DO we at last glimpse common sense on the menu in the long planning wrangle over Puccino's, the Blackburn town-centre caf the council wanted to shut while thousands called for it stay open? For tomorrow the planning application by owner Ian Finch comes
ABOUT 1,000 workers were today fearing for their future after the Reality catalogue services business was sold to the multi-millionaire Barclay brothers. More than 800 people work at Reality's customer services call centre at Kingsway, Burnley, and over
ROVERS are losing interest on out-of-contract Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris. Graeme Souness had originally identified Morris as one of his summer targets, who will be available on a Bosman transfer. The 24-year-old, who has partnered Dunn at the heart
HOLIDAYMAKERS have given a welcome boost to beleaguered MyTravel by celebrating the end of the war in Iraq with a sunshine break. The company said although sales dipped when the conflict broke out, people are now defying terror threats, though they appear
ABOUT 1,000 workers were today fearing for their future after the Reality catalogue services business was sold to the multi-millionaire Barclay brothers. More than 800 people work at Reality's customer services call centre at Kingsway, Burnley, and over
RESIDENTS have accused Burnley Council of abandoning a flagship regeneration project after it pulled back from plans to facelift 80 homes. Now Accrington Road Residents Association (ARRO) said it fears a government grant of £400,000 to transform part
AS PART of our Pride of East Lancashire Awards campaign we are taking a daily look at different issues surrounding each accolade, starting with the first, which is for community groups. A big problem is that of publicity. If ideas cannot be marketed,
THE pained life of Billie Holiday is brought to the Library Theatre with a dash of style, dark humour and sparkling songs. Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill takes us to one of the jazz legend's last performances and a chance to look back with her at
A NATIONAL window company has been criticised by a mother for allegedly risking the lives of her family after she was left without a working fire exit for four months. Carol Kenrick said she was unable to open the fire exit on the ground floor of her
A TROUBLED Accrington school has won a prestigious national award for its work developing sport for pupils and the community. Moorhead High School, Queen's Road West, was given the Sportsmark award from Sport England after 18 months of work. The award
A BLIND woman's skill at skittles has bowled over fellow members of a support group for people with serious sight problems. Jean Young, of Norfolk Close, Clayton-le-Moors, is now known as Gelignite Jean at the St Michael and St John's Social Centre, Clitheroe
AROUND 7,000 people and hundreds of competitors turned up to make it a record year for the Great Harwood Agricultural Show. The numbers for both spectators and competitors were up from last year and the show saw the return of sheep and cattle competitions
NIGEL Evans has asked Blackburn MP Jack Straw to intervene in the case of an ambulance driver being prosecuted for speeding as he dashed to take a crucial liver for transplantation. Mike Ferguson was clocked at 104mph in Lincolnshire. Now Mr Evans, Tory
SOCCER-loving siblings Joe and Luigi Passerini will be giving brotherly love the boot during tonight's Champions League final. For while hairdresser Joe is backing AC Milan to win the top club trophy his older brother Luigi will be supporting opposing
LOWERHOUSE suffered a massive blow to their Worsley Cup hopes when professional Ryan Harris was dismissed for just 11 last night. Only eight overs play was possible with heavy drizzle driving the players from the field just after 7 o'clock with Lowerhouse
JAMES ANDERSON went head to head with his England pace partner Steve Harmison in the North-East today, but Lancashire were missing Iain Sutcliffe and Kyle Hogg. Anderson returned from his five-wicket Test debut at Lord's to boost the Lancashire attack
MARK Butler needs some lucky sevens to help lead his side to the Ribblesdale League championship. Cherry Tree are currently in second place in the table, with four wins and no defeats from the opening seven games of the season - but they have still yet
IT is, of course, preposterous that Blackburn with Darwen Council will allow a lap-dancing club to open -- albeit with the condition that the dancers must keep their micro-knickers on -- while at the same time getting ready to shut down a nearby caf offering
WING WIZARD Damien Duff has scotched speculation over his future by insisting he wants to stay with Rovers. Duff has been constantly linked with a big-money move to one of the Premiership big guns this summer. But the wide man insists he is still planning
BIT-PART Burnley hitman Dimitrios Papadopoulos is off on his travels again to spearhead Greece's U21 European Championship challenge. The 21-year-old - skipper of the side - has been called up for a vital double-header next month against Spain and the
DARRENERS Down Under held a reunion to share their fond memories of the town where they were born. The four former Darwen residents, ex-members of the town's youth club, emigrated to Australia and New Zealand more than 30 years ago but got back in touch
