Archive

  • Welcome step to better policing

    THE 14 new Police Community Support Officers pounding beats in East Lancashire will be a gratifying sight in the neighbourhoods they serve. Above all, this is because their presence helps to restore the visible policing of communities that the public

  • Oh for that good old Christmassy magic!

    GETTING ready for Christmas? For me its different now. Better? Easier? Dearer? More exciting? Difficult to say really. When I was little all I had to do was ask one of my brothers to help me write a letter to Santa listing the things I would like to get

  • Healthy Heys

    THE bad weather during the week caused the cancellation of both Heys Games last Saturday and the lack of action gives an ideal opportunity to review the season to date. A new first team management duo of Adie Moran and Rob Evans took over in the summer

  • Penrith 60pts Bury 0

    THE clear, blue winter sky and rare winter sunshine beckoned players and spectators alike on their trek up the M6 for the next Cumbrian encounter against the unknown quantity that is Penrith. Walking from the car park to the club no longer cossetted by

  • Pairs serve up a Christmas cracker

    BILL Taylor and Dennis Walsh served up a Christmas treat with an unbeatable performance in this annual event. Taylor and Walsh were paired together when their names came out of the hat and they won all but one of their eight matches, drawing the other

  • Whistle Blower with Neil Yates

    ANYBODY watching last week's UEFA vote on its 2008 Championships must have been struck by the obscene manner in which those self-important suits with swollen bellies staggered onto the platform to deliver their verdict. Pate de foie gras washed down with

  • The only way is up for Blue Star

    There are few crumbs of comfort to take from being on the wrong side of a heavy defeat -- but Blue Star only have to look at how far their opposition have come in the last 12 months. For JFC Dynamos once wondered where that first win would come from and

  • Quality and quantity turn out for David

    IT was a case of quality and quantity at the annual David Staff Memorial Fell Race. For there was a bumper turn-out for the Darwen Dashers organised race - but this year it was made up of more top fell runners rather than fun runners. A total of 166 runners

  • Ivy stay top of the table

    Ivy Hotel's hat-trick hero Lee Rigby was reported missing before the game kicked off. But manager Carl Scott must have thought half his team had gone AWOL after a dismal opening 45 minutes. It took a once over from a police officer to check on Rigby's

  • Pedestrians need educating

    WITH the millions of pounds now being collected from motorists exceeding speed limits by two mph, surely the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety and their associated panels in other countries could use some of the money to finance an educational blitz

  • Community concerns serious

    REGARDING my criticism of the Dean of Blackburn for not seeking other local opinions before offering his praise and support for the Blackburn council executive (Letters, December 3), as a result, I received an invitation to meet him and the Rev Anthony

  • Give them the money, Tony

    THE Government has said that there is no more money for the firefighters. No more money? I find that very difficult to believe. The Government has put out contracts for two aircraft carriers costing £10billion. You pay a man nearly £100,000 per week to

  • A solution to the middle lane hoggers

    THE recent decision to widen large stretches of the motorway network will be costly both in terms of the Treasury and the environment. Furthermore, it will cause yet more disruption to roads already nearing gridlock. I believe there is a cheaper and more

  • Medical supplies factory vandalised

    RAIDERS caused thousands of pounds worth of damage at a factory before using company phones to ring sex chat lines. Production at Vernon Carus, Johnson New Road, Hoddlesden, has been severely disrupted following the break-in. Police believe children are

  • Soldiers to gain from services revamp

    SOLDIERS at an Army training base in Bury are set to benefit from a massive national revamp of support services. A £600 million contract with Landmarc Support Services means catering, accommodation IT systems and a number of other jobs on the sites will

  • A cup-tie to savour

    DAVID Hamilton has yet to sample Wigan's stereotypical 'delicacy' - the pie barm. But Wigan Athletic's chief scout can't wait to savour the mouth-watering offering of his club's Worthington Cup quater-final showdown with Blackburn Rovers. For Hamilton

