A PETROL bomb was thrown at a pub window, shattering the glass as a woman and her three-year-old son slept above. Miss Kerry Duckworth, of Leamington Hotel, Cheltenham Road, Blackburn, called the fire brigade after a milk bottle full of petrol was thrown
A RACE equality group last night told its chairman he broke the rules when he applied for and was offered a £22,000-a-year job in the organisation. Coun Mohammed Khan, chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Council's housing committee, has been told that he
MUTTIAH Muralitharan makes Merlin the Magician look like a bender of plastic spoons. Batsmen find it easier to read Tolstoy's War and Peace, than Muralitharan's mesmerising armoury. In his eight innings preceding the current game at Southampton, he has
TRAIN passengers are standing up for their rights and plan to meet rail bosses to demand improved services. Passengers on the Blackburn to Bolton line have formed a pressure group and are lobbying First North Western to improve services between Clitheroe
BRIAN Kidd picked up a bonus even before watching his side slaughter Norwegian minnows Fredrikstad last night - good news about Garry Flitcroft and Ashley Ward. The Blackburn Rovers boss and physio Dave Fevre were in contact with the medical men back
REPUBLIC of Ireland Under 21 international Stephen Grant could be handed his Burnley debut in tonight's high-profile friendly with Everton at Turf Moor. The 22-year-old striker is currently on trial with the Clarets and manager Stan Ternent is considering
A COMPREHENSIVE eight chapter document will form the centrepiece of Blackburn and Darwen's bid to become a city. Council leaders hope it will persuade Home Office ministers that the borough should be the town chosen from a growing list of bidders to be
Fredrikstad 2 Blackburn Rovers 8 - Peter White reports TEN goals, three penalties, two red cards...the only thing missing was a partridge in a pear tree as Blackburn Rovers rounded off their Scandinavian tour with a sensational late scoring spree at the
Jack Straw MP Advice Surgery, Ivy Street Community Centre, 4pm-5pm; also Audley Community Centre, Chester Street, 5.30pm-6.30pm, both Blackburn. Organ Recital, King George's Hall, Blackburn, 12.45pm-1.30pm. Blackburn and District Association of Mental
THE entries for the Lancashire Road Club 25-mile time trial on the Garstang course on Sunday morning were obviously affected adversely by the promotion of the Central Lancashire Road Club '25' on the more popular Tarleton-based course near Southport.
TWO major blazes in the centre of Darwen, one of which wrecked the controversial old Co-op building, were being investigated. In the Co-op blaze nearby buildings were showered with burning embers. Shortly before the Co-op blaze, firemen were called to
I'M ON holiday in Tenerife at the moment which I booked before entering The Open. When I got through the regional qualifying at Ormskirk, I realised I might not be coming out here. Final qualifying finished on Monday, July 12 and I was due to fly out
WHEELCHAIR athlete Norman McIntyre will be cheered on by the grandson that helped save his life 10 years ago when he takes part in prestigious tennis tournament in Italy. The 61-year-old ex-paratrooper - nicknamed Stormin' Norman - is taking part in the
PHIL Vickers produced a fast personal best 23.7 to win the Under-17s 200m sprint to lead his Blackburn Harriers team to a pleasing but unexpected second place in the first young athletes fixture of the season at Bolton on Sunday. They defeated Oldham
JOHN Crawley has finally ended his wait for a century. The Lancashire skipper hit nine in his golden year in 1998, but had not managed one this season until breaking his duck on the first day of the championship match against Hampshire at Southampton.
