A CROWD of people have once again gathered outside Blackburn’s Tesco superstore to raise awareness of the situation in Palestine. Between 50 and 100 people peacefully protested outside the store, in Hill Street, this evening (THURS), a police spokeswoman
The Lancashire Wolverines strengthened their position in the Premiership North with a dominant 41-0 victory over the Nottingham Caesars at the Harvey Hadden Stadium. The game couldn’t have started better for the Wolverines as Joe Morgan recovered
CHORLEY eventer Jeanette Brakewell admits she will be disappointed not to compete at this year’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, but says the health of her horses takes priority. The 40-year-old, who has been riding since the age of four, saw
Jonny Hannan is the inaugural Blackburn and Darwen Individual Snooker Champion. Hannan, the youngest competitor in the tournament at just 20 years of age overcame Jonathon Wignall 5-4 in a highly entertaining final at Blackburn’s Longshaw Sports
FORMER champions Glenn Stevenson and Russ Large rolled back the years as they booked their place in the 2014 Golden Cue Large Table final. Large was forced to fight all the way, edging past Simon Blackwell 3-2 in a tense semi-final in front at
YOU only have to look at the England team completed in the Commonwealth Games to realise what can be achieved with hard work, talent and – just as importantly – the backing and believe of a club coach or official when you first start out on that sporting
How does a full week playing Cricket, Football or Girls Multi-Sports sound? Would you like to receive over 25 hours of coaching, improve your game and have lots of fun? Once again we have enlisted the skills of a female PE Teacher and will be offering
Feniscowles ‘A’ undefeated winners of the Southern division of the Blackburn Primary Schools Chess League faced St.Marys’A’, undefeated winners of the Northern division in the play-off final. As expected, both teams began strongly but soon Feniscowles
TEAMS wishing to take part in an annual pre-season football tournament have until the end of the week enter. The Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Pre-Season Football Festival, sponsored by Forbes Solicitors, will be held on the bank holiday
PUPILS from primary schools across Blackburn and Darwen got the chance to show off their all-round skills when they took part in a Multi Skills Festival. Schools were invited to take up to 16 Key Stage 1 (Year 1 &2) youngters for either the
BLACKBURN’S Paul Sutcliffe carried off the Alexandra Classic crown after a titanic battle with another former champion Geoff Hilton. Former East Lancs man Sutcliffe edged past Hilton 31-27 to take the title for a second time in front of a bumper
NELSON (Under 13) celebrated their first victory of the season with a sparkling eight-wicket win over Darwen. Darwen found it hard to keep the scoreboard moving against a well drilled bowling attack, with James Bradley (3-10) and Matt Pettinger
THE only way is up for Blackburn Community Sports Club Ladies after securing their third promotion in four years – and the latest was the best of the lot. The talented team were crowned North West Counties Women’s League Division One North champions
AN East Lancashire e-cigarette seller has called for rules to stop people ‘putting rubbish’ in e-cigs. The worker at Blackburn firm Smokers World spoke after research carried out by a New York cancer institute found high-voltage e-cigarettes ‘may
This week I have taken the liberty of swerving the usual pub review. The reason for this being, that I wanted an opportunity to recommend some of the outstanding pubs I have visited in the last few months. Premier watering holes, that never
FOLLOWING their sell-out UK tour earlier this year, reggae stars UB40 will embark on the second leg of a UK tour in October and November – which includes a gig in Burnley on November 22. The tour’s 18 dates will include UCLan Burnley, on Princess
THE eagerly anticipated Cloudspotting Music and Arts Festival returns to Gisburn Forest near Slaidburn tomorrow. Regional acts – from quirky solo performers to emerging and established bands – will play alongside UK and internationally known groups
A CAGE-fighter who decided to video blog his battle with terminal cancer has been told that he is responding ‘unbelievably’ well to his first course of chemotherapy. Wil Handford, 22, from Colne was told in April that he had stage four bowel cancer
A WOMAN with two young children in the back of her car drove more than 35 miles along busy motorways while three times over the drink-drive limit. Janet Marie Cunningham narrowly avoided crashing into other cars when she misjudged a bend and veered
