Archive

  • Hughes wants new adventure

    MARK Hughes reckons last week's Intertoto Cup sojourn to Lithuanian has whetted his players' appetites for another European adventure. Rovers flourished on the continent last season, going further in the UEFA Cup than any previous side had done in the

  • Flagman Mo eyes European crusade

    BLACKBURN could well boast two representatives in European competitions after Christmas. Rovers fans will be hoping Mark Hughes and his charges can safely negotiate tomorrow's Intertoto Cup tie against FK Vetra and enjoy another run in the Uefa Cup.

  • Tesco suspect's Lancashire past

    THE alleged bomb hoaxer accused of a £1million blackmail plot against Tesco supermarkets is a former VAT officer and part-time college tutor. Philip McHugh, 51, of Milton Avenue, Clitheroe, was arrested by police following the closure of 14 stores across

  • Young issues Lancashire plea

    MARK Young issued a "come and get me" plea to Lancashire as he extended his lead in the Mitsushiba Northern Order of Merit to 240 points thanks to a three-shot victory in the Royton Sword. The 26-year-old Clitheroe builder, who also won the Penwortham

  • Haslingden Through To Cricket Final

    Haslingden easily overcame Burnley in the semi-final of the Lancashire Cricket League 20/20 competition. Burnley batting first could only manage 61 all out. In reply, Haslingden easily knocked off the runs without losing a wicket.

  • Boy, 16, given ASBO

    A BURNLEY teenager has been given an Anti-Social Behaviour Order after terrorising people in the Queensgate area of the town. Neighbourhood policing officers secured the ASBO on 16-year-old Storm McGowan of Holcombe Drive, Burnley which will prevent

  • Bus gets a parking ticket - at a bus stop

    A BUS has been given a parking ticket while it was parked at a town centre bus stop! Blackburn with Darwen Council bosses have backed down over the incident - even though they insist that the parking attendant was correct to issue the fine. Bus driver

  • Balloon festival up in the air

    BURNLEY'S Balloon Festival has been hit by the weather. The annual festival was due to start from 4pm today, but all flights this evening have been cancelled due to the state of the fields at Towneley Park. Saturday morning's flights have also been

  • Shoppers shown the future as part of health campaign

    SHOPPERS have been transported into the future as part of a drive to stop them going blind. The Mall, Blackburn, played host to the Royal National Institute of Blind People's (RNIB) Open Your Eyes tour in a bid to get more people in the borough to

  • Heroin drugs den closed by court

    A DRUGS den which was visited by up to 60 people a day has been closed after police acted on complaints from neighbours. The closure notice put on 6 Hilton Road, Darwen, will run for three months, during which time the house will be sealed. The two

  • Tributes paid to former council leader

    TRIBUTES have been paid to a former long-standing leader of Burnley Council who has died aged 78. Ken McGeorge died peacefully in Burnley General Hospital on Thursday. He was a borough councillor for more than 20 years and leader for 10 years. He was

  • Arrest man had a knife

    A MAN arrested on another matter was found to be carrying a lock-knife hidden down his trousers. Blackburn magistrates heard that Kevin Peter Booth, 32, had previously been a stabbing victim and he told police he was carrying the weapon as a deterrent

  • Hoax call kids cost taxpayer £250k

    CHILDREN aged under 10 were uncovered as the hoax callers who had cost the taxpayer £250,0000 - after they fell into a CCTV trap. A joint operation was set up between police, the fire service and Housing Pendle after around 70 hoax emergency calls

  • £20,000 drugs stash man jailed

    A DRUG user caught red handed on a Blackburn street with a £20,000 haul of cocaine has been sent to prison for four years. Police were looking out for someone else when Anis Umarji caught their eye with his suspicious behaviour. He had been persuaded

  • Video stunt teenager in new violence row

    A TEENAGE boy who sparked a video stunt craze has admitted uploading violent footage onto the internet. Michael Davies, 18, uploaded three videos of a brawl between teenage girls near Birch Hall Avenue in Darwen onto video-sharing website YouTube three

  • Son smashed mum's £1k TV

    A TEENAGER who rowed with his brother and sister took out his frustration on his mum's £1,000 38-inch flat screen TV. Blackburn magistrates heard that Grant William Jackson kicked the giant screen smashing it to pieces. Jackson, 18, of Shakespeare Way

  • Family release balloons in Olivia's memory

    FRIENDS and family of accident victim Olivia Whiteside have released 20 balloons to mark the first anniversary of her death. The seven-year-old, known as Dolly, died after she was struck by a vehicle at the junction of Billinge Street and Dalton Close

  • Thief bit security guard on thigh

    A SUPERMARKET security guard had to undergo tests for Hepatitis B after being bitten on the thigh by a thief. And drug addict Mark Morton, 31, also knocked out the tooth of a manager of the Nelson Morrisons in Pendle Street during the melee. Morton

