Archive

  • Charity gesture nice of some

    WHAT a nice gesture by the Liberal-Democrats on Blackburn with Darwen Council to give their increased allowance back to charity (LET, May 20). I don't see any suggestions from the Labour Party about what to do with their increased allowance, only to pocket

  • A project to be proud of

    WHILE I would defend Roy Davies' (Letters, May 22) right to bemoan the lot of Darwen folk when it comes to getting their fair share of available resources, I feel compelled to put the record straight regarding the funding for the Fleming Square regeneration

  • Bogus nurse alert

    PENSIONERS were put on alert today after a woman dressed as a nurse conned her way into pensioners' homes and stole their cash. The conwoman told her victims she was a district nurse before making her way into the houses. A police inspector today said

  • Bond girl Gusta the wartime spy

    LIKE most 82 year olds, Sigrid Green appears to live a simple life at home in Darwen with her companion and dog, Barney, and is no longer in the best of health. But the Richmond Terrace resident, known as Gusta to friends, is preparing to get sidelong

  • Turley takes on the Dragons

    RECORD-BREAKING full-back Neil Turley puts his injury nightmare behind him this weekend with a Hilton Park comeback game against Doncaster Dragons. Turley has missed the last six games with ankle ligament damage and his recovery has taken longer than

  • Star stopper gets well-earned break

    BLACKBURN Rovers have been given a massive boost ahead of next season as keeper Brad Friedel has pulled out of the USA squad. The Blues' Player of the Year will miss his country's Confederations Cup matches next month to give himself a welcome break this

  • Bruce happy to bide time

    BIRMINGHAM boss Steve Bruce is happy to play the waiting game in his quest to land David Dunn. City are still licking their wounds after having a convoluted £5.5m bid for Dunn thrown out by the Rovers board last week. Ewood chiefs admit they are steeling

  • AC take Euro crown

    AC Milan take the European Champions League crown after a tense penalty shoot-out with Juventus at Old Trafford... read the minute by minute action here. AC Milan win the Champions League on penalties 3-2, with Shevchenko scoring the key penalty. Man

  • Dog dirt alley gets clean-up call

    A BURNLEY councillor is calling on dog walkers to clean up after a bridleway in his ward has become known as "dog dirt alley". Councillor John Cavanagh believes that unless dog owners start to clean up after their pet pooches, which have littered a path

  • Cops hunt flasher

    POLICE are appealing for a quick response from witnesses as they hunt a flasher who hides behind joke-shop masks and balaclavas. Detectives are deter-mined to catch the man they believe has been involved in seven incidents dating back to April last year

  • Rosalind tells the truth

    A LEADING international operatic soprano is to tell the truth about her life to a Lancaster audience next week. Rosalind Plowright will be at the Dukes next Thursday, June 5, for a special one-off show entitled 'A Diva Confesses All - or Nearly All'.

  • Waterfront warms up for festival

    THERE'LL be Fuzzyluv at The Waterfront Bar in Morecambe tomorrow (Friday) with a night of drum 'n' bass as a warm up to June's 'Urban Disturbance' Skate Festival. Kicking off at 10pm, the event is part of a drive to plug local talent and will see 'Safe

  • Bull breaks up a china shop

    A LANCASTER antiques centre had one of its biggest customers over the Bank Holiday - when an escaped bull sought refuge among the aisles. The beast fled from the nearby auction mart and ventured into GB Antiques Centre, Wyresdale Road, through an open

  • We can't pay this much

    ANGRY pensioners are ready to revolt over new home care charges - claiming they cannot afford the price hike. Dozens of outraged older people have called the Citizen to complain about Lancashire County Council's non-residential care charges since the

  • Fountains sign could have to go

    PENDLE Council could take action to remove an advertisement sign which has been put up near the new Fountains development, off Harry Street, Barrowford, without permission. A retrospective application to retain the sign, which is much larger than what

  • Nothing done about fly tippers

    THE top of Clarence Street, in Darwen, next to A and B scrap yard takes some beating for fly tipping -- there are wardrobes, fridges, mattresses and building materials, to name only a few items. I have reported it many times, but nothing has been done

  • Fire crews did a splendid job

    THE recent blaze at the Leamington Road, Blackburn, factory/garage was a tragedy for everyone involved. As a local resident, I feel the fire service must be commended for their hard work, even through the poor weather. They were always polite, even when

  • Coronation streets!

