BLACKBURN Rovers look ready to give up on their chase for Jordan Rhodes after being given a "hands off warning" this evening. Rovers have had an improved bid rejected for the Huddersfield Town striker and have been told the striker is not for sale
A 32-year-old Slaidburn man bit another man on the cheek during a disturbance in a Clitheroe takeaway. Blackburn magistrates heard Shaun Patrick Kenny attacked Richard Lund as he intervened in a fight between their respective partners. Kenny
SOPHIE Hitchon has finished 12th in the women's hammer final in the Olympic Stadium tonight. The Blackburn Harriers athlete, from Burnley, was just happy to be in the final after breaking the British record with a throw of 71.98m in qualifying
CRIMINALS have caused more than £14,000 worth of damage in a picturesque Ribble Valley village. Metal thieves stripped 200 metres of overhead electrical wire from outside a farm in Balderstone, causing major damage and putting their own lives at
A SCHEME to help regenerate historic buildings in Darwen Town Centre has received a prestigious award from the Royal Town Planning Institute. The £2.5m Darwen town centre townscape heritage initiative received the ‘Commendation for town centre
THE inquiry desk at Darwen Police Station is to close two days per week as part of cutbacks, it can be revealed. Police said the move would enable more officers to be out on the beat. The current operating hours are also being reduced every
ACCRINGTON Stanley have completed the signings of Ryan Watson and Lee Molyneux ahead of tomorrow's League Cup first round tie at Carlisle United. Wigan midfielder Ryan Watson, 19, arrives on loan until January 2 and former Southampton left back Molyneux
SEARCH teams from the police, fire, coastguard and mountain rescue are continuing to explore the River Ribble this afternoon after an upturned canoe was found. Officers are appealing for anyone with information about the blue canoe, which was found
Luke Campbell will square off against old foe and family friend John Joe Nevin as he aims to fulfil his lifelong ambition of winning an Olympic gold medal in the men's bantamweight final at ExCeL tomorrow. The Hull 24-year-old eased past Japan's
An Iranian teenager told today how she had to take up kayaking to compete at the Olympics because as a promising swimmer she could not wear only a swimming costume in front of men. Arezou Hakimimoghaddam trained for six years as a swimmer in women-only
Britain's Liam Phillips crashed and Shanaze Reade finished sixth as Maris Strombergs of Latvia and Mariana Pajon of Colombia won the men's and women's Olympic BMX titles at the London 2012 Velopark. After Reade finished well behind, Phillips,
DRIVERS have expressed concerns after a speed indicator sign stopped working the same day police patrols were stepped up in the area. The electronic sign, in Revidge Road, is sited near Corporation Park, Blackburn, to help motorists stick to the
Having almost completely stalled their creative engines with Cars 2, Disney Pixar heads for the ancient Scottish highlands in this computer-animated fable of female empowerment. Brave signals a return to form for John Lasseter’s team of digital
The Oriental Star was once a must when you fancied a Chinese meal but, as happens with so many other places, it reached a fairly low point last year— and that was a cause of great disappointment to me. But I am not easily put off and takeaways
David Rudisha has revealed watching footage of Sebastian Coe's races while he was growing up inspired him to his sensational 800 metres world record. And he also paid tribute to his father Daniel, a silver medallist from the 1968 Games, for giving
Blackburn Rovers have completed the loan signing of Colin Kazim-Richards from Galatasaray. The Turkish international striker joins on a season-long loan, with a view to a permanent deal. The 25-year-old becomes Rovers’ eighth signing of
One of the North West’s hardest working bands, The Stumble, join the likes of Booker T, Joan Armatrading and The Blues Band at this year’s Great British Rhythm and Blues Band in Colne over the August Bank Holiday Weekend. Drummer Boyd Tonner answered
IT was a close shave for residents on a Ribble Valley estate when a hot air balloon narrowly missed their houses. The silver balloon came down between the roofs of two houses in Brockhall Village before settling at the end of a back garden.
