A STROKE victim has enjoyed a day of sailing, thanks to the Stroke Association’s East Lancashire branch. Seventeen staff, volunteers and members of Stroke Association’s East Lancs Communication Support service, visited Hollingworth Lake for
A DRUNKEN man punched an Asian bus driver and shouted racist abuse at him after demanding that he took him home. Blackburn magistrates heard Ross Scott initially lunged at the duty manager, who was on the bus talking to driver Khalid Perwez. Scott
A POLICE leader is calling on the public to join the fight to keep bobbies on the beat. Rachel Baines, chairman of the Lancashire branch of the Police Federation, is appealing for the Government to rethink plans to cut the police budget by 20per cent
EAST Lancashire MP Nigel Evans today launched a campaign to get the Royal Mail to put their own seasonal stamp on Christmas with a special cut-price card postage rate. He wants the organisation, under fire for sharply hiking prices last month, to make
SUPPORT for deaf children in schools has been cut by Lancashire County Council, according to a new report. The National Deaf Children’s Society claims that the county council has lost three specialist teachers and two communication support
VISUALLY-impaired people in Blackburn can join a new support group, launched to increase confidence and independence. The Macular Disease Society (MDS) and Blackburn and District Blind Society have organised the group, which will meet on a monthly
COACH of the year winner Brian Roche hopes the Grass Roots Heroes Awards are held for many years to come. Roche fought for British and Commonwealth titles during his career and has since produced a number of national champions at his Burnley-based
FARAKH Ajaib fought back from two frames down to successfully defend his Moorhouse’s Golden Cue title at a packed Igten Leigh Social Club. Ajaib, representing Padiham Snooker Club, was up against Low Moor’s Peter Mercer – and both produced
PETER Jones has one piece of advice to this year’s senior sports personality of the year award winner – have a speech ready! The world class masters swimmer isn’t usually one to be caught offguard, but for once, he was left speechless...literally!
IQBAL Bhai never went in to sport for personal recognition but admitted he was overwhelmed when he picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award last year. But Iqbal, who has been involved in football, cricket and badminton for more than 25 years, admitted
NOISY neighbours have been warned their property could be seized if they continue to make residents’ lives a misery. Councils across East Lancashire have pledged to continue seizing stereos, radios, televison and even musical instruments like drum
Cotes du Rhone Le Vent Rouge 2010, £9.25, Oddbins, Rhythm and Booze Another generic French wine, this time the traditional blend of Grenache, Syrah (Shiraz) and Mourvedre grapes that mark out Cote du Rhone reds. Strawberries and raspberries are
BLACKBURN Rovers starlet Adam Henley has been called up to the Wales squad for the weekend's friendly against Mexico. The 17-year-old, who was on standby, will now travel with the 22 man squad. The match will be played at MeLife Stadium in New Jersey
A LITTLE more than a year since it opened, The Oyster And Otter has carved itself a very nice reputation as one of East Lancashire’s top dining venues. With my fish-loving dad, I stopped by on a quiet Monday lunchtime for his first visit to the restaurant
Louis Jadot Macon Villages 2010, £10.50, Booths, Budgens, Wine Rack You may get this French beauty cheaper if you keep your eyes open. Even so Macon Villages is the lower priced end of the white Burgundy market and represents good value for a creamy
A CHURCH is celebrating its centenary year by becoming a neighbourhood community centre. Accrington’s Grade II Listed St Andrews Church, off Empress Street, has recently undergone a £50,000 revamp and will celebrate 100 years since the day the foundation
Come on 2012 buck up! We are now in mid-May after a wet cold April and it’s about time I walked without having to wear a coat or a waterproof. This is the time of year when we should be enjoying enough daylight to do one long walk or two short ones
Never was there a place where so many people dart about between such tall skyscrapers before thrusting themselves onto an apparently unfathomable transport network as Tokyo. But thankfully, it’s all done with such ease and efficiency that it doesn’
Being a human guinea pig for copious amounts of skincare products can have its downside, with confused skin being one of them. But I did think I’d draw the line at trying a beauty supplement, as I’ve heard mixed reviews. However, when the
THE mystery surrounding the origins of a human skull found in woods continues. Dog walkers Elaine and Mick Hill stumbled upon the gruesome discovery as they exercised their pet in Spa Woods, near Hapton. They said they believed the skull, which
A FIRE that destroyed a clubhouse roof at an old football ground in Rossendale is being treated as arson. The blaze came just hours after plans for a new music and boxing festival were announced for the site in Manchester Road, Ewood Bridge, Haslingden
A BODYBUILDER from Lower Darwen won second place at the UK Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation North West Championships this month. Craig Williams, 37, of Sandy Lane, was runner-up in the 90kgs novice category. Craig, who has been bodybuilding for
AN MP is worried about the impact eurozone problems might have on people in his East Lancashire consituency. Hyndburn MP Graham Jones said the country needed a growth plan that encompassed Europe as a whole in order to revitalise the economy locally
