IT was six o'clock on a May morning and Auckland residents had good reason to suspect Grant Lightbown had finally flipped, writes BRIAN DOOGAN. Driving down Takapuna Avenue, clad in an obscure blue-and-white shirt, Lightbown could be heard chanting "Only
POLITICIANS and union leaders rounded on United Utilities today in the wake of 1,700 job losses and news of price rises for water and electricity. The firm's announcement stunned the 14,000-strong workforce and unions warned of strike action if any of
THERE is something of a fudge about the government's plans that might restore grammar schools in every large town. Nonetheless, with this scheme, it may beat Labour for the parents' votes on education. The fudge, of course, is that it is bringing back
HAVING long revelled in John Major's discomfiture at the hands of Tory Euro-rebels, Tony Blair today gets a disconcerting glimpse of the future with him as Prime Minister - and hostage to a band of anti-Europeans on his back benches. For, timed for today's
ABATTOIRS in East Lancashire today revealed they have joined a nationwide campaign against bills charged for compulsory meat inspections. Wiswell Moor Meat, of Whalley, and butcher James Law, of Bacup, are both refusing to pay the bills, which add up
THERE won't be any Oscars handed out for Ewood performances tomorrow. But, according to Chorley-based David Unsworth, central defenders may well be susceptible to a few grey hairs. For tomorrow's Premiership showdown between Blackburn Rovers and Everton
GASKELL plc which employs more than 500 at its East Lancashire textile plants has seen profits rise by 13 per cent. The carpets and textiles firm increased pre-tax profits last year to £807,000 on turnover of £39.1 million despite difficult trading conditions
SUPERMARKET customers in Burnley are being asked to stick the boot in - and take a small step towards helping the world's poor. Shoe and boot collection bins are in place at Sainsbury's and people are being asked drop off their old footwear. It is all
AID worker John Boast today pleaded not guilty to smuggling a 15-month-old baby out of Romania. The former Great Harwood businessman is accused of "complicity" in the events leading to the girl being handed to a Yorkshire couple at an M1 service station
BAR takings at Burnley Mechanics are heading for a frothy £62,000 operating profit for the year, councillors have been told. But the performance of the centre's catering section will be harder to digest, with a £17,000 loss in prospect for the 12 months
I TOTALLY agree with the comments made by Mr S Adam (Letters, March 20) about Blackburn prospective Tory candidate Geeta Sidhu. Firstly, in my opinion, Blackburn Conservative Party is playing the race card in selecting an Asian person to be their prospective
THUGS are putting lives of rail passengers in jeopardy as they continue to wreak havoc on a line. In the latest incident, stones were placed between line points at Gannow Junction, Burnley. British Transport Police say the stones could derail trains on
POLLUTION inspectors have been called into Clitheroe's Castle Cement plant after a spillage of the controversial Cemfuel in the early hours. A full investigation by staff at the Ribblesdale factory and officials from the Inspectorate of Pollution will
NIGHTCLUB bosses are desperately seeking a former go-go dancer called Wendy Lee. Wendy was one of the original podium dancers at the old Cavendish club, now Peppermint Place, in the mid-Seventies. Now Peppermint Place is about to be re-named Utopia in
TEACHERS failed to contact the mother of an eight-year-old boy who was in a playground accident even though she was helping out in another part of the school. Now Mrs Sandra Eden and her husband Keith, are calling for a policy review because they say
TURF Moor player-boss Adrian Heath stands by for action against Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park tomorrow with new loan signings - Tottenham's Paul Mahorn and Barnsley defender Charlie Bishop - also in contention for a first team start. Heath was delighted
ON any other market day the cattle stalls are full, buyers are vying for the best animals and you would have to shout to get yourself heard over the clamour of man and beast. But Gisburn Auction Mart yesterday was like a ghost town. As the mad cow disease
A FRIGHTENED woman cashier at a building society handed over money to a robber who claimed he had a gun. The robbery happened when the Rosegrove office of the Marsden Building Society, Burnley, opened at 9.30am today and the scruffy robber escaped with
HOW can you tell that the local elections are around the corner? Read the Lancashire Evening Telegraph and the letters from messrs David Pearson and Walt Meadows, who are continually bleating about the so-called mismanagement of the ruling Labour Council
COUNCIL tenants in Brunshaw, Burnley, are all set to take over responsibility for the day-to-day running of their estate. The formal agreement, to be signed in the splendour of Towneley Hall on Tuesday, will be the first in the north and one of the first
MORE and more villagers are joining a campaign opposed to a new housing development in Tockholes. Howard Sidlow, commercial artist, moved into the village just a year ago and was horrified to read of the proposals for a 55-house estate off Long Lane on
A GANG of soccer hooligans laid siege to a Blackburn pub and caused more than £1,000 worth of damage. The Stoke City supporters rained house bricks through the windows of the Brewers Arms, Great Bolton Street, while terrified drinkers dived for cover.