ONE of Rishton’s new living Christmas trees has been damaged in an attack by vandals. The tree, in High Street, has had several of its branches snapped off, while others have been bent and broken. Councillor Ken Moss has reacted angrily to
WORK to turn a former reservoir into a local beauty spot has been put on hold pending a review. The Environment Agency said last year that work to repair the dam at Jacks Key would be carried out this summer. It was understood the plan was
COMEDIAN Jim Bowen is back on ‘the circuit’ three years after he suffered two strokes. The former Bullseye host, who was brought up in Padiham and attended Accrington Grammar School, has a gig in Clitheroe next month. And the 77-year-old is
COUNCIL bosses have come under fire for the state of war graves in Blackburn Old Cemetery just days before Monday’s centenary of the 1914/1918 conflict. Historians, borough residents and heritage bosses have been angered by the overgrown plots
RESIDENTS in Belthorn fed up with council cuts to services are to take matters into their own hands. Volunteers in the village have been given more than £450 by East Ribble Freemasons to fund a petrol mower so they can make cuts of their own -
KIND-hearted volunteers turned a Blackburn car park into a street party for homeless people last night. Strangers came together as part of the Help The Homeless internet movement to put on a feast of food and music, and to give advice about a variety
A TEAM of valeters at a Blackburn car dealership have cleaned up – after scooping £20,000 on the National Lottery. Eight staff at Bowker BMW, Trident Way, will share the windfall after their ticket was one of 50 selected at random in a Lotto Raffle
A RIBCHESTER runner is set to race more than 360 miles to Belgium to raise money for charity. Endurance athlete Dave Moretta, a former Queen’s Lancashire and Duke of Lancaster’s Regiments soldier, aims to run to the Menin Gate memorial, in Ypres
PROFOUNDLY deaf Norman McLaren astounds audiences when he picks up his piano accordion and plays. The accomplished musician and his wife Elaine, 63, who is also deaf, have raised thousands for charity over the years and are now setting up their
RESIDENTS in a Trawden street are so fed up with speeding motorists, they are putting pressure on the county council to rethink the speed limit. Hollin Hall residents say they have experienced an increase in traffic flow since the Float’s Mill
A TEENAGE soldier who was killed a week before the end of the First World War has been remembered at a ceremony at Burnley Town Hall. Corporal Alfred Bennett Smith was just 19 when he was fatally wounded by a German shell as he laid a telephone
DOG-OWNERS in East Lancashire are being invited to help save a pooch’s life by letting their animals become blood donors. The UK’s only pet blood bank charity will host a donor session at Burnley’s Oakmount Veterinary Centre, in Trafalgar Street
More than 100 farm vehicles are expected to take part in this year’s sixth, annual Pendle Charity Tractor Run, which celebrates the life of local farmer Andrew Nutter. Andrew, who farmed Sabden Old Hall Farm with brother Brian and mum Ruth, died
NURSING chiefs have pledged to reduce the number of ‘slips and trips’ suffered by elderly patients in the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals – after figures suggested the number of serious accidents doubled in the last five years. There
HEALTH chiefs have come under fire for ‘breaking a promise’ over services provided at Rossendale Minor Injuries Unit (MIU). Staff at the unit have begun turning away patients if all appointments are filled at 7.30pm, before the scheduled 8pm closing
POLITICS is all about opportunity and timing. Sometimes on a small scale as when Gordon Birtwistle was elected Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley in 2010. The country was fed up with the Labour Government and the town was fed up with the same party
BUSINESSES are being affected by traffic build-ups caused by roadworks on the M65 motorway, Pendle’s MP said. Andrew Stephenson MP said companies and traders that rely on customers travelling across East Lancashire to visit them, such as the warehouses
AN Accrington school has revealed plans to build a new classroom. The board of governors at St Oswald’s Roman Catholic Primary School, in Hartley Avenue, has asked for planning permission to build an extension and a canopy. The voluntary-aided
A FREE basic IT course will be held at Rishton Library, in High Street, from 10am until 11.30am on Monday. Booking is essential. Visit the website www.eventbrite.co.uk and search for Rishton Library, or call 0300 123 6703.