THE girls from Pendle AC won promotion in the McDonald's Young Athletes League on Sunday, but not before being given an almighty fright by local rivals Hyndburn AC. Before the final fixture at Blackley, Pendle led the series by 33 points, but Hyndburn
FOOTBALL mad Eddie Martin has been named linesman of the year for the second year running - despite struggling with severe arthritis and a plastic knee. Eddie picked up the unlikely honour after referees in the West Lancashire League Reserve Division
ANDY White is one step away from a dream trip to Valderrama after qualifying for the final of the Mitsubishi Daily Express National Final. The 36-year-old Pleasington player finished runner-up in the regional final at Whitefield GC in Manchester last
THE government must recognise the issue to ban hunting with dogs is not going to go away - 411 MPs and huge public support have given a clear mandate for a ban. Wildlife plays an essential part in our ecosystem and foxes are entitled to share this Earth
A TOP civil servant from the Department of Trade and Industry is to visit Burnley tomorrow. Director general David Durie will be at Burnley Business Centre on a visit hosted by Burnley Council. Economic and property committee chairman Coun Tony Harrison
I WOULD like to record my admiration and appreciation of the superbly successful Schools Music Event at Ewood Park on July 12 which I opened and enjoyed every minute of. I estimate there were 2,000-plus children and young people singing and playing their
I NOTE that new safety precautions are about to be introduced across the county to prevent passers-by being electrocuted or crushed by falling lamp posts due to the practice of slinging wires along the streets for Christmas lighting. I am curious to know
STRAWBERRY blonde Alex Nuttall is set to win the hearts of TV viewers in Britain when she stars in a commercial for a leading confectionery company being filmed in South Africa. The five-year-old blue-eyed pupil at St John the Baptist School, Padiham,
NO MORE taxpayers' cash is to be spent on the transfer of council homes until Burnley Council gets a written guarantee that the government will wipe out £20 million debts. A full council meeting last night voted unanimously to stop spending and to ask
DEMANDS for more police officers in Burnley are to be made to the Government by Burnley Council. The call for extra resources has come following a series of public meetings in Padiham and different areas of Burnley at which residents expressed fears at
REPUBLIC of Ireland Under 21 international Stephen Grant could be handed his Burnley debut in tonight's high-profile friendly with Everton at Turf Moor. The 22-year-old striker is currently on trial with the Clarets and manager Stan Ternent is considering
BRIAN Kidd picked up a bonus even before watching his side slaughter Norwegian minnows Fredrikstad last night - good news about Garry Flitcroft and Ashley Ward. The Blackburn Rovers boss and physio Dave Fevre were in contact with the medical men back
PUBLIC relations firm Capricorn has been appointed to handle the account of one of the world's oldest outdoor clothing brands. The Rising Bridge agency will promote the outdoor and snowboard divisions of Helly Hansen in the UK. "We had heard about Capricorn's
DEREK Roberts hit on a bright idea as he sat fishing on a river bank - and this was one that didn't get away! Now Derek is now hoping to reel in a small fortune from a new fishing lure he fashioned out of an old plastic pop bottle he found in a hedge.
PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice was today meeting British Aerospace Chief Executive John Weston over the proposed axing of 2,200 jobs in the company's military aircraft division, including 882 at its Samlesbury and Warton plants. The Labour back-bencher has
A DAREDEVIL skydiving trio from Darwen are jumping for joy after helping to create a new British record for the largest ever freefall formation. Ian Chick, Steve Houlker and Gordon Hodgkinson were among 100 men and women who leaped out of seven aeroplanes
TWO East Lancashire men who spearheaded the development of a revolutionary new drug to tackle a rare growth disease today declared: "This treatment has changed our lives". Adrian Oldham, of Dandy Row, Darwen and David Wetton, of Pasturelands Drive, Billington
A POLICE hunt was under way today for a gunman who fired bullets through the front window of a house in Brush Street, Burnley. Neighbours were woken at almost midnight when the shots were fired at the house, just off Accrington Road. The man and woman
A SERIES of tough targets has been set for police officers across Lancashire by Chief Constable Pauline Clare. The new targets are spelled out in the corporate strategy, an annual document published by Mrs Clare. She says her main aim is to ensure people
AN ex-convict allegedly committed sex acts with a schoolboy and got the boy to do the same to him. Burnley Crown Court heard how David Greaves, 32, was said to have repeatedly abused the child - but the alleged victim was scared Greaves would hit him
AMATEUR theatrical clubs could face extinction if they continue fighting for audiences instead of co-operating, according to a local arts organiser. Many local societies could go to the wall within five years if they refuse to work together to timetable
Attack victim Brennan Clemance, whose dream holiday in Corfu turned into a nightmare, arrived home last night. Brennan arrived at his Surrey Road home, Blackburn, after his ordeal at the Greek resort, where he endured five hours of surgery after the vicious
A DEPUTY mayor has called for an investigation after being stripped of office for "obstructive, abusive and aggressive behaviour." John McGowan has also revealed he has written to retiring Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown asking him to look into
