HEALTH bosses have insisted they never turn women in labour away from East Lancashire hospitals. The figures, obtained from a freedom of information request by the Conservative party, showed that 40 per cent of hospitals in Britain had been forced
A GANG bundled a 14-year-old schoolboy into a car, drove him to a remote road, beat him up and abandoned him, a court heard. Burnley Crown Court had heard how during his ordeal the terrified victim was threatened with death, kicked, punched and hit with
DETECTIVES have thanked the public for their help after a burglar confessed to a sophisticated £60,000 raid on a Burnley store. Thieves escaped with the massive haul after breaking into the Teso Express branch, near Burnley General Hospital, on Casterton
BUDDING stylists from East Lancashire wowed the audience with some weird and wonderful looks at an annual hair and beauty contest. Students from Nelson and Colne College competed against each other at Colne Municipal Hall in front of specialist judges
A PERVERT who sexually abused a girl over a 12 month period has been jailed for six years. Steven Edwards, 48, threatened to kill the terrified victim if she did not undress and armed himself with a knife, Burnley Crown Court heard. His sordid campaign
Canon Andrew Hindley reflects on Maundy Thursday, the day when Christians are commanded to love one another. Today was a very busy day at the Cathedral. My main responsibility is the compiling and delivering of the worship so Holy Week is the most
AN EYEWITNESS has described a high-speed crash on the M65 that left two people in hospital. Anjam Javed stopped his car to block the traffic after the crash, on the westbound carriageway between junctions 11 Burnley and 12 Brierfield. The 43-year-old
There is a Mini-Links Baby Cafe at Haslingden Community Link on Fridays between 2- 3pm. and it's only 50p for tea and biscuits. The cafe is run by mums for mums with new babies so if you want to meet other new mums this is the place to be. All welcome
There are Easter Open Days at Cronkshaw Fold Farm, Alden Road, Helmshore on Sunday 23rd and Monday 24th March - WHATEVER THE WEATHER. There's an Easter chick hunt, get a chick hunters certificate, spring trail, feed lambs, collect eggs, feed hens lots
IT has been a week of bombshells for East Lancashire. First it was revealed that the Department of Transport had turned down plans to transform rail links between Blackburn and Manchester, with experts saying the news had dealt a major blow to the
COMMUNITY transport drivers from Pendle Council have passed NVQ qualifications. Drivers Simon Lucas, Hugh Magee, Dave Nuttall, John Pickles, and John Pitcher, who provide a door to door minibus service for people who have difficulty using ordinary transport
A VASE worth more than £3,000 was stolen from a Clitheroe shop as staff cleared a display cabinet to make room for it. Police are now viewing CCTV footage to try and trace the thief who took the 16-inch Moorcoft vase from Dawson's independent department
THE season Blackburn Rovers won the Premiership is to be celebrated in a specially-commissioned play. Shearer Or Me will be staged in May at the Thwaites Empire Theatre just a couple of hundred yards from Rovers Ewood Park ground. The theatre will
A DJ who played a 24-hour set for charity at a Burnley nightclub hopes to make more than £1,000 for Oxfam. Music marathon man Liam Veitch, 23, emerged tired but happy from his round-the-clock at the Fusion nightclub, Hammerton Street. The former Ivy
Find out at our free coffee morning at Great Harwood Library at 10.30am on Thursday 10th April. Elaine Aspin will be giving a talk on this ancient healing art.
