FOR Chris Pounder this year will be his first Christmas away from home - and he is, not surprisingly, missing his family. The 21-year-old former pupil at Towneley High School, Burnley, is currently stationed in Iraq with the 2nd Battalion the Duke of
ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman says he has been left scratching his head in recent weeks as to how his side can't seem to get a win. In their last three league games, Stanley have scored three goals but have only managed to secure two points
JOHN Coleman expressed his delight after the news that loan star Joe Jacobson will stay at the club until mid-January. The young Welshman, on loan from Cardiff City, has made a big impact since arriving from the Bluebirds and got his first goal for the
STEVE Cotterill has decribed Gifton Noel-Williams as one of Burnley's brightest' footballers - insisting there is more to the big man's game than scoring goals. With leading marksman Andy Gray sidelined with a foot injury until February, Noel-Williams
STEVE Cotterill admits he won't take any risks getting leading marksman Andy Gray back to full health. Injured Gray is poised for a second X-ray next week as he makes good progress from a triple-metatarsal break to his right foot. The Clarets top scorer
BIRMINGHAM boss Steve Bruce is ready to go to war with Blackburn Rovers again after warning: I won't let David Dunn leave on the cheap. Rovers look set to lodge a bid for Dunn when the transfer window opens at the end of this month, but Bruce still hasn't
BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes has set his players a minimum target of at least two wins over the festive period. Hughes believes the outcome of the next four games will ultimately decide if Rovers are going to be a top or bottom half team this term, so
GENEROUS shoppers have donated more than 1,400 presents to underprivil-eged children across Hyndburn as part of three charity toy appeals. Accrington Rotary Club, Accrington Lions, and the Salvation Army have all been collecting toys and games in the
A TEENAGER'S remarkable recovery from two life-threatening illnesses could help save the lives of other seriously ill youngsters. Fourteen-year-old Aimee Read collapsed suddenly and was left paralysed just under a year ago, not long after she caught
BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes reckons Arsene Wenger is building a new dynasty at Arsenal to rival the one Sir Alex Ferguson created at Manchester United a decade ago. The Gunners are going through a transitional period after losing experienced players like
STAR players from Burnley Football Club spread some Christmas joy when they dropped in to visit youngsters at the town's hospital. The players took time out of their busy training schedule to hand out presents to children in the Deerplay Ward yesterday
THE family of a terminally-ill Bacup youngster has issued a desperate appeal for help to get him home for Christmas Day. Seven-year-old Jack Heath suffers from Hunters Syndrome (MPS II), an inherited condition that has left Jack with hearing problems
A MAN who tried to rape a teenage girl has been sent to prison for four years. Clinton Foster had given a lift to the girl before he went on to force her out of the vehicle and and tried to rape her, holding her against the back of the car. Before that
A SECOND man has been arrested by police probing the murder of Burnley charity worker Michael Blakey. The move comes as officers said they were planning to make their prime suspect in the case, Pawan Bhardwaj, sit a lie-detector test. Bhardwaj, 28,
THE heartbroken family of a schoolgirl killed by a hit and run driver have remembered her at Christmas by decorating a memorial tree. Olivia Whiteside, seven, died in July after she was struck by a car as she played at the junction of Billinge Street
WOMEN are being urged to text to a friend the number of any taxis they get into during the Christmas party season to clamp down on bogus drivers. Julie Wareing, from the Blackburn branch of sexual health charity Brook, said party-goers should note the
FESTIVE revellers in Pendle are being warned to be on the look-out for rogue taxi drivers touting for trade. Pendle Council said during the busy Christmas period there was an increase in people posing as cabbies or licensed drivers illegally trying to
POLICE are hunting for a gang who stole three vans worth £66,000 from a council transport depot. A Ford Transit van, a Mercedes Sprinter mini-bus and a Ford Transit tipper van, which are all white, were taken from the Davyfield Road site in Blackburn
ONE of Pendle's most senior policeman, who has overseen a massive drop in crime, is leaving the area in the new year after being promoted. And the move will see Chief Insp Richard Debicki return to his home town after he was made Superintendent Operations
A FORMER murder detective, an accountant, and a drugs worker are among people's champions at a new East Lancashire health authority. Six people have been appointed as non-executive directors at East Lancashire NHS Primary Care Trust, which formed on