I TRIED, really I did, to find something other than the Olympics around which to base my weekly TV ramblings. But let’s face it, unless you are a diehard Corrie fan, what else has there been to watch? Of course there will be those who are grumbling
RAMSBOTTOM Festival organisers have secured their local credentials, by partnering charity Forever Manchester. With local bands I Am Kloot and Inspiral Carpets headlining two of the festival’s three nights, there’s a host of other Manchester acts
A FEAST of quality jazz is lined up for music lovers in Darwen this weekend. For the first time, the main two-day festival will be held under one roof at Darwen Aldridge Community Academy featuring an eclectic mix of 11 artists from the world of
BLACKBURN band Urban Empire are kicking up a real storm ahead of their return to the Grand in the Ribble Valley next week. The band recently opened the main stage at area’s Beat Herder festival, while a new single — 101 Acre Wood — is poised for
FAR away from the world of stage hypnosis — where willing volunteers end up clucking like chickens and strutting around singing to Kylie Minogue hits — is the therapeutic couch where 80-a-day smokers turn for help to quit. And while Forrester
FIRE crews were called to a kitchen fire in Blackburn on Wednesday. Crews were called to the Williams Drive home at 11am to a blaze involving a cooker. Firefighters say the householder had the fire under control when they arrived. The blaze cause
A GROUP are bringing a week of fun summer events to a local arts centre. From Monday, East Lancs Sports Development will be at the Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre.
WALKERS of all abilities are being urged to join in a host of activities as part of the third Hyndburn Nature Walks Festival. Events which make up the festival are taking place from Friday, August 24 to the Sunday, September 2 and include walks
A ONE-DAY seminar on overseas market entry methods and agreements is taking place on August 14. The free event will be held at the Chamber of Commerce Training Suite, in Red Rose Court, Clayton-le-Moors from 9.30am to 4.30pm and is ideal for sales
A PLAN to ban smoking in Hyndburn Council play areas has been rubber stamped. The voluntary code will see parents asked not to smoke near children.
A CREATIVE writing group is being formed next month to encourage more writing talent in a borough. The Writing Group at Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre is to be formed in September and will aim to see local writers work together to produce new
A BUSINESS networking event is taking place at Accrington Stanley ’s Crown Ground next month. The free event at the Livingstone Road stadium is between 12pm and 2pm and includes a lunch plus tea and coffee and the chance to interact with other local
PLANS for Barrowford’s annual show later this month are continuing despite fears it could be the village’s last. The organising committee recently released a statement vowing that ‘the show must go on’ but said the future of the annual celebration
A FORMER cage fighter who hit a man over the head with a chair during a ‘very violent and very nasty’ incident has been jailed for eight months. Burnley Crown Court heard how ‘agitated’ Philip Palmer, 28, was seen to pick up a heavy wooden chair
A RIBBLE Valley musician is hitting a high note at the Olympics after writing the music for one of the dressage events. Tom Hunt, who was classically trained at Stonyhurst College, has been working on the music for the freestyle event with Carl
AN EAST LANCASHIRE MP is backing a scheme to help victims of forced marriages. Hyndburn MP Graham Jones is spreading the word of a new helpline and also urging constituents who are affected to visit the foreign office website. He is helping
JOHN Crabtree, 59, of George Street, Accrington, was fined £50, with £100 costs, by Blackburn magistrates after pleading guilty to stealing four cans of lager from B and M Bargains.
A CREATIVE Writing Group is to be formed next month at Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre, aiming for local writers to get together to produce new work, including plays. Young children are welcome to go along with parents. Sessions will cost £2 per
EX-pupils and staff of Darwen Technical School are to gather for their seventh reunion, on Saturday, October 27, at Darwen Golf Club, in Duddon Avenue. Tickets are £15, including a buffet supper. Call Laura Chatburn on 01254 701926. The school
DAIMON Warland, 19, of Wensley Road, Blackburn, was committed on bail to Preston Crown Court when he appeared before Blackburn magistrates charged with assaulting Stefan Woodburn, and witness intimidation.
