Archive

  • Bridge work just 'tip of the iceberg'

    EIGHT bridges in East Lancashire are to be given urgent repair work before weight restrictions have to be placed on them to prevent them buckling. Lancashire County Council has placed the eight bridges - along with four others in the rest of Lancashire

  • £9m profit for town centre store

    SUPERMARKET giant Morrisons rang up record sales and profits last year. And hundreds of workers at its Blackburn town centre store are to enjoy part of a £9 million profit shareout - 15.4 per cent up on last year. The Bradford-based store recorded pre-tax

  • Have-a-go hero foils armed raid

    A CONVICTED robber who tried to raid an insurance company armed with a knife six weeks after being released on parole has been sent back to prison for nine years. Philip Lord, 34, of Bury Road, Rawtenstall, was sentenced after pleading guilty at Bolton

  • Drink driver loses his job

    DRINKING punch at a sales conference cost sales executive Dennis John Sullivan his driving licence and job. Blackburn magistrates heard how Sullivan, breathalysed on his way home from the function, was more than double the legal limit. And the court was

  • Ainsworth is my Ewood hero

    As Blackburn prepare to meet Wimbledon, Peter White reports on a Wimbledon striker's distant dreams of playing for Rovers IN one of those 'Who Am I?' quiz questions, the answer could be any one of thousands of fanatical Blackburn Rovers supporters. You

  • Events in East Lancs/North West tomorrow

    Jack Straw MP Advice Surgery, 4pm-5pm, Ivy Street Community Centre,; also 5.30pm-6.30pm, Audley Community Centre, Chester Street, both Blackburn. ME/CSS Local Support Group meet Wilpshire Methodist Church, Blackburn, 7.30pm. Talk by East Lancs Advocacy

  • School game climbs up American toy ladder

    A SCHOOL firm is climbing ladders after its specially-devised board game was snapped up by an international company. The Paragon Young Enterprise team from Ribblesdale High School has devised the game "Witchways" depicting the history and culture of the

  • Polls battle on as Bert bows out

    POLITICAL parties in Ribble Valley are gearing up for a showdown when the borough goes to the polls in May. Several prominent councillors, among them lone Labour man Bert Jones and former mayors Eileen Lowe and Dorothy Pearson, have said they will be

  • TEN YEARS AGO: Train rocks scare

    A TRAIN came within inches of disaster after hitting rocks left on the East Lancashire railway line near Rishton by hooligans. The Colne-Blackpool train ploughed into the rocks, ripping off its fuel pipe. The 30 passengers were unhurt and the train limped

  • Aiden bounces back from fractured skull

    IF THERE were awards handed out for bravery then young Darwen goalkeeper Aiden Wignall would be at the front of the queue. For the 18-year-old shot stopper not only bounced back from a life threatening injury but went on to play for his league representative

  • NETBALL: Divine Trinity

    THERE seems to be no stopping Holy Trinity Primary School after they clinched their fifth successive Darwen Primary Schools' Netball tournament title. The all-conquering girls beat Sudell A 6-1 in the final of the annual event which was held at Darwen

  • The rebel with a football cause

    FROM a football freedom fighter to an award winning sports personality, Iqbal Ebrahim has done everything for the game that is his life. For it was more than 25 years ago that Iqbal ran the gauntlet with council officials when he formed a pirate football

  • Which way, Tony?

    WITH the Tories exploiting motorists' anger over the Budget rocketing petrol to more than £3 a gallon and truckers threatening to jam London over tax hikes that could drive haulage firms and jobs abroad, is Tony Blair reaching for reverse gear? The truckers

  • CRICKET: New pro to sign

    WHALLEY are set to sign former Haslingden player Graham Knowles as their new professional. Knowles will replace New Zealander Jason Smith, who is staying on at Station Road as an amateur. And bastman Lee Kearsley has also returned to the club from Preston

  • NON-LEAGUE SOCCER: Stanley selection headache

    ACCRINGTON Stanley boss Wayne Harrison has a major selection headache ahead of tonight's UniBond League Challenge Cup quarter final clash with Guiseley at the Crown. Ged Walsh, Paul Lynch, Aidan Warder and Paul Bottomley are all cup-tied while young defender

  • Horse sense pulling float

    REGARDING your 'Looking Back' article (LET, March 8) about delivering milk, I was a milk woman for a long time. I started with a float similar to the one you pictured and when the farmer retired I delivered with a Land Rover, then finished up working

  • CRICKET: Academic for Austin

    IAN Austin stepped up his build-up to the World Cup with a good start to Lancashire's pre-season tour in Cape Town yesterday - although skipper John Crawley might not agree. Austin, who last week came through an England fitness test on the knee injury

  • Council set for cash back on Link Road

    A COUNCIL is finally to get cash back on a road building bill which has been outstanding for more than five years. Burnley's Inner Link Road was designed and constructed by the council between 1987 and 1992 - with the scheme paid for jointly by the Department

