AN award-winning Indian chef and restaurateur is to open a new business in Darwen. Ibrahim Ali, owner of the Usha Group, has announced he will open an Indian takeaway in Blackburn Road, opposite the Co-op shop at Hollins Grove, on Wednesday.
A CHARITY trust set up in memory of a runner who died during a race in Hong Kong has pledged its support for disabled swimmer Ethan Naisbitt. Accrington lawyer Daniel Bagshaw died just metres from the finish line of the International Triathlon
A WEST End actor has returned to his East Lancashire roots to set up a drama class for the next generation of performers. Paul Simpson, who recently starred in a year-long touring production of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse, has set-up Pop-Up Performance
AREN’T international breaks boring? As someone who has very little interest in the national side – aside from the bursts of excitement that happen every two years for major tournaments – the weekend has been a bit of a write-off. The only good
THOSE who have yet to make a will are being urged to take part in East Lancashire Hospice Will Week. Participating solicitors across East Lancashire have agreed to waive their normal fee to write a standard will, in return for making a donation
SUSTAINABLE farm shop and restaurant Roaming Roosters has been shortlisted for eight food awards. Brothers Simon and Nick Mellin, who run the Higham-based business, are celebrating becoming finalists for six national and two regional awards.
A HALAL food manufacturer based in Blackburn has won the headline prize at the English Asian Business Awards. KQF, based in Wensley Fold, was selected as ‘business of the year’ at an awards ceremony in Manchester that was attended by hundreds of
A GROUP of students from Marsden Heights community College have returned from a life-changing trip to the World War One battlefield sites in Belgium. The five girls from Year nine were selected to take part in a year-long project based around the
AN Accrington pensioner has slammed the council for allowing hedges on his street to overgrow. Hollins Lane resident Eric Lynch spoke out earlier this year, saying the out-of-control vegetation was forcing schoolchildren to walk on the road.
A 35-YEAR-OLD mum went looking for two girls she thought had been bullying her six-year-old daughter. Blackburn magistrates heard when Sarah Ann Bleeks caught up with the girls, aged 10 and 12, she slapped one and pushed the other. MORE TOP
CONTROVERSIAL plans to convert the vacant Rossendale Magistrates’ Court into housing have been passed, despite parking concerns. Developer Mr Z Khan has been given the go-ahead to transform the former courthouse, in Oakley Road, into 11 apartments
SOME charges in Ribble Valley car parks will rise by 10 per cent or more next year if proposals to raise income from fees are approved by councillors tomorrow. Motorists stopping for between one and two hours at four sites in Clitheroe and one
WHEN I was a child there were no property programmes on TV. Families didn't sit at home every night watching other families carry out loft conversions or install new kitchens. Neither were magazines bursting at the seams with articles about
A TOP East Lancashire police officer has been selected to attend the Women of the Year Lunch. Chief Superintendent Irene Curtis, from the Ribble Valley, is also president of the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales The celebration
A BLACKBURN College criminology lecturer is celebrating getting senior fellowship status, which led to him being asked to contribute to a new textbook. Phil Johnson started off at the Fielden Street college in 1995 lecturing law, and moved into
BURNLEY Football Club is looking for girls to become Clarettes. There are spaces available in the under-nine squad for youngsters aged seven and eight. Anyone interested in trying out should go to the team’s Monday evening session at St Thomas
WHEN Manchester City make the move into their new £200m training complex next week you cannot imagine Manuel Pellegrini and the array of world class players he has it his disposal having to check the pitches for dog muck or having to halt their sessions
RAIL passengers across Lancashire are being given the chance to have their say on the way the county’s railways are policed. By completing a short online survey, British Transport Police (BTP) wants the general public and rail staff to tell them
AN eye-catching anti-fracking protest crusaded through East Lancashire as part of a worldwide day of action opposing the controversial shale gas extraction. Mr Frackhead, a 15ft puppet monster, visited Accrington and Burnley as environmentalists
