A DARWEN rock band is hoping to hit the big time in 2013 after securing a space on the line-up of a top Manchester gig. Fear The Fallen have been chosen by Dusk Records to support The Portlands at Manchester Academy Three on March 2. They will
A NURSE has been cautioned after a 72-year-old patient with severe mobility problems fell and broke both legs while in her care. Nurse Pauline Wallace was helping the Brierfield pensioner on to a stand aid when a strap came loose and she fell,
A SERIAL drink-driver escaped an immediate prison sentence despite a spate of offences. Blackburn magistrates heard David Nicol Hayes was on bail to Oldham magistrates for drink driving when he was stopped and refused to provide a specimen on November
A 25-YEAR-OLD man has appeared before Blackburn magistrates charged with a Halloween mask, attempted knifepoint robbery at Sainsbury in Darwen on January 7. Christopher John Murray, formerly of Melita Street, Darwen, but now of no fixed address
AMBITIOUS plans to turn a park pavilion into a community cafe are a step closer thanks to a regeneration programme. Louise Hoole and Petra Wilson have been hoping to reopen the Victoria Park pavilion in Nelson, which has been closed for more than
BOGUS charity collectors, claiming to be acting on behalf of Pendleside Hospice, have been targeting households in Colne. But even through the fake fundraisers are wearing hospice T-shirts, bosses at the Reedley charity say they are just con artists
A SERIAL fraudster targeted an Accrington bank when he tried to obtain information about a company’s account. Blackburn magistrates heard Raymond George Hill was recognised as being on a ‘rogues gallery’ when he went into the Yorkshire Bank and
CONSERVATIVE MPs from Lancashire met Education Minister Michael Gove to discuss the academy programme during a private meeting in London. During the sealed meeting, MPs discussed the school policy which has caused controversy in the county.
5:48pm After a day of snow, roads in East Lancashire are likely to be treacherous tonight, so be careful on your way home. The Met Office says heavy rain will arrive at around 9pm, clearing away most of the snow. And
HISTORIAN Steve Williams was moved to explore the effects of the Great War on Blackburn families left to mourn after reading one soldier’s obituary. It read: ‘Lance-Corporal Fred Abbott (27) of the Lancashire Fusiliers died of wounds in hospital
A LINK with Darwen’s early 1900’s heyday disappeared with the closure of the Central Subscription Bowling Club, at Belgrave, in 1955, due to dwindling support. To older Darreners, it was also known as the The Gentlemen’s Club. For its founders
COMMUNITY volunteers are needed to represent their neighbourhoods as ‘street ambassadors’. Not-for-profit community task force Mercer House 1842 is seeking volunteers in Clayton-le-Moors to receive training to run local neighbourhood groups.
THE Ministry of Munitions recorded it as a ‘small explosion’ in the north of England, one spring night in 1917. In truth, it left one police officer dead, four others injured, shattered every window in Church, and as far as a mile away at the Co-op
IT was an era when many East Lancashire families worked a piece of land to produce food for their table. The need to grow vegetables had been established in the war years, when ration books were issued, and some foodstuffs could not be bought in
RESEARCH into victims of the Great War, who are buried, or commemorated, in Bacup Cemetery, has prompted a Valley author to try and trace one of the soldier’s relatives. Sergeant William Clegg, who was killed in action during the battles of Messines
THE number of abandoned cats in East Lancashire is extremely worrying. Animal charities are feeling the strain after the number of animals dumped on their doorsteps has rocketed. Volunteers said the recession had caused more families to give
REGARDING ‘Free bus travel for East Lancashire jobless is just the ticket’ (LT, January 14), why shouldn’t they get help to go to interviews? It costs more on bus fairs than taxis do these days. If it helps the jobless to get a job, go for it,
WE have a motorist falling asleep at the wheel killing a motorcyclist and he gets a six-month suspended sentence and a two-year ban with 300 hours community work. Would this sentence have been the same if he had killed a pedestrian? I think not
I AM the lifelong Blackburn Rovers fan who you reported is to trek tp Peru in memory of former Rovers forward Chris Thompson (LT, January 14). Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to go to South America because I was deeply fascinated by it.