  • No escape from smokers

    AS many as 80 per cent of people with asthma - and there are now 3.4 million people with the condition in the UK - say other people's tobacco smoke makes their symptoms worse. That is why I would like to see smoke-free public places as the norm in our

  • Residents' dismay over road closure

    RESIDENTS and businesses in the Duke Bar area of Burnley joined forces to protest against plans to close off a road. Colin McPhilips, from the St Andrew's Triangle Residents' Association, presented a petition to Lancashire County Council chief engineer

  • Former miners in national scanning

    HUNDREDS of ex-miners from East Lancashire suffering from chronic bronchitis and emphysema will take part in a national lung screening programme. The spirometry testing programme announced by Energy Minister John Battle forms a key stage in the process

  • Excellence the key to college success

    STUDENTS at a college's highly rated construction department have notched up another success, after their headquarters was named a centre of excellence. Staff and students at Accrington and Rossendale College's Eagle Street centre are celebrating their

  • Corner shops bid for fairer charges

    PLANS to charge food traders and manufacturers to fund a new health agency have been backed by councillors. Hyndburn's environmental services committee welcomed government proposals in the draft Food Standards Agency Bill to levy food retailers to pay

  • Slice of the market

    A NEW deal has given a Nelson firm a slice of a fast growing market. Pizzaman, which manufactures pizza bases in East Lancashire, has started supplying Shell forecourts across the country. The three varieties of pizza are marketing under the Shell Select

  • This is the real thing

    EAST Lancashire soldiers working to combat terrorism in Northern Ireland were this week given a chilling reminder of how fragile the peace process is. The car bomb killing of solicitor Rosemary Nelson in County Armagh sparked fears that the province will

  • Survey shows employment prospects are bleak

    JOB prospects in the region look bleak, according to a new survey. Although 13 per cent of employers in the North West are forecasting an increase in their workforce, 11 per cent expect a fall. The figures are significantly worse than last year and, nationally

  • Cash booster secures jobs

    A £400,000 cash boost has helped secure 37 jobs and helped pave the way for expansion at a rubber firm. The venture capital fund, set up by United Utilities, has backed a management buy-in of Dale Polymers, of Huncoat. The buy-in team was led by David

  • New stores jobs boon

    A new store in Nelson will help Morrisons create more than 3,500 jobs, the company said today. The Nelson store, which will employ around 300 people, is taking shape on the Seedhill Mill site of former textile firm J B Battye. The mill was demolished

  • Police name rape suspect

    DETECTIVES hunting a rapist who dragged a teenage girl into a churchyard before assaulting her have taken the unusual step of naming a man they want to question about the attack. The man they are seeking, Mohammed Shabbir, 31, arrived in Nelson from Pakistan

  • Brownies chip in for Lauren

    BROWNIES raised £200 for brain injured tot Lauren Thornber, by holding a disco and jumble sale. The group, which meets at St Edward's Community Centre, Darwen, handed a cheque to her grandmother, Lois Thornber, during their weekly meeting. The latest

  • Charity shop on lookout for helpers

    VOLUNTEERS are needed to work in the Cancer Research Campaign's new shop which opens in Bank Street, Rawtenstall next week. Manager Jeanette Kendal said: "We need people who can spare a few hours a week to help out." The campaign's area shop manager Austen

  • Proof is in Andy's puddings

    BLACK pudding champ Andrew Holt has done it again, I say he's done it again! Andrew, from Rossendale, showed his best black puds at the Food and Meat Exhibition at Manchester's G-Mex and got the chance to meet Coronation Street's most famous butcher Fred

  • Pigeon fanciers will flock to charity sale

    PIGEON fanciers will flock to Stacksteads on Easter Sunday for a charity sale which is set to raise up to £20,000 to send a girl to America for a vital transplant. The sale is being co-ordinated by Garry McCafferty, from Todmorden Road, Sharneyford, a

  • Woof justice if Ginola gets award

    EVERY dog has his day - but this should not apply to David Ginola. Having narrowly missed out on winning the best of breed for French poodles at Crufts, he is apparently in line for the PFA players' player of the year award. I hate poodles. With their

  • Company director goes broke

    A BUSINESSMAN involved in ambitious plans to revamp an historic town centre building is bankrupt. Carl Robert Gilmour was declared bankrupt as director of development company Insight Property Services by Blackburn county court. The order means that the

  • Doctors save meningitis baby's life

    A MOTHER whose new-born child was diagnosed with meningitis today praised medics who saved his life. Karen Tolmie's son Ryan became ill when he was just a week old and was given the Last Rites after a midwife raised the alarm because she thought he might