AN East Lancashire venue has been named the best independent hotel in the 2014 Style Awards. Northcote, in Langho, was among well-known brands like Trivago to be recognised at the ceremony. Laurie Thomas, managing director of Vision, which
A FAMILY have paid loving tribute to former Burnley teacher, Ron Gray. Mr Gray passed away on Friday, October 3 after a long battle with bladder cancer. He was aged 87. MORE TOP STORIES: Born in Birmingham, he moved to East Lancashire with
A REFURBISHED community centre in Burnley has been officially opened. The Burnley Wood Community Centre, in Springfield Road, is operated ‘by the community for the community’ and houses a cafe, internet facilities, a luncheon club and children’
A DOCTORS surgery has been praised for its ‘rapid reaction’ appointments and named GP service. Jake Berry, who represents Rossendale, visited the Irwell Medical Service, in Rochdale Road, Bacup, where issues including waiting times were discussed
The Great Fire is a lavish production, based on the true story of the fire which started in Thomas Farriner’s Pudding Lane bakery in 1666 and roared through London, destroying more than 13,000 houses in its wake. Andrew Buchan is taking on one
AN investigation into allegations of ‘extremist infiltration’ by Islamic fundamentalists at three Pendle primary schools has revealed no evidence to support such claims, county councillors have been told. But the issue, raised at a Lancashire County
As the judges crowned Nancy Birtwhistle this year’s Great British Bake Off winner, last year’s finalist Ruby Tandoh was relieved to be watching proceedings at home. When Ruby Tandoh applied for last year’s Great British Bake Off, she could never
WAS hoping for thighs so strong they could crack walnuts. I figured that a cycling holiday might be just the job to tone up after a few months of a more-off-than-on love affair with the gym. As it turned out, there was a lot more to enjoy than biking
Alfred Wainwright sketched Dunsop Bridge in the early 1980s for his ‘Bowland Sketchbook,’ but it was not his first visit to the village, which in pre-1974 terms is part of Yorkshire’s West Riding. Between the two world wars, Wainwright, as an employee
NEW film about the heyday of northern soul boasts a cast list with some of Lancashire’s top acting and musical talent, including Steve Coogan, Ricky Tomlinson, John Thomson and Lisa Stansfield. But one of the biggest stars of the movie is the venue
Living after breast cancer is a much more common consideration than dying from the disease these days, thanks to massively improved survival rates. However, this isn’t nearly as straightforward as it sounds. Around 50,000 women and 400 men
AN East Lancashire firm has proved instrumental in helping some of the world’s biggest stars record the latest Children in Need single. Academy Award winner AMS Neve, based in Billington Road, Burnley, used its hi-tech equipment to record and mix
TWO people were killed and four others seriously injured after a two-car crash in Accrington. The collision between a Mercedes and a Vauxhall Vectra happened at the crossroads outside the Asda superstore in Hyndburn Road. MORE TOP STORIES:
OSCAR Pistorius faces sentencing this week in a South African court after being convicted of culpable homicide for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The sentencing of the double-amputee athlete is expected to involve several days of legal argument
EAST Lancashire’s leading protestant cleric said the North West was a fantastic place to live and work in a bid to attract more clergy to the region. Bishop of Blackburn Julian Henderson made the comments as Blackburn Diocese joined forces with
A COUPLE returned from holiday to find a ‘Goldilocks’ intruder asleep in their bed. Lukasz Chojnowski, 28, took a perfumed bubble bath, cooked food and, unlike many burglars who ransacked their targets, had kept the Nelson home of Mary Dyson, 73
Extra Special Viognier 2013, £5, Asda Here’s a great example of how supermarket own-label brands can be excellent value. Apricots and peaches are the keynote of the Viognier grape which traditionally grew in France’s Rhone valley although this
SAM Vokes takes a sip from his cup of green tea before we sit down to talk. The footballer’s beverage of choice used to be Isotonic Lucozade Sport, as advertised by John Barnes. MORE TOP STORIES: These days it tends to be nutritional ‘shakes
