BURGLARIES in Burnley and Pendle shot up by 30 per cent over the summer - and the rise has been blamed on people leaving their homes unlocked. But officers said that in response to 300 raids in just three months a crackdown named 'Operation Saturate
ANGRY residents protesting about housing plans in the Ribble Valley have formed an action group to protect their rural surroundings. The Save Whalley Village Action group has been formed by residents amid concerns about the Ribble Valley being
THE PEOPLE behind Rossendale’s new driving range hope to get school children involved in the game. Scott and Amanda Grundy, directors of Golf Rossendale Driving Range and Academy, are planning to work with local schools to make golf lessons during school
THE CONTROVERSIAL closure of Blackburn town centre road has been shelved after an outcry from traders. Shop owners had campaigned against plans to shut Railway Road to through traffic, claiming it would damage trade by preventing shoppers from driving
TRIBUTES have been paid to a 45-year-old Whalley hairdresser who has died after a long battle with cancer. Mother-of-one Debbie Louise Keighley, who passed away in Clitheroe Community Hospital, has been described as 'glamorous and fun-loving
A LANCASHIRE police officer who was involved in a high-speed car crash while responding to an emergency has admitted dangerous driving. But PC Ryan van Delft, 40, formerly a community beat manager in Burnley and Barnoldswick, and latterly a
A MAN threatening to jump from a motorway bridge in Burnley brought traffic to a standstill. Police said that they were called to the scene at junction 10 of the M65 at 3.35pm and put rolling roadblocks in place on both sides of the carriageway. The
I HAVE recently enjoyed a number of walks along the many now disused railway tracks in Cumbria. This week I explored the line which once brought coke from the Durham Coalfields to fuel the iron ore furnaces in the Furness district. The Smardale
ACCRINGTON Stanley have announced that they hope to conclude contract negotiations with management duo John Coleman and Jimmy Bell by the end of the week amid potential interest from Lincoln City. Coleman and Bell agreed terms over new three-and-a-half-year
On the second Sunday of each month, Ramsbottom has its own Farmers Market. The market takes place from 10.00am to 3.00pm inside Ramsbottom Civic Hall and in the areas both in front of the Civic Hall and around the "Tilted Vase." Local quality produce
A MAN who took a pregnant Darwen woman on a terrifying high-speed journey before hitting a group of pedestrians should have been jailed for longer, his mum said. Christopher Marr took his estranged girlfriend Annabel Walker, of Sough Road, Darwen,
There is a Family Halloween Party in Edenfield in aid of Edenfield Village Pre School on Sunday 31st October in the Community Centre. There will be games, raffles for children and adults and refreshments. It happens from 2pm to 4pm. Tickets cost
MUMS who have ‘put their families first’ say they have fallen unfair victims of the decision to slice child benefits. From 2013, the coalition government will withdraw child benefit from families where one of parents is a higher-rate
There is a Psychic Night at Haslingden Cricket Club on Monday October 11th. All the usual nonsense including Palmistry, Tarot Readings and Auto-suggestion. Ring the club for more details; 01706 215365
Haslingden Cricket Club has its annual Bonfire & Firework display on Friday 5th November at 6.30pm. There will be full bar and refreshment facilities available as usual. Admission is £2 per adult, £1 per child or £5 per family. Members willing to act
TWO Padiham residents have written to the Local Government Ombudsman to complain about a lack of consultation over the closure of the town’s recycling centre. The Park Road site closed for the final time on Friday, but residents are still angry at
A close encounter with a grizzly bear and a three-day solo canoe trip were just two of the exciting highlights of a South Lakeland woman’s amazing Canadian adventure. Sarah Hooper, 38, spent 10 weeks in Canada on a tour of some of North America
A COLNE woman who was caught not cleaning up after her dog twice in three months has been ordered to pay £515. Samantha Morrisey, 26, of Glenroy Avenue, was spotted failing to clean up after her dog in her own street on February 23 and then again
A SERIAL pest caught naked on his ex-girlfriend’s bed has been jailed for 12 months. Carla Jenkinson arrived home to find her sheets rumpled and a series of pictures on her mobile phone showing her ex-partner Leon Eccles in revealing poses, Burnley
NEARLY 30 years since their split, the sounds of The Jam are set to be played at an intimate gig in Oswaldtwistle on October 16. In 1982 the mod rockers, fronted by Paul Weller, parted ways but one fourth of the iconic band, Bruce Foxton, is
DETECTIVES in Burnley have charged a 37-year-old man in connection with two serious sexual assaults that took place in the town. Nizam Ahmed, who is from Burnley but currently of no fixed address, has been charged with one offence of rape and a further
CRYSTAL Palace boss George Burley says he is keen to keep Blackburn Rovers’ ball-juggling champion Alex Marrow until the end of the season. Marrow, who signed for Rovers in 2008 after he was spotted winning a local ‘keepy-uppy’ competition
CASH-strapped police forces should not cut spending on sport, according to Lancashire’s Chief Constable. Steve Finnigan said encouraging officers and staff to play sport reduced stress, improved mental health and increased performance.