THE Friends of Darwen Cemetery have begun tidying Section D1 and hope to start work on repairing headstones shortly. The group would like to identify people who still tend a grave there and have urged those who do to get in touch. Headstones
PLANS for an extension as well as alterations to the farmhouse at Top of the Meadow Farm, Whittlestone Head, Entwistle, have been submitted to the borough council by Edward Johnstone.
NEW multi-instrumentalist Bruce Thompson tops the bill at Darwen Library Theatre’s variety show next Wednesday at 2pm. Also performing are Six Pack and Frank Forde. Entry for local residents is £3 which includes tea or coffee and biscuits at the interval
FOOTBALL fans in Darwen can enjoy league action for the first time this season when AFC Darwen take on Irlam Town in the North West Counties First Division at the WEC Group Anchor Ground on Saturday. Kick off is at 3pm.
POLICE are stepping up patrols in Clayton-le-Moors following a ‘dramatic increase’ in the number of vehicles being damaged
A CLAYTON’S Got Talent competition will be held from 1pm until 4pm on Tuesday, August 12, at the baptist church in Sparth Road. The competition is for youngsters aged between four and 11. The cost of entry for spectators is £1 per adult and
ORGANISERS said an exhibition of 50 photographs of war memorials from Darwen churches had generated a lot of interest. Friends of Darwen Library chairman John East said: “Every family in Darwen lost someone in the Great War and most people who
CHILDREN from St Cuthbert’s, St Edward’s and Avondale primary schools have taken part in a painting competition organised by the Friends of Sunnyhurst Wood. Their art will be on display until August 30 and the winner will be chosen by Darwen Town Council
TWO Gates Bowling and Social Club in Anyon Street, Darwen, will host a First World War commemoration tomorrow from 8pm when Leanne James will sing a host of old-time classics. Tickets are £4 and proceeds will go to the Royal British Legion. Supper
LONGRIDGE Library, in Berry Lane, will host craft activities from 10am to 11am every Tuesday in August. The free sessions are suitable for five to 11-year-olds, but children must be accompanied by an adult. For information, email longridge.library
CHILDREN’S schoolwork about the First World War will be on display at Longridge Library throughout August. The display is by youngster’s at the town’s Barnacre Road Primary School. The Berry Lane Library will also be exhibiting artefacts from
A WISWELL restaurant is celebrating its fifth anniversary. The Freemasons, in Vicarage Fold, is extending its commemorative menu until August 31 to mark the event. A three-course lunch is on offer for £15, with dishes such as English pea soup
CLITHEROE Parish Church Operatic and Dramatic Society is preparing for its production of Oliver! Interviews for the boys’ parts have already been held, but enrolment and the first rehearsal for the adults will take place on August 26. They will
THE Clitheroe Pop Choir is set to meet in the town tomorrow. The session will take place at St Michael and St John’s Social Centre, in Lowergate, from 8.30pm.
MRS T’s Netball Summer Camps take place on August 6, 15 and 27 at Clitheroe Rugby Club, from 10am to 4pm. Entry, for children aged six and older, costs £23. There will be netball activities, team games, afternoon tournaments and a shooting
A RESIDENT has applied for planning permission to knock down their existing conservatory and build a one-storey flat-roofed extension at 2 Clough Bottom Bungalow, in Burnley Road East, Water.