A BURNLEY beat cop has won a prestigious award for her community work in one of the town's most deprived areas. PC Susan Sanderson, who works in Daneshouse and Stoneyholme, has won the force's Pauline Clare Community Police Officer of the Year 2006 title
EAST Lancashire's leading emergency doctor has warned that a host of seasonal dangers lurking in the home could ruin the holiday season. And if you haven't put your tree up already then take warning - baubles could land you in hospital. Dr Sanjoy Bhattacharyya
TRAFFIC calming is set to be brought in at accident blackspots across Burnley as part of a £500,000 life-saving scheme. The Lancashire County Council proposals include plans for road safety measures in areas including Thursby Road, Lyndhurst Road, Burnley
THE Bishop of Blackburn fears an "addiction to consumerism" is overshadowing the story of Christmas. The Rt Rev Nicholas Reade will make the warning to East Lancashire congregat-ions over the festive period - and will attack people's pursuit of the "
Detectives in Blackburn have arrested a 45-year old man in connection with the rape of a 13-year-old school boy in Blackburn's multi-storey car park in 1999. The incident happened on Saturday 12 June that year when the boy was alone in Blackburn town
A MAJOR review of open spaces and play provision is being carried out in Rossendale - and there is still time to have your say. A consultation exercise by Groundwork Rossendale is open until December 31. The outcome of the consultation will help to shape
A GANG of youths who turned vigilante, armed themselves with weapons and got involved in a melee after trouble at a Burnley school, kept their freedom - but were slammed as a "waste of space" by a judge. Shazad Akhtar, 15, and Shahdab Akhtar, 17, both
BURNLEY General Hospital is to lose its blue light A&E services a year early in a shock move. The leader of Burnley Council Gordon Birtwistle has branded the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust "a law unto itself" after it was announced the controversial
WORK has started on Darwen's new £9million leisure centre as demolition surveyors move into the existing building. The centre closed earlier this month after months of debate between Blackburn with Darwen Council and leisure centre users about plans
TWO men were caught when water bailiffs were on the hunt for illegal anglers. John Watson, 41, of Lytham Road, Blackburn, and Mark Aston, 41, of Hardman Avenue, Rawtenstall, did not attend court but pleaded guilty by letter to fishing without a licence
DARWEN is to become one of two East Lancashire fire stations specialising in water rescues. Lancashire fire and rescue service announced the move following a letter from the Health and Safety Executive warning that there may not be enough water rescue
A "SMALL-scale commer-cial" dealer who sold cannabis from his house in Haslingden has been jailed for 12 months. Amir Khan, 22, of Lime Road, was caught out after police raided his home and found a "well-organised" operation with weighing scales, a list
IF you fancy yourself as a soccer songsmith and could pen a ballad for Blackburn Rovers you could become a star this Christmas. Blackburn Rovers are looking for fans with the X Factor to give them a boost over the festive season. The club wants supporters
FIREFIGHTERS are urging councillors to push for a judicial review which could save an engine from being axed from their station. The part-time retained pump at Great Harwood is set to be lost as a result of a service review carried out by fire bosses
MUSLIM leaders are celebrating after council bosses passed controversial plans for a mosque on the site of a former Methodist church and factory. Around 100 people packed a meeting of Ribble Valley Council's planning and development committee to hear
ON behalf of the Europrint sponsored Employee Community Involvement project I would like to thank everyone who contributed to our Christmas Challenge campaign. Due entirely to the kindness of the Lancashire Telegraph, its readership and the generosity
BLACKBURN with Darwen Council is beyond belief. Firstly, against the people's wishes, it closes down the Lewis Textile Museum (which was left to the people of the borough) to save £23,000. That amounts to the community charge of 23 houses on my street
I THINK the Ghost of Thomas Lewis will be turning over in his grave, as to me this is another mistake by our council and an insult to the people of our borough to turn the historic Lewis Textile Museum building into a centre for ex-drug addicts. I agree
I WAS very sad to read that the Lewis Textile Museum building in Blackburn is to cease to be used for the purpose for which it was donated to the town by Thomas Lewis. Have the Labour councillors who made this decision no recollection of when they were
I DON'T begrudge Rick Stein a free trip to Japan at the licence payers' expense but the least he could do is to come back with some useful tips for us. The premise of Rick Stein and the Japanese Ambassador was a simple one. Mr Ambassador had apparently