  • Flitty's final spur

    BLACKBURN skipper Garry Flitcroft has set his sights on a return to Cardiff as Rovers go in search of Worthington Cup glory at Wigan tonight. Flitcroft is desperate to lead the club back to the Millennium Stadium for the second time in 12 months after

  • BAE unions want crisis talks

    UNION leaders at BAE Systems' Lancashire plants at Samlesbury and Warton are seeking early talks with management following reports of a major rift between the company and the government. Around £2billion has been wiped off the value of Britain's biggest

  • Debate call over bid to axe shires

    LANCASHIRE County Council leader Hazel Harding today launched the authority's bid for survival by calling for an 'open and honest' debate over regional assembly plans. Coun Harding spoke out after the North West Regional Assembly -- a non-elected body

  • Carol group wanted for the Inn

    A CLIVIGER landlord is hoping to keep his customers entertained during the festive season with some traditional carols. Neil Murphywill, of the Ram Inn, in Burnley Road, is appealing to local carol singing groups or choirs to spend an hour in the inn

  • Injured PC still not fit to return to work

    POPULAR beat bobby Nic Fisher is unlikely to return to work until next year after it was revealed he would have to see a specialist doctor about injuries sustained in an alleged attack. PC Fisher, who patrols the Stoneyholme and Daneshouse ward in Burnley

  • Pledge on traffic warden jobs

    PLANS to switch traffic warden duties from the police to local councils will not result in job losses, union bosses have been promised. The proposals, which could lead to a purge on rogue parking and free more police officers to fight serious crime, were

  • Debate call over bid to axe shires

    LANCASHIRE County Council leader Hazel Harding today launched the authority's bid for survival by calling for an 'open and honest' debate over regional assembly plans. Coun Harding spoke out after the North West Regional Assembly -- a non-elected body

  • Town 'needs more big-name stores'

    BURNLEY will decline as a retail centre unless more major name shops are attracted to the town, says a new report. And unless new retail space is made available to big name shops like Debenhams or Waterstones the town will be left behind by its major

  • Crime fighters take to streets

    NEW police support officers will grab crime fighting by the scruff of the neck after becoming the first in the country to receive new powers. Fourteen crime prevention workers went on the beat in Lancashire for the first time yesterday after being appointed

  • Welcome back

    BACK on familiar territory! That's a Radcliffe firm of chartered accountants which is re-establishing itself in the town after making a welcome return. Gortons left its long-established office at Stanmore House in Blackburn Street after merging with a

  • TEN YEARS AGO

    A GUARDIAN angel was rewarded for her regular visits to her elderly neighbour with a trip Disneyland. Gemma Wilson, seven, of Blackburn, was nominated for the trip of a lifetime by mum Annette, who responded to a Granada Tonight challenge find champion

  • Rovers need results - not excuses

    SIX points from the last seven games. Six points out of twenty one. One win, three draws and three defeats. No matter how you try to dress it up our recent run of form is unsatisfactory and a trend that needs to be reversed sooner rather than later. Otherwise

  • 'Keep alert' warning after woman is mugged

    POLICE have urged caution after a 22-year-old woman was robbed when she collected her benefits from an Accrington post office. Police said the woman had been into Nuttall Street post office at 10.30am yesterday. As she left the post office two men approached

  • Woman attacked by step-brother

    A WOMAN who went to help her father after he collapsed in a drunken stupor was attacked by her step-brother, a court heard. Blackburn magistrates heard that Scott Guilfoyle grabbed his step-sister by the hair and dragged her to the floor before banging

  • Welcome for new health trust director

    THE NHS Appointments Commission has appointed another non-executive director to the board of Calderstones NHS trust. Chris Leybourne, from South Lakeland, has been appointed to bring her expertise to the Board at Calderstones NHS Trust, which provides

  • Decision due on pub extension

    PLANS to extend a popular pub next to a primary school in Clitheroe come before borough planners on Thursday. Ribble Valley Council planning and development committee will decide whether to give the go-ahead to the proposed extension at the Keystreet