A SERIES of 14 new walks have been marked out in parks across Hyndburn in a bid to improve the health of residents. The scheme aims to encourage more people to become active while improving facilities in seven parks in the area. Each walk has been marked
Parents and Carers why not bring your children to a fun event for all the family? There will be a resident artist to help you together make and then take away crafty things to bring favourite stories to life. Just drop-in between 2:00 and 5:00pm on Monday
BUILDING work has got underway on a key housing development which aims to regenerate one of Burnley's most deprived neighbourhoods. Residents were invited to turn the soil yesterday to mark work beginning on 65 new homes in the Cog Lane area of Burnley
A DRUNKEN customer punched a taxi windscreen so hard it cracked. Blackburn magistrates heard the driver knew the customer and would not have involved the police if he could have got an assurance the damage would be paid for. Daniel Peter Russett, 19
A MAN who confronted a group of youths had chemicals thrown in his face. The 44-year-old man felt a burning sensation and his doctor told him the liquid was probably one of the clubbing drugs, Amyl Nitrate or GHB. Police said the man was given treatment
SPORTS students at Nelson and Colne College are teaching sport to schoolchildren as part of their studies. The second year BTEC students have been attending Blacko Primary School every Wednesday to coach the children sporting activities as part of their
SIR Bill Taylor has been elected as chair of the board at Blackburn College. Sir Bill, 55, former Blackburn with Darwen Council leader, succeeds the outgoing the Rev Michael Wedgewood. Sir Bill has been associated with the college since 1981 when he
LANCASHIRE-born Last of the Summer Wine and Porridge actor Brian Wilde has died at the age of 80. Wilde played Foggy in the BBC comedy series Last of the Summer Wine and ineffectual prison officer Mr Barrowclough in Porridge. The actor's son, Andrew
THIS is an image of a conman who pretended he was from a local neighbourhood watch scheme to steal from an elderly woman. Police issued the evofit after the man struck three times over the last month including at the house of an 88-year-old pensioner
IRRITATING street buskers and meetings close to military training areas have been legalised - under the repeal of archaic laws. Justice Minister and Blackburn MP Jack Straw has had a spring clean out of the country's rule books and scrapped 328 Acts
AN MP has appealed to the Government to review the imminent closure of an East Lancashire tax office and save 120 local jobs. Plans for the closure of Accrington's HM Revenue and Customs office will see current staff being transferred to regional centres
A MAN was left with head injuries after being racially abused in a 'nasty and unprovoked attack', police said. The 26-year-old Asian man was walking along Brennand Street, in the Duke Bar area of Burnley, when he was approached by three white men who
SOUL music fans raised more than £200 for Pendleside Hospice at a charity event last Friday. Soul Time at Colne Muni celebrated the anniversary of regular soul nights at the theatre, as well as raising money for the hospice. Local music celebrities
FORGET all that nonsense you might have seen on TV - that's non league stuff compared to the Hot Ice Show's premier league entertainment. Once again one of Blackpool's favourite shows has come up trumps offering a show packed with spectacle and skill
Rossendale United got back to winning ways with an impressive 4-2 victory at high-flying Bamber Bridge. The home side took the lead through Salmon in the 13th minute, but Dale equalised in the 26th minute when Eastwood's, goalbound header was handled
THE roadworks that threatened the cancellation of the Circuit of Ingleborough were cleared in time for the Pendle Forest Cycling Club promotion to go ahead as normal on Saturday. From the 80 finishers, the fastest time of 1 hour 5 minutes 30 seconds
BILLINGTON rider Phil Blackmore is targeting a top five finish in this year's Derby Phoenix National Championships. And after fully recovering from an operation on his leg, he revealed he is feeling fitter than ever ahead of the first race this weekend
DAVE Holden made an excellent start in his defence of the Wirral 100 Championship, with a first and second at Anglesey. The Great Harwood flier missed out on the chequered flag in the first race by just 300ths of a second. But he hit back in the second
Karting star Jonathan Walker is hoping to learn from his mistakes during the first round of the Winning Series Karting championship at La Conca in Italy last weekend. The Peter De Bruijn Racing driver endured a disappointing WSK debut, qualifying at
The opening round of the Historic Rally Car Register's Clubmans Rally Championship, the Tour of Cheshire, attracted an entry of nearly 70 crews led away by last year's winners, Paul Hernaman and Ray Crowther in their 1972 Porsche 911. Organised by Knutsford
WHEN Steve Entwistle rolled over the startline of the Tour of Cheshire, it was with a sense of deja-vu. For the Rishton rallyman was at the wheel of the 1964 Mini Cooper S he first drove 12 years ago. Built up from a bare shell in 1996, Steve rallied