A MORECAMBE Cross Bay Walk is to take place on Saturday, September 8, in aid of the East Lancashire Hospice. Entry is £5 per adult, £3 per child, and £1 per dog. To register, go to eastlancshospice. org.uk or call 01254 733412.
WORK on protected trees is planned to begin in Accrington. A planning application to prune beech trees in Bamford Crescent, off Manchester Road, has been submitted to Hyndburn Council.
HYNDBURN Leisure Centre is offering a number of opportunities for young people inspired by the Olympic Games. Youngsters aged eight and over are invited to Hyndburn Athletics training sessions weekly on Tuesdays, and Thursdays, from 7pm to 8pm.
RESURFACING on a stretch of Longridge Road, in Clitheroe, will start on Monday. The work follows the completion of a water pipe replacement scheme which took place a few months ago to connect homes to the regional network. Pipe owners United
ILLEGAL travellers have been ordered to vacate a former mill site. Police worked with the owners of the former Wheatfield Mill, next to the former Gaskells Carpets factory in Parker Street, Rishton to clear an illegal encampment on the site.
There can be no doubt that Usain Bolt is now, in his own words, a living legend, but what the future holds for the Jamaican superstar remains open to debate. While Bolt insisted he had no intention of retiring after becoming the first man to win
The 2012 Olympic beach volleyball tournament was a case of everything changes and nothing changes, as the United States continued their dominance of the women's game while victory for a European nation saw the form book ripped up in the men's competition
Great Britain's poor Olympics in the water concluded today with just three medals after Daniel Fogg finished fifth in the open water in the Serpentine. The 10 kilometre race was won by Tunisia's Oussama Mellouli, who took bronze in the 1,500m freestyle
TODDLER mornings take place at Happy Daze Play and Party Centre, Darwen, hosted by Cyril the Squirrel and Harry the Hedghog on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9.30am.
AN INQUEST into the death of a 76-year-old man, who died at Birch Hall Care Home, Darwen, was opened and adjourned. A post mortem has been carried out for Geoffrey Dinkerley, who died on Sunday. The cause of death could not be determined and
AN EAST Lancashire brass band is performing a concert for local supporters as they head off to compete in national finals. Darwen Brass have pledged to fly the flag for the North West in the finals of the National Brass Band Championship on September
AKHTAR Hussain, 42, of Whalley Old Road, Blackburn, was remanded on bail by Blackburn magistrates charged with theft of a £250 gold ring from Punjab Jeweller’s and theft of a £400 bangle from Rahman Jeweller’s.
THE development of 49 homes on the former greenfield site between Dilworth Lane and Lower Lane, Longridge, is to be called Cromwell Fields. Much of the groundwork is already complete.
THE tale of the famous witches of Samlesbury has been written to mark the 400th anniversary of the Lancashire Witches. The book has been penned by author Glen Clayton for Samlesbury Hall and tells the story of Jane Southworth and Jennet and Ellen
FOUR teenage boys have been arrested in connection with a ‘serious sexual assault’ in Blackburn town centre yesterday. A 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-old boys, all from Blackburn, were arrested after a 19-year-old woman was allegedly
A SUDELL councillor is calling for children to take advantage of their local park over the summer holidays. Coun Roy Davies said: “I would like to see young people off the streets and in to the parks. “Sports such as cricket would help develop
A NURSE has admitted starting a sexual relationship with a vulnerable former mental health patient. Julie Cank, 42, of Burnley, who worked at Calderstones Hospital in Whalley for 15 years, told a fitness to practise hearing that she started a sexual
A CLEARED site on Bright Street, Colne, is to be temporarily landscaped. The sloping land, which is earmarked for development, will be grassed over and bollards placed to prevent trespass.
PLANS have been approved for the demolition of a conservatory and the erection of an extension at End Meadow Farm, Heights Lane, Fence.
