A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Simonstone Garden Club meet in the old school, 7.30pm. John Everness will talk about Colour in the Winter Garden. Woodworking Workshop, Elmfield Hall, Gatty Park, Church
NEIGHBOURHOOD shops and facilities have been hit hard over the last few years. You don't have to live in a picture postcard village to have been adversely affected by the closure of post offices, corner shops and small schools. Cuts in public transport
I ALSO asked readers some time ago for sightings of song thrushes, which are beginning to show signs of recovery. Bob Nuttall, of Arnside Crescent, Blackburn, responded by recording a pair in his garden. Joan Ellis also noticed that in her area song thrushes
IN a previous column I asked readers to let me know of any sightings of grey herons. As usual you did not let me down. Joan Ellis, of Skipton, walks a lot in the Ribble Valley and told me that during the snow she saw three "hungry looking herons" near
IT now looks certain that Britain and America will go to war with Iraq and billions of pounds will be spent on this conflict. What about helping combat world poverty? Millions are dying across six southern African countries; Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia,
IT would appear that I have not a little support for my criticism (Letters, January 17) of Blackburn with Darwen Council's dictatorial executive. For Councillor Alan Cottam and H Hamer (Letters, February 3) and the redoubtable Sam Spence (Letters, January
I AM appalled at Councillor Colin Rigby describing the town of which he is a leading figure as "a grotty little mill town" (LET, February 12). This is the exact opposite of what Blackburn needs at present. This is a community which has survived industrial
BURNLEY'S top police officer has warned that many of the conditions which caused rioting in the town in 2001still exist. Chief Superintendent John Knowles told a Police Authority meeting that further serious disorder was still a possibility. Today the
ROVERS Academy under 17s side twice battled back from a goal behind to earn a deserved 2-2 draw away to Manchester City. Captain Paul Weaver grabbed a penalty on the half-hour after schoolboy Keith Barker had been brought down by the goalkeeper inside
SO, David Dunn is giving manager Graeme Souness the silent treatment. Neither of them will probably thank me for raising a sensitive issue that has already attracted a lot of media attention. But I'm trying to look on the positive side of what some supporters
MPs GORDON Prentice and Peter Pike today joined the rebellion against Tony Blair's preparations for a new Gulf War. As Saddam Hussein pledged to die in Iraq rather than go into exile to avoid a US/UK led attack, they were among more than 70 Labour backbenchers
A GARAGE owner who developed a sore throat while on holiday was diagnosed with throat cancer and died just weeks later, an inquest heard. The hearing in Blackburn heard that Douglas Smith, 55, suffered from an "extremely aggressive" form of cancer. Surgery
A PENSIONER who nipped out to celebrate his birthday died after falling in an alley on his way home, an inquest heard. James Crusham, 72, of Cliffe Street, Colne, left his wife, Winefride, at their home on September 11 last year to go to a nearby club
A MINIATURE steam railway engine was given to the East Lancashire Railway by an American millionaire John Caperton of Kentucky.
PENDLE Panthers chalked up their first back-to-back victories of the season with a scintilating display of running rugby and a solid defence. The Panthers ran in seven tries - four in the first half - and only a late lapse to let Folly Lane score 18 points
NICK Ralph produced a master class of rugby with a wonderful solo effort to rattle up a personal tally of 28 points including four tries. The stand-off was the difference between the two sides as he scored four of Burnley's five tries plus four successful
FORMER Rhyddings High School pupil and county councillor Dorothy Westell will take a trip down memory lane when she opens the school's new £1.3million technology site. Building work began last October on the two storey centre with six rooms which replaces
A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER who waved off the Titanic before its fateful maiden voyage has died peacefully at her daughter's home at the age of 103. Mary Margaret Smyth passed away at her daughter's home in Great Harwood on Sunday February 16, after suffering
A HORSE rescued from the knacker's yard is set to jump alongside champion thoroughbreds after his owner nursed him back to his best. It was feared ten-year-old Salazeer, or Ali, was hours away from being turned into dog meat in Holland before being rescued
CLARETS fans are being reminded that they will be able to turn up and pay on the gate for the big Cup clash against Fulham at Turf Moor tonight. All areas for the home fans will be open and young fans will also be able to get their concessions at the
DRISSA Diallo's impressive form at the heart of the Burnley defence will ensure that he will soon be a name well known in football circles - but he is someone Fulham already know a lot about. His display alongside Ian Cox at the heart of the defence at
