YOU report (LET, November 4) that Pendle's Labour MP, Gordon Prentice, "was in Barnoldswick and Colne to distribute leaflets and to talk to residents" about the County Council's threat to fire engines in Colne and Barnoldswick. Yes, he did turn up in
BATTLING baby Kane Sutcliffe is one in 5,000 children to be born with the rare disorder golden har. He has already undergone a seven and-a-half hour open heart operation when he was just three weeks old, and had a tracheotomy and a feeding tube fitted
A TERRIFIED teenage girl was left stranded alone on the hard shoulder of a motorway for more than four hours in the dark after her car broke down. Zoe Jackson, 19, was returning home from Lancaster University along the M6 on Monday evening when her Rover
SAUSAGES containing lengths of rubber tubing turned up in dinners at two Hyndburn schools. They came from an Ashton-under-Lyne firm which has a contract to supply £600,000-worth of meat a year to Lancashire Education Authority. Burnley consultants defied
SUPERMARKETS throughout East Lancahire were clearing the shelves of thousands of bottles of Lucozade after a nationwide alert from anti-terrorist squad detectives. It was feared that bottles of the popular drink may have been contaminated by the activitists
RISHTON CC have agreed terms with South African star Lance Klusener to succeed Allan Donald as professional next season. Several clubs, notably Blackpool, have been chasing the all-rounder who is currently on tour with the South African side and doing
THE death of more than 350 people in the Indian air disaster - the world's worst-ever mid-air collision - brings home to all of us our latent fear of flying. Yet, at such times, we look at the statistics showing how safe air travel really is and draw
A BAND which played the Barry Manilow song Copacabana during a Poppy Day procession today issued a public apology. The Burnley Guide and Scout Band, which had been booked by Clitheroe Town Council, caused uproar by belting out the tune during Sunday's
SAMPDORIA coach Sven Goran Ericsson has dampened speculation that he will be among the front-runners to take over as the new boss of Blackburn Rovers. But the link with the Swedish coach underlines that Rovers' search for a successor to Ray Harford now
PARACHUTE material to inflatable dinghy manufacturers Wardle Storeys has seen pre-tax profits jump to £10.5 million. The firm, which employs more than 350 at its plants in Blackburn and Earby, saw profits soar by more than 47 per cent in the year to September
HEALTH chiefs are hoping to sell off the Park Lee site to developers when the hospital closes in 1998. Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Healthcare Trust is applying for permission to build houses at Park Lee Hospital. If outline planning permission
CHARGING to "spend a penny" in public loos in the Ribble Valley could be one way of solving problems of dirty toilets in the borough. But members of the community committee last night heard that any plans to charge for using the council-owned toilets
THE number of household water disconnections in the North West fell by 19 per cent in the six months to September, according to OFWAT figures. The water industry watchdog's figures for the period April 1 to September 30, this year, showed that the number
FACELIFTED Blackburn station is to receive a heritage award at a prestigious ceremony. The grade-two listed building was renovated as part of the scheme to transform Blackburn's Boulevard area. Now it has won a category in the Ian Allan National Railway
A PIONEERING new £2.6 million medical centre offering a wide range of community services could be built in the Ribble Valley, if health chiefs give the go-ahead. CommuniCare NHS trust and local doctors have put together proposals for a Primary Resource
A WORDSMITH from East Lancashire is to join 70 Scrabble supremos from all over the country, who will be playing to win in a grand national final in London at the end of this month. Retired civil servant Norman Smith, 64, of Boulsworth Crescent, Nelson
HAVING four young children, I welcome the proposals to reduce the speed of vehicles outside my home in Rishton. Recently, one of my children, aged five, was nearly hit by a car when his football rolled into the road. The car skidded a considerable distance
BURNLEY are hot on the trail of a Smirnoff Irish League star. And Clarets boss Adrian Heath hopes to make a capture before the weekend. The 21-year-old, described as an attacking midfielder, has spent a short trial period at Turf Moor and impressed the
A HEADMASTER has attacked the media over its coverage of examination results. John Challoner, head of St Bede's RC High School, Blackburn, told a speech night he was fed up of people playing down children's achievements. But he praised the Lancashire
AN engineering firm has been honoured for its energy saving efforts. Silicone Engineering of Blackburn was highly commended in the Norweb Business Energy Awards after installing new equipment to improve its performance. The company, based at Greenbank
HUNDREDS of white balloons will be released in Blackburn to coincide with the national launch of a campaign to fight for the return of student hostage Paul Wells. The Mayor of Blackburn, Coun Mary Leaver, will release the symbol of freedom as Paul's parents
JOE Royle one described football management as "second hand thrills." That thrill factor has been in short supply this season with the axe falling faster than the executioner's blade. Resignations, sackings and mutual consent are as much part of soccer's
REGARDING the recent complaints and criticism concerning traffic jams, notorious blackspots, traffic-calming measures and general chaos in and around Blackburn, surely, it must be obvious by now that the ultimate plan is to have a traffic-free centre.