Former Lancashire captain Joe Blackledge has died at the age of 79. Blackledge, who also played for Chorley, was appointed captain of the county side in 1962. It was a surprising move by the county as he had no previous experience of first class cricket
PENDLE'S Ben Lindsay has been chosen to represent England in a Home International match to be held on the course of the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh. Lindsay represented the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team in the European Championships
Sophie Hitchon has smashed the United Kingdom U20 women's hammer record in only her second meeting of the season. With the track and field league season still weeks away, athletes are just beginning to take part in warm-up meetings as part of their final
NICOLA Breaks received the President's Award when Hyndburn Athletic Club held its annual presentation evening at Enfield Cricket Club. The talented all-rounder won the Senior Women's County Championship at the Lancashire Combined Events Champion-ships
A mature student is appealing for help in writing his thesis about British youth culture in the 1950s. Alan Haggart, who is studying social science at Blackburn College, would like information such as how young people were treated, how the culture has
A Darwen man has been jailed for trying to recover £2,000 worth of cocaine, believing it had been stolen from a friend in a burglary. Ryan Hammond, 26, of Blackburn Road, admitted offences of common assault, actual bodily harm assault, and two charges
TWO teenagers were attacked and had their mobile phones stolen as they walked through a park with friends. Robbers struck as the five youngsters were walking through Queen's Park, Blackburn, at around 6.30pm on Wednesday. One of the victims, a Polish
COUNCIL bosses have refused to "roll over" and subsidise a doomed bus service. Lancashire United, the private company that runs Blackburn with Darwen's bus network, has decided not to continue with the evening service on the eight and nine routes between
OLYMPIC gold medallist Sally Gunnell has backed a scheme which will make free sports facilities available to thousands of people in Blackburn and Darwen. The borough will become the first area in the country to offer free leisure for all, as part of
ONE-in-eight cars needs urgent mechanical attention to its brakes. This alarming claim comes after a Kwik-Fit study found that more than four million British motorists are currently experiencing one of the tell-tale signs of a dysfunctional braking system
THE Alfa Romeo 1935 6C 2300 Pescara Spyder, once owned by Benito Mussolini has been sold for a world record price of £550,000. A private buyer has paid over half a million pounds for Il Duce's Alfa - a record for that model. Damien Jones, spokesman
SO let's get this straight. The TV weather forecast is predicting all sorts of dire consequences, warning people to stay indoors and to batten down the hatches. There might not quite be a plague of frogs on the way but in other aspects it appears as
THE Bishop of Black-burn, the Rt Rev Nicholas Reade, is to lead the Church of England's work among deaf and disabled people. He succeeds the Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Rev Jack Nichols, as chairman of the committee for deaf and disabled people. The
WORK on East Lancashire's first university and college campus is taking shape. This image shows the progress on the £81million campus in Princess Way, Burnley, since the turf was cut in November. The project, part of the town's regeneration and
DARWEN MP Janet Anderson joined a jobs cut demonstration by East Lancashire workers outside Akzo Nobel's Amsterdam headquarters. Last month the Dutch-based company announced that more than 100 jobs were to go at the firm's Industrial Finishes site in
THIS 83-year-old photograph was found by a Looking Back reader in the back of a picture frame. It shows a pierrot troupe from 1925, from the Langho Colony, called the Blackwites'. Does anyone know anything about them, or recognise anyone here? The
THE first arts and crafts exhibition staged in Haslingden, back in 1965, was said to have exceeded all hopes in the quality and quantity of entries'. High spot of the exhibition was a display of more than 200 dolls. Dressed in a variety of costumes,
THE Chorley Pals Memorial has been awarded a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery. An appeal set up by MP Lindsay Hoyle, and Brindle historian Steve Williams, aims to raise £55,000 for a suitable memorial to the 215 men from the town who joined
THE question has often been posed about how to tackle poor health. Today health and council bosses have come up with an unexpected answer. They are making the use of all leisure facilities - with the exception of football pitches and two gyms - free
FIREFIGHTERS were called to a property in Nelson after an arson attack. A crew from Nelson was called to the semi-detached property in Regent Street, used as a residential home for young people, at 9pm on Tuesday, after arsonists stuffed burning material
THROUGHOUT police questioning the perverted vicar never showed an "ounce of remorse", officers investigating the case said. The allegations first came to light after members of his own family became concerned about what they found on his computer. The
COUNCILLORS and politicians said Labour MPs should be "ashamed" after they failed to oppose the Government on the latest round of Post Office closures. In East Lancashire, 24 branches face the axe as the Government tries to stave off losses of £4m-a-week