SUMMER reading challenge activities and a drop-in craft session for children aged four to 12 are being held at Bacup Library, in St James Square, on Saturday from 10am to 2pm. For more information, call 0300 123 6703, or email bacup.library@lancashire.gov.uk
THE soap box race at Stubbylee Community Greenhouses that had to be cancelled last month after the Bacup centre was raided by thieves has been reorganised for October. The charity-run project for people with mental health issues, in Stubbylee Lane
LIMEY Valley Residents’ Association, from Loveclough, are leading a four-mile walk from Limey Lane, in Clowbridge, at 10am on Saturday. For more information, call Bob on 07780 813613, or email bobnic51@btinternet.com.
PROPOSALS for new licensed premises, at the former Ramsbottom Stoves premises in Bolton Street, opening until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, have been submitted to Bury Council for consideration.
VOLUNTEERS at The Raft Foundation, Rossendale’s foodbank, delivered 400 meals to families in need across the Valley on Tuesday. The donations included fresh fruit and vegetables, nappies, toiletries and pet food. The foundation is often in
RENOVATION work is being carried out to Rawtenstall Cenotaph to coincide with the centenary of the start of the First World War. Concrete that was depreciating at the site in Queens Square Memorial Garden is in the process of being replaced with
HUNDREDS of pounds of brand-name shoes have been stolen during a break-in at a busy Colne shopping arcade. Traders in the Arcade in Market Street said they are fearing for their livelihoods after they were targeted for the second time in a week
REDEVELOPMENT land at the former Greenhill Garage, in Rochdale Road, Bacup, with planning permission for two semi-detached properties, is on for sale with Eley Long estate agents for £65,000.
CHILDREN from St Paul’s CE Primary School in Nelson have created a time capsule to be buried at the site of their new school. The school is currently on the corner of Hibson and Halifax Road but in September, pupils and staff will move into the
A FEW tickets remain for a fundraiser in aid of Pendle Dogs in Need. Tomorrow’s event at the Bombay Lounge, Barrowford will include an Indian banquet and entertainment. Entry costs £15. Tickets for the raffle cost £1 a strip and can be bought from
RESIDENTS of Barrowford, Blacko, Higherford, Higham, Pendleside and Old Laund Booth met community police teams to discuss their concerns about crime in the area. Following the meeting, the police have identified three issues which they will now tackle
THE Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has warned that safety must be a priority when deciding applications for fracking. This week, the government announced that licences are on offer for exploratory drilling for shale gas along the M65
LABOUR’S shadow rail minister will meet campaigners and train users tomorrow. Lilian Greenwood MP will join her party’s prospective Parliamentary candidate for Pendle, Azhar Ali, on the Preston to Colne line.
THE Quit Squad will visit the Ace Centre in Nelson today at 6pm, offering advice and support for those wishing to give up smoking.
A WARTIME menu has been drawn up for the Colne Commemorates event this Saturday, a town-wide event in remembrance of the First World War. From 10am to 5pm, a marquee will be erected between the market and the Co-op, serving ‘good old fashioned
LOCAL rockers Strangelove will play at the Derby Arms in New Market Street, Colne, tomorrow from 9.30pm. Entry is free.
BARNOLDSWICK Beach will operate between August 2 and 30 from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday. This year the beach has tied up with West Craven Sports Centre to create ‘Barnoldswick-on-Sea’, giving beach goers the chance to take the plunge at the pool
HIGHERFORD Methodist Church, Barrowford, have organised a children’s treasure hunt tomorrow from 6pm followed by a hot supper for families. Children should be accompanied by an adult. Tickets are £4 for adults and £2.50 for children, or £10 for a family
THIEVES disabled a house alarm before ransacking the property and stealing jewellery. The burglars targeted a home in Marlborough Close, Ramsbottom. They removed a fuse and forced a panel out of a conservatory door and broke in. The incident
A POLICE And Communities Together meeting for residents living in Altham takes place at Altham Council offices in Burnley Road, tonight from 5.30pm. Anyone with concerns about crime in their area is urged to go along.
COLNE Town Council’s allotment committee will meet on Wednesday, August 13 from 7pm to 9pm in the training room at the Open Door Centre, in Great George Street. Plot holders are invited to bring up any issues they might have.