  • Brighton tickets

    CLARETS fans are being advised that 450 tickets of the allocation for the game at Brighton on December 28 have been stolen. The club has been told by Albion that the tickets were stolen from the Brighton sorting office at the end of last week. As a result

  • Stan was right to sell me

    ROTHERHAM striker Alan Lee today reflected on his heroics at Turf Moor at the weekend and admitted: "Stan Ternent was right to sell me." After seeing both Lee and John Mullin return in style on Saturday, Ternent admitted that he would not have sold them

  • Tommy is happy to help out again

    THE former landlord of a Padiham pub has returned to the bar to help out the current landlady. Tommy Large, 60, of the Britannia Inn, on Guy Street, cut short his retirement after he heard that his friend Deborah Broadley needed help in the pub. Tommy

  • Landlord's £4,000 charity bonanza

    THE landlord of a pub in Balderstone celebrated his first year behind the bar by raising more than £4,000 for charity. Ian Lord-Riddoch, 38, of The Myerscough Inn, celebrated with regulars after raising a grand total of £4,228. The money raised at the

  • World of literature comes to Hag Fold

    A NEW chapter in the history of Hag Fold has started. The world of literature landed on the doorstep of estate residents thanks to Wigan Council's mobile library service. The book bus started its rounds on Monday and will stop at Hag Fold Community Centre

  • Winter bowls

    JOHN McCaul won the ninth winter merit at Pennington Park on Sunday by beating John Cooke in the final 21-15. Alan Lambert beat John Prestwich in the consolation final 21-16. Colin Knight has now lost his record of scoring merit points in all of his Sunday

  • Firefighters tackle mill blaze

    FIREFIGHTERS worked round the clock to tackle a fire at a Ramsbottom paper mill. Five fire appliances attended the scene at the height of Thursday night's (Dec 5) blaze at Mondipaper UK on Bridge Street. Crews were still dampening down on Sunday afternoon

  • Volunteers needed for hospital runs

    AMBULANCE chiefs have issued an SOS to recruit volunteer drivers for transporting non-emergency patients to hospital appointments. Volunteer car drivers form a vital part of Greater Manchester's Patient Transport Service to take patients who need assistance

  • Four bins a week in recycling drive

    BURY has won £600,000 for the most radical shake-up of refuse collection seen in the borough. Residents are being urged to support a huge recycling drive which will transform the way their bins are emptied. Some 28,000 households, more than a third in

  • MyTravel in sell-off

    TROUBLED Lancashire tour giant MyTravel has sold Leger Holidays to its management team in a £22million deal. Leger provides coach tours from the UK to mainland Europe and in the past year made a pre-tax profit of almost £4million. MyTravel has also abandoned

  • Bury 2, Tranmere 0

    SHAKERS' season of cup cheer continued as Second Division Tranmere joined Stoke, Bolton and Barnsley on the list of giants slain by the Gigg Laners. Andy Preece's exciting young prospects are fast becoming the most notable 'banana skin' of the lower leagues

  • Soccer ladies need young recruits

    DARWEN Ladies Football Club are looking for budding soccer stars to join their under-12 ranks. The club boasts 70 members for the under-12, under-14, under-16 and girls' teams. But manager Nigel Ramsden wants more girls to come forward. He said: "The

  • Trust chiefs confirm health centre site

    LAND behind Darwen Leisure Centre has been confirmed by health bosses as the site for the new health centre. The decision was taken by NHS chiefs at a Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust meeting yesterday. They were told that even though most residents

  • Medical supplies factory vandalised

    RAIDERS caused thousands of pounds worth of damage at a factory before using company phones to ring sex chat lines. Production at Vernon Carus, Johnson New Road, Hoddlesden, has been severely disrupted following the break-in. Police believe children are

  • The Mummers and Nutters

    THE Bradshaw Mummers joined the Britannia Coconutters for a 30th birthday anniversary with a spectacular performance in Ramsbottom. The mummers group, who came with blackened faces, were formed at the Bradshaw Tavern Folk Club on the outskirts of Halifax