A 30-year-old man continued to send text messages to his former partner despite a restraining order being made against him. Blackburn magistrates heard Kelly Longden initially ignored the texts from Christopher Heywood because they weren’t threatening
AN MP is worried about the impact eurozone problems might have on people in his East Lancashire consituency. Haslingden MP Graham Jones said the country needed a growth plan that encompassed Europe as a whole in order to revitalise the economy locally
RAWTENSTALL’S famous Astoria Ballrooms are to be the subject of a new heritage project. Bands such as The Who and The Kinks played the big band venue in its 1960s heyday. A £16,700 cash injection from the Heritage Lottery Fund will be used to create
A TEENAGER who was found dead near Rossendale Golf Club was a ‘happy character’ who was ‘always smiling’, an inquest heard. Jordan Colville, 18, of Dean Road, Helmshore, who was known by the nickname Glen, was found hanging close to a viaduct on December
EDDIE Howe is going for gold next season by taking Burnley to a successful Olympic centre of excellence facility as part of their preparations for the new campaign. The Clarets reaped the benefits of four days in Bath last summer, playing one game against
IVF treatment could soon be offered to a wider range of childless couples in East Lancashire. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is considering raising the current age limit of 39 to 42 for women who have no other chance
OPERA singer Sean Ruane and East Lancashire ring legend Brian Roche have teamed up to bring ‘boxers and ballerinas’ together. Boxing hopefuls and dance divas got together to create an unique performance combining pugilism, rap and classical music,
PLANS to scrap anti-social behaviour orders have been given a cautious welcome in East Lancashire. The Government is now proposing to bring in a new Criminal Behaviour Order to ban an individual from particular activities or places. And civil Crime
AFTER many years as a journalist it’s difficult to avoid becoming cynical and more than a little pessimistic about some of your fellow beings. It is true that there are some extremely dedicated folk around who spend many hours each week working to
A SEVEN-year-old girl, struck down by an ‘extremely rare’ brain haemorrhage, has defied doctors with a ‘miraculous recovery’. Charlotte Neve, from Trawden, was left unable to speak or see after the ordeal. But now she has started to walk, talk and
I AM very upset with the way Burnley Council conducts policy. With regard to tackling dog-fouling and fly-tipping, the message which the public gets is that the council has not got enough manpower to deal with these two issues. Possibly the
A change of law was promised recently to make it easier for the police to identify and prosecute ‘drug-drivers’. It was the result of a brave campaign by the family of 14-year-old Lillian Groves, killed by a driver under the influence of cannabis.
I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all the Meadowhead voters who turned out to support me at the recent election. I enjoyed the opportunity to work on behalf of everyone in the ward over eight years and would have been happy to continue.
I totally agree with the letter from Patrick Clifford (LT, May 16) regarding selfish people using mobile phones on buses. Most of it is idle chatter and they are turning buses into mobile telephone booths. I’m hoping that at some stage they
THE plan to scrap anti-social behaviour orders is proving controversial. Since their introduction by then Home Secretary Jack Straw 12 years ago, the orders have received both praise and criticism. Police have said they are a powerful tool to deal
TWO descendants of a family that made a huge impact on Darwen returned to visit monuments dedicated to their ancestors. The Huntingtons came to Darwen in the final third of the 19th century, to help the Potter family at their wallpaper factory.
A HOST of female footballers from Blackburn Rovers have received international call-ups. Rovers Ladies duo Danielle Oates and Gemma Jackson have been selected to attend a Wales Women’s Under-19 training camp in Cardiff from May 29 to June 1, while team-mate
BIRTHDAY boy Nick Dougherty turns 30 tomorrow believing his recovery from a disappointing 2011 season is on the right track as he enters the Telenet Trophy high in confidence. The Shaw Hill professional makes his fourth Challenge Tour appearance of the
A PAIR of Second World War spies who helped to defeat the Nazis were amazed to meet by chance. Ninety-two-year-old Sigrid Green, from Darwen, was on a visit to Bletchley Park when Mike Randles, 91, dropped to his knees before her and kissed her hand
IN an increasingly busy world, finding the time to keep a tidy home can be tricky. Long working hours, hectic social diaries and family commitments all stack up and take a higher place on the list of priorities for many of us than ‘clear out the garage
THE FIRM behind a controversial out-of-town retail development has threatened a local authority with legal action unless it drops its opposition to the plans. Peel Holdings has told Hyndburn Council it will seek a High Court review next
PENDLE Leisure Trust’s Arts on Prescription programme is now running courses across East Lancashire. Arts on Prescription provides art courses for people who are finding life a little tough, such as people who are isolated, stressed or not feeling
TWO 17-year-olds, who took pictures of themselves as they sexually abused a drunken 14-year-old girl, have each been jailed for three years. One of the pair threatened to put the mobile phone images online, a court heard. Sentencing them at Burnley