CANAL engineers rushed to Blackburn after the embankment started to shift next to the new Asda superstore. Trippers were hit with Easter misery as the engineers closed the stretch of water which runs past the town's Waterside development at Lower Audley
ALAN Harper admits he was combing the odd grey hair after two weeks as Burnley's youth team coach ! Harper successfully stepped into the breach after Terry Pashley was appointed as Clive Middlemass' right hand man and admits he enjoyed every minute of
BLACKBURN Hawks players figured prominently in the British Ice Hockey Writers Awards announced today in 'Powerplay' magazine, the award sponsor. Coach Ryan Kummu, expected to line up for Super League Cardiff next year, and forward Steve Chartrand were
CAN readers help in locating former shipmates who served in HMS Dainty between 1933 and 1969? The HMS Dainty Association held its first reunion in 1994. A second will take place at Butlin's Southcoast World, Bognor Regis from November 8-11 this year.
DOUBLE World Champion Carl Fogarty is setting his sights on a third World Superbike title in a row. The Blackburn hero, speaking at the official launch of his 1996 season at Peppermint Place nightclub yesterday said: "I'm going for a third title - that's
ON January 29, in the core of a nuclear reactor at Heysham Two power station, a fuel rod became stuck. The cave could have become overheated, leading to the possibility of a meltdown. We are informed that this was a 'one-off'. Three Mile Island, Chernobyl
CLEARED murder suspect Martin Haggan today spoke of his months of living hell locked up for a brutal killing he did not commit. And the 23-year-old vowed he would sue police after spending more than a year in prison awaiting trial. Yesterday a jury took
A NEW club aimed at building links between schools and industry has been launched. Blackburn College has started a special Business Club which will allow Year 10 and 11 pupils from local schools to take on a special project set by a company. Tony Reynolds
SPORTING kickboxers put a smile on the face of a six-year-old when they performed an athletic demonstration and raised cash to buy him a walking frame. Ivan Stafford, of Arran Avenue, Blackburn, has suffered from cerebral palsy since he was two-and-a-half
LANCASHIRE County Council has been praised by the district auditor for its handling of management and accounts. The law requires an audit to be carried out each year and the results of the 1994/95 examination were presented to the council this week. The
ONLY one in four voters bothered to turn out in the rain to elect the latest member of Pendle Council. Shop steward Gary Rowland was elected Labour councillor for Marsden Ward, Nelson, after polling 577 votes. The Liberals' Shaun White was second with
WORRIED farmers across East Lancashire have backed calls for older cattle to be destroyed to renew public confidence in British beef. A crisis meeting of farming representatives held at the National Farmers' Union regional headquarters in Skelmersdale
WHILE I agree with the sentiment of the firearms collector (Letters, March 22) about Dunblane, I do not agree with what he says about public opinion. Public opinion is formed by the likes of John Blunt. If he cannot win in a reason- able discussion, he
ALAN Shearer won't gamble on his long-term fitness if he has any doubts about the groin strain which threatens to wreck his 100 per cent appearance record for Blackburn Rovers. The England striker, who missed the midweek international, is desperately
PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice today backed a Labour backbench rebellion over Europe which has sparked a new crisis for Tony Blair. He is one of 50 Labour MPs expressing outright opposition to joining a single currency in defiance of official policy. The backbenchers