    HERE's how East Lancashire typically celebrated the Coronation 50 years ago -- with a street party. Among many held across the region, this one (pictured above), took place in Baines Street in Blackburn's Audley area on the weekend prior to the Tuesday

  • Flats plan looks set to be rejected

    OUTLINE plans to build a five-storey block of 21 apartments and two penthouses in Barrowford look likely to be refused next week by West Craven Committee. The current site of HP Inman and Co Ltd, in Lower Clough Street, consists of single-storey engineering

  • WISH gives safe haven for women

    COMMUNITY groups throughout East Lancashire, which are the focus of our first Pride of East Lancashire Award, fulfil a wide range of criteria. Most improve the quality of life for people in some way or another -- and a number go a step further and save

  • Ten years ago

    NORWEGIAN fans of Accrington Stanley received a flying visit from their heroes. Manager Phil Stanley and striker Paul Beck jetted over to a small village outside Oslo where locals had gone Stanley crazy.

  • Residents' group plan

    LOWTON families are being offered the chance to form a self-help group. Following talks between Wigan and Leigh Housing's Tenants and Residents' Participation Team and Golborne Councillor Peter Franzen a meeting will be held at 7pm on June 10 at Lowton

  • Roadshow quiz will stay

    THE leader of a borough council has denied rumours that he will be doing away with letting the public directly question the Cabinet. Coun Peter Britcliffe said he will not scrap Cabinet Question Roadshow despite fears from Labour councillors that he plans

  • Workers vote for pay strike

    WORKERS at a Great Harwood engineering plant have voted to go on strike to demand a pay rise. The mains layers and road re-surfacers at the McAlpines depot, in Heys Lane, Great Harwood, voted overwhelmingly in favour of a walkout. More than 94 per cent

  • Finding a dentist isn't easy

    IT'S okay for us to be told by Dr Nigel Carter that we need to get regular treatment at our dentist (Citizen, last week) - but has he tried to get one in the area. They are all private and out of reach of many people. Take, for instance, my children.

  • Flag bearer Matthew is just champion

    FOOTBALL mad Matthew Hanson wasthe envy of millions of other children when he took to the pitch at Old Trafford before the Champions League final last night. Matthew, 13, of Eastham Street, Clitheroe, won a radio competition after he was entered by his

  • Fishing for excuses

    REGARDING Charles Jardine's recent sentiments on the science surrounding fish and pain, he fails to note that there has been scientific work done in this field for 30 years and that pretty much all of it has supported the fact that fish feel pain. Indeed

  • Village campaign to get swifter internet

    RESIDENTS and businesses in Whalley have launched a campaign to get high speed internet access in their village. They aim to convince telecommunications giant BT to upgrade their telephone exchange so they can access broadband. BT wants 300 households

  • You can't get rich driving a taxi

    YOUR correspondent R Conway (Letters, May 22) obviously does not know much about taxis. They need to use bus lanes to get from A to B as quickly as possible to carry more passengers. It also seems that the writer thinks taxi drivers make a lot of money

  • Don't listen to Euro myths

    ANTI-EUROPEANS peddling myths and falsehoods about Europe in your letter pages is sadly to be expected, but their continual packaging of them in the Union flag has frankly become nauseating. Together with much of the right wing national press, they in

  • Adele is top woman

    A FORMER Bowerham woman has been named as the Sussex 'Sportswoman of the Year'. Adele Burrow set up her own sports club soon after she left the area to go to Sussex University in Brighton. And it has helped her sweep the board at a prestigious awards

  • Keep your hands off warns Harvey

    MORECAMBE boss Jim Harvey is warning ambitious Nationwide Conference rivals to stay away from his stars. The Christie Park manager has vetoed a move from Mark Wright's Chester City to prise Adriano Rigoglioso away from the seaside. And he says none of

  • It's not all sea and sunshine ...

