AN all-American recruit at an IT firm is convinced East Lancashire is one of the friendliest places in the world. Jonathan Browne, 44, has been brought in to head up the sale operation at Holker Network Solutions in Pendle. And after
A PLAN to restore Darwen town centre to its former glory, at a cost of £2million, is close to completion. The Townscape Heritage Initiative has seen more than 20 properties in the town centre repaired and restored as well as landscaping improvements
FOUR weeks after the demolition of Rawtenstall’s dilapidated Valley Centre began the site looks very different. Brick by brick the run down former shopping centre has been dismantled with many of the steel beams and much of the rainwater collection
AN MP is determined to prove a union boss is talking rubbish – by spending a day on the bins in Burnley. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, challenged over-65 MPs to go out with refuse collectors for a day, amid protests over the prospect of
A 71-YEAR-OLD man is celebrating a £9,000 win on the East Lancashire Hospice Lottery. John Mercer was expecting to collect £250 when he was told he had scooped the second prize in the charity’s weekly draw. But lucky John was unaware that the prize
ANYONE wandering down Blackburn’s Darwen Street cannot fail to notice the number of takeaways — especially at night when the neon glow is a bit of a giveaway. Some are good, some not so good. Others are just plain intriguing. The Cube
Teenagers compete in a futuristic battle to the death. In the future, North America has been destroyed and in its place is Panem, comprising the wealthy and powerful Capitol and 12 surrounding, poorer districts. Every year, one boy and one girl
OOH! la! la! The Beeb has gone all dewy-eyed about a charming young lady living in a shoe box. Little Paris Kitchen features the latest culinary wonder and our contribution to the entente cordiale, Rachel Khoo. I know what you’re thinking — ‘not
Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley) telephones the police to confess to slaying three members of her church group during her exorcism. She is spirited away to Centrino Mental Hospital in Rome. Twenty years later, Maria’s daughter Isabella (Fernanda Andrade
Actor Dexter Fletcher makes an assured directorial debut with a gritty tale of retribution and reconciliation, shot largely on the mean streets of east London. While there may be dodgy geezers and explosions of graphic violence, not to mention some
A MOTORCYCLIST had to be airlifted to hospital after a crash with a van on the A59 near Clitheroe this afternoon. The incident happened between the Chatburn and Clitheroe turn-offs on Pendle Road at 14:35, when the rider hit the central reservation.
Theatre SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING — Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, until Saturday, April 7. DEFYING HITLER — The Lowry, Salford Quays, tonight. STRAIGHT AND NARROW – New Millenium Theatre, Waterfoot, until Saturday, March
A SIX-YEAR battle to build a supermarket in Bacup has come to an end as building work is scheduled to commence at the end of May. Retail giants Morrisons have been looking to build a £7million supermarket on the site of the former Horace’s nightclub
AFTER a meteoric rise in popularity which has seen her go from small clubs to performing live on the Jay Leno Show in the United States in less than three years, Imelda May is determined to make the most of her success. The fact that she’s expecting
HOSPITAL chiefs have been forced to promise they will speed up their responses to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has been criticised by the Information Commissioner over the way it handles queries
A 42-YEAR-OLD man assaulted another driver during a road-rage incident after the two cars collided in Waddington. Blackburn magistrates heard Andrew John Strange kicked out at the other driver before punching him three or four times. Strange was
CAMPAIGNING guide dogs and a cuddly friend will be going out on a fundraising mission in the centre of Burnley tomorrow. Demi and Uska – both honorary members of Burnley Miners – are leading the charge for a major fundraiser for the Plumbe Street club
PLANS to open a vocational centre in Bacup in September have moved a step closer after planners gave the project the green light. Rossendale Council’s Development Control Committee gave Accrington and Rossendale College the go ahead to transform Stubbylee
When I heard Fabrice Muamba had suffered cardiac arrest, I felt for him – not because I’m a football fan, but because I’ve suffered much the same. For me, though, it wasn’t natural causes. Just moments after finishing a 50-mile cycle race, I was
David Cameron has called for much more private investment in England’s road network. He says tolls for new roads are one option, alongside attracting more money from pension funds and other investors. More work is needed to relieve gridlock by
INSPIRATIONAL people like Sophie Longton mean that a cure for cystic fibrosis may be on the cards. Despite being struck down with the debilitating condition, 25-year-old Sophie has raised thousands of pounds for research, even running a half-marathon
WORK is almost complete on a new nature garden in Darwen which “shows the love of outdoor spaces still runs through Lancashire veins”. A team of 15 volunteers have put in more than 500 hours of work over winter to create the feature at Darwen
A CYSTIC Fibrosis sufferer believes a cure for the condition may be found in her lifetime after funding for new research was approved. Sophie Longton, 25, was diagnosed with CF, the UK’s most common life-threatening inherited disease, at the
FIFTEEN windows at a primary school were smashed by yobs last night. Police said that in addition to the attack on Holy Trinity School, Bank Top, Darwen, last night there was also four windows smashed at St Paul’s Primary School in Hoddlesden. In total