THE wife of critically-ill former footballer Gary Parkinson is planning to meet a man who has recovered from her husband’s condition. Blackpool FC coach Gary, who also played for Burnley and Preston North End, suffered a massive stroke last
A 35-YEAR-OLD man attacked his partner during a drunken row during which she was grabbed by the hair and dragged into bushes. Blackburn magistrates heard the victim did not want to make a complaint to police, but the incident was witnessed by a man
DATESTONES collected by a Rossendale historian who died this year are to be added to a village’s ‘Path of History’. Before John Burton Taylor, known as JB, died in May he had planned to donate around 40 datestones and bricks from buildings
CONSTRUCTION work at Darwen Vale school will start in January. Hoardings have already been put up around the site in Blackburn Road in preparation for a £25million transformation under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. The historic
A LEADING East Lancashire firm could double its exports to developing countries with increased government support, it has been claimed. Blackburn-based Graham and Brown is the third largest wallpaper manufacturer in the world, employing more than 400
IT is hard to explain the male obsession with top five lists. Maybe it’s down to watching High Fidelity once too often. It might just be me, but a great game of football is rarely measured in isolation. It must be ranked against the top five
AMBITIOUS plans to create an amphitheatre in Nelson town centre have been revealed. Planners showcased designs of how the town centre will look once a £2.1million scheme to re-open Manchester Road to slow-moving traffic has been completed.
THE words, phrases and dialects that make Lancashire stand out are to be recorded for future generations in a new social history project. The Noise We Mek scheme involves following the Leeds/Liverpool canal from Blackburn through Chorley to
During the early 1840s, the Admiral Lord Rodney Pub in Waterside, Colne, was perceived by the Authorities to be a centre of intrigue and dissent during the time when Power Looms were introduced into Colne. Cotton workers felt their livelihoods, as
WHILE Bacup’s win over Rossendale in the FA Vase on Saturday meant the end for Stags boss John Hughes, the emotions were switched completely for Brent Peters. Bacup boss Peters’ parents live a stone’s throw from Dark Lane and he himself was a ball boy
THERE was a landmark goal to celebrate for Nigel Coates’ Colne FC in the recent 2-2 draw with Ashton Athletic. When Lee Barratt swooped for an 86th minute equaliser for the Reds in the 2-2 draw at Holt House there was plenty to cheer. It was their 900th
A MAN with a heart defect was forced to cancel a ‘vital’ hospital appointment after the Patient Transport Service refused to take him. Mark McDonald, 40, of Nelson, who has arrhythmia, a disturbance of the normal electrical rhythm of the heart, said
MY mother said that ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ and I've always found it to be true: a neglected problem just goes worse. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council would do well to remember that adage because the neglected potholes in the Darwen area
WE need to put our war memorials in the news for the right reasons. They are the most tangible link we have with those dark years of almost a century ago when, with no repatriation possible, our forebears had no other means of honouring those they
ONCE again, Jack Straw is in denial over the war with Iraq (LT, September 30). He tells us that the new leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband “was making no criticism of those who made the decision”. Tens of thousands of Iraqis dead, Al Qaeda
IT is hard to explain the male obsession with top five lists. Maybe it’s down to watching High Fidelity once too often. It might just be me, but a great game of football is rarely measured in isolation. It must be ranked against the top five
HATS off to Leigh Thistlethwaite who is in the middle of a mammoth cycle ride from John O’Groats to Lands End. The dad-of-three is undertaking the 1,000-mile bike ride in memory of his mother Denise who died a year ago from bowel cancer.
