HUNDREDS of bereaved relatives face costly repair bills after more than 400 headstones were branded a health and safety risk. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has been accused of "going over the top" and acting insensitively following checks by
ONE in four of the working population in East Lancashire is living off benefits or shunning work, shock figures have revealed. Thousands of people across the area have been classed as "economically inactive" - meaning they are too sick to work or do
BURNLEY'S Carling Cup second round clash with Oldham must be decided, by hook or by crook, tomorrow. But, either way, David Eyres will walk away from Turf Moor a winner. The wily winger spent four years with the Clarets in the 90s - his most memorable
RESIDENTS living near a park where a young woman died after a vicious attack are calling for the introduction of park rangers. But Rossendale council's leader has dismissed the idea saying that there are insufficient funds for the proposal and that stricter
ORGANISERS of a Palestinian football tour to East Lancashire are considering legal action after players were denied travel visas by the Foreign Office. An under 19s side from the war-torn state has been told it cannot take part in a three-week long footballing
FAMILY and friends of a little girl who died from a rare form of cancer hope to keep her memory alive by creating a memorial garden. Paris Devlin, five, of Florence Avenue, Burnley, died on Saturday, August 18, at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
ENFIELD beat Haslingden in dramatic style to lift the Lancashire League's 20/20 Cup. The visitors were bowled out for 95 as Graham Knowles took four for 22. But Haslingden only made 81 as the tail were skittled out.
OLDHAM have split opinion with the signing of former West Bromwich Albion striker Lee Hughes. Last week, the 31-year-old was released from Staffordshire's Featherstone Prison after serving half of his six-year sentence for causing death by dangerous
A WOMAN was raped in a back street after a man who befriended her turned violent. The 49-year-old Darwen woman was attacked off Montague Street, Blackburn, as she had begun to make her way home during the early hours. Community leaders have spoken of
Rob Hope has finished third in the Weasdale Horseshoe Fell Race, but has lost his lead in the English Fell Championship to race winner Simon Bailey. Hope, from the Chorley area, is this year's British Champion and shared the English title with Bailey
A LITERARY and music festival is being held on September 22 and 23 at Turton Tower in a bid to save the historic house from closure. Friends of Turton Tower have organised the festival, called Cornucopia, to highlight the importance of the 15th century
COUNCILLORS will get their first chance to discuss plans for a new community centre in Nelson a week today. The plans for the multi-million pound scheme to create a theatre, cafe, function rooms and offices next to the newly-built Liberata building,
RESIDENTS and traders celebrated to mark the end of regeneration work in Darwen at the weekend. Coun Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, released 450 balloons to signify the £450,000 spent on Darwen's new
OVER three quarters of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in Blackburn said they could not keep up with ever changing employment law. A survey by Manchester-based employment law and HR consultancy Turner Parkinson found 76 per cent of respondents struggled
A BOY is appealing for sponsorship money as he swims the equivalent of the English Channel to raise money for charity. Gregory Birchenough has signed up to swim 22 miles in order to help raise in excess of £500,000 for ASPIRE, one of the UK's leading
ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman has threatened to wield the axe if his players don't buck their ideas up at both ends of the pitch. Stanley slumped to their third successive defeat at Lincoln City on Saturday, and Coleman pointed to a lack of
A DRUNKEN mother-of-three who beat up her partner has been given an 18-month community order. Burnley Magistrates had previously been told how Sharon Brooker, 42, had left victim Shaun Ellis with facial injuries and a bite mark on his chest. He had
STALLHOLDERS at Nelson's indoor market are set to take action over alleged unfair treatment. The traders are to present a petition to Pendle Council's Nelson committee protesting that the outdoor market stallholders, who use the area outside Nelson's
THE wet summer has brought one unwelcome visitor in record numbers - the slug. East Lancashire has seen an estimated 50 per cent increase in the slug population thanks to the damp weather providing them with perfect conditions. It is one of the highest
A LITTLE girl who was knocked down by a motorcycle as she played with friends is still critically ill in hospital. Aysha Rasool, three, of Lune Street, Colne, was been left with a fractured skull and swollen brain after she collided with the bike in
A TEENAGER who took part in an assault which left a man injured was said to have punched and kicked him. Burnley magistrates heard Adam Bracewell, 19, claimed he struck the victim once in the face and a 16-year-old then joined in the assault. Bracewell
THE parents of a man who was murdered in India say they are being kept 'in the dark' about the investigations surrounding his death. Michael Blakey, 23, of Mayfair Road, Pike Hill, was working for the Tong-Len Charitable Trust, helping refugee families