  • River death probe scaled down

    POLICE are scaling down their investigation into how a 32-year-old man ended up dead in a river three weeks ago. But they are remaining open-minded about whether Paul Parkinson, of Park Avenue, Clitheroe, was assaulted or fell. Since self-employed builder

  • Police surgeries

    TYLDESLEY East community beat officer, PC Andy Wright will hold surgeries on: Monday -- December 23, January 6 &13 (1-3pm) at Lindale Hall, Mosley Common; Tuesdays -- January 4, 14 & 28 (2-3pm) at St John's School, Mosley Common and Wednesdays

  • Stand-in Santa's weighty problem

    SANTA'S gone on a diet after getting too big to climb down the chimney on his most important night of the year. But children across East Lancashire needn't worry - he'll still be able to tuck into the odd mince pie on Christmas Eve. Stand-in Santa Deyna

  • Pioneer patrols go out on their beats

    A NEW breed of police officer is pounding the beat to make East Lancashire streets safer. Fourteen police community support officers started work yesterday, making the area the first place in the country outside of London to have them. They are working

  • Celtic facts

    REGARDING Trevor Hanson's comments (Sport Letters, Novemer 26) that Burnley fans should face the facts, I would like him to reproduce these facts regarding Burnley's games against Glasgow Celtic. 1. September 12, 1978, at Turf Moor - Burnley 1 (Kindon

  • Star of the show

    FORMER fire service cook is mixing up something special at Prestwich Library. Mrs Brenda Reid, who retired from Whitefield Fire Station nine years ago, is making her debut exhibition as an artist. The 64-year-old of New Road, Radcliffe has enjoyed painting

  • Huge divide of princes and paupers

    YOU could be forgiven for thinking that sport in general and football in particular was all about money nowadays. Business has become an integral part of many sports and the majority of football fans can tell you just how much player x earns at club y

  • Tories demand answers from "weak" council

    BURY'S top Tory has demanded an emergency meeting after the council was branded as "weak" by inspectors. Councillor David Higgin says this "appalling situation" must be debated by all 48 councillors and not just the ruling elite. He is dismayed that Bury

  • Christie strikes lifts Town

    ATHERTON Town triumphed in the Manchester League Premier League thanks to a 1-0 victory over Stockport Georgians at Howe Bridge with a goal by Danny Christie to boost their title hopes. In the First Division it was a bad day for the title chasers as both

  • Forever Bury Bulletin

    IN a brief interlude during the interval at the Exeter match, the Bury FC Supporters Society (Forever Bury) handed over its first donation to the club. A cheque for £5000 was donated to enable the club to buy equipment for cleaning plastic seats and also

  • Vale close in on Shield glory

    Lancashire FA Amateur Shield 4th round, Longridge Town 0 Elton Vale 1 (after extra time). A SOLITARY goal from centre forward Derek Watson in the first period of extra-time finally settled this blood and thunder cup tie and sent Vale through to the quarter-finals

  • Coaching Corner with Eric Kinder

    QUESTION: What is the hardest ball to defend in football? Well, for me it's the one that's played from wide positions just behind the back four and just in front of the goalkeeper, giving the goalkeeper a decision should he stay or should he come out

  • Touchline Tales with Ian Fraser

    HO ho ho Merry Christmas! Well, it's that time of year when you all go out to your Christmas do's and you pray that your local game is off because you can't raise a side, or even your head off the pillow. We didn't have a game over the weekend and for

  • Steve Tinniswood's Park Patrol

    YOU'VE heard of strength in depth well what about strength in depleted team? For that's what Wilpshire Bulls Head can boast after winning their Memorial Sunday League fixture at the weekend with just eight players! A Christmas do on Saturday night took

  • Bus safety belts were ignored

    IN answer to the recent remarks about bus safety (Letters, December 11), last month I travelled from Burnley to Nelson on a bus fitted with seat belts. Apart from myself, I never saw anyone else wearing one. So it is not just the bus companies at fault