I had my car vandalised a few years back and it caused all sorts of problems. There was time off work to get it fixed, increased insurance payments and the feeling of absolute anger about whoever did it. These thugs obviously have nothing of
The kids should be made to pay via community service. Don’t just give them a ticking off as that’s all that seems to happen. Make them pay back financially for the damage and if they can’t, then they should work cleaning the streets or parks until
I went to school in 1963 and I don’t remember any closures then because of the snow. About 25 years ago my daughter broke her leg in a non-snow accident. Two days later we had about six inches of snow and her school was quite happy to have her
I hope the kids with a hammer who vandalised the cars in Darwen (LT, January 12) get their comeuppance – but I won't hold my breath. A similar thing happened in our area and the insurance companies were quick to increase the premiums. So we were
Why is it teachers can’t get to work in snow, yet nurses, doctors and other health workers manage? Hospitals don’t close because of the snow. I live in Burnley and work in Blackburn and have never missed work because of the weather, and I live
PLANS to overhaul respite care across Lancashire will create a ‘sustainable’ service, insist county council chiefs. Public consultations are now under way over major changes to the respite care work, as the authority looks at ways to save £3million
A SHOCKING reconstruction showing how easy it can be to accidentally kill someone was played out during a special conference. The event at Accrington and Rossendale College was organised by the parents of 24-year-old Adam Rogers, who died from
A £3.5million effort to reduce the number of Lancashire young people not in education, training or employment is paying dividends, county councillors have been told. In September 2011 the authority embarked on a three-year programme, backed by
ONE of the leading ladies of rock, the legendary Patti Smith, is to play Burnley Mechanics in April — just one of two dates in England in 2013. Music fans have been calling the Mechanics from all over the country trying to get tickets for the show
HOUSEHOLDERS across East Lancashire will benefit from £800,000 in Government grants to local councils for warmer homes and cheaper energy. The cash will pay for insulation, draught proofing, improving energy efficiency and encouraging people to
A THREE-year growth programme is being launched to help create up to 250 jobs and provide fresh places for 45 apprentices. Councillors have approved £1million proposals for the Burnley Business Growth initiative, which will also provide support
THIRTY new homes are to be built in Bacup. The major development, on land near New Line and Deansgreave Road, was given the go-ahead by planning bosses after changes were made to the positioning of an access point. The proposals had been deferred
A MAN who died after a car crash, in Edenfield, on Monday night has been named as Bernard Boylan. Mr Boylan, from Bury, died after his Nissan Almera collided with a lamppost and a tree on the southbound A56 dual carriageway. Online tributes
PLANS for a new independent school in Rossendale have been rejected. ACE Provision Limited had hoped to provide ‘alternative care and education’ at Shiers’ School, in Market Street, Shawforth. But members of the council’s development control committee
A STACKSTEADS primary school has been told it needs to improve after a recent Ofsted visit. St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School, in Huttock End Lane, has been rated as “requires improvement” rather than “satisfactory” under the new classifications
A FORMER cotton mill in Burnley could be demolished if new plans are given the go-ahead. The former Queens Mill, in Elm Street, Daneshouse, which dates back to the late 1880s, has been singled out for redevelopment by Great Places Housing.
SOCIOLOGY students at Nelson and Colne College Sixth Form have enjoyed an added dimension to their study of youth and old age. They held a ‘question and answer’ session with one of the group’s grandmother! In their recent lessons, the group
A FRESH bid is being made to extend the working life of a Nelson quarry to cope with the effects of the recession. Operations at Catlow Quarry have slowed as a result of the economic downturn, according to operators Green Natural Stone Products
A 32-YEAR-OLD man who climbed on to an unmanned bus claimed he was looking for a timetable. Blackburn magistrates heard Michael Harries was arrested by police officers who were on covert observations in a nearby building regarding a totally different
The world's most famous bike race will pass just a few miles from the East Lancashire border in 2014, Tour de France organisers have said. Details of the first three stages of the 101st Tour were confirmed in Paris today, with one of the stages
THE wish of a Hungarian girl was granted when her aunt took her to see a real pantomime in Pendle. Theatre fan Mesi Morris, nine, flew on her own, from Budapest, for the chance to watch Jack and the Beanstalk at Colne’s Muni Theatre, in Albert
VOLUNTARY organisations in East Lancashire who are in contact with adult carers will have the opportunity to apply for a small grant to help fund their work. The county council’s carers’ team is inviting voluntary, community. and faith sector groups
A FORMER secretary at the Lancashire Telegraph who once met Tom Jones led an interesting and varied life before losing her two-year battle with terminal lung cancer. Florence Amanda Maria Dugdale, known as Mandy, died on December 30, just months
THE GOVERNING body of a Blackburn nursery school which has been told it requires improvement says its children are being short-changed by the council. Longshaw Nursery School, in Crosby Road, was visited by independent Ofsted inspectors who flagged
A MOTORIST had to be cut free from her vehicle after a collision with another car in Accrington. The accident, involving a Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus, happened at the junction of Ribblesdale Avenue and Marlborough Road, at 9.45am yesterday.