COUNCILLORS should seize their last chance to prevent a major gateway into Nelson from remaining an eyesore, planning officers said. Outline plans for 27 houses and 25 apartments at the former Lamberts timber store, Manchester Road, have already been
WORK on repairing one of Blackburn's most imposing Georgian townhouses - which has links to the town's first mayor - has begun. Currently home to the offices of Age Concern's Blackburn offices, 2 to 4 King Street was once the home of W H Hornby, a leading
A CHARITY in Nelson is set to benefit from a fun day featuring a range of events including a fancy dress run. The 5km Run for Life' race, organised by the Read Cricket Club, is the centrepiece of efforts to raise money for Rainbows at the Holden Centre
A campaigner has slammed a watchdog's decision which will see some maternity services moving away from mothers-to-be in Rossendale. Last week the announce-ment of two major NHS reviews - Healthy Futures and Making It Better - dealt a double blow to patients
A FOOTBALL-sized ostrich egg was the main ingredient as Bacup enjoyed its biggest-ever breakfast. The town's black pudding festival celebrated the best of Lancashire by cooking a giant full English, complete with a super-sized sausage, an ostrich egg
A CALL has been made to review the sale of East Lancashire school uniforms amid fears they cost too much. Uniforms for many schools in the area are specially branded and can only be bought from one shop. Now a senior councillor has called for a review
ORGANISERS of Foxhill Bank Nature Reserve celebrated the twentieth anniversary of saving the reserve from demolition. The event on Saturday at Lock Street Institute was a night of renewing old friendships made through working at the Oswaldtwistle site
THE ex-boyfriend of a former Whalley barmaid who was found dead in Australia has been charged with her murder. Ty Ronald Delavale, 25, was appearing before Perth Magistrates' Court today charged with killing Anya Patrice Campbell on August 1. Detectives
Lancashire skipper Mark Chilton is backing his side to recover from Sunday's Pro40 League loss to Worcestershire as they chase down vital Championship points at Kent. The Red Rose county are 28 points behind Division One leaders Yorkshire, but hold
FIRM Johnson Matthey Catalysts, West Bradford Road, Clitheroe, is adding an extension to its by-products building after proposals were given the go-ahead by Ribble Valley Council. The new extension will be 275 square metres and it was passed despite
AND so Bruno has conquered the Ice Queen, Rihanna has got her support act and the Beeb is going to have to find something else to fill its Saturday night schedules to replace DanceX. Truth to be told, the whole DanceX experience has been something of
LANCASHIRE'S farming leaders have welcomed the news that cattle markets will be back in business within a fortnight. Under the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' timetable for recovery following the foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey,
RE the letter regarding statins from Paul Canns of Help the Aged. Is he saying statins are a must have' tablet for anyone with heart problems? No Paul, what does for one does not do for everyone. Some people take statins without problems, others suffer
JUST 60 years after Indian Independence it's interesting to read and hear almost every day people, whose roots are in the Indian sub-continent, saying that . . . "there is no room for narrow nationalism in Britain". They seem to be unaware of what Pandit
I WRITE in response to the front page article on August 18 "Boy, 7, Held As Terror Suspect." The article makes a point that the boy was only seven, and that he therefore could not be a terrorist at such a young age. Reality dictates otherwise, and there
IN his rather incoherent rant against the Harry Potter books (LT, August 14), Councillor Salim Mulla manages to ignore a fact which the various responses (LT, August 18) do not quite encapsulate. This is a fact which has been normative for the whole
In a dramatic finish to this keenly-contested 'derby', Rossendale grabbed an equaliser from the penalty spot in the fourth minute of added time to leave both teams still unbeaten after three matches. It would have been tough on the Dale to have left
Clitheroe improved on the midweek performance against Bamber Bridge and created several second half chances but still failed to register the first win of the season against a dogged but beatable Wakefield side. The visitors took the lead on 18 minutes
BACUP'S injury list continues to grow as they lost to early pace-setters Flixton. Defender Wayne Jopson hurt himself in the warm-up and had to be replaced after 15 minutes, but by that time Borough were already a goal down when Paul Riley, on-loan from
LIAM Garbutt scored a hat-trick as Colne romped to victory. Garbutt scored twice and Ted Cockett added a third inside 12 minutes. Kevin Urwin scored on 20 minuted and Garbutt completed his treble hat-trick just after the hour mark
Ramsbottom produced a terrific performance to take maximum points from Atherton LR and move up to second in Division One. The Rams were unlucky not to take the lead within the first two minutes after Steve MacDonald saw a speculative shot cannon back
Nelson are still looking for their first point of the season as they lost to Winsford. Geoff Multon, just before the break, put the Blues into the lead but three second half goals saw United take all the points.
