Green dogs, ghosts and sex act bargains: Lancashire Telegraph's strangest ever stories...

So why not take a couple of minutes and take a look at some of the Lancashire Telegraph's strangest ever stories. 

Labrador is born green in Clayton-le-Moors
8 October 2012

A couple were stunned when one of their pet dog’s puppies was born green.

Two-year-old golden labrador Buttons was in labour for 28 hours at the home of Clayton-le-Moors couple Naomi Grimes and Kyle Murray. The pair were stunned when the second puppy in a litter of eight appeared to have an unusual green glow.

Alarmed, they did a quick internet search and discovered that the pup, now named ‘Hulk’, had an unusual but temporary condition.

Naomi’s mother Sandra Grimes who was visiting the Pickup Street home at the time said they were stunned by the pup’s appearance.

She said: “At first we thought it must be just because of the birth and it would wash off. When that didn’t work we got a bit alarmed and starting searching the internet.”

They discovered that vary rarely when a puppy is born, the amniotic fluid mixes with the placenta and dyes the coat of the puppy, and it almost always happens to very light coloured puppies.

The condition fades in a few weeks.

Sandra said: “Hulk is adorable and when his brothers and sisters huddle together he has to be on top and in the middle so he can get as warm as possible.”

Naomi added: “We’ve tried not to name the puppies because they are for sale and we don’t want to get attached, but Hulk is really cute. It wasn’t totally obvious at first, but when we put him down next to the others you could really see it. Hulk is definitely one of a kind.”

Night with psychic at Darwen Theatre is cancelled due to 'unforeseen circumstances'
Wednesday 19 March 2014

A PSYCHIC show due to take place at Darwen Library Theatre has been cancelled due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.

An Evening of Mediumship with International Medium June Field was due to take place on Thursday, April 3, but the performance will no longer go ahead.

Full refunds on tickets are available by returning any purchased tickets to the original point of sale.

For any queries, the theatre’s box office can be contacted by calling 01254 706 006.

Another performance in Aberdeen on April 9 has also been cancelled for the same reason.

Blackburn man caught pleasuring himself for 40 minutes in pub beer garden after snorting five lines of cocaine
24 September 2015

A 35-YEAR-old man performed a sex act in a pub beer garden.

Blackburn magistrates heard Michael Brian Scott was pleasuring himself for 40 minutes before he was arrested.

Scott, of Mosley Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency. He was sent in custody to Preston Crown Court to be sentenced.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said Scott had a previous history for obscene behaviour and had previously been jailed for 32 weeks for outraging public decency.

"He was in the beer garden of Clitheroe Kate's on Mincing Lane and people were constantly walking past," said Miss Allan.

The court heard Scott had been drinking and had snorted five lines of cocaine before committing the offence.  

Richard Prew, defending, said Scott couldn't explain his behaviour.

"He has been working as a fork lift truck driver for the last two years and lives with his partner who sits at the back of court," said Mr Prew. "She finds his behaviour difficult to explain.

Man filmed trying to sell sex act for £40 in Burnley car park
26 February 2014

COMMUNITY leaders have slammed a man who was filmed trying to sell a sex act for £40 to a motorist in a Burnley car park.

Terry Hartley, 26, from Colne, was approached by the man after he had parked just off Briercliffe Road on his way to work at Tattitude.

The middle-aged man, who spoke with a Merseyside accent, asked if he would pay £40 to receive a sex act from a woman stood nearby.

Talking to Mr Hartley through his open car window, the man said: “For £40, right now. Do you want to do it or not? I’ll wait over there. She will do it for you right now.

“She has the best body in Burnley.”

Mr Hartley told the man, who was drinking from a can of strong lager: “Are you mad? You have got beer goggles on.

“It’s 9.30am and you’re on the Special Brew.”

After reducing his ‘price’ to £20 doesn’t earn him any money, the man then tries to sell aftershave from his pocket, and even his watch.

The woman, who does not appear in the video, then went and stood down a neighbouring alleyway.

Mr Hartley filmed the incident on his mobile phone which has now received more than 225,000 hits on Youtube.

Terrifying ghostly footage an internet hit
Friday 9 January 2015

A VIDEO of a mysterious ‘ghost’ allegedly captured on a road going out of Blackburn is causing an internet sensation.

Two men filmed the alleged spectre from inside their car, and can be heard talking about the ghoulish figure as it approaches.

