Archive

  • Ex-mayor is named Burnley borough alderman

    A FORMER councillor with more than 30 years of public service in Burnley and Padiham is set to be given one of the borough’s top civic honours. Ex-councillor John Greenwood began his stint at the former Padiham Urban District Council in 1968 and

  • Council boss from Blackburn gets on his bike for good cause

    A COUNCIL boss is cycling between two landmarks to raise awareness of an illness which forced a colleague into early retirement. Blackburn One Stop manager Brian Wallace will pedal the 60 miles between Old Trafford to Blackpool Tower on Sunday

  • 'Police not interested' says Darwen burglary witness

    A WOMAN has criticised police for showing ‘no interest’ in a suspected burglary she witnessed. Marilyn Bysh, of Knowlesley Road, Darwen, said she was left frustrated at every turn after spotting a break-in while driving through the town. Mrs

  • The bird that fears no storm

    I have a pair of mistle thrushes now raising their second brood of four chicks in my local woodland. Looking back in my diary of 2013 I heard a mistle thrush singing away despite high wind and a snow storm in January. No wonder that it was once

  • Walk: Lumbutts

    The names of our old villages have always fascinated me and mostly their meaning can be translated. Getting there From Todmorden follow the A646 towards Hebden Bridge. Look out for a sign indicating Mankinholes and Lumbutts. Cross the river

  • Review: Torres Vina Esmeralda 2012, £8.29, Waitrose

    There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to Spanish wines and this is an unusual blend of moscatel and gewurztraminer. Delectable served well chilled on a sunny day, it is honeyed with a fragrant nose of rose and lavender, and the sweet

  • Review: Monte Velho Branco 2012, £6.75, The Wine Society

    The Portuguese region of Alentejano is where this charming white wine was made using Roupeiro, Perrum and Antao Vaz grapes,which you won't find elsewhere. It has a fresh and light taste but don't be fooled because the alcohol level is on the high

  • Review: Yali Wetland Merlot Rose 2012, £7.49, Majestic

    A rose from Chilean producer Vina Ventisquero's vineyards. It's made with Merlot grapes and has plenty of flavour but an alcohol level of just 11.5% which is very light for a New World wine. Until September 2 if you buy two as part of a six-bottle

  • Review: The Three Fishes, Mitton

    Ten years ago The Three Fishes at Mitton re-opened paving the way for a mini-revolution in eating out in East Lancashire. It was Ribble Valley Inns first foray into the gastro pub market and set the benchmark for others to follow. Now, the

  • Plan for 'luxury' betting shop in Blackburn sparks protest

    PLANS to turn a historic former hotel on the edge of Blackburn’s Cathedral Quarter redevelopment into a ‘luxury’ betting shop has provoked a storm of protest. Ladbrokes is proposing to spend £200,000 on transforming the former Thwaites premises

  • Campaign urges East Lancashire farmers to diversify

    A BUSINESS bus dedicated to kick-starting small firms is coming to a holistic farm near Blackburn-with-Darwen which got £18,000 of launch support from Regenerate Pennine Lancashire. The cash grant helped The Wellbeing Farm to grow into a successful

  • Wide appeal of Riley Green narrow boat firm

    A FAMILY-run leisure boat hire business based in Riley Green has expanded its narrow boat fleet. Through a mix of business loans and grants, Canal Boat Cruises has seen its fleet grow from two narrow boats to five, winning a tourism award in the

  • Safety award for Clitheroe catering wholesaler

    CATERING wholesaler Total Foodservice has been honoured for its rigorous approach to health and safety at the International Safety Awards 2013. The Clitheroe-based firm took home the prestigious company award – a recognition of a proven commitment

  • 'Old girls' return for Darwen school relaunch

    THE multi-million pound Darwen Vale High School officially opened its doors on Saturday with a community fun day. An opening ceremony was performed by two former grammar school pupils, Connie Yates and Keva Painter, and two of the youngest pupils

  • Darwen Grand Prix 'bigger and better than ever'

    DARWEN Pedal Car Grand Prix will be bigger than it has ever been this year, say organisers. The fourth annual event, on Saturday, July 21, sees teams race around a town centre circuit and this year has been split into separate categories for the

  • Women are ruling Hyndburn's Rotary clubs

    WOMEN presidents are in charge of Hyndburn’s rotary clubs for the first time. After electing new leaders this year, the groups of Accrington, Great Harwood and Rishton plus Church and Oswaldtwistle coincidentally set the new record. The clubs