A 30-year-old woman clai-med she had taken a taxi home from the pub when police responded to a report from a neighbour that she had crashed into a parked car. Blackburn magistrates heard that Clare Alexandra Sagar was initially charged with perverting
THE mum of a schoolgirl whose life was transformed by a device that stops her stammering says she hopes her daughter has raised awareness of the condition. Natalie Riley, who is 11, from Blackburn, became the youngest person in the country to have a
PARISHIONERS were left shocked after the Rev Paul Battersby asked them to write letters of support in an attempt to reduce his sentence. The vicar told parishioners at St Ambrose Church, Leyland, that he needed them to write to his solicitor
BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder David Bentley has been included in the England squad to face France in a friendly next week. And David Beckham will be hopeful of winning his 100th cap in Paris next week after he was also included in Fabio Capello's provisional
Jimmy Anderson is hoping to savour a significant triumph in the final Test against New Zealand after fearing his comeback for England could be cut short by a freak injury. The Lancashire seamer enjoyed a stunning return for the second Test at Wellington
A JURY has been discharged from giving verdicts in a case where a "naked" man allegedly groped a teenage girl in a bath. Judge Andrew Woolman discharged the jury follow-ing more than a day's deliberations at the end of a week-long trial at Burnley Crown
A WANTED man has handed himself into police and is due to appear before magistrates. Matthew Robert Magee, 21, from Blackburn, walked into Accrington police station yesterday. He was wanted for allegedly breaching a community order given for an assault
IT IS being said by Conservative leader David Cameron that they will double the number of health visitors. He says this will help families. The ignorance displayed in these comments of what health visitors actually do is astounding. We are one of the
Want to try your hand at making something arty? Perhaps you have a birthday or special occsion coming up but you're tired of the usual shop offerings. Come along to the Rainhall Centre on Saturday April 5th, and experience the Arts and Crafts Fair
A WORKER had to be rescued after getting trapped in a pipe at a factory when he suffered back pain. The 27-year-old, who was working as a contractor for Castle Cement at its site in West Bradford Road, Clitheroe, became stranded after his back "went"
England star Andrew Flintoff produced a smooth bowling return as Lancashire thrashed Sussex by 109 runs in a Pro Arabian Cricket Challenge day-nighter on Wednesday. Flintoff marked his maiden venture with ball in hand for six months by claiming a couple
SWISS star Johann Vogel played against Mark Hughes in the early part of his career - now he admits he can't wait to play for him. And the 31-year-old midfielder revealed it was the Welshman's footballing philosophy that convinced him to sign a two-and-a-half-year
Anger over plans to close 2,500 post offices sparked a Labour revolt last night that saw the Government's Commons majority slashed in a crunch vote. One leading backbench critic claimed as many as 20 colleagues had backed a Tory call for the suspension
A GIRL with mobility difficulties has been described as "awe-inspiring" by her mother after pledging to complete the Race for Life in memory of her father. Caitlin Jones, of Somerset Avenue, Darwen has endured a traumatic six months. But the brave 12
A WORKER had to be rescued after getting trapped in a pipe at a factory when he suffered back pain. The 27-year-old, who was working as a contractor for Castle Cement at its site in West Bradford Road, Clitheroe, became stranded after his back "went"
FREE leisure facilities in Blackburn and Darwen have been hailed as a "one of a kind" initiative by Sport England. The borough is the first of the kind to drop charges for sport and exercise. Sport England awards funds from the National Lottery in a
WE WOULD like to thank Malcolm Blake and Sandra of Asda, Blackburn, for their generous donation of duvets to Maundy Relief. We appreciate this gesture so very much and this support and encouragement renews our energy to continue forging ahead in sometimes
CAN MP Gordon Prentice find something nearer home or better still nearer this century to throw his weight behind? If we are perfectly honest, most people are not one bit interested about the pardon of the Pendle Witches. We are more concerned about the
IN REPLY to Mrs D Clark's letter (LT, March 17) about greedy pensioners, may I state I have paid insurance stamps, tax and superannuation most of my life and I have nowhere near the £400 a week she speaks of. I get the full old age pension and a small
STEVE Jones marked his return from injury by scoring the winner against Chester City reserves last night. The striker hasn't featured for two months since limping out of the win at Coventry City with knee ligament damage. But he stepped up his recovery
A GRIM forecast of Arctic winds and snow is expected over much of the country this weekend, but Lancashire is expected to escape the worst of it. However the Met Office says people from Lancashire should still stay alert to changes in the forecast.
