HAVING followed the saga of the supertanker, the Sea Empress, that ran aground, ruptured her tanks and did untold damage to the environment, I learn that 80 per cent of pollution and spillages comes from ships sailing under flags of convenience, such
GIANT striker Ian Helliwell has undergone keyhole surgery and will miss a vital part of Burnley's Second Division campaign. Helliwell was substituted mid-way through the second half in the shocking 3-0 defeat at Hull City on Saturday. The surgery was
DAVID Pearson treats us to a flow of anecdotes from what one imagines is Tory Party chairman Brian Mawhinney's bumper fun book on how to "smoke out" Labour. One of these (Letters, February 19) is about Pendle MP Gordon Prentice opening some function connected
FAMILIES fled their homes and a factory was evacuated in a major gas leak in Clayton-le-Moors. Police alerted residents in a row of houses near the motorway bridge in Whalley Road as gas built up to danger level in their homes. And 150 workers at Jas
BLACKBURN took advantage of Tynemouth's slowness after their long trip and opened the scoring three minutes into the game when Michael Cooper tidied up from a short corner. It looked as though Blackburn would at last show dominance over one of the weaker
A SOCIAL centre in Nelson due for the axe has been given another chance. Alternative uses for Walverden Social Centre in Brunswick Street are to be looked at in a bid to stave off demolition. The centre was an aged persons' centre until 1991. It was used
A FRAIL old lady was laying in hospital today after being attacked by a gang of teenagers. Youngsters "steaming'' through Burnley's Woolworth's store flattened 84-year-old Ethel Margerison leaving her on the floor in agony. She suffered a broken elbow
IREAD with great interest the "old chestnut" put forward by Liberal Democrat Chris Thayne (Letters, February 23) on the misrepresentation of the people and his party's way of achieving its interpretation of democracy through proportional representation
CENTENARIAN Rosetta Stevens was celebrating her 100th birthday with friends at Newhaven nursing home in Darwen today. Rosetta, or Rose to her friends, arrived in Darwen from Cornwall during the World War Two when she worked at the ROF. But Rose liked
A MOTHER suffered burns as she rescued her two children from their burning home early today. It is thought the fire was caused by a toddler playing with matches. Collette Harvey, 20, awoke to find her bed on fire and the room at her home in Leyland Road
ACCRINGTON'S successful crackdown on street crime has been held up at Westminster as an example for other towns to follow. Hyndburn MP Greg Pope has said that the recipe of closed circuit TV cameras, community safety wardens and police vigilance is the
DURING the spell of bad weather in early February Mr F Rostron of Manchester Road, Accrington, rang me at the Evening Telegraph offices to tell me that he had found a baby hare and which looked as if it was dying. I told him to contact Trevor Smith, who
THE Home Secretary's recent statements about the need to "crack down" on the perpetrators of violent crime are, with a general election on the horizon, seen by many as no more than electioneering. The legislation to deal with acts of violence is already
REGARDING the proposed "sell off" of Hyndburn Transport, what a lot of hot air these councillors generate and I expect we have much more to endure yet. Couns Britcliffe, Slynn etc, have all my sympathies but must they air their grievances in public? It's
ANGRY students at a troubled college were planning a massive lunchtime march on Accrington town centre today in protest over job cuts at their college. And art students are also taking legal advice because they believe job cuts will affect their studies
EAST Lancashire MP Janet Anderson today moved to set up a national register of child sex perverts aimed at preventing them getting jobs working with youngsters. She has tabled amendments to the government's new Sexual Offences Bill calling for the establishment
SOCCER fever has hit Clitheroe . . . and the whole town has caught it. The local team is on the road to Wembley and it won't be just the Shawbridge faithful who will be following their fortunes but, it seems, just about everyone. Clitheroe FC is just
A MURDER victim's distraught mother has made an emotional appeal for an end to the knife culture sweeping Britain. Mary Hamilton spoke of her heartache as 30-year-old Alison McDonald, from Elizabeth House, Blackburn, began a life-sentence for stabbing