  • Hapton dogsitter cleared of burglary

    A DOGSITTER was cleared of burgling the house of a client at Burnley Crown Court. Helen Dodgeon, 38, was alleged to have burgled the property at Leigh Park, Hapton, between August 4 and 19, last year. The prosecution alleged she took a haul

  • Cars rev up for Chipping veteran rally run

    MORE than 30 veteran cars were due to take part in the ‘Red Rose Rally’ veteran car run today. The cars will meet in Chipping in the Ribble Valley, and will then pass through several more Lancashire villages before stopping for lunch at Leighton

  • Northern Ireland visit for East Lancashire rally driver

    HAPTON businessman and rally driver Justin Birchall was a special guest of the Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast last week. He was invited to Stormont by Ulster Unionist MLA Robin Swann, who represents Ballymena, the hometown of Mr Birchall’

  • MP's backing for Slaidburn GP surgery

    THE campaign to save Slaidburn Country Practice from closure has received the ‘100 per cent’ support of Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans. Mr Evans said he had spoken to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt about the practice and he said he would do all he

  • Tip-offs vital in East Lancashire danger-dog fight

    A CRACKDOWN on reducing the numbers of unchecked dangerous dogs is using neighbourhood intelligence. Police in East Lancashire have been working with DEFRA to encourage residents to alert forces if they suspect a neighbour is illegally keeping,

  • Call to boycott Burnley Post Office takeover firm

    THE leader of Burnley Council has pledged to back a boycott of any new business which attempts to take over the running of the town’s main post office. She made the comments after a public meeting attended by up to 40 residents and members of the

  • Ramsbottom FC offers football exams for school leavers

    RAMSBOTTOM United FC is to offer a new joint two-year BTEC diploma and football course for school leavers. The Rams’ junior section has teamed up with Chorley firm Onside Sports to introduce the Government-backed scheme. It includes a BTEC level

  • Clarets fans in Barcelona fund-raising adventure

    A GROUP of die-hard Clarets fans have set off on a money-raising adventure to Barcelona. Luke Tootle, 27, from Oswaldtwistle, Dominic Porter, 27, and Ryan van Noortwijk, 26, both from Accrington and Jason Blakeledge, 43, from Bury are driving a

  • Ramsbottom hosts first pie festival

    RAMSBOTTOM’S first pie festival had punters licking their lips yesterday. The event, the brainchild of Bridge Street trader Gregg Fletcher, saw hundreds of hungry revellers visit the gardens of St Paul’s Church. With the town already on the map

  • Rawtenstall pupils take top prize in eco-quiz

    PUPILS from a Rawtenstall primary school scooped top prize in an environmental competition held by Lancashire County Council. The team of four from St Mary’s CE Primary School also proved they were the most clued-up on road safety issues to win

  • Rawtenstall club rapped over no music licence

    CLUBBERS at a Rawtenstall nightspot will find a vital ingredient to their evening’s entertainment missing – the music. The club’s proprietor faced the music at London's High Court and was banned by one of the country’s top judges from playing recorded

  • Comment: Slower speeds will save children

    LARGE areas of East Lancashire have streets of terraced housing built when car ownership was confined the richest one or two per cent of the population. Today there is a vehicle for virtually every home and some have several. And this is one

  • Blog: Stay calm - and stop punching the air

    ONE thing I won’t miss about Wimbledon is the air punching. As with most sports, this has crept into tennis, and is now present in virtually every match. I first noticed it a couple of years ago when watching the men, but now women too clench their

  • Letter: Iconic? Words like this are so over-used

    YOUR headline asked the question ‘Is time running out for iconic market clock?’ (LT, July 4). This clock is hardly iconic. It has far too much plastic. Now if you want to call the original old market clock iconic, then that would be more fitting

  • Letter: Keep celebs from loan ads

    NOW that former pop star Kerry Katona has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in only five years, perhaps it is high time that advertisements from reckless payday lending firms were banned from our television screens for good. Payday lenders

  • Letter: Tragedy for man's family

    I READ about the Burnley man aged 80 found hanging after telling his daughters of health and money worries. What an absolute tragedy for the family – sincere condolences. An 80-year-old man should not have these worries. mavrick (via website

  • Letter: Parents - act responsibly

    MY first reaction to the proposed shake-up of school governor rules was: ‘Ha ha ha’. Just recently I have become aware of how poor schools are. Well actually not the schools because the school is not a person. Head teachers like to keep things

  • Letter: Cheaper to break the law?