  • Burnley born Lord Mayor of London comes home

    THE Burnley-born Lord Mayor of the City of London will return to the town this weekend for his first official visit to his birthplace. John Stuttard is set to watch the Burnley v Leeds "friendly" at Turf Moor tomorrow - where his late father Tom was

  • Thief clocks up 165 offences

    A 35-year-old man who stole two bottles of whiskey from Marks and Spencer was jailed after Blackburn magistrates were told he had 164 previous convictions for theft. The court heard Andrew Phillip Berry had been convicted of more than 250 previous offences

  • Pizza row men make their peace

    A TEENAGER has offered an olive branch to the man he assaulted, saying he would like to "shake hands and call it a day". Mohammed Ali, 19, pleaded guilty to assaulting Shaun Whelan outside Pizza Pazz in Whalley Road, Accrington, and received 12 months

  • Stylist’s attack terror at hair salon

    A TERRIFIED hairdresser was attacked by her ex-boyfriend at her salon as customers fought to to stop him, a court was told. Builder Martin Magee, 28, was drunk when he got into his van, turned up at the shop in Market Street, Bacup, on a busy Saturday

  • 'I just slapped girlfriend’ accused tells magistrates

    A MAN said to have jumped on his ex-girlfriend and repeatedly punched her denied it and told a court: "I just slapped her." Burnley magistrates heard Dean Ingram, whose mother and sister saw the alleged beating and dragged him off victim Sarah Tyhurst

  • Packing toilet rolls taught me a lot about life

    A remarkable phrase which is being used more and more these days is: "I can't be bothered". It is the middle of summer (supposedly) and with the holidays upon us I have noticed something quite familiar. I know it is difficult sometimes getting a job

  • Gang man had ‘been on bender’

    A MAN involved in gang trouble after an "all night bender" could remember nothing about it, Burnley magistrates heard. The court was told how Peter John Kennedy, 23, had not put down the money he spent on alcohol on his court means form. The bench said

  • Drunk father butted partner

    A MAN attacked his partner in the toilets at a social services office after a row over their baby daughter, a court heard. Daniel Wood, 38, who had earlier walked off with the infant in a pram after a drinking session, headbutted Leanne Hilton in the

  • Two face motoring charges

    JAMES Bolton, 44, of Clement Street, Accrington, was bailed until August 7 by Blackburn magistrates, charged with permitting the use of an uninsured vehicle. He is also accused of permitting driving of the vehicle other than in accordance with a licence

  • Fire chief ignites cigarette debate

    LANCASHIRE'S fire chief has called for self-extinguishing cigarettes to be made available in the UK. So-called "Fire Safer" cigarettes, introduced in 21 States across the USA and in the whole of Canada, are specially manufactured to self-extinguish without

  • Biggles Flying Into Haslingden

    RAF Squadron Leader, Robby Robinson, will be relating his experiences as a test pilot. The meeting of the Rossendale Aviation Society takes place on Wednesday, 1st August at Haslingden Cricket Club. Contact the club for more information.

  • A star turn for refurbished homeless hostel

    FILM star Samina Awan dropped into Nelson to officially reopen the fire-gutted SafeSpace project for young homeless people. Alongside deputy mayor of Pendle, Coun Shelagh Derwent (far left), the 22-year-old actress from Eccles, Manchester (second from

  • Would-be robbers sent into custody

    A JUDGE has sent two would-be robbers behind bars. Darrell Aldore and Khizer Baig tried to mug a man who was using his mobile phone as he walked along Whalley Range, Blackburn. An off-duty police officer and a relative went to the victim's aid. Judge

  • Jobs saved in buy out

    MORE than 200 jobs have been saved after an East Lancashire firm went into administration - but was bought by a rival. Decorpart Ltd, of Edward Street, Nelson, which made metal packaging for perfumery and cosmetics was bought out by King's Lynn-based

  • Metal night with a Dutch flavour

    EAST Lancashire's biggest metal night - Corrupted - goes international this weekend with a performance by Dutch garage-rock band The Monroes. They will play The Hargreaves, Accrington, tonight, and are being supported by Corrupted favourites, Preston-based

  • Feniscowles: Holly Tree Chippy

    IF you can get quality fish and chips coupled with friendly service, you're coming close to the perfect meal. I may have found a contender with this chippy. Even though I turned up right on closing time, the staff were more than courteous and even volunteered

  • Underground surfaces near to home

    DJs Adam O'Keeffe - aka Judas - and Adam G, otherwise known as AK-g, have joined forces and come up with a series of underground dance nights called Logic on Blackburn, starting on August 3. Judas and AK-g are warming up the decks with an electric