IT is more than a decade since Dennis Taylor moved out of Blackburn, but the affection remains strong. If most around the country associate Taylor with his native Northern Ireland and that 1985 World Championship victory over Steve Davis, still the most
ONE-to-one help to quit smoking will be offered at Manchester Road Surgery in Burnley from 9am to noon today. For details call 01254 283370 or 0800 3286297.
A FRIEND of Burnley teenager Estelle Thompson has thanked people who helped raise funds for her funeral on Saturday. The 17-year-old tragically died in a crash in Hapton earlier this month, and friend James Charlton organised a football match in
CONCERNS have been raised that Rossendale residents will not be given enough opportunity to have their say on possible changes to the Valley’s health centres. Treatment room services are being reviewed by the Rossendale Locality Commissioners for
LANCASHIRE County Council is drawing up a new policy on the provision and allocation of residential disabled parking bays. Its highways and transport boss John Fillis is expected to consider the new proposals over the next six weeks. He will
A JUNIOR doctor at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is helping to inspire the next generation of medics. Dr Carmine Grasso has organised medicine information days for sixth formers at Nelson and Colne College, St Christopher’s CE High School
THE firm that recently took over an East Lancashire smart metering firm has seen revenues increase by more than half. Scotland-based Energy Assets Group bought Darwen firm BGlobal Metering for £2.3million in April. And the firm said income
TWO beer loving friends have found a novel use for the back room of a car garage – turn it into a microbrewery. Mechanic Glen Speak and his pal John Chadwick, who works for BT, created the brewery at Glen’s Bluestone Land Rover Garage in Whitworth
A GROUP of young people in Lancashire County Council care has been honoured with the ‘Diana Award’. It was created in 1999 as a legacy to the late Diana Princess of Wales and her belief that young people have the power to change the world. Members
A BURNLEY-based home care firm has been given the thumbs up after a recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission. The regulator said of Majestic Care North West Limited, which is headquartered at the Central Methodist Church, in Hargreaves
CANON Peter Shepherd, associate priest at the Church of England Parish of Clitheroe St Mary Magdalene, has received a general licence to officiate and preach from the Bishop of Blackburn Julian Henderson.
MEET new people at Young at Heart, which gets together every Wednesday at the Pendle Club, in Lowergate, Clitheroe, from 2pm until 4pm. The cost of entry is £2.50 per session. For more details, call 01200 453073.
THE MOT centre, in Turf Street, Burnley, has applied for planning permission to extend its opening hours to between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
KOLMAL Golpani, of Britannia Post Office, Rochdale Road, Britannia, near Bacup, has applied to Rossendale Council for a premises licence to sell alcohol at the premises from 9am to 10pm daily.
AN Eid fair will be held at Brierfield Community Centre in Colne Road on Sunday from 2pm until 5pm. There will be a bouncy castle, penalty shoot out, face painting and a barbecue.
BLOOD donation sessions will be held in Darwen, Oswaldtwistle and Rishton. The first sessions will take place at Norden High School, Stourton Street, Rishton, on Tuesday, August 5. They will be followed by sessions at Darwen Leisure Centre,
THE next Friends of Simonstone School meeting will take place at The Stork Hotel, Simonstone on Tuesday, September 23, from 7.30pm.
A FREE men’s breakfast will be served at Knowle Green Congregational Church from 9am until 11am on Saturday, August 9. Call Chris Okpoti on 01254 878394 for more information.
A FREE guided walk will start from Slaidburn car park at 1.30pm today. The walk will involve off-road walking, as well as stiles and gradients. For more information, call 01200 414484.
EAST Lancashire UKIP Euro-MP Paul Nuttall has said his party would scrap university tuition fees completely for students who achieve good A-level results. He made the pledge as the government considers increasing them from the current maximum level
PLANS to expand the Affordable Pet Shop, in Gaghills Road, Waterfoot, to create a dog grooming room, have been submitted to Rossendale Council planners.
