Archive

  • Farmers' greed to blame

    EVEN before the outcome of the inquiry into the Mad Cow disease scare, the farmers are talking of compensation if herds have to be culled. Surely, it was the farmers' greed in feeding unnatural substances to the cattle in the first place that caused all

  • Health chiefs appointed

    FIVE local people have been picked to help make the decisions which will influence the healthcare of East Lancashire's 500,000 population. Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell today announced the appointments of the non-executive members of the newly-formed

  • Heath looks to go Dutch

    GOLBETROTTER Adrian Heath is heading for the continent - for a spot of Euro-shopping. The Clarets player-boss is planning a flying visit to either Germany or Holland on Sunday to check out two potential targets. And I understand he already has a Dutch

  • Tax demand outrageous

    THE increase of 17 per cent in Council Tax is a downright insult to the residents of Blackburn. It's time people started to question these outrageous demands. After all, it's our hard-earned money and, as taxpayers, we should have a say in how it is spent

  • Thieves face being caught on camera

    TELEVISION cameras could soon be rolling in Darwen town centre soon in a bid to beat thieves and vandals. Blackburn Council has joined with Lancashire Police to bid for almost £88,000 of government cash towards a £341,000 scheme for a 24-hour closed circuit

  • School dinner staff to ballot

    NEARLY one third of school dinner staff may strike in a row over pay. Public service union UNISON has started balloting members employed by BET Catering Services in Lancashire school kitchens. If its 900 members decide to take industrial action, dinners

  • East Lancs suffers summertime blues

    EAST Lancashire suffered a bout of the summertime blues during last year's heatwave, according to new figures from the Samaritans. The Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley branch of the Samaritans received most calls in the hot summer months, reaching

  • Continental puzzle

    WHY are continental meat importers buying our calves? Some experts say the cows can pass on the disease to the calf. That implies they are either taking a risk or they don't believe British experts. Does no continental country have this disease or are

  • Chicken prices soar by 30 per cent

    CHICKEN prices across East Lancashire are soaring as the BSE crisis deepens - with worse to come. And a major row blew up today after the Government slapped writs on two local firms for unpaid hygiene inspection bills. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries

  • Rare treasure found

    GRAVEDIGGERS at Pleasington Cemetery were amazed to find someone had got there first - around 3,000 years ago! Grant Higson stopped work immediately his digger uncovered pottery fragments which turned out to be part of a Bronze Age burial urn. Blackburn

  • Rovers boss Harford set to swoop for Grimsby star Croft

    RAY Harford (pictured) is poised to make another transfer market swoop before tomorrow's deadline, with Grimsby defender Gary Croft top of the Blackburn Rovers manager's hit-list. Harford h1as been stepping up his search for more new blood in the past

  • More are falling out with bosses

    RECORD numbers of workers are falling out with their employers. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) today reported that it had been involved in more than 14,432 employment rights cases in 1995 - a 33 per cent rise on 1994. But around

  • The good old days back at Hall

    THE good old days of Music Hall are to be re-created in Blackburn. A series of afternoon shows will roll back the years at Blakey's Bar in King George's Hall. They are the brainchild of local entertainments organiser Alf Wright, who has put them on with

  • Lottery shop raises stakes

    LOTTERY fever is being fuelled in Blackburn with the launch of a new lottery-only outlet in the Shopping Centre. Norwich Enterprises, owned by William Hills, has opened a purpose-built outlet in Cobden Court with two computer terminals selling tickets

  • A healthier way to eat

    BEEF sales will surely plummet even further as people heed the warnings over mad cow disease. But those who are truly concerned with family healthy would do better to avoid meat altogether. Meat-eating has been conclusively linked with the nation's top

  • St Mary's celebrates milestone

    A DOUBLE celebration was in order for St Mary's Church, Burnley, when a special Mass was held to mark the 150th anniversary of the present church and the work of Canon Francis Deeney. Canon Deeney was parish priest for 24 years until he took over at St

  • Brewery is all keyed up

    WHITBREAD'S Samlesbury brewery has been given the key of the door! A key to the new Marriott Hotel in Preston has been lodged with the brewery to symbolise it is open for business 24 hours a day. VIPs including Tom Finney attended the ceremony to hand

  • Student poverty takes its toll

    ONE in three students miss lectures as they struggle to make ends meet with part-time jobs. A survey carried out by the National Union of Students and the GMB general union also revealed one in eight part-time jobs pay less than £3 per hour. The findings

  • New role for Paul

    PAUL Heinicke of Burnley has been appointed human resources manager for RefugeLife. Paul, has spent 20 years working for the Wilmslow-based group and has previously been business systems manager and head of administration for the financial firm. He will

  • Farms pioneer blazed a trail

    TRIBUTES have been paid to a man who dragged East Lancashire's agriculture into the 20th century. Harry Mudd, who transformed part of the countryside with his pioneering farming methods, died at the age of 81. Mr Mudd, who lived at Preston New Road, Mellor

  • Group profits rise by 25%

    MEGGITT plc, which employs more than 200 at its sites in Blackburn, has announced a 25 per cent profits leap. The company, whose interests range from bullet proof vests to aeroplane components, made £18.3 million before tax last year on an increased turnover

  • GOLF: Amateur dramatics

    CRACK Clitheroe golfers Stuart Andrew and Paul Dwyer beat their club pro, John Twissell, and his assistant, Ian Taylor, when they turned out for Lancashire in a friendly match against the county PGA at Childwall. It was a coincidence that the pairs were

  • Is u-turn enough?

