crew in Burnley yesterday was arrested and his parents issued with a £40 Fixed Penalty Notice. The
BURNLEY has a series of heritage sites, marked by blue plaques and one, the canal wharf in Manchester Road, is a complex of buildings erected at various dates throughout the 19th century. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal reached the town in 1796, 26 years
MORE than 1,000 jobs have been created in Burnley in the past three years through outside investment in the borough. According to council figures, more than £10.6million of regional and European cash has funded 33 schemes creating 1,167 jobs, as well
A special meeting is being held tonight to recruit helpers for this year's Barrowford Show. The show manager and vice-president's secretary recently resigned and organisers of the event are new hoping to fill the roles as soon as possible. Plans are
A NEW supermarket in Colne is to open next week. Tesco Express will open on Monday in the former One Stop Shop in Market Street. And to mark the occasion shopping bosses will donate £500 to the Pendle Hippodrome Theatre. The money will help fund the
A COLNE street has become the first in Pendle to be granted specialist status to protect its historic appearance. Lancaster Street has been awarded Heritage Street status as part of a drive to preserve Pendle's past. The street was chosen because of
VANDALS in Burnley are putting people's lives at risk, it was claimed today. Damage valued at £1,000 has been caused to one of the stone bridges in Scott Park with several large stone blocks and timber removed. The bridge carries a footpath over a stream
BEING on holiday with one game of the season still to go is the strangest feeling. But it's testament to how hard the lads have worked for nine months that they can relax and enjoy this break together before we bow out of the Nationwide Conference on
BLACKBURN striker Craig Bellamy reckons it's vital Rovers qualify for Europe next season because it would provide Mark Hughes with the ammunition he needs to take the club onto the next level. With just three games of the season remaining, Rovers are
IT'S a sign that summer is on its way when the click of the balls and the sight of the green baize greets us every time we turn on the TV. I'm not sure why, but there is something vaguely reassuring about the presence of the World Snooker Championship
HYNDBURN Council leader Peter Britcliffe has been reported to the Standards Board for England over his role in deciding the future of Accrington bus station. The national watch-dog is investigating a complaint by Labour councillor Graham Jones that the
A RIBBLE Valley college was honoured when one of its pupils was chosen to represent Jesuit students worldwide and meet Pope Benedict in Vatican City. Angela Page, 18, a final year sixth former at Stonyhurst College, Hurst Green, met the Pope during High
A MAN found slumped in his home after an alleged attempt to murder him was just inches from death when a knife went into his back. Keith Bradley, 37, was attacked at a house in Willows Lane, Accrington, on Sunday. When police arrived at his house following
WAS I Hugh Grant or Nicholas Parsons? Keith Simpson MP, a Conservative front bench spokesman affectionately inquired of me during Foreign Office questions on Tuesday in the House of Commons. Following Condoleezza Rice's acceptance of my invitation to
MANY thanks for the story concerning the debris alongside Gawthorpe School (March 18). Now comes chilling news that such an establishment is to built on Towneley Holmes. Goodbye playing fields and one cheer for Burnley Borough Council and all those
I WOULD like to defend Councillor Salim Mulla in the support he provided to a ward resident. He did not say anything wrong. He is there to represent people. He is not a mind reader. I live in the same street, I would make exactly the same comments
I AM astounded at the ignorance and prejudice shown by some of the writers on this page. Just because people protest against war does not mean they have a twisted view of the world. Like almost everyone, they too, want a peaceful and prosperous world
WHILST reading your story about Reesha the goose (LET April 13) an uneasy feeling came over me which is becoming all too familiar. It is a numb feeling of being powerless to help the suffering of animals intended to share the earth with sick and twisted
I WOULD just like to say thank you to the lovely lady who brought us some plants after reading of the ones we had at Bowman Court, Trinity Street, Blackburn, were stolen by yobs. The residents and myself were thrilled to bits and can once again enjoy
GRAHAM Pedder need have no fears about leisure facilities in the borough once the new Darwen Leisure Centre is built (LET, April 11). Rumours have been circulating that there is not going to be a replacement sports hall. This rumour is totally untrue
RESIDENTS across Darwen can meet their community police officers throughout next month. People in the south of the town can meet PC Phil Hambley at St Peter's School, in Turncroft Road, on May 9, from 6.45pm. PC John Sergeant and PC Angela Paxton will
A TUTOR has lost her fight against Blackburn College for a redundancy pay-out. Amanda Wolstenholme, 43, of Howarth Street, Oswaldtwistle, had worked at the college since September 2002, a tribunal at Manchester heard. She told the tribunal she was seeking
TRAUMATISED children who are rushed to A&E are being given teddies to aid their recovery. The emergency department at Blackburn Royal Infirmary has been given 500 bears to give to youngsters by the Freemasons. Staff today said the gift would help children
JACK Straw today took responsibility for the fact that more than 20 of the 1,023 foreign nationals released from UK prisons instead of being deported were set free while he was Home Secretary. But the Blackburn MP defended his successor Charles Clarke