THE mother of a teenager was the victimof a race-hate murder is to be the main speaker at a racial and religious hate conference in Blackburn tomorrow. Gee Walker will talk at the event in King George’s Hall about her son’s death and how she set up
A MIDWIFE wrongly carried out an examination on a pregnant woman that led to her being rushed into surgery, a tribunal heard. Fiona Baillie-Hamilton artificially broke the waters of a high risk patient, but caused an internal rupture – and
A ROGUES gallery of petrol thieves has been released by police investigating 90 drive-offs in recent weeks. Police said they were investigating whether the increase in incidents was linked to an organised crime gang. Officers said the
OLYMPIC tickets went on general sale today as those who have missed out so far get their chance to attend the games. The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has confirmed further details of tickets available in the general sale, which starts at
CHORLEY'S Graeme Ballard set a new 100m world record at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. Ballard, 32, who has cerebral palsy, beat the 12.15 seconds set by China's Wa Wai So in 2007 with a time of 11.98 in T36 category. The Runshaw College
PAUL Cook has stressed the need for a more balanced squad next season after Accrington Stanley lost several senior players to injury during the 2011/12 campaign. Stanley were left with an inexperienced line-up after Sean Hessey and Danny
A NELSON man has become the third taxi driver this year to be fined for smoking in his booking office. The move is part of a crackdown on people smoking in public places, like their workplace, by Pendle Council. Mohammed Ishaq, 54, of Vernon Street
VENKATESH Rao has said that the future of manager Steve Kean will become clearer ‘in the next month’ after admitting that things remain ‘in confusion’ following Blackburn Rovers’ relegation from the Premier League. Uncertainty has surrounded
EVERTON are seriously interested in luring Jay Rodriguez to Goodison Park - but won’t be able to finance a big money move for the striker until they sell. Reports from Merseyside over the past 24 hours had suggested the Toffees have had a £6.5million
A TWITTER appeal to help find missing children is being launched. Lancashire police will be lending their support to the Missing People charity’s Big Tweet campaign on Friday. The charity will twee a different appeal for a missing child every 30
MILKMEN have been warned about allowing helpers to hang off the back of their floats after two boys were seriously hurt in a dawn crash. Michael John Lamb, 39, was driving his van along Barrowford Road at 5.30am when his vehicle collided with an ambulance
RAWTENSTALL’S most famous tree is being given a makeover before the arrival of a special visitor next month. The Bocholt tree, on Bocholt Way, will be decorated by artist Sharan Bispham, and the Cherry Crescent Luncheon Club, ahead of the visit of
A STRANGE night this, but one which was hugely enjoyable, with the audience coming away marvelling at the talent of one of our genuine national treasures. Rory Bremner comes across as a thoroughly good bloke and the second half in which he gave free
STEVE Kean expects to remain Blackburn Rovers boss this season after resuming his managerial duties at Brockhall yesterday. The under-fire Scot returned to work for the first time since holding two days of talks with Venky’s in India late last
THE family of a soldier who died after being injured in an explosion in Afghanistan will receive a memorial medal from the Duke of Edinburgh. The parents of former Todmorden High student Corporal Jack Stanley are set to receive the Elizabeth Cross
ACCRINGTON Stanley’s end of season party ended in violence when the club’s general manager was knocked unconscious. Blackburn magistrates heard trouble began when a group was asked to leave the event at Accrington Stanley Social Club on the night of
Barrowford climbed into second place in the Craven League First Division on Saturday as they built on their promising start to the season with a win over Airedale at Bull Holme. The Villagers got off to their desired start after winning the toss and
IAN Rabagliati starred for Salesbury as the Red Caps marched into the third round of the Yorkshire Tea National Village Cup thanks to an easy win over Shireshead and Forton on Sunday. The wicketkeeper scored a brilliant 100 in the win over the Westmorland
PAUL Holden claimed glorious bowling figures of 8-58 – but his efforts failed to inspire Longridge to a Palace Shield Premier Division win over title favourites Penwortham. Holden claimed every Penwortham wicket to fall as the home side were restricted
THE Lancashire League’s historic Worsley Cup competition is known throughout cricket as a tournament to savour. There is something special about the prestigious knockout. Players want to win it, they want the chance to play in front of the big crowd
THREE incidents of overhead power lines thefts have happened in just four days in the Ribble Valley. Electricity North West said it is urging residents to report overnight power losses in a bid to crackdown on a spate of thefts this week. It is believed
BIG hitting Steve Elwood admitted he loved every minute of a brutal innings on Saturday after smashing a sensational century off just 48 balls. The destructive batsman went on the attack from the off as he opened for Cherry Tree seconds against Edenfield
Cherry Tree will have a new captain when they take to the field against Oswaldtwistle Immanuel on Saturday after Paul Turner stepped down from the role. Batsman Turner, the club’s former professional, replaced Andreas Sudnik as skipper at the start of