A MEETING of Pendle’s scrutiny management team will begin with a public question time. Members of the public may speak on any agenda item and petitions may also be presented at the meeting at 7pm on Tuesday, August 14, at Nelson Town Hall.
PLANS have been submitted to extend a shop into the next door property in Every Street, Nelson. The applicant also seeks to convert the first floor to a flat, extend a canopy at the front and build an external staircase at the back.
RESIDENTS in Rosehill, Burnleywood and Trinity are being invited to help set local policing priorities. Officers will be at Rosehill Baptist Church, Rosehill Road, Burnley, from 2pm to 3pm on Wednesday, August 29.
NORTHERN Soul fans from Burnley and Pendle supported a charity night hosted by East Lancs DJ Roman Koral. They travelled to the Fairways Hotel, Prestwich, to a music evening inspired by Andrew Boyle, a Barrowford soul fan who died in May at the
FIFTEEN new signs have been erected at strategic locations in Burnley and Padiham by county leisure officials. Part of a wider £2million scheme to improve walking and cycling routes in the borough, including the Padiham Greenway, the signs suggest
EIGHT free guided treks are being made available this year as part of Pendle’s annual walking festival. Thousands are expected to descend on the borough for the ninth such event, which will include a hike to commemorate the 400th anniversary of
MP Andrew Stephenson has urged constitutents in Pendle to spend at least 60 minutes to help out good causes. The MP volunteered for an hour at the Open Door Centre in Colne as part of the ‘Jubilee Hour’ campaign. And he is keen for others in
A BY-election will take place for a Nelson Town Council seat, vacated by Irfan Ullah, for the Southfield ward. The poll has been pencilled in for Thursday, September 13, nominations must be received by next Thursday.
A 31-YEAR-OLD man said to have exposed himself to 'upset the police' in drunken trouble, is awaiting sentence. Burnley Magistrates heard how William Alderson was said by the prosecution to have committed a 'one-off' offence when his behaviour was
A SCHEME to give Nelson youngsters a taste for all-terrain cycling has had a successful launch in Barley. Bike Alert can take between 10 and 15 youngsters at a time to the Boothman Park course in the village. Supported by Nelson Town Council
A SUMMER cybergames festival is being staged by the county council at Nelson Youth Zone, Leeds Road, on August 30, from 6pm, for 13 to 19-year-olds, with prizes.
ACTORS from Colne Dramatic Society will be staging ‘What The Dickens’ at the Little Theatre in River Street, on Friday, August 17, from 7.30pm. Tickets will be £6 and all profits will go to Cancer Research.
COMIC Lucy Porter, a star of BBC’s Mock The Week and ITV’s Loose Women, will be headling the pre-Christmas show for Nelson ACE Centre’s comedy club, on Friday, December 7, it has been announced.
AN outreach weekend is being staged by the congregation at the Salvation Army in Nelson at their Stanley Street citadel, for Saturday and Sunday, August 18 and 19. The first day will feature the Central North Fellowship Band and a worship meeting
AN exhibition about herbal medicine has opened in Nelson. Living Herbalism at the ACE Centre looks at the history and roots of plant use. The display runs until Wednesday, August 22, and entry is free.
BURNLEY Council intends to designate Woodgrove car park, Towneley, as a pay and display area. Charges will be £1 per day with an annual permit costing £50. It will come into force on Monday, August 20.
BURNLEY magistrates issued a warrant without bail for Karen Turner, 49, of St James Street, who is accused of representing a risk of disorder, failed to comply with the direction of a police officer.
A REQUEST for a grit bin at Wheatley Lane Methodist Church, Fence, has been turned town. The county told parish councillors that as Wheatley Lane Road is a priority route for gritting, it would not be considered.