    A PROPERTY developer must pay £640 for illegally destroying a bat roost in a house he was renovating (LT, July 7). The cost of dealing properly with the bats would run into thousands. The cost of breaking the law appears to be £640. The deterrent

  • Letter: Quit EU but find equality

    IT is not necessarily right- wing to want to leave the EU. UKIP are not the only political party committed to an independent UK. The continuation Liberal Party which, unlike the EU-fanatic Liberal Democrats quite rightly opposed giving up the Pound

  • Letter: How to act against a parking fine

    IN response to the letter about parking fines imposed on people who have the audacity to spend more than an hour shopping in Aldi’s Ramsbottom store, I also got fined and I was very angry. I sent an email to the managing director suggesting they

  • Review: The Human League, Hoghton Tower

    IT was fitting that in the grounds of historic Hoghton Tower we were transported back in time for some fun in the sunshine on Friday evening. This was the first time a pop concert had been held to help raise money for St Catherine’s Hospice – the

  • Shoppers hunt for bargains at Nelson vintage fair

    HUNDREDS of shoppers hunted for retro bargains at the third Nelson Vintage Festival this weekend. Stallholders stocking everything from dresses to homemade crafts and soft furnishings set up in a sunny town centre on Friday and Saturday. The

  • Work on collapsed sewer in Colne

    WATER firm United Utilities will start work on a collapsed sewer in Market Street, Colne, on Wednesday. Now that demolition works have been carried out on an adjacent building, United Utilities’ engineers can start repairing the sewer near the

  • Hunt for suspects as crime spikes in Colne

    POLICE are hunting a handful of suspects believed to be behind a 15 per cent rise in recorded crime across Colne. A total of 81 extra offences were tallied in the district, year-on-year, in June, Colne area committee was told. And the majority

  • 300 in bid to halt Sabden housing plan

    MORE than 300 people have signed a petition objecting to a housing application in Sabden. It comes after more than 70 letters were sent to Ribble Valley Council oppo-sing the plan. The proposal, which includes 14 houses and three bungalows

  • Helmshore wheelchair athlete in charity challenge

    WHEELCHAIR athletes are taking on their biggest challenge yet to ensure a talented friend can carry on racing. Anthony Gott, 29, from Helmshore, and two fellow athletes will take on a 105km relay challenge, from Manchester to Blackpool. The

  • Three teams in the chase for Blackburn Rovers' Martin Olsson

    MARTIN Olsson will not travel to Portugal for Blackburn Rovers’ pre-season training camp today – with Gary Bowyer saying the club will have to ‘see what happens’ this week over interest in the Swede. Olsson’s agent Hasan Cetinkaya has again confirmed

  • Burnley striker Charlie Austin set for medical with Hull City

    CHARLIE Austin’s move to newly promoted Hull City moved a step closer after Burnley settled on a fee, thought to be in the region of £4.5million. The two clubs had been far apart on their valuation of the striker, who top-scored with 28 league

  • Three sides of the Lancashire 20mph limit debate

    The Lancashire Telegraph spoke to three people with very different views on the plan to introduce 20mph limits in all of Lancashire's residential areas. SUPPORTERS' VIEW: Safer driving is essential TERRY Hannon, whose 22-year-old son Matthew

  • St Mary's College hosts Annual Film Festival

    On Wednesday 3rd July, our Media and Film Department held their seventh annual Film Festival to celebrate the achievements of talented film and media students. A wide range of videos from short films to music videos to documentaries were screened to

  • Smart energy meters save East Lancashire households £470k

    MORE than 7,000 money-saving ‘smart meters’ were installed in East Lancashire up to the end of last year, saving £470,000 in energy bills, it is estimated. Smart meters are new energy meters which replace existing gas and electricity boxes. They

  • Go wild for family fun at Brockholes nature reserve

    BROCKHOLES Nature Reserve will be holding a series of ‘wild families’ events this summer, aimed at getting families outdoors and working together. The 12 events, to be held between Tuesday, July 23 and Friday, August 30 at the Samlesbury reserve

  • Haslingden Rotarian jailed for sex attack on teen

    A PENSIONER who sexually assaulted a ‘vulnerable’ teenager has been locked up for eight months. Burnley Crown Court heard how Brian Walmsley, 71, left his victim in shock, feeling sick and struggling to speak about it. The hearing was told