A RARE diary, giving an unique insight into life in World War One's trenches, has been transcribed by a history student for public use. An unknown soldier is responsible for the log, which gives an unflinching account of life on the Western Front from
LEADING 2-0 at half time with goals from Vinny Braine on 15 minutes and Gareth Baker on 16 minutes, Padiham ran out of steam in the second half allowing Ashton Athletic to grab a share of the points. Adam White got the home side back in to the game with
Darwen made it two home league wins out of two with this result, and moved up to seventh in the Vodkat League Division 2. The match was devoid of any meaningful action for the first 25 minutes, until Ben Stanford scored after Cheadle failed to clear
BURNLEY Football Club opened the Turf Moor gates to supporters to watch an open training session on Saturday, following the postponement of their home game with Queens Park Rangers. Fans took their seats to watch manager Steve Cotterill, assistant boss
WHEN Mark Hughes made his swoop for Roque Santa Cruz earlier this summer, there were some who questioned the Para-guayan's goalscoring record. But three goals and four appearances later, those sceptics are now eating large portions of humble pie following
Worcestershire Royals stay at the top of Division One of the Pro40 competition after they beat Lancashire Lightning at the County Ground in Taunton by six wickets. Stuart Law scored 50. Indian Test star VVS Laxman along with Dominic Cork, Laxman added
Blackburn Northern are the new leaders of the Veka Ribblesdale League senior division with just four games remaining. Northern's weekend double over reigning champions Clitheroe and Cherry Tree enabled them to leapfrog Baxenden by just two points. And
STAN TERNENT is clocking up the air miles in his new job as Birmingham's European scout. The former Burnley manager has been flying all over Europe in the past month as Blues boss Steve Bruce looks for new talent before the transfer window closes next
It was another glorious August afternoon, but the sunshine was the only thing that linked Accrington Stanley's trips to Wycombe and Lincoln City. Unlike on the opening day of the season, the Reds returned to East Lancashire with no points and no goals
BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes reckons his players have put down a marker for the rest of the season' following promising back to back performances against Arsenal and Everton. Hughes has been greatly encouraged by two battling 1-1 draws against sides with
BURNLEY manager Steve Cotterill says the club cannot look into re-arranging Saturday's postponed game against Queens Park Rangers until later this week. The Championship match was cancelled following the death of young QPR striker Ray Jones in a motor
A MAZDA 323 was burnt out on Dale Street, Accrington, this morning. An appliance from Accrington Fire Service was called to the scene at 5am and fire officers are treating the incident as suspicious. Police are looking at CCTV footage in the area.
THANK goodness they're almost over. Holidays are bad for you - and its not just the weather. Of course, when you're actually on holiday it's great. When you've settled into your hotel, cottage, caravan or tent and got into a routine of getting up when
A WOMAN was threatened with a kitchen knife in a robbery on a petrol station. The shop assistant was alone behind the counter at Texaco, Burnley Road, Whitegate, Burnley, when the man arrived at around 9.30pm on Friday. He held the knife to her and
BURNLEY have missed out on one of their transfer targets just days before the window closes at midnight on Friday. Manager Steve Cotterill was keen to keep the identity of the player under wraps, but admitted he was disappointed not to make him his seventh
AN LPG cylinder ignited last night on Hyndburn Road, Accrington, setting fencing panels alight. Two appliances from Accrington Fire Service were called to the incident at 8pm due to the dangerous nature of the gas. Nobody was injured in the incident
While their former con-temporaries have spent years splitting up or moping, the Welsh wonders have gone about becoming Britain's most innovative band. Hey Venus! pushes no boundaries but it is a collection of perfectly constructed pop nuggets.
When even the press release mentions that a single isn't a stand-out track from an album, questions must be asked. Questions like: why release a filler? Voxtrot are a delicate indie-rock band who have some great songs - like recent single Blood
Once best known for ABBA and Ace of Base, Sweden has recently developed quite a reputation for exporting quality alternative music. Little Dragon join Peter, Bjorn and John, Jose Gonzalez, Looptroop and a host of others in the Swedish takeover.
THE family of a baby who died while in the care of babysitters have vowed to launch a private prosecution if court bosses fail to bring her killer to justice. A year on from Courtney-Ann Shailes' death great aunt Jackie Davies said she would not give
MOTORISTS have discovered Blackburn parking attendants' blind spot. Traffic wardens, employed by the borough council, are usually alert to any driver who overstays their welcome on pay-and-display spaces. But motorists leaving their vehicles on a stretch