STAN Ternent is confident his side can spring an FA Cup shock and reach the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time in 20 years by defeating Premiership Fulham at Turf Moor tonight. The Burnley boss has got his team ready for the big test and now
FULHAM will find out whether it was worth nearly £1million of television cash to condemn their players to a fourth match in 11 days when they take on the Clarets in a fifth-round FA Cup replay at Turf Moor tonight. Victory and a quarter-final trip to
IN making a last-ditch bid to get a 60 per cent increase in councillors' allowances after a recommended rise of this magnitude had been voted down by his colleagues at Burnley earlier in the week, Tory Peter Doyle suggested it took courage to call for
IT is, of course, impossible to put a cash value on anyone's life. But I'd say that the £7.6million extracted in speed-camera fines from drivers in Lancashire last year in return for a purported nine fewer road deaths was a pretty poor bargain -- even
HENNING Berg says he is leaving the club in safe hands when he retires from the Premiership at the end of the season. The central defender is going back to his native Norway once his contract runs out in the summer after 12 seasons in England. But while
STAN Ternent is confident his side can spring an FA Cup shock and reach the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time in 20 years by defeating Premiership Fulham at Turf Moor tonight. The Burnley boss has got his team ready for the big test and now
Double honours up for grabs BURY Under 15s are on target for a glorious Greater Manchester Schools' League double. They need just two more wins from their final three games to clinch league crown and face Stockport in the quarter-finals of the county
A DAY of prayer, featuring a service from Lebanon, will be held at St Cuthbert's Church in Darwen. The service, which is hosted by a different country each year, will be held on Friday, March 7 at 7.30pm. Guest speaker Valerie Lucas, from St James's Church
RESIDENTS are pledging action against animal owners who are turning a beauty spot into a 'dog toilet'. The abundance of dog mess in the Sunnyhurst area of Darwen is such a problem that people in Tockholes Road are making their own signs to warn dog owners
A 20-YEAR-OLD prostitute left her three-year-old child alone in a second floor flat while she went out working the streets, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that the woman did not return for more than five hours, by which time a police officer
HEALTH Minister Hazel Blears visited the Rossendale Valley's new in-demand NHS dentist yesterday and praised its staff. The MP met the team at the dentist in Burnley Road, Rawtenstall, where residents queued for hours during the registration period to
A MASSEUR accused of groping a frightened student at his clinic above a chip shop was not guilty, his barrister told a jury. Robert Downey's counsel told Burnley Crown Court the case "didn't add up," and the evidence of the teenaged alleged victim had
A LEISURE facility axed as part of £400,000 budget cuts at Rossendale Borough Council could receive a new lease of life -- thanks to the authority. Members of the development control committee will tonight discuss plans to turn Rawtenstall's Astoria Ballroom
A 29-YEAR-OLD woman was used as a "patsy" in a shoplifting trolley dash by her drug-addicted boyfriend, a court heard. Linzi Nadine Pickup, of Accrington Road, Blackburn, appeared before Rochdale magistrates and admitted theft of nearly £300 worth of
THE Lancashire Evening Telegraph today joined campaigners fighting plans which could spell the end for our neighbourhood chemists. MPs are also backing our fight and East Lancashire pharmacists have written to the Department of Health registering their
CLITHEROE moved up to second place in Division One with a 4-1 demolition of Salford City. The Blues scored early on when Chris Whittingham's low cross was turned in by a Salford defender on 15 minutes Mark Stewart added a second from the penalty spot
IN the North West Counties League's second division Bacup notched a 1-0 win at local rivals Nelson. Promotion hopefuls Bacup grabbed an early goal when the Blues failed to clear a free kick and Micky Bartholomew scored at the far post to give the visitors
BURNLEY'S top police officer has warned that many of the conditions which caused rioting in the town in 2001still exist. Chief Superintendent John Knowles told a Police Authority meeting that further serious disorder was still a possibility. Today the
IN this week's mail I found details of a most fascinating project. The idea is to survey the natural history and the conservation potential of local churchyards and cemeteries. The project is designed to operate throughout Britain but there is an East
REGARDING Gary Ellison's complaint (Letters, February 18) about his bin not being emptied "due to adverse weather conditions" three days after the snow on Monday, February 3, our bins weren't collected on the Tuesday either. That means areas in Darwen
THE Lancashire Evening Telegraph today joined campaigners fighting plans which could spell the end for our neighbourhood chemists. MPs are also backing our fight and East Lancashire pharmacists have written to the Department of Health registering their