  • Sick bug closes infirmary ward

    HEALTH bosses closed a ward at Leigh infirmary after an outbreak of the winter vomiting disease. Visitors were asked not to bring children into the hospital to avoid catching the highly contagious bug. Ward Two at the infirmary was closed for 48 hours

  • Our suicide nightmare

    A YOUNG dad devastated by his wife's suicide today spoke of his family's hell - and welcomed an inquiry into the use of the anti-depressant Seroxat. Marban Ahmed, 34, of Longton Street, Blackburn, was speaking after growing concern about the drug's alleged

  • Children take a 'flight of fantasy'

    SPECIAL children from Bolton, Bury and Atherton have been heading up and away for a magic festive treat this Christmas. Yesterday groups of local children were among 156 on a ChildFlight Santa flight from Manchester Airport. The youngsters were treated

  • Rossendale 27 Tyldesley 18

    TYLDESLEY made the trip to Rossendale in buoyant mood following two consecutive victories but a combination of lack of concentration and poor set piece work handed the home side the points. Rossendale opened the scoring with a penalty but Tyldesley hit

  • Filan bids to halt his ex-club

    FORMER Ewood favourite John Filan stands between Rovers and a place in the last four of the Worthington Cup tonight as Second Division high-flyers Wigan Athletic attempt to pull off another giant-killing at the JJB Stadium. Filan has been one of the stars

  • Monster attempt at record

    ALMOST 140 pupils from Unsworth Primary School nearly took a foothold in the record books. They joined thousands of other youngsters in a series of record-breaking attempts at a special "Monster Smash" event in Manchester. They were trying to set a UK

  • Woman jailed for theft

    AN office manager who stole more than £16,000 of her boss's money after she ran up huge credit card bills has been jailed for a year. Averil Morgan, 28, who took some funds that her employer Trevor Crabtree was sending to charity, covered her tracks by

  • Asylum suspended

    A GOVERNMENT minister has confirmed that the dispersal of asylum seekers to Blackburn, Burnley and Nelson has been suspended. The statement came after a question from Pendle Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Greaves. He asked the government which cluster areas

  • Festival focuses on green fingers

    GREEN-FINGERED residents in Trawden will be able to battle it out for the best kept garden next year during the village's Garden Festival. The festival committee, which has appointed well-known resident Maisie Lachman as president, will sell plant seeds

  • School's project under way

    A NELSON headteacher has told of her excitement at the beginning of the biggest lottery primary school project in the county. Work is due to begin on a £750,000 brand new two-tier sports hall at Marsden County Primary School. The Bradshaw Street school

  • Reward to snare masked robber

    A £2,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of a violent masked robber. Petrol station manager Graham North has been praised for fighting off the raider at 7am, on Sunday at the Walverden Service Station, in Netherfield Road

  • Green Beret honour

    A 26-YEAR-OLD man from Kelbrook has shown he has the stamina and courage to rank among the best Servicemen by receiving the coveted Royal Marine Green Beret. Chris Thornton, who studied at West Craven High School, has successfully completed 30 weeks of

  • Millers spring a surprise

    WELL, talk about tales of the unexpected - I suspect that like most Burnley supporters, I had trudged along to Turf Moor anticipating another less than gripping encounter with Rotherham United. Historically, games against the Millers have been marginally

  • Five years ago

    CORONATION Street star Les Battersby was set to pull a new bird thanks to an East Lancashire business man. Kevin Horkin, of Oswaldtwistle, who runs an agency that supplies trained animals to TV and film companies, plucked Theresa the turkey from dozens

  • Fight is over to save Millie's garden

    THE parents of cerebral palsy sufferer Millie Landon have admitted defeat and torn down the youngster's rooftop garden after a government planning inspector ordered its removal. Linda, 44, says the family is disappointed with the decision but cannot do

  • Counterfeit cash plotters jailed

    THREE men behind a plot to make more than £1million in counterfeit cash have been jailed for 12 years. Burnley Crown Court heard how Mohammed Khan, 45, of Accrington, Michael Hartley, 55, of Blackburn, and Liverpool printer Francis Jenkins, 47, were being