  • Fans stampede for blues tickets

    ADVANCE ticket sales for this year's Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in Colne look set to break all records. The four-day event, held over the August bank holiday weekend, attracts music fans from all over the country and festival organisers

  • Rare show by jazz star

    A JAZZ legend who collaborated on the scores for the Bond movies Goldfinger and From Russia With Love is making a rare UK appearance at Rawtenstall's Rhythm Station on August 14. Alan Haven - a big name on the scene - will guest star at the venue's regular

  • Big band era comes swinging back

    BLACKBURN will get in the swing on August 19 when former New Squandonaires musician Simone Smith and her husband, Chris come to Thwaites Empire Theatre to present an evening of swing, Sinatra-style. Featuring the Five Star Swing band, the show will

  • The Big Day, BBC1

    YOUR wedding day is supposed to be the biggest day of your life so why on earth would you invite a TV crew along and let Nick Knowles make all the arrangements for you? The Big Day, on BBC1, is the latest example of a reality programme too far. It was

  • Music hopeful sets out goals

    A LIFELONG Blackburn Rovers fan living in Holland is hoping his band will prove a big hit - so he can tour the UK and catch a few football games at the same time. Neil FitzPatrick is a student at the Academie for Pop Culture in Leeuwarden, Friesland

  • Fire deaths pledge

    ACCIDENTAL deaths in blazes across Lancashire have dropped by almost 30 per cent in two years - but fire chiefs have warned there are still too many. Eight people were killed last year, the same figure as the previous 12 months and a fall of 27 per cent

  • Police ‘most wanted’ list is updated

    A SUSPECTED car thief from East Lancashire has been added to Lancashire Police's most wanted list. Mark Richard Eggar, 31, is originally from Manchester but police say he has connections to Blackburn, Simonstone and Bacup. He was due before Preston

  • Soldiers take on bike challenge for charity

    TEN Lancashire soldiers are preparing for the challenge of a lifetime - cycling through five countries in five days. The servicemen and women from 93 Signal Squadron (Volunteers) form the majority of a team of 12 cyclists will who will cycle up to 62

  • Santa Cruz is coming to town

    BLACKBURN ROVERS boss Mark Hughes is confident of wrapping up the signing of Roque Santa Cruz in the next 24 hours. The Rovers chief confirmed this morning that the 25-year-old Paraguayan has flown into England for talks. And providing there's no

  • Jeffers is best to leave Rovers

    IF I was Francis Jeffers then I would find another club. Obviously Mark Hughes has told him that he's free to leave and the club have already accepted an offer for him. He's about fifth down the list in the striking pecking order and he needs to understand

  • Town's shock over bomb hoax swoop

    THE events of Tuesday night have sent shockwaves through the small cul-de-sac in Clitheroe where Philip McHugh has lived for the past three-and-a-half years. Neighbours said police swooped on the terraced property at around 9pm and arrested the 51-year-old

  • Clarets re-born with futuristic Turf plans

    I COULDN'T believed my eyes when I picked up the paper on Tuesday. A 20m redevelopment of Turf Moor? Fantastic, just unbelievable. It's almost like a re-birth of the club and it gives us a top-class stadium. Let's hope that it is matched with what's

  • Clarets spend £274k on agents

    A Football League report has revealed that Burnley paid £274,000 in agents' fees between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007. Of Championship clubs during the same period, Sunderland spent the most with £881,594 on agents' fees, with Birmingham paying £873,938

  • Another accident causes Grane Road delays

    EARLY-morning traffic was held up once again after yet another crash on the Grane Road at Haslingden today. Firefighters from Rawtenstall station were called out to an overturned car near to the Duke of Wellington pub shortly after 6.30am. The people

  • Residents hit out as CPOs approved

    RESIDENTS accused councillors of using them as 'political footballs' following a decision to issue compulsory purchase orders on their homes. Hyndburn councillors voted to issue the orders for 34 houses in west Accrington at an extraordinary council

  • Matty ready for a start

    ROVERS striker Matt Derbyshire has vowed to enhance to his budding reputation this season - as long as he gets his chance to shine. The Blackburn-born hitman burst onto the scene in the last campaign scoring 10 goals in all competitions - five of which

  • Cotterill applauds Gawthorpe investment

    STEVE Cotterill expects Burnley's Gawthorpe training base to be better than ever once an Academy is completed. A state-of-the-art Academy is to be built at the Padiham-based training ground as part of the club's stunning £20m redevelopment plans. It

  • Matt aiming for Uefa goal

    STRIKER Matt Derbyshire is confident Rovers can finish off FK Vetra at Ewood Park tomorrow. Mark Hughes' side go into the Intertoto Cup, third round, second leg tie with a two-goal lead thanks strikes from Benni McCarthy and the Under-21 international