  • Sutton and Wilcox wait on England calls

    CHRIS Sutton and Jason Wilcox were being tipped for places in Kevin Keegan's first-ever England squad today. Keegan was set to name his squad this afternoon for the crucial European Championship qualifier against Poland at Wembley on Saturday week. And

  • Oldham take look at striker Jensen

    DANISH striker Jon Tveen Jensen may remain on Stan Ternent's long-term shopping list after creating a good impression on his first outing in a Clarets shirt. But Oldham have also thrown their hat into the ring as they look for a goal-scorer to bolster

  • Race hate shame of council estates

    ASIAN families are the victims of racial harassment on Blackburn and Darwen's council estates, says a town hall report. The report by housing bosses details racist attacks and says ethnic minority families living on predominantly white estates are the

  • RUGBY UNION: Blackburn Firsts 29 Chester Firsts 20

    STEVE Kerry may well have kicked Blackburn a step nearer to North Division One with a 19-point haul in a thrilling 29-20 win against promotion rivals Chester. The outside half produced a faultless performance to convert seven kicks out of seven as Blackburn

  • FIVE YEARS AGO: Parents are warned

    PARENTS were warned to be vigilant after a woman attempted to abduct two children from Meadow Head Infants School, Blackburn. The woman called at the school two days running, asking for children by their Christian names. She almost succeeded in taking

  • Compensation claims are an insult to dead

    EVEN though the galloping American-style compensation culture unleashed in our society has already delivered many affronts to both common sense and natural justice, surely, the height of effrontery is reached today with the claims by two policewomen who

  • CRICKET: Work permit snag

    AN administrative error has delayed Haslingden's application for Brad McNamara's work permit, but Bentgate cricket chairman Ernie Taylor expects it to be processed in plenty of time for the new season. "We only have a faxed copy of Brad's contract and

  • Litter-picking spring clean

    LAST year, many people threw heart and soul into Tidy Britain Group's annual National Spring Clean. I would once again like to appeal for support for this year's campaign which runs throughout April. In 1998, more than 18,000 tonnes of litter were collected

  • Habergham High, Burnley

    HABERGHAM High School's physical education department has five full time and five other staff who teach a wide range of aspects on the practical side of the subject. And we are very proud of our achievements both on the sports field and in the class room

  • Taffs' daffs go unnoticed

    ST David's Day passed by apparently without any acknowledgement or news report of any celebratory event - except for Prince Charles eating banned beef on the bone at a St David's Day lunch on March 1 in Newport, Gwent. Red letter days add sparkle to an

  • Estates forgotten

    ONCE again, the subject of area regeneration within Burnley appears in the news and once again, all the same old areas start bleating for more cash. Some have had millions spent on them and have managed to bring themselves back down to their original

  • Dental gas ban means hospital visits

    MORE than 140 Burnley children had dental appointments cancelled when the General Dental Council ruled that general anaesthetics could only be used in hospitals. It meant that three sessions a week at health centres in the area had to stop immediately

  • Last chance for chicken thief

    A FORMER "active criminal" raided a chicken takeaway shop after "falling off the wagon." Father-of-two Stephen Marsden, 31, was feeling guilty about spending the family benefits on drink and helped himself to £35 worth of food on the way home, Burnley

  • Son died after taking father's car

    A MAN who drove off a garage forecourt without paying for petrol was killed in a crash with a 17-ton lorry, an inquest heard. The Preston hearing was told that Mohammed Ali Hussain, of Clegg Street, Brierfield, had taken his father's powerful Rover 820

  • Rovers stars wait on England calls

    CHRIS Sutton and Jason Wilcox were being tipped for places in Kevin Keegan's first-ever England squad today. Keegan was set to name his squad this afternoon for the crucial European Championship qualifier against Poland at Wembley on Saturday week. And

  • Areas bid for budget money

    A BID to dip into a fund to regenerate two run-down areas of Hyndburn is set to be handed in to government bosses. Residents in Netherton ward, Great Harwood, were invited to a meeting as part of the council's bid to secure £2 million in single regeneration

  • Investing in skills

    INFORMATION technology firm Skillsgroup has bought a training firm in a £3.85 million DEAL. Skillsgroup, formerly P&P Computers, has acquired the Knowledge Centre, a Farnham-based voice and datacoms training company with 22 staff. Skillsgroup owns

  • MP in plea for textile industry backing

    PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice has met senior figures from the world of textile and fashion in London. The secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Textiles, Clothing and Footwear Group went to the Mansion House in the city to meet manufacturing executives

  • MP in plea for textile industry backing

    PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice has met senior figures from the world of textile and fashion in London. The secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Textiles, Clothing and Footwear Group went to the Mansion House in the city to meet manufacturing executives

  • Children saved from house just before blast

    NINE children were rescued from a house just moments before an explosion ripped through it. The youngsters, aged from 18 months to ten, were led to safety on the front street just as a fire in a washroom extension at the house in Charles Street, Nelson