PENSIONERS are being urged to keep warm and well this winter, as temperatures are expected to plummet this week. Councillor Dorothy Walsh, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s older people’s champion, said: “I have my reservations about means testing
SIGNAL boxes in East Lancashire — which are due to be phased out — could possibly be listed by conservation experts. Five different locations are set to be axed across the area after a national review by Network Rail, it has been confirmed.
MICHAEL Appleton has revealed that he decided to become Blackburn Rovers’ new boss because of the owners’ ambitions for the club. Appleton has been unveiled as Rovers’ new manager at a press conference at Ewood Park this afternoon, after quitting Blackpool
A WOMAN who claims she was raped more than 30 years ago by a former director of the National Youth Choir says she now realises she was in the hands of a paedophile, a jury heard. Michael Brewer, 67, is accused of committing a string of indecent
PLANS for a controversial wind turbine have been submitted a third time by the owner of a farm near Bull Hill. Elizabeth Gott, of Pleasant View Farm, has applied to erect a turbine measuring 64.2metres from its base to the tip of the blade on land
THE chairman of the Lancashire division of the National Farmers Union has urged consumers to check for the red tractor symbol on food packaging. The recommendation comes in light of horse DNA being found in some Tesco Everyday Value beef burgers
A YOUNG woman going home with her boyfriend is gang-raped on a bus. Complicit in the crime, the bus driver tries to run over the victim. She dies some days later. The whole nation is deeply shocked. Politicians and pundits debate how this could
A DARWEN primary school which had been told it ‘requires improvement’ is making strides great strides forward to improving the school to a ‘good’ rating. On a recent Ofsted monitoring visit, inspectors met senior leaders and governors at Darwen
THE Friends of Darwen Library will reflect on a year of progress at their annual meeting next month. The group, set up in 2011, hold the AGM ahead of the normal monthly meeting at the library on February 11, from 6pm. In his report, chairman
STAFF at six East Lancashire Blockbuster stores face an unknown future after the DVD and games rental firm went into administration. The announcement the company was in serious trouble came just a day after entertainment store HMV was also on the
BLACKBURN with Darwen council leader Kate Hollern has given up her day job at the town’s college to concentrate on the impact of Whitehall grant cuts on the borough. Her decision emerged after she travelled to London to tell local government minister
A WOMAN who has played a significant role in civic life in the county has been appointed as the first chair of Healthwatch Lancashire. Gail Stanley, MBE, will lead the new organisation that will give people a way to influence and challenge how
A TEENAGER who turned her life around through sport has been chosen as a Football Association ambassador as part of its 150-year anniversary. Taome Caville’s parents said they spent much of her childhood going in to see her headteachers because
MORE than three times as many people were caught drink driving in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale during a Christmas crackdown than the previous year, new figures show. The increase saw 50 people failing or refusing the test in December 2012, compared
ANIMAL charities have said they ‘cannot cope’ following a huge increase in the number of cats being dumped in East Lancashire. The warning comes as one rescue group said two kittens and their mother had been abandoned in the middle of a street
Blackburn Rovers have extended their commercial partnership with PROBIZ Excellence Ltd. PROBIZ, which has over 400 accountancy offices, had already committed to stay as main shirt sponsor until the end of this month, but have now agreed to continue
A ‘DRUNKEN’ man found sitting in someone else’s car by police was asked what he was doing there and replied: “I have no idea.” Burnley magistrates heard how Richard Reece Wood, 20, had rolled the Ford Focus about 25 feet, hit a wall and damaged
RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans has signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27. Mr Evans said he thought the book was a good way for people to show support for the remembrance day.
EAST Lancashire is likely to be hit by a “big dollop” of 10 to 15 centimetres of snow tomorrow, according to forecasters. The Met Office has issued an amber warning for snow with temperatures predicted to fall as low as -2C at night. Already
THE first question in Ian Holloway’s post match, post defeat, press conference at Turf Moor on Saturday was met with derision. “Do you think that was a fair result?” asked the journalist. “Are you drunk?” came the reply. “Have you been
DANNY Lafferty has got what it takes to be a first-team fixture, according to Burnley boss Sean Dyche. The left back was only brought back into the side following injury to Ben Mee in early December, having previously fallen down the pecking order
MICHAEL Appleton will be unveiled to the press today – finally – to mark the start of a regime that everyone hopes will finally turn the club’s fortunes around once and for all. Enough has been said about the club’s owners over the past two years
BARNSLEY defender Scott Wiseman has emerged on Blackburn Rovers’ radar as new boss Michael Appleton starts to plot the club’s route back into Championship play-off contention. While West Ham United are understood to have now bid in the region of
TRIBUTES have been paid to a 'kind and compassionate' businessman who had a 60-year association with Burnley Sea Cadets. John McCarthy Phillips, 73, who was president of the Burnley Unit, died after contracting pneumonia during treatment for bone