BOGUS officials have stolen bric-a-brac that householders were donating for charity. Orange bags for Scope, the cerebral palsy charity, had been pushed through doors in Ightenhill, Burnley, last Friday for residents to fill and leave outside. But when
WESTERN diplomats in Kashmir have received new evidence which could confirm the fate of Paul Wells and his fellow kidnap victims. But, on the eve of the hostages' 500th day in captivity, Foreign Office Minister Liam Fox warned of the increasing likelihood
ON-THE-RACK minister, Paymaster General David Willetts, comes up with an intriguing explanation for the crucial note he wrote in an apparent attempt to take some of the heat off the government in the cash-for-questions affair. His suggestion - as a government
WHILE I agree that the carrying and criminal misuse of knives is unacceptable and should be stopped, I was unable to appreciate the connection between the two cases cited in your investigation (LET, November 4) and the campaign to ban the sale and possession
HIT by a barrage of flak from listeners over Radio Lancashire's failure to observe the two-minute silence on Armistice Day, BBC bosses are running for cover. Don't blame the station staff for the omission. They wanted to broadcast the 11 o'clock silence
NIMBLE-fingered craftsfolk who have disabilities are being invited to market their talent and take part in a new business venture. Mr Stanley Oakes, of Gloucester Avenue, Accrington, says his new Disablement Industries Association will be a way of reducing
MEN in East Lancashire are smoking and drinking themselves to death and are among the unhealthiest in the country, a shock survey has revealed. Blackburn and Burnley are among the worst areas in England and Wales where men are likely to suffer premature
VANDALS have chopped down more than 20 12-year-old trees at a Burnley school. Teachers, children and the caretaker at Rosehill Junior School were shocked when they found the trees sawn through. Deputy head Richard Lawson said: "When we got the all-weather
MORE than 1,000 high street jobs are to be axed as part of a deal to sell the electrical retail arm of United Utilities to superstore giant Comet, a trade union has claimed. Unison said staff had been told that 55 of Norweb Retail's high street stores
I HAVE left the UK to embark on one of the world's last great unconquered challenges - to cross the whole of Antarctica solo and unsupported. I ask readers to support this exciting international expedition and in doing so, help raise £3 million for the
TOWN hall bosses are hoping to settle a bitter row which has split a Blackburn estate. Residents near Roman Road are divided over a fence which is blocking a footpath to nearby shops. Shadow Home Secretary Jack Straw, ward councillors and the police have
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy THE month of November is always a good time to search for fungi - as long as you remember that some species are poisonous. To be honest, there are not many fungi which are dangerous but neither are there many which are edible
A GANG with Irish accents drove off with £10,000 worth of shoes after promising to pay when they had changed their Irish money. Police alerted ports and are appealing for witnesses after the theft at W&M Footwear Wholesalers, Bacup Road, Rawtenstall
ROVERS YOUTH 3 BLACKPOOL YOUTH 1 BLACKBURN Rovers went through to the second round of the FA Youth Cup at Ewood last night but struggled after a controversial penalty handed Blackpool a way back into the game. It was appropriate that Rovers' talented
RADIO station staff in an Armistice Day row with BBC bosses were furious today after being told: "You could have broadcast the two minutes' silence after all." Employees at Blackburn-based Radio Lancashire and listeners were disgusted when the station