    WITH the EU insisting on its worldwide ban on British beef and public confidence in free-fall, the government had no option today other than to do a U-turn and commence the slaughter of thousands of cattle in a bid to beat Mad Cow disease. The next question

  • Falling crime doesn't come on the cheap

    DESPITE the doubts and qualifications that may be applied to the latest crime figures for England and Wales, the broad summary that last year's overall drop of 2.4 per cent in recorded offences is part of a heartening downward trend cannot be dismissed

  • Newsquest buys five new titles

    NEWSQUEST Media Group, owners of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph and Citizen newspapers, has strengthened its position in the region by acquiring five new local papers. Newsquest has bought the Bury Times and four other titles in the Bury and Prestwich

  • Crash pair cut free

    FIREFIGHTERS cut free two women from a car after an accident in Rossendale Road, Burnley. No-one was seriously injured in the two-car crash at the junction with Accrington Road. The accident involved a Ford Fiesta driven by Glyn Carlin, 24, of Elmwood

  • Dave's bangers are a smash

    BUTCHER Dave Paintin landed two top awards when he entered a national sausage competition. 47-year-old Dave who runs a shop in Whalley Road, Accrington, was up against skilled sausage makers from across the country at the Foodex Meatex Competition held

  • Lottery bid for better parks

    COUNCIL chiefs are crossing their fingers and hoping to get lucky with a bid for lottery cash to improve parks in Blackburn and Darwen. The Heritage Lottery Fund is giving priority to urban parks programmes over the next three years and the council is

  • Drugs video depicts downward decline

    A HARD-hitting video depicting the downward decline into drug addiction has been praised by Lancashire drug agencies and senior churchmen. The Devil's Candy is the latest production by the Rev Lawrie Adam, Video Production Coordinator for the Church of

  • NSPCC hit by charity fakers

    BOGUS charity workers are claiming to be collecting goods for the NSPCC. Residents in Hyndburn and possibly Blackburn have received notices through their doors asking them to fill dustbin liners with second-hand items, but now the East Lancashire branch

  • Mum's fury over choice of school

    A MUM has vowed to keep her daughter from school unless she can go to the secondary school of her choice. More than 300 children in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, moving from primary to secondary school have not been allocated their preferred school.

  • Daylight town centre attack on driver

    A TERRIFIED truck driver was beaten and robbed in broad daylight after stopping to ask directions in a busy town centre street, it was revealed today. The 41-year-old victim stopped his vehicle in Montague Street, Blackburn, and approached four youths

  • Tales of the riverbank

    THE long, hot summer of 1995 and chilly winter of 1996 have been interesting for those who love rivers and their wildlife. I am writing these notes on the first day of spring, which feels still to be in the depths of winter. During the summer I spent

  • No justification for possessing guns

    HOW can I justify continuing my collecting of firearms following the recent unspeakably evil act perpetrated at Dunblane? writes "Name and address supplied." (Letters, March 22). Quite simply: You can't! Having lived nearly two decades in a culture where

  • 'Train dogs to use loos!'

    DOG owners have been urged to help solve a school's messy problem - by training their pets to use the loo! Two special 'doggie toilets' have been built in a bid to wipe out the dog mess which lies around Griffin Park Primary School, Blackburn. Worried

  • BAMBER BRIDGE 1 ACCRINGTON STANLEY 1: Point proven!

    STANLEY fully deserved a point at league leaders Bamber Bridge in a much improved performance. The home side dominated the early play with Rob Mulloy making a superb diving save from a Steve Senior header on 24 minutes. It was Senior who gave Bridge the

  • Sign up to help plant trees

    TREE lovers are being urged to sign up to help create a new forest for the next century. Burnley Council hope to collect 10,000 signatures in support of their £1.3 million bid to the Millennium Commission. If successful, the money will be used to plant

  • Parkes waits to check on injured Shearer

    THE groin strain which has forced Alan Shearer out of tonight's England game is not thought to be a serious problem. He has been having treatment on and off for a couple of weeks and, possibly thinking about Rovers as well as giving someone else a chance

  • Society wins top award

    A LANCASHIRE building society has won a top industry award. The Chorley & District Building Society won third place in the Top Lender of the Year Awards for the lowest interest rates charged over a ten year period. "An important point with these awards