  • Finance warning

    PERSONAL finance specialist Nick Thompson of Bury-based business advisers DTE is urging people to plan ahead because state-funded care for senior citizens might not be adequate in future. He said: "In England and Wales 70,000 people must sell their homes

  • War memories go into print

    A PENSIONER who committed her wartime memories to paper has seen her efforts grace the pages of a popular glossy magazine. Seventy-seven-year-old Joan Sykes sent the second chapter of a book she is compiling about her lifetime to Woman's Weekly, and it

  • Firm's good vibrations

    NORTH West Manufacturing Technologies Ltd, based in Leigh, has received one of the government Small Business Service's £45,000 feasibility study awards. The project will examine the feasibility of producing a vibrator attachment for a commercially-available

  • Lex is the man for new mission

    A BLACKBURN landlord who turned around a Lancaster bar has just finished his first six months behind the bar in the East Lancashire town. Lex Roberts, 32, of Baroque bar, in Northgate, moved in before the summer from Bentleys in Lancaster. He was sent

  • Top marks for new-look student bar

    A BLACKBURN landlady has completed the renovation of the student bar below her town centre pub. Joanne Calf, 23, of FJ Nichols, Northgate, opened new-look The Works and promised a relaxed atmosphere away from lectures. The Indie Rock bar has new comfy

  • Enterprising move keeps pub in the family

    A BLACKBURN pub may have changed hands but thanks to owners Enterprise Inns it has been kept in the family. New landlady Lesley Lomax, of the Witton Inn, Redlam, took over the pub from her brother Chris Astley, 39. Chris moved to a new pub in Penrith

  • Councillors surgeries

    TUESDAY, December 17: Dorset Road community centre, Hag Fold, Atherton (10-11) S Loudon, R Holmes; Atherton Town Hall (9.30-11) B Splaine; Sacred Heart RC School, Hindsford (6.30-7.30) R Bleakley, N Hogg; Golborne Library (5.30-6.15) P Franzen. WEDNESDAY

  • Santa's minibus plea

    LEIGH Rotary Club is appealing for extra wheels to help with this year's Christmas float collection. Safety and insurance requirements ban collectors from travelling in float-towing vehicles so charity fund-raisers need a minibus. Venues are: December

  • New dates for rent payment

    COUNCIL tenants will soon have a choice of three days on which to pay their monthly rent. Those who pay by Direct Debit can pay on the 10th or 20th of the month, as well as the current first-day option. Councillor John Smith, housing spokesman, said Direct

  • Stan was right to sell me

    ROTHERHAM striker Alan Lee today reflected on his heroics at Turf Moor at the weekend and admitted: "Stan Ternent was right to sell me." After seeing both Lee and John Mullin return in style on Saturday, Ternent admitted that he would not have sold them

  • Flitty's final spur

    BLACKBURN skipper Garry Flitcroft has set his sights on a return to Cardiff as Rovers go in search of Worthington Cup glory at Wigan tonight. Flitcroft is desperate to lead the club back to the Millennium Stadium for the second time in 12 months after

  • BAE unions want crisis talks

    UNION leaders at BAE Systems' Lancashire plants at Samlesbury and Warton are seeking early talks with management following reports of a major rift between the company and the government. Around £2billion has been wiped off the value of Britain's biggest

  • Star of the show

    FORMER fire service cook is mixing up something special at Prestwich Library. Mrs Brenda Reid, who retired from Whitefield Fire Station nine years ago, is making her debut exhibition as an artist. The 64-year-old of New Road, Radcliffe has enjoyed painting

  • Theatre group targets new year for start

    A NEW theatre company in Darwen could be up and running as soon as January. A derelict sub-station behind Darwen Library Theatre was converted into a new theatre recently and the Residents Performing Arts Company, whose members' identity at present remains

  • Battle is on for service station name change

    A CAMPAIGN has been launched to put Darwen on the map and scrap a Blackburn Services sign erected on the M65. Councillors and residents are 'shocked' and 'disgusted' by the motorway sign after it was confirmed that the site of the new development is actually

