Archive

  • Arsonists warned

    FIREFIGHTERS have again warned junior firebugs of the dangers of starting blazes in derelict houses. Fire crews from Blackburn have been called to Maryport Close every day over last week to tackle fires started by youngsters in part demolished houses.

  • Church makes up for lost chime

    BELLS will soon ring out across an East Lancashire village now that a 92-year-old church clock has been put back into working order. The clock chimes have been silent for 15 years, but time will soon be restored to Edenfield Parish Church after six weeks

  • Centre plan sparks car parking fears

    WORRIED neighbours have objected to an ambitious scheme to convert a former school into a resource centre because they fear it will mean parking problems in the area. Waterbridge Community Association applied for planning permission to convert Sacred

  • Health waiting list cut stays on target

    A MINORITY of patients are waiting longer for treatment, but hospital bosses are on course to meet tough waiting list targets, health chiefs have been assured. Members of the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Healthcare NHS Trust board were due to

  • Solo Bo settles derby

    Blackburn Rovers Reserves 0 Bolton Wanderers Reserves 1 A BRILLIANT solo goal by Bolton striker Bo Hansen settled this FA Premier Reserve League derby and sentenced Blackburn Rovers Reserves to defeat in their opening home match of the season. It was

  • Ingleby appointed as Burnley's new vice-chairman

    RAY INGLEBY has been appointed as Burnley's new vice-chairman and will concentrate on tapping into new commercial markets in an effort to increase revenue for the club by £1 million a year. Ingleby, who took his place on the Clarets board when he bought

  • Events in East Lancashire on Thursday, September 2nd

    Illustrated Lecture "Pennine Way," by Alan Plowright, Blackburn Central Library, Town Hall Street, 7.30pm. Cloverhill Residents Action Group meet St Bede's Church Hall, Railway Street, Nelson, 7pm-9pm. RNLI Charity Shop, Lord Street West, Blackburn, 10am

  • Return of the Winslow Boy

    THE impending release of a new film version of Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy will revive poignant memories for Stonyhurst College. George Archer Shee, the Winslow Boy, attended the independent Catholic college near Hurst Green just before the First

  • Fred and Barney to join rock fans!

    A FUN day with a Flintstones theme is to take place at a fascinating geological site on Saturday. Bedrock's Clitheroe cousins, Fred Limestone and Barney Ribble, will make a guest appearance at the event at the town's Salthill Quarry from 2pm to 5pm. Fred

  • EQUESTRIANISM: Flying Brian goes so close

    BURNLEY rider Brian Irlam was in cracking form at the British Riding Club's Horse Trials Championships, staged in Warwickshire and attracting qualified clubs from throughout the British Isles, coming within a whisker of victory. Brian and his ex-racehorse

  • LOCAL SOCCER: Red Rose set to bloom

    SOCCER: The Red Rose Assurance (Blackburn Youth) Football League season begins this Sunday with matches in every age group except at Under 14s and Under 15s which will start next week. In the Under 18s section last season's champions Clitheroe FC, travel

  • Separate education works wonders

    IT MAY seem like the clock is being put back at the East Lancashire high school that is harking back to the era when boys and girls were taught separately, but there are good reasons for the experiment. For what lies behind the departure at Beardwood

  • City cynics are doing us no favours

    INEVITABLY, the glib and cynical knockers and mockers will scoff at the bid, officially delivered today, by Blackburn with Darwen for city status - the Millennium prize that will go to one of at least a score of towns competing for the honour. But while

  • LOCAL SOCCER: Champs Roll on

    CROSSHILLS, champions of the East Lancashire Football League, kicked off the new season in fine style. They followed up their comfortable Charity Shield 5-2 win over Worsthorne with a comprehensive 8-3 victory over promoted Rolls Royce. The Barnoldswick

  • LOCAL CRICKET: Title race goes down to the wire

    RIBBLESDALE Wanderers remain confident they can complete a league and cup double, despite seeing their 11-point lead at the top of the Jennings Ribblesdale League evaporate over the past fortnight. A five-point victory over Read followed by a run-rate

  • Observation spot on

    YOUR comment (LET, August 25) about crime rates was spot on, for, yet again, there seems to be some confusion over the squeezes on policing and performance. That is especially the case regarding the reduction of police on the beat rather than those in

  • Police hunt armed bank robber

    POLICE are hunting for a 'skinny' armed robber who stole money from a bank in the centre of Todmorden. Staff at the Yorkshire Bank in Halifax Road handed over money when they were threatened by a man brandishing a handgun at 2.15pm yesterday. No shots