Valerie Cowan Surfs the Net THE internet is growing all the time - and as anyone who has wasted an hour of online time searching fruitlessly for a particular site, it seems to be getting harder and harder to navigate. New research seems to indicate that
ROSSENDALE'S Dave Lewis lost second place in the Stoodley Pike fell race when he fell in sight of the finish. Lewis recorded 17:47 for the 3.5 mile course as he took third, while his team-mates Phil Taylor and Chris White finished first veteran and first
TWO trains were stoned by rail vandals despite a concerted police campaign to stamp out the menace. The trains, attacked by youngsters at the Bolton Road junction, Blackburn, and near the Colne viaduct, were the latest to be stoned in a series of dangerous
THE government today promised action to protect people from "rip-offs," but while any action on behalf of consumers is welcome, this seems largely to consist of first finding out if they are being stung in comparison to those overseas. But, surely, the
THERE is an overpowering fishy stench left in the air over the affair of Blackburn and Darwen Racial Equality Council seeking to fill the post of its racial harassment supervisor. For it was REC's own chairman, Blackburn councillor Mohammed Khan, who
Rishton 35-4 (1pt) Rawtenstall dnb (1pt) IF RISHTON go on and win the league, then they may well look back at this game as the one that finally sealed the title. For victory for the league leaders against their closest rivals would have surely seen them
RESULTS: Best turned out: 1 J McMillan with Heart of Gold; 2 L Waddington with Stirkinghills Countess; 3 J Ashworth with Golden Shadow. Ridden showing (14.2 and under): 1 K Barlow on Bradney Anna; 2 J Foreman on Cosmic Charm; 3 L Ashcroft on Barash Marmaduke
Billy Briggs Cup Final - Texacan Trousers128-9 beat Wilpshire CC 123-4 TEXACAN Trousers showed just why they are too good for Division Three in successfully defending the Billy Briggs Cup with a last over win against Wilpshire. Forced to amalgamate two
EIGHTEEN-year-old Nick Samuels led home a quartet of young East Lancashire stars in the Horwich Jubilee Road Race at Rivington. In the third race of a series of four, Nick's time of 21:33 on the tough 4.2 mile course won him the junior prize with seventh
A RAID on houses in the Burnley Wood area recovered more than £1,000-worth of the drug ecstasy. Ten police officers from Burnley were involved in Operation Owl, an ongoing investigation into anti-social behaviour in the Burnley Wood area. Police searched
A POLICE hunt was under way today for a gunman who fired bullets through the front window of a house in Brush Street, Burnley. Neighbours were woken at almost midnight when the shots were fired at the house, just off Accrington Road. The man and woman
A COUNCILLOR accused of abusive behaviour and foul language at a residents' group meeting reacted angrily when allegations were made against him at last night's Burnley Council meeting. Twice Coun Harry Brooks said Coun Joe Tierney had referred abusively
Food News, with Amanda Killelea ONE of Lancashire's gastronomic gems has been honoured with a top food award. Northcote Manor, which nestles in Langho, has been named Independent Hotel of the Year at the prestigious annual Caterer and Hotelkeepers' Awards
LANDOWNERS are being warned to beware of new rules on contaminated land. From December the Environment Act will bring in financial penalties and the possibility of criminal proceedings against pollutors or owners of land where pollution has taken place
IT'S a parrot coincidence that'll be the squalk of the town. Neil Pollard - known to his mates as "Polly" - has lost his pet parrot. And everyone knows about it where Neil works at Nelson - the Macaw soft drinks factory! Neil, 25, had let the African
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a crash which brought a busy motorway to a standstill at the height of rush-hour. And police have also released the details of two motorists who were taken to hospital. Four cars were involved in the pile-up close
A NELSON school has qualified for the prestigious national Investor in People standard. St Paul's CE Primary School employs 22 teaching and non-teaching staff to look after the educational and welfare needs of 240 pupils aged from four to 11. Deputy head
CONSTRUCTION has started on a major improvement scheme aimed at bringing shoppers into Nelson. Improvements will be carried out in the Market Square area over the next 10 weeks to improve pedestrian links between the centre and the new Morrison's supermarket
THREE East Lancashire athletes travelled to Fort William for the fourth round of the British Fell Running Championships on Saturday. Jack Holt of Clayton, who took fourth in the M50 category, was the highest finisher, logging 35:18 for the 3.5m Melantee
ACCRINGTON Stanley continue their pre-season build up with a friendly against Nationwide Conference outfit Southport at The Crown Ground tonight. Southport boss Paul Futcher is bringing a full first team squad and the game kicks off at 7.30pm. The Southport
THE North West Track Championships of the British Cycling Federation are currently being run off on Wednesday evenings at the open air stadium at Kirkby near Liverpool with competitors from Lancashire, Lakeland, Manchester and Merseyside involved. Already
ORGANIC gardening enthusiasts from across the North West gathered to share information during a special meeting. More than 80 people from 10 different groups attended the event, at Altham Corn Mill, in Burnley Road. It featured lectures on gardening matters
SPECULATION that hundreds of East Lancashire workers could each be in line for a £100,000 windfall has been dampened. Reports that people who work for the John Lewis Partnership are keen for the organisation to be sold or floated on the stock market have