    SUMMER never seems long enough nowadays. No sooner have you parked yourself on a beach somewhere, than its time to come back and report for pre-season training. Thankfully, we still have a month left and it gives us all the chance to treat our families

  • Victory hope in battle to close path

    CAMPAIGNERS living near Darwen's M65 service station could finally clinch victory in their crusade to get a footpath closed. The group of residents in Redvers Road had almost given up on their fight to close the path, which they say has become a thoroughfare

  • Bond girl Gusta the wartime spy

    LIKE most 82 year olds, Sigrid Green appears to live a simple life at home in Darwen with her companion and dog, Barney, and is no longer in the best of health. But the Richmond Terrace resident, known as Gusta to friends, is preparing to get sidelong

  • Taking a stroll

    THREE walks organised as part of a scheme to improve fitness will be held in the first week in June. The Stroll to Your Goal scheme will start with a beginners walk of about half-a-mile around Bridleway in Rawtenstall and led by Jean Gee and Martin Holby

  • Fish fryer's had his chips

    AFTER serving up countless portions of fish suppers, popular fryer Steve Ramsbottom has quite literally had his chips. Steve, 55, who has run Steve's Fish and Chips on Bolton Road, Ramsbottom, for the past 30 years, said the time had come to call it a

  • Jeff on tour of hospices

    A MOTORCYCLIST on a whistle stop tour of all 160 hospices around Great Britain dropped into Blackburn. Jeff Birbeck embarked on the trip to raise money for his local hospice in Hertfordshire, Isabel Hospice and he popped into its East Lancashire counterpart

  • Brummies the target in drive for tourists

    BRUMMIES are being targeted in the latest drive to get more tourists into Lancashire. The Lancashire Tourism Partnership has blitzed homes across the Midlands with leaflets designed to entice people into coming here on short breaks. The areas identified

  • Councillor wins party's reprieve

    A TORY councillor who was urged to quit by his party leader after he moved out of the area has clung on to his party membership. But Coun Graham Pound could still face losing the party whip on Blackburn with Darwen Council if his colleagues feel he does

  • Experts to save arson attack landmark

    A DERELICT Blackburn landmark gutted in an arson attack is to be saved, heritage experts have decided. English Heritage have told Blackburn with Darwen Council that the King's Head Inn in King Street should be restored after the attack left it badly damaged

  • Lap club plan to have men stripping, too

    THE woman who wants to open East Lancashires first lap-dancing bar has revealed it will have male dancers, too. Georgia Elliott, licensee at Cubes nightclub in Duke Street, Blackburn, had applied to Blackburn with Darwen Council's licensing committee

  • New tremor highlights rescuers' big fear

    HOURS after quake-ravaged Algeria was rocked by a strong aftershock, Lancashire dog handlers have called on quarantine restrictions to be changed so they can stay on red alert. The Lancashire Canissearch and rescue team recently returned from a four-day

  • Planners have decimated town

    I READ Margo Grimshaw's column with interest every Tuesday, not just because we were brought up in the same street in Feniscowles many years ago, but because we seem to think in the same vein about Blackburn. We like our town, but we don't like what is

  • Condemnation is against extremism

    J PILKINGTON (Letters, May 25) wishes to know why the BNP's recent council seat gains have caused fuss and condemnation. It seems hard to believe that he is unaware that the BNP are a far right, hatred-provoking, racist, political party which preys on

  • Clean town is a healthy town

    TWELVE years ago when Blackburn Council's cleansing department was close to being privatised, the council won the day with promises that all streets in Darwen and Blackburn would be swept once a week and back streets once a month. (Dream on). Also, in

  • Traffic chaos choking us

    ON May 15, I had the misfortune to be in the "non-flow" of traffic between the traffic lights at Plantation Street/Manchester Road (Eastgate) and the junction of Eastgate and Whalley Road in Accrington. The time of day was 12.55pm at Plantation Street's

  • Well done for insensitivity

    BLACKBURN with Darwen's ruling Labour councillors have yet again allocated themselves an inflation-busting rise in allowances -- of 3.5 per cent (LET, May 20). From your article, it would appear that Liberal-Democrat councillors have a conscience and

  • Residents must help themselves

    OBVIOUSLY, Mrs Hazel Hamer (Letters, May 22) has not got a clue about the successful community CCTV schemes already operating in Blackburn and Darwen. This is where residents club together to purchase CCTV for their own area or street, usually by way