FRIENDS of Sunnyhurst Wood are planning a party extravaganza for the centenary celebrations. Friends will celebrate 100 years of the ancient woodland by hiring a brass band and inviting a variety of stallholders to take part in the day on August 10. Dennis
ROSSENDALE carnival will take place on Sunday, June 22, in Bacup town centre and will host the first human table top football competition. Entertainment will be provided by the Coconutters, Shawforth Majorettes, Larenzo and Mrs E and the Master of Niagara
OVERNIGHT roadworks on a main route into Blackburn town centre will close off King Street from 7pm tonight to 7am tomorrow. The closure is to allow workmen to resurface the street, which is being regenerated by Blackburn with Darwen Council along with
LANCASHIRE police will save almost £1.5million this year after cutting bureaucracy in a bid to allow officers to spend more time on the streets. Bosses at the constabulary have pinpointed areas where red tape can be cut in accordance with the recommendations
A PADIHAM school has appointed a new head teacher six months after the last left with health problems. Andrew McKenzie, currently headteacher at Broad Oak School in Bury, is due to take over the running of Gawthorpe High School in January. Len Thomas
SOCCER-loving siblings Joe and Luigi Passerini will be giving brotherly love the boot during tonight's Champions League final. For while hairdresser Joe is backing AC Milan to win the top club trophy his older brother Luigi will be supporting opposing
A BUSINESSMAN at the centre of a deli bar planning row was today given hope of an 11th hour reprieve. Councillors meet tomorrow to decide the fate of Ian Finch's Puccino's business in King William Street, Blackburn -- a year after they first refused him
SOCCER-loving siblings Joe and Luigi Passerini will be giving brotherly love the boot during tonight's Champions League final. For while hairdresser Joe is backing AC Milan to win the top club trophy his older brother Luigi will be supporting opposing
DOES the fact that there are two Italian teams in tonight's Champions League final suggest that there has been another shift in European football's balance of power? Quite possibly, but the Calcio is still dogged by levels of debt that would have the
RICARDO Fuller has shown the clearest sign yet he'll be fit for the new season. The Jamaican international has begun sprinting under the watchful eye of North End's physio... an indicator that he has fully recovered from the knee injury which blighted
BURY is among the country's elite when it comes to passing on money to the borough's schools. The council is ranked eighth out of 150 local education authorities in new Government league tables on education finance. Bury's high standing comes as other
A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. American Line Dancing, Bacup Leisure Hall, Burnley Road, Bacup, 7.30pm-11.30pm. Children's Half-Term Activities, Queen Street Textile Museum, Harle Syke, Burnley, noon
A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Big Band Crazy with Andy Prior and John Miller, Municipal Hall, Albert Road, Colne, 7.30pm. "Little Red Riding Hood," Library Theatre, Knott Street, Darwen, 1pm and 3.30pm
A RED-FACED builder has received a warning from housing bosses - for his poor aim when going to the toilet! The un-named worker is one of the first to fall foul of housing company Twin Valley Homes' customer charter. It requires builders to ditch habits
ITALIAN football fans Dawn and Kerry Jones will watch the European Champions League final from their armchairs -- after failing to get tickets to see their heroes. The pair, from Atherton, had made a desperate plea for help after struggling to get tickets
WING WIZARD Damien Duff has scotched speculation over his future by insisting he wants to stay with Rovers. Duff has been constantly linked with a big-money move to one of the Premiership big guns this summer. But the wide man insists he is still planning
SOCCER-loving siblings Joe and Luigi Passerini will be giving brotherly love the boot during tonight's Champions League final. For while hairdresser Joe is backing AC Milan to win the top club trophy his older brother Luigi will be supporting opposing
WORSTHORNE Cubs will be working on a wildlife theme during June. The monthly competition for May is a word search on food and drink. The closing date for entries is June 2. The wordsearch can be found on the Cubs website www.worsthornecubs.org.uk If you
PENDLE Council is hoping to buy the KwikSave site in Brook Street, Nelson, to create small starter business units. The premises are being marketed by the parent company, Somerfield Stores Limited. A proposal has been developed in partnership with Northern
A CONFERENCE on social integration in schools is due to be held in Nelson. The Building Bridges Interfaith Community Project is due to hold the conference on June 20. The aim of the conference is to examine social inclusion strategies for year six pupils
DISCUSSIONS are taking place in West Craven to improve the area for youngsters after concerns were raised about the lack of youth activities. The subject was raised at the West Craven Community Working Group, Barnoldswick, when it was noted that the problem
WITH a name like hers, Laura Waddington was May-ed for the role of Waddington Village Queen. The ten-year-old was crowned by the retiring May Queen, Fione Penelly, 15, at the village's Spring Fair.