Ever been to a play or a show, live in a theatre? I've been to a Panto, of course, as a little boy (Oh no, he didn't...OK, get it off your chest!) in Birmingham. The Hippodrome, I think. Ken Dodd if I remember right. At school, we were taken
One down and fourteen to go until we crown the strictly celebrity champion 2014, its Movie week and with an opening that was more like the pantomime of horrors and I really don’t understand why Craig, Len and Bruno sang “there is no business like show
BLACKBURN Rovers captain Grant Hanley has pulled out of the Scotland squad for their Euro 2016 qualifier with Poland tomorrow night. The centre back has not travelled to Warsaw with the rest of Scotland's squad after sustaining a knee injury in
JOHN Coleman’s winning streak in his second spell as Stanley boss came to end – but a horror injury to loan keeper Aaron Chapman overshadowed the loss. Chapman leapt for a high ball in injury-time and landed awkwardly in the back of the net with
BLACKBURN Rovers forward Josh King will attempt to build on his brace of goals against Malta on Friday when he lines up for Norway against Bulgaria tonight. King was the star of the show as Norway won 3-0 their Euro 2016 qualifier at the Ta’Qali
NEW benefit claimants transferred to Universal Credit could face a grim Christmas if their payments fail to come through, Labour’s Kate Hollern has warned. The new system comes into to Blackburn with Darwen on November 24 for jobless single people
A NURSE who used Facebook to tell a colleague he was fantasising about her in 'small panties and bras' was struck off. Andrew Curson posted other comments such as: “I'm sure you'll be good to look at, u in the sun, dressed scantily lol.” MORE
LANCASHIRE Police is to carry out unannounced home visits to gun owners. From Wednesday, officers will be visiting those who have firearms to talk to them about security and crime prevention. Nationally, over the last five years 3,296 licensed
EAST Lancashire’s singing sensation Reece Bibby wowed the judges and the audience at the X Factor live shows with his newly-named band Stereo Kicks. The group of eight including the Accrington teen was told they had ‘something potentially very
A 45-YEAR-OLD man suffered serious head injuries when he was assaulted in Padiham. The incident happened on Saturday as the victim and his friend walked in Park Road, near to the leisure centre. MORE TOP STORIES: Police said they believed
A POLICE crackdown is being launched to stamp out modern slavery in East Lancashire. Officers are set to visit premises including massage parlours, takeaways, car washes and travellers’ sites in a bid to speak with employers and make sure nobody
FORMER Blackburn Rovers captain Scott Dann believes Gary Bowyer can lead the club to promotion – given time. Dann has no doubt that Rovers boss Bowyer has got the club moving in the right direction again after one of the most turbulent periods
A DARWEN street was closed off after part of a derelict pub building collapsed. Fire crews and police cordoned off Church Street when part of Franky's Bar fell onto the pavement. MORE TOP STORIES: An Audi A4 was damaged by guttering which
PLANS to install new traffic lights at the junction of Birch Hall Avenue and Blackburn Road could be scrapped, council bosses have confirmed. The proposed lights are part of an ambitious £40million transport improvement project across East Lancashire
A POST-MORTEM examination into the death of a woman who was found on a canal barge has proved ‘inconclusive’ officers said. A murder investigation was launched by the Lancashire force major investigation team on Friday after the 47-year-old woman
HUNDREDS of thousands of health workers have walked out on strike, many for the first time in their lives, in protest at the Government's decision not to give them a recommended 1% pay rise. Midwives, nurses, paramedics, ambulance staff, and hospital
A DRUNKEN mum-of-one who smashed a police woman’s teeth in and then gloated about it on Facebook, has been locked up for 10 months. Barefoot Suzanne Marie Porter, 25, had also shown her bottom and urinated in the street when police were called
VETERAN defender Michael Duff is determined to show that age is just a number by retaining his place in the Burnley team throughout the Premier League season. The 36-year-old’s chances of starting regularly in the Premier League this season did
THOUSANDS of people enjoyed the town’s second ever Chorley Live with the event hailed a huge success. The crowds enjoyed around 200 live performances on Friday and Saturday night. The event, which was organised by Chorley Council and the Creative