  • Grass cuttings made a mess

    IT seems the grass cutting department at Blackburn Town Hall is up to its usual tricks. The council promise to give 13 cuts per year between mid-March and October to each grassed area, but I don't know of any area in the Mill Hill district which has had

  • Decision on coffee shop is ludicrous

    REGARDING the ludicrous decision of the so-called Council of the Year to force a businessman to close down because he is providing a service rather than retail goods. He has chosen to invest money into Blackburn at a time when we don't seem to be able

  • Mystery woman's £102,000 bingo prize

    A MYSTERY 62-year-old Leigh woman hit the bank holiday bingo jackpot by winning £102,000. The housewife and long time bingo fan will share her Monday good fortune with her two sisters. The lucky, but shy, was the first National game winner at BJ's Club

  • Man accused of £10,000 damage

    A BURY man accused of causing £10,000 worth of damage in the home of a former friend has been committed by Rochdale magistrates to stand trial at the Crown Court. Iqbal Nawaz, aged 38, of Broad Oaks, Bury, is charged with destroying fixtures and fittings

  • Benefits man worked as plumber

    A FATHER of three claiming benefits because he said he was incapable of working was earning cash as a plumber, a court was told. Burnley magistrates heard Patrick Morley, 34, said to be formerly dependent on drink, lied to the Department for Work for

  • Driver who kept calling ex-partner awaits sentence

    A HGV driver who repeatedly phoned his ex-girlfriend after being banned from contacting her, is awaiting sentence. Burnley Magistrates heard how Andrew Stephen Bond, 30, called frightened Sarah Foster's mother after she wouldn't answer and the mother

  • Overseas surgeons bid to cut ops waits

    PATIENTS awaiting hip or knee replacements operations are invited to volunteer for a £2million surgery blitz to slash waiting lists. On July 4, a team of South African surgeons, doctors and nurses will arrive in Southport and over ten weeks they will

  • Padiham and Hapton Bulletin

    THE Mayor of Padiham, Councillor Bob Clark and the Mayoress Mrs Hazel Rushton are to attend the Mayor of Burnley's Civic Church Celebration at St Augustine's at 10.30am on Sunday, June 1. In the afternoon they will be at the Bowling Green in Padiham to

  • Town hall battle of sickness cost

    TOWN hall bosses have rubber-stamped a new policy aimed at curing Burnley Council's sickness blues. Concerns were raised earlier this year about levels of absence among town hall staff and its cost to council tax payers. Although the number of days lost

  • Link road tops priority list

    ONE of the biggest issues of recent times - the proposed Heysham to M6 link road - tops a county council list of priorities for transport in the area. Lancashire County Council's transport working group has inspected blueprints for seven schemes and produced

  • Bogus nurse alert

    PENSIONERS were put on alert today after a woman dressed as a nurse conned her way into pensioners' homes and stole their cash. The conwoman told her victims she was a district nurse before making her way into the houses. A police inspector today said

  • Soprano starts lunch season

    THE 2003 series of summer lunchtime concerts in St John's Church, Chapel Street, Lancaster gets under way next Thursday, June 5. Soprano Claire Groom with accompanist Ben Dale on piano launch the eight concert season, which see events taking place every

  • Save our lanes say villagers

    PLANS to expand a village school resulted in a head-on confron-tation between city planners and residents this week. Local people waving 'Saves our lanes' banners were waiting as members of Lancaster City Council's planning committee arrived for a site

  • Lib Dem to be leader

    LIBERAL Democrat Councillor Alan Davies has agreed to take up his role as leader of Pendle Council after threatening to resign over the political make-up of the Executive committee two weeks ago. He made the threat to the council after the Labour and

  • The tale of a legend

    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

  • Five years ago

    ROBBIE Williams sent fans wild at a concert in Blackburn's King George's Hall. Robbie played for two hours and his fans such as, Zoe Campbell of Rosehill, Burnley, were ecstatic.