EAST Lancashire Concert Band will be performing tunes from the First World War at Towneley Hall in Burnley on Sunday. There will be two free concerts, starting at 1pm and 3pm, and there will also be an exhibition on display in the hall.
A COFFEE and cupcake morning raised more than £170 to support a seminarian in India. Parish of Our Lady of the Valley, in Sabden, is looking to raise £500 a year for Brother Pairdha Rathna Babu to help him through his four years of study before
A WARMTH scheme available to vulnerable people across England and Wales, including residents in East Lancashire, has revealed it has already received hundreds of referrals this summer from people in need of heating help. Following one of the hottest
YOUNG bookworms at Haslingden High School were named the winners of a school reading competition. The contest, which was won by 7M, saw pupils read more than 100 books as they took part in the ‘World Cup Winning Reads’. The group, which was
THE BEST Centre are going retro with their Roller Disco Themed Nights on Friday evenings. The next roller-disco will begin at 6pm on Friday at Centre, Unit 1, Bridgewater Close, Network 65 Business Park, Burnley. All Roller Discos include skate
FREE marketing workshops will take place in Burnley in October. The workshops at Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale CVS in Yorkshire Street, Burnley, have been organised by community interest company Can We Solutions, a division of Child Action Northwest
AN MP is calling for changes at Royal Blackburn Hospital after a cancer sufferer died after waiting for treatment in the A&E department. Maureen McDonald waited almost three hours to see a hospital doctor after she fell ill during chemotherapy
BURNLEY keeper Tom Heaton has become the latest player to extend his deal at Turf Moor after penning a new three-year contract. Heaton still had a year left on his previous deal but has now signed a new contract to keep him with the Clarets until the
POLICE have admitted wrongly ordering the removal of a banner calling for a boycott of Tesco from a Blackburn building. Blackburn with Darwen Council staff took the banner down from the side of the derelict Duke of Edinburgh pub, in Crabtree Street
FRIENDS and family of one-time Blackburn journalist Glenn Thomas who was killed in the Malaysia Airlines crash in the Ukraine are ‘hoping and praying’ for the early return of his remains, an ex-colleague said. The 49-year-old was working for the
A Lancashire employment law expert is warning businesses to carry out thorough checks to spot potential employees lying on CVs. Oliver McCann, partner in the Employment team at Napthens solicitors in Blackburn, has given his top tips following a high
BLACKBURN Rovers may face an anxious wait to find out whether Lee Williamson will miss the start of the new season after the midfielder was sent off in last night’s friendly at Bury. Rovers needed Jordan Rhodes’ late penalty to earn a 1-1 draw
A £30,000 benefits cheat claimed handouts as a single mum while living with her husband could spend the rest of her life paying it back, a court heard. Burnley magistrates were told how Lorraine Wilkinson, 49, had dishonestly claimed £10,860 in
A ‘TRULY despicable’ career criminal who burgled three East Lancashire homes has been sent to prison. Police officers said Lee Heath Jones was one of the most prolific burglars they had ever seen and that he had no regard at all for his victims
BURNLEY are making a third attempt to land Craig Dawson as they return with another bid for the West Brom defender. Clarets boss Sean Dyche has identified Dawson as his top centre back target this summer but admitted after Tuesday’s friendly match
LANCASHIRE is the worst performing local authority at reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads, according to new figures. It comes after research by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) revealed that 72 more
THE main focus of any pre-season match is not necessarily the result, but to emerge with all players intact. Jordan Rhodes’ penalty earned Rovers a draw, but Lee Williamson’s red card was something Gary Bowyer could have done without. As Williamson
A GUNMAN who shot a Pendle police officer and then left laughed as he cycled away has been found guilty of attempted murder. James Leslie fired at former Mansfield High School student PC Suzanne Hudson and her colleague, PC Richard Whiteley, when