A BURNLEY man who took delivery of a £10,000 stolen car and attacked a police community support officer has been jailed for 70 days by magistrates. Craig Saint Lewis, of Godley Street, was also banned from driving for three years after being caught
A PENDLE dad is set to climb the world's tallest freestanding mountain to help provide an African community with clean water. Kazim Khan, 38, of Dunderdale Avenue, Nelson, will lead a team of intrepid adventurers to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro
Montenegro women's handball team have created history by guaranteeing their country's first ever Olympic medal and they will be gunning for gold when they meet Norway in tomorrow's final. The eastern Europeans, their country just six years into
Sebastian Coe insists that Usain Bolt is already a legend - despite the president of the International Olympic Committee stating the Jamaican sprinter will need to star at even more Games before he can attain that status. IOC president Jacques
Great Britain's Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell claimed silver in the men's 470 class after just falling short of gold on the south coast. The pair came into the re-arranged medal race with second-place assured and still eyeing top spot, which
A LEADING Burnley firm has bought a successful bathroom distributor to strenghten its market share and increase turnover to more than £70million. Ultra Finishing, based on Heasand-ford Industrial Estate, has acquired Halifax-based Niko Distribution
HAMMER-throwing Olympic finalist Sophie Hitchon vowed never to try it again after failing to get a grip of the sport on her first attempt. Despite the disappointing introduction to the event, the 21-year-old, from Burnley, is now through to tonight
I have experienced hard times – I have been made redundant four times (Food Bank to be set up in Blackburn, LT, August 7). The government is not making life easy, but when you see bigger queues at the Lottery counter than the food checkouts, when
READING the headlines about crimes where knives and horrific violence have been used, I would like to ask: Where is the deterrent in this country? I would send out the strongest possible message by bringing back capital punishment, with a national
Every year, the beer tax escalator increases the tax on beer by two per cent above the rate of inflation, thus adding considerably more pressure on the British pub, the cornerstone of many of our communities. Removing the beer duty escalator
Disabled people want to work in jobs in all sectors, and good support and technology have made it possible (‘Row over Remploy closures,’ LT, July 19). There are thousands of people, with significant experiences of disability, working in small and
The government is always saying that they are helping small business start and grow. From my experience this could not be farther from the truth. I developed Waterfreight Ltd to shift road transport cargo off the roads and put it back on the canal
THE biggest weekend in the lives of East Lancashire's Olympics hopefuls is here. Sophie Hitchon, Jonny Schofield and Samantha Murray have done us proud by getting this far in the Games. And now as London 2012 reaches a thrilling climax, they
IT has been officially announced that Darwen GP Dr Chris Clayton will head up Blackburn with Darwen Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) when health reforms come in next April. The CCG will take on responsibility for planning and buying local health
DEMENTIA carers are being encouraged to ‘whistle while they work’ as part of a new scheme to be launched in East Lancashire. Burnley-based Crossroads Care East Lancashire are looking for about 20 families who want to take part in a trial of a technique
PENDLE MP Andrew Stephenson is calling for a Government study into the effects of wind farms on people living near them. He said that while Pendle does not currently have any large wind turbines, planning applications for them in Boulsworth and Craven
TOWN councillors in Colne will be discussing a forthcoming Lancashire County Council consultation on waiting restrictions in Grosvenor Street and Keighley Road when they meet in Colne Town Hall next week.
A MUSIC event is being staged in Barnoldswick, at the youth and community centre, in Station Road, on Wednesday, for youngsters across Pendle. It runs from 1pm to 4pm and includes DJ and MC workshops, and instrument-making.
HELP and advice on how to grow crops from pots will be given to budding gardeners at Hodge House Allotments, off Reedyford Road, Nelson, on Wednesday, August 29, between 1pm and 3pm. The session is part of the borough’s Live Well, Eat Well project
A NELSON company has stuck close to home when recruiting a new apprentice. Businesswise Solutions, a purchase management company, named Pendle New Business of the Year, has recruited Ryan Nutter-Knight, 19, an ex-pupil at Pendle Vale High School.