  • First reunion of personnel

    THE first ever reunion of RAF personnel who were stationed at the Air Traffic Control Unit, Barton Hall, near Preston, will take place in November at Blackpool. Originally a radar station during the war, Barton Hall was one of three centres in Britain

  • Prison threat to banned driver

    A BANNED driver stopped by police made a 'half-hearted' attempt to mislead officers over his identity. Burnley magistrates heard how Aftab Afzal, 22, disqualified for three years in July 1998, was seen by police leaving a garage forecourt, in March. He

  • Measures - clear as mud

    IT is easy to understand why Shelley Wright (LET, August 6) has problems dealing with old imperial measure if she was not taught it at school. I know the feeling. Not having been taught the metric system in my schooldays, I still think in terms of inches

  • Homes sell-off back on track

    BURNLEY'S £74 million plan to transfer all its council homes to a private housing company by January is set to be put back on track - despite the lack of a firm guarantee that its financial headache will be resolved by the Government. Council housing

  • Peacock on road to recovery for Rovers

    DARREN Peacock is ready to hand Blackburn Rovers boss Brian Kidd another selection option after coming through 90 minutes with the reserve side last night. And midfielder Garry Flitcroft is also confident that his comeback is on course again. Flitcroft

  • Ingleby appointed as Clarets' new vice-chairman

    RAY INGLEBY has been appointed as Burnley's new vice-chairman and will concentrate on tapping into new commercial markets in an effort to increase revenue for the club by £1 million a year. Ingleby, who took his place on the Clarets board when he bought

  • Street wins 'rat run' fight

    RESIDENTS in an Accrington street have won their fight to stop drivers using it as a rat run. Members of Hyndburn Council's environmental services committee agreed to shut Brunswick Terrace to everyone but residents after receiving a 20-signature petition

  • Fly-by-nights

    Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy SEPTEMBER is a month to see insects, fruit and fungi. Fungi are now developing fast. There are some spectacular species to be seen and this is reflected in our spy section. Wherever there are insects, however, there are

  • NON LEAGUE SOCCER: Darwen aim for the pack

    DARWEN can muscle their way back into leading pack in the First North Western Trains League Division Two with victory at Blackpool Mechanics tonight. And Nelson have the chance to build on their flying start against Squires Gate at Victoria Park. Accrington

  • LOCAL CRICKET: McNamara's exit

    BRAD McNamara will miss Haslingden's final Lancashire League game of the season after being ordered to report back to New South Wales for pre-season training. The Aussie professional will sign off on Sunday when Haslingden take on Burnley at Bentgate

  • Double stab drama

    TWO men suffered stab wounds in Nelson last night. One man, who has not been named, suffered wounds to his neck and leg and was taken to Burnley General Hospital. Police said the injuries were serious but not life-threatening. The second man, Imran Choudhry

  • LOCAL SOCCER: Table-topping Storks

    PADIHAM FC maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 away win over Wigan SMR in the West Lancashire Football League on Saturday. Two goals from Anthony McCluskey in the opening 12 minutes gave the Storks a terrific start against a side

  • SOCCER: North End to face summer target

    PRESTON come face to face with Nicky Forster - the striker who snubbed them in the close season - when they travel to face Reading tonight (kick off 7.45pm). The former Birmingham City striker was all set to sign on at Deepdale in the summer until a last-minute

  • SCHOOLS SOCCER: Tough trip for Burnley

    BURNLEY Under-15s, runners up in last season's North West Alder Cup, have been given a tough away tie against Wirral in the first round of this season's competition. The town team fared well throughout last season's campaign and the Under-14s, who step

  • Creatures' comforts: Darwen semi that became a Noah's Ark

    WHEN doctor's receptionist Susanna Bolton heads home from work there's no such thing as taking it easy. Susanna just swaps her patients for the four-legged, feathered variety and has turned her home into an animal hospital. But only the name Noah's Ark

  • Girl, two, dies of brain tumour

    A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl has died after being struck down by a brain tumour when she returned to Blackburn with relatives for a family reunion. Lucie Patrick became ill after flying into Britain with her mum and sister to visit family and friends. Doctors

  • Summer school successes

    PUPILS who gave up part of their holidays to attend two summer schools were rewarded for their efforts at a presentation. Children who took part in the Gifted and Talented scheme and the summer literacy school at Blackburn Queen's Park High School in

  • Fame beckons for teenager

    A STAGE-STRUCK teenager is packing his bags ready to take up a place at Paul McCartney's prestigious "Fame School". John Hearne has always been a bit of a performer - even at the tender age of two - and his lifelong dream of becoming a star is one step