  • Community groups go on display

    COMMUNTY groups were invited to hold displays about their work during an open day at the Weavers Cottage in Rawtenstall. The open day was organised by the Rossendale Civic Trust with the aim of promoting organisations in the Rossendale Valley who are

  • Joe organises rock concert for charity

    A CARING 13-year-old organised a charity Punk concert at his school and raised more than £100. Joe Conboy-Greenwood staged the show with three local bands last Friday. Joe, of Alder Grange High, Rawtenstall, amazed his parents and impressed his teachers

  • Opposition grows to caravan site

    CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a caravan park in Stacksteads have been discussed at a public meeting to give people a chance to voice their opinions. Residents and shop owners in the village have already mounted a petition to prevent the plans getting the

  • Children take a 'flight of fantasy'

    SPECIAL children from Bolton, Bury and Atherton have been heading up and away for a magic festive treat this Christmas. Yesterday groups of local children were among 156 on a ChildFlight Santa flight from Manchester Airport. The youngsters were treated

  • Second setback for Radcliffe

    RADCLIFFE Amateurs suffered only their second defeat of the season last Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 by Rossendale Amateurs. Radcliffe had chances with Simon Gugniewicz the closest with a header that grazed the top of the crossbar. The chasing pack

  • Theatre trip for children

    CHILDREN from Newfield Special School, Blackburn will be treated to the delights of theatre thanks to a national charity. Happy Days Children's Charity uses government grants to provide holidays and day trips for children with special needs and is taking

  • Walk-in advice session to help smokers

    AUDLEY community centre in Blackburn will hold a walk-in advice session on Friday to help people quit smoking. The event has been organised by Pharmacist Masqud Patel to warn ethnic minorities of the danger to their health caused by smoking. Mr Patel

  • Raunchy antics could lead to legal action

    WORKERS gearing up for their annual Christmas parties were today warned that their antics could end in more than red faces. And Blackburn employment law specialist Wendy Backhouse is urging companies to take sensible steps to ensure celebrations don't

  • Crackdown on kerb-crawlers

    KERB-crawlers have been given a festive warning by police tackling prostitution -- Yule be caught! Officers have joined forces with council bosses to launch a new crackdown after it was revealed their get-tough policy had led to a reduction in the problem

  • Catastrophic depression ended in tragedy

    FORMER Blackburn Rovers defender Dave Whelan told of the catastrophic depression which caused son-in-law Duncan Sharpe to hang himself from a tree. Mr Whelan said that Mr Sharpe, who was chief executive of the JJB Sports empire, founded by Mr Whelan,

  • Our suicide nightmare

    A YOUNG dad devastated by his wife's suicide today spoke of his family's hell - and welcomed an inquiry into the use of the anti-depressant Seroxat. Marban Ahmed, 34, of Longton Street, Blackburn, was speaking after growing concern about the drug's alleged

  • Another pay day for Rovers

    I AM sure Rovers fans remember Burnley taunts that the Worthington Cup is a Micky Mouse Cup with Premiership sides fielding reserves and even youth players. Solskjaer put paid to that myth, Fergie clearly wants some silverware and any Cup will do. Rovers

  • Young achievers get their awards

    MORE than 150 of the borough's finest young achievers gather on Thursday at the Wigan Investment Centre for the annual youth awards. They are in line for a range of awards at a glittering ceremony being attended by civic dignitaries and VIPs. Master of

  • Pensioner named

    A 92-year-old woman who was killed in an accident with an articulated lorry in Bury has been named. Norah Ann Liver collided with the HGV as she was crossing Bury New Road at the junction of Bury Old Road in Whitefield last Thursday. She suffered multiple

  • RMI Juniors honoured

    LEIGH RMI Juniors were the proud recipients last Saturday of the FA Charter Standard Development Club Award. The presentation was made prior to kick off at the Conference clash with Chester City and marked official recognition of the Hilton Park club's