HENNING Berg says he is leaving the club in safe hands when he retires from the Premiership at the end of the season. The central defender is going back to his native Norway once his contract runs out in the summer after 12 seasons in England. But while
THE curtain was raised on a Burnley church's annual pantomime yesterday. Aladdin will also be performed at the Sion Baptist Church in Church Street today, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7.15pm. There will also be a matinee performance on Saturday at
RESIDENTS living close to Burnley's Scott Park have complained they are still being plagued by juveniles, months after police stepped up patrols in the area. Neighbours spoke up at a Police Authority meeting in Burnley Town Hall. Inspector Dave Croll
A PUBLIC meeting will take place at the start of the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, March 11, at 7.30pm to discuss the planning application for Old Hall Farmstead. The application has been submitted to Burnley Borough Council to allow a change of
A WOMAN in the running to become Burnley's next MP has upset some party members after sending out personal letters announcing her intention to stand. Kitty Ussher, who has been linked with replacing Peter Pike as the Labour candidate at the next General
BURNLEY'S top police officer has warned that many of the conditions which caused rioting in the town in 2001still exist. Chief Superintendent John Knowles told a Police Authority meeting that further serious disorder was still a possibility. Today the
BURY are poised to make another addition to their front line as the club continue to unearth a rich seam of teenage talent. Manager Andy Preece is ready to table a contract for little known 19-year-old trialist Chris Porter after he netted twice in the
PLANS to transform the area along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Pendle have moved one step closer with the launch of a new project involving local people. Residents were invited to a meeting at the Pendle Village Mill tearooms, Brierfield, to discuss
RESIDENTS living in a controversial demolition zone said the scheme was designed to "replace them with yuppies" and begged a public inquiry to allow them to stay. Jamila Khan, of Every Street, Nelson, spoke out as residents in the Whitefield ward began
THE marathon telecast which features legions of showbiz personalities, some famous, others nearly-famous, do their bit in the name of fund-raising. Across the UK, ordinary people will also be taking part in extraordinary individual and collective acts
TWO Pendle businesswomen are urging their counterparts to stand up and be counted by taking part in International Women in Business Week. They have invited women to attend a new networking group, which will meet next Wednesday, March 5, at 7.30 pm at
A FORMER company boss sent a fake letter to the Child Support Agency in a bid to avoid higher maintenance payments and protect his luxury lifestyle, a jury heard. Steven Crowe, 35, was said to have faxed the forged document, pretending it was from
SISTERS Danielle and Claudia Fogarty had plenty to talk about to their schoolmates - their dad had just met the Queen! Bike racer dad Carl Fogarty, who had just had a proud moment at Buckingham Palace, let Danielle, six, and Claudia, three, take his MBE
PENDLE Panthers Rugby League coach Steve Swann could be forgiven for feeling a little apprehensive ahead of England Under 21s clash against Lancashire next month -- because he has players in both camps! For Sarah Dixon and Kelly Fergeson will be in the
MORE than 30 children from different backgrounds and cultures made friends while playing football, cricket and basketball at Hyndburn Leisure Centre. The day was part of a week of activities that included cycling at Rivington, skiing at Rossendale, and
A MAN attacked his girlfriend with a cricket bat and smashed her ankle after rowing after a night out. Burnley Crown Court heard how Paul Clifford, 31, was miffed because he had been set upon by a gang in Accrington town centre. His then partner Gemma
POLICE and an MP today called for a teenager crimewave to be named and shamed after he was locked up yet again. The move came as officers said they may apply for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) against the 14-year-old, less than two months after
A BURY company helped a large ambulance service move from one town to another. Pennine Communications oversaw the moving of West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service's nerve centre from Bradford to Wakefield. Pennine's project manager Geoff King worked
A BUSINESSMAN has finally declared victory in his 10-year fight with the Government over the sale of imported lager. Andrew Ronnan, proprietor of the Bavarian Lager Company Ltd, in Whalley, won £125,000 compensation from the Department of Trade and Industry
FULHAM will be hoping to make it 26th time lucky when they arrive at Turf Moor tonight, having failed to win on any visit to the Clarets since April 21, 1951. Whether it has been in the cup or the league, it has made no difference. They have always travelled
THE MULTI-million pound gap in value between Fulham boss Jean Tigana's men in white and Stan Ternent's Clarets is clear to see. As is the huge number of international caps Fulham's thoroughbreds have amassed in their long careers compared to Burnley's