PLANS to shut Blackburn's internationally acclaimed museum every morning are being bitterly opposed. Friends of Blackburn Museum say councillors must think the borough's residents are Philistines. The council aims to slash almost £250,000 from the community
A POLICE constable faces a disciplinary hearing and possible dismissal after a visiting soccer fan complained about him. The Sunderland supporter has claimed the officer, who has not been named, used excessive force by taking him in a neck-hold in an
UNION Jacks flew in East Lancashire today as the families of servicemen celebrated the end of the fighting. As the news sunk in relieved mums, dads, wives and husbands began planning welcome home parties. Thousands of Lancastrians were serving in the
A GANG of youths "steaming" through a Burnley store flattens a frail, 84-year-old woman, leaving her in agony with a broken elbow and a fractured hip. Such an outrage may be a symptom of the sick times in which we live, but it must be addressed by the
IWONDER if there are any families of the name of Forsyth in the East Lancashire area? The Clan Forsyth Society, based in Scotland, is holding its annual gathering on Saturday, June 8, 1996, at the Crieff Hydro Hotel, Crieff, Perthshire, and would like
WEEPING in the dock, British teacher Sandra Gregory wails: "It's unfair." as a court in Thailand jails her for 25 years for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the country. It may be of no comfort to her, but the fact is that there will be little sympathy
IF NOT a complete U-turn, then Labour's admission that comprehensive education is a failure only just falls short of a total turnaround. For they plan to leave the system notionally intact but promise to cure its shortcomings by making schools specialise
A CRAMPED health centre has become so overcrowded that staff are being forced to treat patients in the kitchen! And the congestion at Darwen Health Centre has led to frustrated workers telephoning patient watchdogs in tears. Health workers and GPs have
GUTSY Darwen were unlucky not to share the spoils after pushing Bootle all the way at Bucks Park. Lee Steele gave the home team the lead in the 20th minute after Keith Vincent's initial effort was blocked by a Darwen defender. Seven minutes later Darwen
BAKERY shop manager Elaine Bottomley is celebrating after achieving a National Vocational Qualification that allows her to assess the training of other shop staff. Elaine, from Burnley, manages the Accrington shop of Greggs, the North West bakers who
A NATIONAL drive to urge people to join a national register of organ donors has been backed by Burnley Football Club. Regional health bosses wrote to every soccer club in the North West asking them to promote the donor register. And on-the-ball Burnley
BLACKBURN Hawks entertain Solihull Barons at the Arena tonight (face-off 8pm) without player-coach Ryan Kummu. But manager Mike Cockayne laughed off suggestions that Kummu is about to quit the Ice Hockey Division One high-flyers. Kummu misses the last
A DRIVER was killed and two other people were taken to hospital after a car and a lorry were involved in a smash on the A59 today. The driver of a Volkswagen Golf estate car is believed to have been dead on arrival at Blackburn Royal Infirmary. Two people
MORE and more students are choosing to stay at home when they do degrees, and a special college open day showed them what to expect. With student grants getting smaller and smaller, degrees at local colleges are getting more and more popular. So Blackburn
BURNLEY Health Trust has come under new attack at Westminster over its £245,000 pay-off to Maggie Aikman. The decision to give her the massive golden handshake from her job as chief executive, after a row with trust chairman James Rawson, is cited as
ROCKETING prescription charges forced Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate and a local government candidate to take to the streets of Ramsbottom. David Chaytor, a councillor on Calderdale Council, and Sheila Barnes, a former Ramsbottom Urban District
HOSPITAL bosses have been unable to fill a staggering 27 nursing posts at Calderstones, Whalley. The staff shortage is becoming a worsening headache for Calderstones NHS Trust. Figures revealed today in a report to the trust board say there were 27 vacant
LUCAS Industries plc, the international automotive and systems supplier which employs hundreds of people in East Lancashire, is celebrating a new multi-million contract with Ford. The contract is to supply the braking system for a future new Ford vehicle
