REGARDING your report 'MP opens up low cost houses' (LET, April 17), I feel obliged to warn anyone getting involved in a do-it-yourself home ownership scheme that they will inevitably find themselves in a minefield of legal dogma and red tape. My son
CLARETS boss Adrian Heath wants to tie goalkeeper Marlon Beresford to Burnley with a new Turf Moor deal. But the £1 million-rated Burnley shotstopper is holding out on a fresh offer. Heath has revealed he sees the Clarets number one as a key squad member
A SCHEME to expand a training centre and provide business units to start-up firms is among the latest planning applications submitted to Pendle Council. Pendle Training Group wants permission to build two factory units at the side and back of its premises
AMBULANCE staff in Burnley and Nelson were quick to volunteer when they heard of a transport problem facing visiting sick children from Chernobyl. They will travel to London's Heathrow airport on Saturday to bring the 13 youngsters and three interpreters
POLICE were today hunting a hooded sex attacker who forced a 14-year-old girl into woods near her home and seriously assaulted her. The girl was on her way home from her newspaper delivery round when she was confronted by a man wearing a black knitted
PREDICTIONS of a death toll running into the thousands were made today as the horrific scale of the Soviet nuclear disaster in Chernobyl emerged. And students from the North West were among the 100 UK people being evacuated by the British Embassy from
A PAPER mill has been rewarded for its safety record. The St Regis Paper Company's Hollins Paper Mill, Darwen, won the award from the British Safety Council for its health and safety policy. "If all organisations reached this standard I am quite sure
ON behalf of Molly Hiesley, of Clayton-le-Moors, may I ask the gentleman named Fred, who lives in Blackburn, to contact her through me, to put her mind at rest about her little dog, a Lakeland Terrier, which she had to sell because of sickness. All she
THE SHOWROOM has closed. Customers wait ages for their phone calls to be answered. And even those with a service contract for their central heating get left in the cold. That's the flaming mess of British Gas - as customer complaints more than doubled
MARLON Broomes could be a surprise contender for a place in Blackburn Rovers' side for tonight's Lancashire FA Youth Cup final against Manchester United at Ewood. A big crowd is expected for the game when Rovers' youngsters, who have already clinched
A SCHEME to help firms increase profits and help the environment has received a £5,000 boost. NatWest bank has pledged the cash to Groundwork Business Environment Association for a programme aimed at small and medium-sized businesses. The sponsorship
WHILE tourists attractions nationwide are occupied training new staff for the coming summer season, one Lancashire woman is busy training raw recruits of the feathered variety. Mel Hopwood is the bird keeper at Leighton Hall, Carnforth, and her task for
JUDGES are looking for innovative pub designs in Lancashire to compete in a prestigious national competition. The 1996 Pub Design Awards are run by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, in conjunction with English heritage. There are four categories: Best
ENVIRONMENTALLY friendly youngsters sowed the seeds of success when an exhibition of their artwork was staged. Pendle Council joined forces with the local Friends of the Earth group to organise an art competition during the recent National Spring Clean
CANDIDATES and election officers in Hyndburn have been asked not to wear high heeled shoes for this Thursday's election count. The unusual request has come after the decision was made to shift the election count from Accrington town hall to the borough's
HEALTH Minister John Horam yesterday gave the government's backing to Clitheroe Cottage Hospital. He visited it and met local NHS Trust Chairman Sheila Maw to demonstrate the government's new-found support for small hospitals. He was there at the invitation
A GOAL two minutes into stoppage time which could yet save Matlock from relegation, prevented a youthful Chorley side from snatching a point after a promising and spirited display. With only five regular first teamers on duty, the Magpies had levelled
ADRIAN Heath has warned his squad: "You are playing for your futures - despite Second Division safety." Burnley wind up their away programme with a difficult trip to Walsall tonight. And after the weekend victory at Wrexham lifted the black cloud of relegation
MORE than half the trainees who have taken course at a training centre have found jobs. Lancashire Enterprises Training Centre in Rawtenstall has provided information technology and administration courses to 50 unemployed people in its first year of operation
ROCKETING complaints from gas users in the North West today brought a blast from East Lancashire MPs who are demanding a better service. Complaints to the regional office of the Gas Consumers Council almost doubled over the last year, it was revealed
BEST friends were reunited as old school chums met up for the first time in nearly 50 years. The class of 1947 from Nelson Grammar School was reunited thanks to the hard work of organisers Pat Duckett, Tony Beckett, Pat Hargreaves and Jack Scott. They
THE scheme to encourage college-leavers to stay and work in East Lancashire, mentioned in your article 'Graduates' local link' (LET, April 4) only applies to people who are 27 or under. Does this mean that the rest of us are on the scrap heap? If it does
A BABY who battled against all the odds to survive a serious chest complaint has died in the arms of her mother. Maisie Bibby earned herself a place in the hearts of East Lancashire people when she was airlifted by helicopter from Blackburn to Leicester
ONE can understand nurses at Blackburn Infirmary being upset at the inevitable inconvenience they would suffer if a proposed "park and ride" plan is introduced to deal with the shortage of car spaces where they work. All the same, the suggestion that
A TRIP to Lourdes by handicapped children from across East Lancashire has been featured on national television. Highlights from the 40th annual Easter pilgrimage to France by the Handicapped Children's Pilgrimage Trust (HCPT) was shown on Songs of Praise
THE award-winning 1st Rishton company of the Boys' Brigade is on the lookout for new recruits to swell their ranks. Although numbers remain steady they would like to sign up more boys and are also short of staff. Despite being one of the smallest units
A SPONSORED swim by pupils of Gawthorpe High School, in Padiham, netted £790 for charity. Year 7 students got in the swim at the Thompson Centre in aid of the Olympic Swimming Appeal and raised £550 for that cause and £240 for the Dunblane appeal. It
AS members of the HMS Rodney Association, we have tried to trace our old shipmate, Arthur Howarth, who, we believe, lives in the Blackburn area. He joined the Royal Navy in 1940 and we believe he may have attended the funeral at Lytham in September, last
A PRIZE-WINNING band and choirs thrilled a packed audience at Accrington town hall. Blackburn and Darwen Band joined forces with Rossendale Ladies Choir and Rossendale Male Voice Choir to present a varied programme of entertainment. The evening concluded
THERE is a mood for political change in the Ribble Valley, claims Labour's prospective Parliamentary candidate Marcus Johnstone. Mr Johnstone says the Labour victory in the by-election in the former Tory stronghold of South East Staffordshire recently
REGARDING the proposed planning application by St Wilfrid's to build a new school on Feniscliffe playing fields, Blackburn, I attended the residents' meeting on April 3, but felt that important questions were not answered satisfactorily. Although we have
AN excellent performance, with senior players sparkling in all departments, saw Rovers Reserves to a convincing win at Ewood last night. But the game was on something of a knife edge until the last 15 minutes when Rovers emphasised their superiority by
COLIN Hendry was cleared last night of any major damage, following the facial injury he suffered in a collision with Tim Flowers against Arsenal on Saturday. That's good news not only for Blackburn Rovers but also for Scotland, as fears of a long-term
VOLUNTEER bobby Jean Slater fulfilled her lifetime's ambition to help with a birth - and then went on to save the baby's life. The mum-of-three, who has spent hours poring over books on midwifery, stepped in when the youngster decided it could not wait
EAST Lancashire parents were today asked to join a campaign against the Government's nursery voucher scheme, which a local MP claims will damage county council provision for four-year-olds. Hyndburn's Greg Pope wants all parents and all people involved