THE Clarets youth side had a winning start to their Merit League campaign and coach Terry Pashley admitted: "Our target is to be unbeaten for the rest of the season." Pashley has always insisted that the most important thing with young footballers is
ALAN Moore is one of the quieter members of the Clarets squad and is not keen on doing interviews. Even after his wonderful goal at Fulham helped Burnley force tonight's replay at Turf Moor he was happy to let his feet do the talking. But today he has
I HAVE got a funny feeling that this season's FA Cup is a big story waiting to happen and after tonight we will know if the next chapter will include the Clarets. In recent years the finals have been dominated by the usual suspects and that is one reason
TWO Pendle businesswomen are urging their counterparts to stand up and be counted by taking part in International Women in Business Week. They have invited women to attend a new networking group, which will meet next Wednesday, March 5, at 7.30 pm at
MP Janet Anderson has promised a prize for the first night of a popular sports quiz which returns to Darwen on Friday after more than 35 years. The quiz at Bolton Road Conservative Club is at 7.45pm and the Darwen MP has wished the night 'great success
A SLIMMING group who have collectively shed more than 1,500lb in three meetings are now appealing for men to join up and get fit. Darwen Weightwatchers, who meet on Thursdays between 5 and 6.30pm at the New Methodist Church, Blackburn Road, has 100 members
AN 18-year-old Darwen woman launched a vicious attack on a neighbour after being invited into her flat late at night, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that Michelle Anna Grist grabbed her neighbour, Carol Yewdale, by her ponytail and dragged
SINGER Robert Sharples is set to emerge from Gareth Gates' shadow -- two years after finishing second to him in a TV talent show. A year before the spikey-haired star hit the big time on ITV's Pop Idol he was competing for the limelight on BBC 1's Steps
A BURGLAR is starting a two-year jail term after a £4,000 Boxing Day raid on a family home. Jason Joyce, 24, of Schofield Road, Rawtenstall, had seven previous convictions for burglary and had flouted a previous non-custodial sentence, Burnley Crown Court
A FORMER Rossendale councillor has been charged with fraud offences relating to the theft of £10,000. Stephen Birtwell, of Oak Avenue, Rising Bridge, was interviewed and charged by detectives yesterday afternoon. A police spokesman said the charges related
A TOWN centre security officer who went to enforce an exclusion order on Amran Iqbal was punched in the face and kicked on the leg, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard Iqbal was banned from the town shopping centre because of previous incidents
A SURVEY to mark the launch of the new car number plate in March has revealed that Blackburn motorists see their car as nothing more than a way of getting from A to B. The survey by Westwood Mercedes dealership in Whitebirk Drive revealed that nearly
NEW classes to help people kick smoking start next week to give them a flying start in time for National No Smoking Day, on March 12. The area's smoking cessation staff are starting new six-week sessions from March 4 at centres in Blackburn, Accrington
A MAN left his heroin addict wife in Blackburn so that he could get away from the drug culture that had set his life into a downward spiral, a court was told Blackburn magistrates heard that the move to Birkenhead had helped Bryan Jameson to stop taking
SCHOOLS chiefs today defended the success of an Education Action Zone -- despite worsening GCSE results in three out of four high schools. David McNulty, assistant director of Education at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said success of the borough's Education
PADIHAM slipped to a third successive defeat when they lost 3-1 away to Holker in Division Two of the North West Counties Football League. The dismissal of Carl Parker after only seven minutes and the subsequent award of a penalty which Paul Southward
IN Division One Ramsbottom won 3-2 at home to Glossop NE. The Rams fell behind in the second minute when Sherlock netted at the back post following a corner. Four minutes later an horrific tackle on the Rams' Mark Brown resulted in the player being carried
BLACKBURN Hawks enjoyed mixed fortunes in last weekend's challenge double-header with ENHL South side Milton Keynes Thunder. The Hawks lost Saturday's encounter but won the following day as both teams were beaten in their own backyard. At the Arena Bobby
ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman has warned his team not to be over confident as they step out in one of their biggest games of the season tonight. The Reds clash with Kendal Town in the semi-final of the FA Marsden Trophy at the Crown Ground and
THE Lancashire Evening Telegraph today joined campaigners fighting plans which could spell the end for our neighbourhood chemists. MPs are also backing our fight and East Lancashire pharmacists have written to the Department of Health registering their
A POLICE officer who was on long term sick leave from Greater Manchester Police with a back injury was discovered moonlighting -- as a parachute instructor. PC Andrew Hesketh, aged 43, was helping members of the public parachute 3,000 feet out of planes