LAST-ditch talks are set to take place in a bid to save a much-used car park in a Pendle village. Campaigners in Salterforth have been told there are few legitimate planning reasons why the former Silentnight offices in Earby Road should not be pulled
A TEAM including two posties and an electrician have launched a 600-mile tandem challenge – and will be followed by the Holland’s Pies mascot. They aim to reach Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Cardiff and London in six days, raising money for the Make-A-Wish
AN East Lancashire student is appealing for votes after she won a place in the final of a national beauty competition. Holly Hunter, 16, was spotted by modelling scouts while at the Clothes Show in Birmingham in December and asked to send in some photographs
A MANSION house could be used to educate children with behavioural problems if new plans are given the green light. A company that operates four existing schools which cater for children with social, emotional and behaviour problems and associated
A FAMILY have lodged an official complaint with hospital bosses over the treatment of an 81-year-old grandmother. Florence Topping said she thought she was going to die after a doctor told her ‘resuscitation would not be an option’ because
Should you have the kids with you if you are parking in the parent toddler spot? This intriguing question was posed to me the other day. After much discussion and a vote it was decided that one should be permitted to park in the parent toddler
TAKE a look at who is representing East Lancashire in this year’s Mr Perfect 2012 competition. It’s model and dancer Ryan Glover who is ‘in it to win it’ when it comes to being crowned as the nation’s perfect man. And he is also hoping
MORE than 100 people across Pendle have taken part in a scheme that sees volunteers work with vulnerable children. Pendle-based Volunteer Capacity Building Service (VCBS), launched last year, has had an overwhelming response, with 120 volunteering.
A SUSPECTED arson attack behind a parade of shops in Burnley has left nearby traders counting the cost as the building is demolished. Fire ripped through the building, which contained Union Cabs and the Delicious Pizzas takeaway, at the corner
A COLNE contestant on BBC business show The Apprentice has survived the first round of the competition. Ambitious Azhar Siddique, 33, who runs a catering and refrigeration company in Manchester, found himself on the winning team and was immune from
A FURIOUS mother says her 11-year-old daughter was told to ‘go back to class’ after she broke her ankle in a playground fall. Melissa Barker, a pupil at Our Lady and Saint John Catholic College, in North Road, Blackburn, said she fell down
A TEENAGER is recovering after twice falling victim to a pair of would-be muggers on a main road in Burnley. The 15-year-old was walking home along Todmorden Road on Tuesday when he was confronted by two youths outside the Flower Bowl store and post
A NAIL bomb exploded in a quiet street — just metres from homes. Police said it was ‘extremely fortunate’ that no one was hurt in the blast but the bomb had the potential to cause ‘serious injury’. Neighbours heard a blast around 8.10pm
EAST Lancashire will be bathed in sunshine all weekend, with temperatures set to top those in Madrid, Milan and Malta. The MET Office has predicted that a top temperature of 18C could be reached tomorrow. Any mist, fog and low
GAEL Givet is a doubt for Blackburn's trip to Bolton with a hamstring injury. Steve Kean has a close to full strength squad to puick from with Vince Grella the only definite absentee.
TWO Blackburn soldiers are embarking on an expedition to reach the summits of at least three unexplored mountains on the fringes of the Arctic. Corporal Phillip Baldwin, 27, and Corporal Anthony Riley, 30, are set to face polar bears and freezing
A NURSE accused of leaving seriously ill babies wearing wet clothes, soiled nappies and covered in vomit faces an anxious wait to learn her fate. Philippa Ralph also allegedly inserted a feeding tube into an infant's stomach when it was already full
PEOPLE on benefits could be forced to pay more for their council tax if a new government scheme gets the go-ahead. At the moment, central government decides who is eligible for council tax support and how much they get. But Westminster now plans
STEVE Kean believes Junior Hoilett and Yakubu are the perfect Premier League attacking combination – as he looks to develop their partnership beyond this season. Hoilett has responded to being played in a more advanced role, alongside prolific striker
AN Olympic pentathlon hopeful has returned to her hometown of Clitheroe for her London 2012 qualification preparations. Samantha Murray, who normally trains at Britain’s top modern pentathlete base at Bath University, is using the facilities at Ribblesdale
CHORLEY’s top-of-the-table Evo-Stik League Premier Division clash with Hednesford Town at Victory Park tomorrow has been designated ‘Derian Day 2’. This season the Magpies are supporting Derian House Children’s Hospice and they are planning a series
PETER Murphy scored the fourth goal of his breakthrough season at Accrington Stanley this week, still well aware that a minor heart problem could have gone untreated had he not been snapped up the Reds as a youngster. In the week in which football was
BURNLEY manager Eddie Howe insists the Turf Moor door will remain open to the trio of players he allowed to leave on loan before yesterday’s deadline. As expected, Zavon Hines joined up with AFC Bournemouth, while deals were also done for winger Keith
ILL-health retirements among Lancashire Police have doubled because the force’s numbers are dwindling, according to the officers ‘union’. Police Federation chiefs say the number of ‘restricted duties’ posts within the county constabulary have dwindled