  • Council 'cabinet' to make key decisions

    A COUNCIL cabinet of nine top ranking Labour councillors could be making all the key town hall decisions in Blackburn and Darwen by next May. A new executive board of councillors may be set up to perform a similar role to the government's cabinet, with

  • City too strong for Clarets

    Manchester City Reserves 4 Burnley Reserves 1 A POWERFUL Manchester City line-up ultimately proved too strong for the Clarets reserves in their Pontins League Premier Division clash at Hyde United last night. Burnley's young side more then held their

  • Girl, two, dies of brain tumour

    A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl has died after being struck down by a brain tumour when she returned to Blackburn with relatives for a family reunion. Lucie Patrick became ill after flying into Britain with her mum and sister to visit family and friends. Doctors

  • Peacock on the road to recovery

    DARREN Peacock is ready to hand Blackburn Rovers boss Brian Kidd another selection option after coming through 90 minutes with the reserve side last night. And midfielder Garry Flitcroft is also confident that his comeback is on course again. Flitcroft

  • Police hunt con trick pair

    POLICE are looking for two men who conned a 95-year-old woman out of £180 after claiming to have cleaned the gutters of her house. A man knocked on the woman's door in the Whalley Road area of Clitheroe at 10am yesterday and demanded the cash after claiming

  • Gary's Kosovo report for ex-Para dad

    PRIVATE Gary Dixon is playing a vital role in the programme of building and reconstruction of Kosovo. And his dad understands what his role is all about, for he used to be in the Parachute Regiment. Gary, 24, from Clitheroe, is a member of the 518 Squadron

  • LOCAL SOCCER: Memorial Sunday League

    THERE have been a number of changes since the fixtures were distributed and a number of changes have been made. One club has changed its name - the new club, originally Beach FC, will now be known as Printers Arms FC. Another club, Ossy Hotspur, has decided

  • NON LEAGUE SOCCER: Parry joy at win over rivals

    Rossendale United 1 Clitheroe 4 DALE came crashing down to earth with a bang as arch-rivals Clitheroe ended their unbeaten run in emphatic style in front of a bumper crowd at Dark Lane last night . Blues boss Steve Parry admitted the pressure was building

  • TEN YEARS AGO: Carl's Mr Britain title

    FITNESS fanatic Carl Rung took another step up the ladder of body-building success. The 31-year-old six-footer was awarded the coveted Mr Britain title, when he beat competitors from all over the country. Carl, of Ivy Street, Burnley, a maintenance fitter

  • COUNTY CRICKET: Scuderi offered two-year deal

    LANCASHIRE have offered Colne pro Joe Scuderi a two-year contract - and now it is over to Lord's. Old Trafford cricket secretary Dave Edmundson confirmed today that the committee last night decided to go ahead with their attempts to sign Colne pro Scuderi

  • FIVE YEARS AGO: 'Toyboy' groom, aged 73

    A BLUSHING bride was set to marry her toyboy sweetheart. There's nothing unusual in that, you might think. But she was 82 and he was 73! The happy couple first met in March when groom moved to Brookside Home for the Elderly, Pearl Street, Blackburn, where

  • LOCAL CRICKET: Jennings Ribblesdale League

    RESULTS (Saturday) - Division One: Earby 68 (P Newton 6-12), Great Harwood 71-3; Read 77 (A Pearce 7-31), Ribblesdale W 78-9 (N Ashraf 5-36); Baxenden 99, Burnley Belvedere 101-3 (J Waite 62); BGSOB 131-9 (A Wright 72, G Worley 7-42), Stacksteads 136-

  • JUNIOR SOCCER: Hyndburn and District Boys' League

    FIXTURES for Sunday (all matches kick off at 2pm unless otherwise stated): - Under 12: Oswaldtwistle Juniors v Barrowford Celtic (11am); Langho Juniors v Haslingden Juniors (11am); STASH v Gt Harwood Rovers (11am); Lammack Juniors v Whalley Juniors (11.30am

  • Behind the times?