GAMBLING gran Kathleen Bennison nearly fell through the floor when her bingo numbers came up trumps. The delighted Darwener, who helped run the family flooring business, celebrated her £55,000 scoop.
A MAN attending a trades fair lost his temper in a Blackpool fish and chip shop when told to stop being rowdy. Richard Potter attacked a woman shop assistant and kicked in the shop door. Potter, 27, of Thomas Street, Oswaldtwistle admitted assaulting
RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans today demanded that the government cut through red tape and 'fast track' rescue dogs out of quarantine. His call comes as seven specially-trained Lancashire rescue dogs were left behind at Manchester Airport on Monday as the
DISTRICT councils are battling with United Utilities over plans to strip them of responsibility for the area's sewerage system. Local authorities have been paid by the utilities giant to provide sewerage management and maintenance since 1974. A campaign
BIT-PART Burnley hitman Dimitrios Papadopoulos is off on his travels again to spearhead Greece's U21 European Championship challenge. The 21-year-old - skipper of the side - has been called up for a vital double-header next month against Spain and the
I IMAGINE there will be a little fingernail gnawing going on in the office suites of other East Lancashire council chief executives over the summer months now that Hyndburn Council is seeing whether it can do without the services of such a highly-paid
ABOUT 1,000 workers were today fearing for their future after the Reality customer care and logistics business was sold to the millionaire Barclay brothers. More than 800 people work at Reality's call centre at Kingsway, Burnley, and over 100 are employed
JUNGLE fever has taken over as Callum Rigby, from Darwen, makes a final plea to raise money for SCOPE in the Vietnamese jungles. Callum, 29, from Prospect Avenue, is riding close to his target of £2,600 and is looking for more support to raise vital funds
VINTAGE cars and pop idols are invited to take part in Darwen Lions Gala this year. The fun-filled day will kick off at 10am on Saturday, June 21 and members of the public are invited to join in the festivities. Ian Ashton, Lions member and gala organiser
FURIOUS Darwen residents have declared they will fight on to save an old bowling green from property developers. Hollins Grove Liberal Club members last week announced that the club had won its appeal to government planning inspectors for outline planning
ROSSENDALE Civic Trust is appealing for people with an interest in the borough to join its ranks and shape the future of the borough. The group meets once a month and is particularly keen to hear from residents with an interest in local history, architecture
A MAN staggered into a pub and collapsed after being stabbed in the chest. Police believe the 39-year-old was attacked in Cutler Close, near Montague Street, at around 9.30pm yesterday and made his way to the Royal Duke pub to call for help. Shocked staff
EAST LANCASHIRE was today handed another £4million European cash boost after being praised for way it had spent previous windfalls. The performance of the three existing European-funded programmes managed by Blackburn with Darwen Council were rated as
A RED-FACED builder has received a warning from housing bosses - for his poor aim when going to the toilet! The un-named worker is one of the first to fall foul of housing company Twin Valley Homes' customer charter. It requires builders to ditch habits
ABOUT 1,000 workers were today fearing for their future after the Reality customer care and logistics business was sold to the millionaire Barclay brothers. More than 800 people work at Reality's call centre at Kingsway, Burnley, and over 100 are employed
POLICE bosses have been rapped after a survey revealed they had failed to record correctly up to a fifth of crimes committed in the county. The Audit Commission gave an overall performance level of 'red' - the lowest of three ratings - after inspecting