THOUSANDS of people are set to flock to Burnley this Easter weekend to join in the 20th anniversary celebration of the Burnley Blues Festival. And organisers of this year's event believe it will be one of the most successful ever. The event starts today
DETERMINED Burnley manager Owen Coyle believes the Deepdale derby will provide the perfect tonic as his side bids to reignite their play-off ambitions. Despite slipping to their first home defeat of 2008 against fellow play-off challengers Wolves, the
ACCRINGTON Stanley assistant Jimmy Bell has revealed the club is close to extending the loan deals of Darran Kempson, Andy Mangan and Aswad Thomas. And he said they are still keen to land a striker and another defender before the window closes a week
BLACKBURN Rovers captain Ryan Nelsen has admitted he let his team-mates down as he battled against a niggling hamstring injury. But, after coming through an hour for the reserves earlier this week, the big Kiwi has revealed he is close to returning to
THE lady said: "Bring back National Service, Mr Straw. That would sort them." I'd met her on Saturday last; she'd been listening to one of my open-air meetings. The "them" were young people who had been causing trouble in her neighbourhood. This lady
A FATHER has paid a moving tribute to his son - who wanted nothing more than a career in the armed services - but lost a tragic battle against drug addiction. When Jonathan Pascoe, 22, was accepted to join the RAF it was the realisation of a lifelong
THE story of Les Skifflettes, with their wash boards and tea chest bass, proved a big hit with Looking Back readers. We've now identified the seven young men, with their quiffs and neck ties, thanks to Harold Russell, also known as Russ D'Lacy or Russ
Someone, or a group of people, have done an excellent job of clearing all the accumulated litter from the 'Fir Trees'. It's like a new pin up there now!! Well done, whoever it was. With Easter here (all be it rather early) no doubt the campers and drinkers
DETECTIVES have issued CCTV stills of motorcyclists they want to quiz about a raid on a Rossendale credit union. Staff were confronted by two knifeman, demanding cash at Rawtenstall Credit Union in Queen Street last Friday, at around 10am. The pair
THE moment Burnley FC's blimp was set free has been revealed in a video uploaded onto a website. And police believe the footage on YouTube will lead them to the person responsible for un-tethering the airship-style balloon. The blimp went missing in
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has described the ICC's decision to allow controversial umpire Darrell Hair back into Test cricket as a "shocker" and asked for the issue to be reviewed. "It has come as a shocker to me," Inzamam said. "What
BRICKS, shopping trolleys and even a table tennis table are just some of the things that have been thrown into the path of oncoming trains in Lancashire in the past year. Now British Transport Police has launched a crackdown on this type of vandalism
AN EAST Lancashire celebrity chef is to appear on television tonight as he bids to prove that Lancashire food is best. Nigel Howarth, who owns Northcote Manor, Langho, and the Three Fishes at Mitton with business partner Craig Bancroft, will be on The
LEISURE facilities in Blackburn and Darwen are to become free in a ground-breaking bid to tackle the borough's poor health. The area will become the first place in the country to drop charges for swimming, sport and fitness activities. Council and health
A BUS driver who befriended a passenger on a school bus and then repeatedly had sex with her has been jailed for four years. Ivan King, 54, of Padiham Road, Burnley, gave the girl presents after meeting her when she started using his bus when she was
BOSSES of Pendle Rise shopping centre, Nelson, are to meet councillors to discuss its future. Managers revealed that talks were set to take place after councillors called for them to step out of the shadows'. Bosses said their plans, which included