    I WAS intrigued by the report (LET, August 20) that Guide Conservative Club is celebrating its centenary. I note that its foundation stone, laid by Sir Harry Hornby, is dated 1899. Consequently, the club must have been founded several years prior to the

  • Actors at helm

    BURNLEY Youth Theatre actors Kieran McLoughlin and Andrew Smith, 22, have become production bosses for the theatre's presentation of Willy Russell's classic tale Blood Brothers, opening at the Quarry Theatre on Wednesday. They have taken charge of casting

  • Not all are uncaring

    MRS MICHELLE Pickering (Letters, August 25) is obviously doing an excellent job in caring for her 92-year-old bedridden mother. While I wish her all the best, I take exception to her uncharitable generalisations. Most residents of old people's homes are

  • Canal plunge police search

    AN extensive search of the canal area in Daneshouse, Burnley, was made last night after reports that two people were in the water. The police helicopter was brought in and the underwater search unit put on stand-by. Sergeant Tony Longton said the circumstances

  • LOCAL SOCCER: Havelock put up a real fight

    BOYS Club B were made to fight all the way by newly-promoted Havelock in the Burnley Sunday League Division One. Craig Robinson scored twice as Boys Club took an early two goal lead. Havelock fought back, Clegg and Barker levelled the scores. Wayne Howarth

  • Gordon on the run for double treble!

    ENGINEERING boss and Burnley councillor Gordon Birtwistle came through his toughest test when he took part in his first triathlon at the age of 56. He completed a 12-length swim, seven-mile cycle ride and three-mile run in one hour 23 minutes and enjoyed

  • Funding's for everyone

    REGARDING the letters and articles in your newspaper about issues related to government funding for Stoneyholme and Daneshouse in Burnley and the proposed new mosque at Stoneyholme, I believe many readers are being misinformed on these subjects. I also

  • Drug user's deadly combination - inquest

    A HEROIN user son was found dead by his parents with a belt around his arm and a syringe in his hand. Ian Wright, 24, died in the bedroom at their home in Ainslie Street, Burnley. Epilepsy sufferer Mr Wright was killed by a combination of alcohol and

  • Refugee homes for Burnley

    BURNLEY is set to splash out £60,000 providing a home from home for Kosovar refugees. Council housing chiefs are tonight expected to give the go-ahead for £7,500 improvements for up to eight empty council houses to provide a homely welcome for evacuee

  • Former Labour leader to retire

    FORMER Burnley Labour leader Kath Reade is to quit the council in May. The town's first woman council leader says pressure of other work and the need for change has prompted her decision not to seek re-election in Trinity ward, which she has represented

  • Man's nose smashed as pub fight erupted

    A ROW over beer at an ex-landlord's pub allegedly erupted into violence in which a roofer's nose and eye socket were smashed. Burnley Crown Court heard how Ian Campbell, now 61, who had previously accused Noel Nelligan of selling inferior beer and passing

  • Farewell to John the verger

    A CONGREGATION gathered to honour a man who helped keep their church running smoothly for more than half a century. A special service and presentation marked the retirement of John Kidson after 52 years as verger at St Anne's, Fence. Mr Kidson, 85, decided

  • LOCAL SOCCER: SGL Seat Cars West Lancashire Football League

    RESULTS - Premier Division: Barnoldswick Utd 1, Norcross & Warbreck 1; Blackrod Town 3, Springfields 0; Burnley Utd v Freckleton pp; Charnock Richard 0, Kirkham & Wesham 1; Dalton Utd 3, Feniscowles 1; Lansil 2, Leyland Motors Ath 3; Vickers SC

  • LOCAL SOCCER: Denny denies Rams

    Cheadle Town 1 Ramsbottom United 1 MANAGER Ken Bridge rang the changes at Park Road last night but it still failed to bring United's first victory of the season. New signings Scott Fairhurst and Neil Wallace slotted in comfortably at the back while veteran

  • LOCAL SOCCER: Barnoldswick U 1 Norcross & Warbeck 1

    THE game between two promoted teams last time around was always going to be a close affair. Barnoldswick had taken a hammering on the Fylde coast at the end of last season and were in the mood for revenge. United took the upper hand early on but without

  • Firm to axe more than half mill's workforce

    MORE than 40 jobs look set to go at one of Darwen's oldest employers. Surgical dressings manufacturer Vernon Carus told employees yesterday that it was proposing to axe the jobs at its Hoddlesden mill site. GMB union official John Phillips today said

  • No surrender to scum

    The opinions expressed by John Blunt are not necessarily those of this newspaper NOW I realise why I am a victim of (undetected) crime. According to Home Secretary Jack Straw, it's my fault for having a video for some thief to covet so much he had to

  • Upwards and onwards for the over 55s

    WHEN Malcolm Hargrave retired, pottering around in the garden and relaxing in his slippers were the last things on his mind. Instead, he decided to set up "55 and Upwards" for newly retired professionals to help them acclimatise to life beyond a career