Filmed on a country road leading towards Belmont, the figure dressed in white comes towards the car before disappearing into bushes at the side of the road.

The frightened passenger can be heard screaming in Arabic.

He shouts: “Move the car backwards. Faster! Faster!”

Since it was posted online, the video has been shared thousands of times on social media and racked up thousands of views on the Lancashire Telegraph website.

While most people sharing the video have said they don’t believe it is actually a phantom, viewers have enjoyed watching the terrified men being chased off by what appears to be a prankster.

Jessica Millington said: “Even though I don’t think that it’s real, it’s still creeped me out a little bit!

“I wouldn’t want to be followed by something looking like that whether it was real or not!”

And Emma Marsden said: “I think the video’s hilarious, what more do you want from a clip than a ‘ghost’ with a walking stick chasing a car?

“I don’t know what would be more scary, actually seeing a ghost or encountering a stranger wearing a bed sheet carrying a walking stick.

“It’s not like a ghost could clobber you over the head with a stick, but I’m pretty sure a weirdo who roams around long grass alone at night wouldn’t hesitate.

“The video is clearly a stunt, and if anyone actually believes it they either need to stop thinking paranormal activity’s real or get their eyes tested.”

Another viewer, Paul Machaj, said: “I’m not being funny, but if they thought it was a ghost then why didn’t they just drive right through it?

“That would also have solved the ‘hoax’ question once and for all!”

'Dog exorcisms' banned in Colne
14 January 2011 

HOUSING bosses have allayed residents’ fears over an outbreak of ‘demon’ dogs on an estate in Colne.

An eagle-eyed Lancashire Telegraph reader spotted a Housing Pendle sign on a grassed area at the corner of North Street and Cook House Road.

Instead of warning residents about the perils of ‘exercising’ their dogs, the notice bans them from ‘exorcising’ pets.

Ian Clark, Housing Pendle’s executive director, said: “The sign has been up for a considerable length of time and it’s the first time the error has been brought to our attention.

“But we’re already making plans to have the sign amended.

"We use signs to remind people to be good neighbours, and I’m glad to say there have been no reports of demon dogs in this area.”

Very-long johns of the 'Blackburn Giant' sell for £550
30 April 2012

LONG johns and a night-shirt belonging to the ‘Blackburn Giant’ have fetched more than twice as much as expected when they went up for auction.

Undergarments belonging to Frederick Kempster, at 8ft 4.5ins tall reputed to be one of the largest men to have ever lived, were sold for £550.

The guide price for the lot, set by Yorkshire auctioneers Tennants, was said to be around £150 to £200.

John Jardine, of Hurst Green, unearthed the items while clearing out his parents’ house. Kempster had been friends with his father’s uncle, Tom Cook.

His mother had owned the Nag’s Head pub, where the pair would drink when Kempster was in town.

The giant was staying in Blackburn while working as part of a travelling circus. But he developed pneumonia and died in the town’s Queen’s Park Hospital aged just 29.

He is buried in a nine-foot plot at Blackburn Cemetery.

Chorley couple return from holiday to find purple paint job on pub
28 July 2011​

A COUPLE returning to their pub after a holiday were flabbergasted to find cheeky customers had indulged in a ‘spot’ of exterior design – painting the walls entirely purple and pink.

Stephen and Denise Potter, who run the Potters Arms on Brooke Street, Chorley, discovered the psychedelic makeover, when they came back from a two-week break in the Caribbean.

The colourful stunt was a good-natured practical joke from a number of a regulars, aided and abetted by the couple’s daughter Zoe, 27, who was running the local in their absence.

Stephen said: “When the car tuned the corner, I saw the pub and swore loudly.

"Denise hadn’t seen it and was telling me off for my language.

"When she noticed her jaw dropped and she burst out laughing.

“The entire front of the pub was purple with several pink spots.

"I believe five or six of our customers were involved but my ‘investigations’ are still continuing.”

Stephen believes the conspirators also managed to dupe Zoe into helping.

“They told her it was ‘washable’ paint, which she thought meant it would rinse off,” he said.

“It was only when they had her applying one of the pink circles that she realised it was heavy duty paint.”

The ‘purple reign’ at The Potters will not be a permanent feature, but will stay for the next few weeks.

“Around 30 of us from the pub are doing a sponsored walk around Healey Nab on August 21 for St Catherine’s Hospice,” said Stephen.

“We’ll keep it like it is until then but then I’m going to march the culprits outside with the whitewash.”