A SHED raider helped himself to garden tools worth £160 after spending the night there. Burnley magistrates heard how Paul Smith, 47, who had recently lost his brother and had been out drinking, ended up in the shed in Garden Street, as he was
OKAY, we were far too good for Korea and Kazakhstan. It was generally a good week to be British, wasn’t it? In fact, it was a mind-blowing week to be British. When people go back over this week, they will recollect for one moment how we
EX-world snooker champion Steve Davis is set to round off an exciting summer of sport for youngsters in East Lancashire. The Essex-born potter will be the special guest at the Byron Road youth centre in Colne next Thursday as part of a summer fun
ONE of the first Royal British Legion clubs in the country has closed its doors for the final time – after a 91-year history. The club officials at the Haslingden premises in Deardengate have staged a farewell karaoke night after struggling for
CLITHEROE canoe sprinter Jon Schofield and his crewmate Liam Heath have progressed to tomorrow's Olympic final in the K2 200m after finishing second in their semi-final this afternoon. They clocked a time of 32.940 seconds, almost a full second
HE won an Olympic gold medal, smashed a world record and stood on top of the podium in front of a partisan British crowd. But it wasn’t until cycling ace Steven Burke returned to East Lancashire to a euphoric Colne greeting that the realisation
CATHEDRAL staff and parishioners are to reach new musical heights by hiking up Snowdon — with a ‘grand’ piano in tow. The plan by Blackburn Cathedral’s staff and congregation to take a toy instrument up the 3720ft mountain is part of a campaign
BURNLEY are today set to sign Brian Stock on a two-year deal. Clarets boss Eddie Howe has been chasing the 30-year-old all summer in a bid to boost his midfield ranks. But transfer talk has been drawn out, with Burnley treading carefully with
BLACKBURN Rovers have upped their bid for striker Jordan Rhodes as they look to test Huddersfield’s ‘not for sale’ stance to the limit. Rovers received a written letter from the Terriers rejecting their last offer and telling them they were not
A hot and stressful day at the BMX Arena, but no problems for Liam Phillips as he only needed two runs, finishing both in second place, to go through without needing to compete in the remaining three. Massive and enthusiastic crowds, a full house
I’m going to divert a bit today to look at the bigger picture. But first just a quick note on the events here, to say that Shanaze Reade and Liam Phillips both looked good and qualified easily in their first runs in the stunning BMX arena. They’ll
A 39-year-old Polish man was filmed while having intercourse with a horse in a field. Blackburn magistrates heard Grzegorz Suliga was seen feeding horses and ‘rubbing them in an affectionate manner’ before he had sex with a brown horse and walked
CANOE sprinter Jon Schofield insists he will leave everything out on the water when he and crewmate Liam Heath begin their Olympic campaign in the K2 200m today. The 27-year-old Schofield and the rest of Team GB’s canoe sprint team have only recently
BURNLEY’S hammer thrower Sophie Hitchon is ready for the biggest day of her life as she realises her Olympic dream. The Blackburn Harrier, from Burnley, competes in the hammer final in the Olympic stadium this evening and she admits she is just
Mo Farah has had bookmakers running for cover once already at the London 2012 Olympics and punters will be hoping for another golden moment from the 29-year-old tomorrow night. Farah stormed to victory over 10,000 metres last Saturday after the
Jade Jones hopes Sarah Stevenson and Lutalo Muhammad can draw inspiration from her stunning taekwondo gold medal when they lead Team GB's charge for more Olympic success at ExCeL on Friday. Jones avenged her 2011 World Championship defeat to Hou
Usain Bolt declared himself "the greatest" after becoming London 2012's history man with a second double gold performance. And British fighter Nicola Adams also entered the record books, becoming the first Olympic woman boxing champion as Team
Not many people pay to see a show that they are likely to fall asleep through. However, during an evening with the charismatic hypnotist Acari, falling asleep can be a highlight, along with what follows when you wake up. This charismatic performer