RAMSBOTTOM UNITED goalkeeper Martin Campbell has left the Rams to join local rivals Rossendale United. Campbell, who was first choice keeper at the start of the season, lost his place to former FC United of Manchester stopper Grant Shenton who joined
SACKED Rossendale United boss John Hughes has insisted the club were making progress before his dismissal on Saturday. After 16 months in charge, Hughes was relieved of his duties immediately after the Stags’ 2-0 home defeat to East Lancashire rivals
AN inspirational volunteer from Brierfield who has helped others whilst battling breast cancer has received the Health Ambassador Award from NHS East Lancashire. Anne Dawber, 57, has battled a number of illnesses, including arthritis, asthma
Garry Flitcroft’s Chorley have been drawn at home to Quorn in the first qualifying round of the FA Trophy. Chorley enter the competition at this stage and will host Leicesterside village side Quorn, who ply their trade in Evo-Stik First Division
Ex-Colne professional Anwar Ali has signed for Northern League outfit Morecambe for next season. The 22 year-old Pakistani pace bowler was expected to stay in East Lancashire with two Lancashire League sides and one from the Ribblesdale League vying
MARC Etherington has known all about ‘ice time’ for as long as he can remember. The Oswaldtwistle teenager, now aged 18, recalls his days of messing around at Blackburn Arena as a toddler as elder brother Dan played for the Hawks. He was just four years
THE East Lancashire health campaign to save the equivalent of a million years of people’s lives was always bold and ambitious. The idea was that by aggressively promoting the benefits of exercise, healthy eating, and the like, over four years, the
ALFONSO Bellusci was crowned CIU Manchester Branch champion for the third time after a display of near faultless snooker. Bellusci, playing for Hollins Lib in Darwen, beat Wigan’s Andy Peddington 3-0 in the final at St Paul’s WMC. Snooker
BLACKBURN Rovers goalkeeper Jason Brown is desperate for an end to his Ewood Park frustration – and admits it would be a ‘privilege’ to secure a permanent move to Leeds United. The Welsh international has just extended his loan stay at Elland Road for
THE Accrington and District Junior Football League has been awarded coveted FA Charter Standard League status. The league was presented with the award at Blackburn Rovers’ recent home game against Fulham. Lancashire FA officials, including chief executive
BEN Whitehead made a big impression on his professional mixed martial arts debut - and the watching Michael Bisping could not have failed to have been impressed. The heavyweight, a member of Black Knights MMA, beat Llyr Roberts from Wales in just over
BLACKBURN coach John Morgan told his excitable young players that they will have to calm down if they want to return to winning ways. Having seen his side play their way back in to the contest after conceding sloppy tries, Blackburn lacked cool heads
A LACK of discipline and poor defending cost Dale dear as they lost at league leaders Stockport. Dale held a 25-15 lead at the break but lacked the composure to see it through - much to the annoyance of the coach-ing staff. “It is the same areas we
A DEPUTY coroner said hospital staff did all they could for a Darwen baby who died 14 hours after being born. The parents of Lewis Anthony Fitzsimmons questionned whether appropriate checks and treatments were carried out at the Royal Blackburn
A VIRGIN Mary statue believed to have been stolen from a hospital has been found – in another section of the site being used in a shrine. Relatives of a man in intensive care, a member of a travelling family, had set up the shrine by his hospital
STAFF in a flower shop were caught on the hop when a highly-poisonous frog leapt out of a delivery from South America. Debbie Wilding was sorting a delivery at Ruth Marriner Flowers, in Cherry Tree, Blackburn, when she spotted the tiny brown
TYLER Hayhurst showed that if at first you don’t succeed then why not try again. The Mill Hill striker’s shoot-on-sight policy finally paid off when he cracked home an unstoppable late winner - and a jubilant Hayhurst was happy to silence touchline gru-mblings
AN OSWALDTWISTLE man has completed a 1,000-mile bike ride in memory of his mother who died a year ago from bowel cancer. Leigh Thistlethwaite started out on his mammoth bike ride from John O'Groats to Lands End on Saturday, September 18, the first
YOUNG Daniel Battrick showed just why he picked up Hyndburn’s Rising Star award after landing yet another kick boxing title the very next day. The 12-year-old from Accrington earned the borough accolade for this outstanding achievements in
EAST Lancashire Hospitals has said it is working to put in place changes to its Burnley Urgent Care Centre. But it has come under pressure from campaigners to be more transparent about what is happening and the progress so far. Pendle
UNBEATEN Burnley Reserves take on totesport.com league leaders Preston North End at Chorley FC’s Victory Park today (kick-off 2pm). Defender Nik Kudiersky returns to a young line-up after recovering from a long-term knee injury, in place of
BRUNSHAW residents last night told of their shock and devastation after two people were murdered in their street. Crowds of residents gathered around the home in Waddington Avenue last night as exhaustive forensic investigations took
UPDATED: Defender Clarke Carlisle WILL miss Burnley’s next three games after the Clarets lost their appeal against his red card at Millwall. The 31-year-old had hoped to escape a ban after the club contested referee Keith Stroud’s decision
A NORTH West MEP has backed a call to give pubs the right to choose whether to allow smoking in their premises. MP David Nuttall, whose Bury North constituency covers the Ramsbottom area, has tabled a Private Members’ Bill that wuold allow
ACCRINGTON Stanley benefactor Ilyas Khan has phoned John Coleman to ask him to stay with the club after Lincoln City put the Reds boss top of their wanted list – but the long-serving manager is still refusing to rule himself out. Lincoln
AN antiques dealer attempted to smuggle the horns of a white rhino worth up to £180,000 out of the country in a fake statue. And now Donald Allison, 62, whose most recent address was given in court as Wilpshire, has been jailed for 12 months
A 76-year-old grandfather has appeared in court charged with 26 sexual offences against children, including rape. Thomas Allan, of Sudellside Street, Darwen, was arrested on Monday by officers from East Lancashire’s Public Protection Unit.