  • A view of how town could look

    RESIDENTS in Oswaldtwistle still have a chance to have their say on the local environment and how to improve it. The ABC of Oswaldtwistle is a guide being put together from ideas raised by people, community groups, churches, businesses and schools in

  • BNP homing in on key wards

    THE British National Party are targeting key wards in Hyndburn in preparation for next year's local elections, it has been revealed. The right-wing extreme party have dropped leaflets in the Netherton ward of Great Harwood and in Rishton in a strategic

  • Let us have our say

    CHRIS Davies MEP claims that 'changes are unlikely to be huge' as a result of the proposed European Convention (Citizen letters, May 22). The Government claims there is no need to hold a referendum to allow the British people to have their say. This fails

  • Good days are coming back - vow

    LANCASTER City's new boss Phil Wilson is confident he can bring the good old winning days back to the Giant Axe. The former Stalybridge Celtic and Southport manager believes he has what it takes to make Lancaster into a driving force in the Unibnond League

  • Why I'm keeping one of my jobs...

    AM I about to lose my job to a German? After all, (a) there is a proposal for a European "Foreign Minister"; (b) some say that a German will get the position. Two + two in euro-maths always makes five, (or more). So, the Euro Foreign Minister will take

  • Rugby men face tough test

    LANCASTER'S newest rugby team is preparing to take on some of the game's toughest teams when the York Nines Tournament kicks off next month. The draw made last week has put on a collisions course with teams from Cambridge, Edin-burgh and the French city

  • Chairman to dig deep again

    BURNLEY chairman Barry Kilby is ready to dig deep again to boost Stan Ternent's fighting fund. Clarets boss Ternent is battling to sign up to eight new players with no transfer funds at his disposal. And Kilby, who has already bailed the club out several

  • Bruce happy to bide time

    BIRMINGHAM boss Steve Bruce is happy to play the waiting game in his quest to land David Dunn. City are still licking their wounds after having a convoluted £5.5m bid for Dunn thrown out by the Rovers board last week. Ewood chiefs admit they are steeling

  • Chairman to dig deep again

    BURNLEY chairman Barry Kilby is ready to dig deep again to boost Stan Ternent's fighting fund. Clarets boss Ternent is battling to sign up to eight new players with no transfer funds at his disposal. And Kilby, who has already bailed the club out several

  • 'Dreadful' attack of lodger asked to leave

    A MAN who caused "dreadful" facial injuries when he attacked someone with an ashtray has been jailed for 18 months. Preston Crown court was told that Eric Southworth had lodged at the home of victim James Green for around 10 months before the incident

  • Gina's in support

    THE Sure Start organisation in Bacup and Stacksteads have appointed a co-ordinator for training, employment and child-care. Gina Lees will support families in the area with pre-school age children with training needs, back to work benefits advice, job

  • Prolific car criminal jailed

    A PROLIFIC car criminal who looked set to become the first Rossendale adult to be given an Anti Social Behaviour Order has been jailed instead. Heroin addict John Daniel Egan, 27, is behind bars after getting behind the wheel while banned, fleeing and

  • Rail users raise cash for charity

    TRAIN passengers using a scenic route will have the opportunity to raise funds for a children's hospice on Sunday. DalesRail is to donate its profits for the day to Derian House, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Sue Poppit from Derian

  • Former council leader on board

    THE former leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council has been appointed to the board of the area's primary care health trust. Coun Malcolm Doherty is a new 'lay' non-executive director of Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust. Chairman Pauline Walsh

  • Care home plan praise

    A LEADING psychiatrist behind a shocking new report which links the closure of care homes to the deaths of elderly people has been enlisted to advise Lancashire County Council. Professor David Jolley, who specialises in geriatric care, says in his report

  • Stanley welcome record sales

    ACCRINGTON Stanley have already sold a record number of season tickets, despite them only being on sale for less than four weeks. Fans have bombarded the offices at the Crown Ground to buy season tickets and support Stanley's first season in the Nationwide

  • Top marks over cash for schools

    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

  • Eurovision writer: No point in fretting!

    RADCLIFFE-born songwriter Martin Isherwood has hit back at critics after his Eurovision entry scored the dreaded nil points. Martin, who penned Cry Baby, sung by pop duo Jemini, described the song contest as "a political lottery". He said: "It wasn't