IT HAS been another illuminating week in the two-faced logic of Manchester United and Surly Alex Ferguson. (Yes, I am obsessed. And, no, I will not rest until the entire world shares my opinion.) To counteract the season's fixture pile-up, Ferguson did
A DAY of entertainment will celebrate the start of work on a millennium green in Colne. The green in Shaw Street, Waterside, will include an outdoor stage for music, drama and community events. "This is the start of a complete turnaround in the community
AN antiques collector is offering a reward after thieves stole £3,000-worth of property from his new home. Burglars broke into Charles Wallbank's house in Ermine Close, on Blackburn's Fishmoor estate, the day before he moved in. The retired businessmen
FURY has erupted at an East Lancashire health trust over plans to keep disciplinary warnings on staff records once they have expired. The row has broken out after bosses at Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust proposed to amend a clause in
BLACKBURN Rovers boss Brian Kidd made a rare complaint about the referee after his side's controversial exit from the Worthington Cup at the hands of Premiership leaders Leeds United. Kidd felt that his team should have had a free kick in the build-up
JOHN Mullin's injury jinx struck again last night to make him a doubtful starter for Burnley's trip to Millwall on Saturday. And Tom Cowan was also on the treatment table today to threaten his possible comeback at the New Den. Mullin picked up a calf
FORTY-eight bin bags dumped on wasteland were traced back to a Blackburn clothing company after environmental health officers found invoices and other paperwork. Blackburn magistrates heard the rubbish had come from Stanley Clothing Company Ltd, and that
Worthington Cup 3rd round: Leeds United 1 Blackburn Rovers 0 - Peter White's verdict DANNY Mills almost looked embarrassed as he celebrated scoring a last-gasp matchwinner to put Leeds United into the fourth round of the Worthington Cup at Elland Road
Crocus Bulb Planting, Mill Hill Gardens, Blackburn, 11am-noon. Playgroup Party, Little Harwood Community Centre, 10.30am. 20th Century Fancy Dress Ball, Blackburn College, 7pm. Junior Disco, Barlow Institute, Edgworth, 7pm-9pm. Pendle Jazzmen, Holden
A FED-UP parish council chairman has offered a cash reward to catch the thieves who stole a bench two days after it was placed at a popular beauty spot. The £400 bench was installed by Billington and Langho Parish Council in leafy Elker Lane which runs
THE man accused of murdering "gentle giant" Anthony Leecy admitted fighting with him at the spot where he was killed, a jury heard. Transcripts of police interviews with Danny Derbyshire, 24, of Burnley Road, Accrington, were read out at Preston Crown
BLACKBURN-based Hawks are pushing for championship glory this season - in two leagues. Bobby Haig's side are already heavily involved in the English League Division One (North) but have recently been accepted into the Border League, where teams from England
A BITTER row over Sunday markets in Gisburn seemed to be over. After months of wrangling over traffic chaos allegedly caused by the markets a compromise had been reached. Entrepreneur Ray Lyndon agreed to cut the number of giant markets to one a month
AMBITIOUS plans to put the heart back into an East Lancashire town were just a few months away from being realised. Accrington could have been transformed into a thriving centre of trade and manufacturing if a bid for millions of pounds of grant aid was
RESULTS - Division One: Craven Heifer 1, Dog & Partridge 2; Oaklea Ath 9, Oswaldtwistle Res 0; Sydney Street 7, Hyndburn Bridge 2. Division Two: Enfield Res 3, Whinney HIll Res 1; Huncoat 0, Oaklea Ath Res 14; Oswaldtwistle St Mary's 4, Dog &
ALL governments are stupid. In the 1960s Beeching closed many country lines and railway stations, causing so much misery and unemployment, for which he was paid and also knighted. Now they need to reopen these lines and stations, is he going to pay for
PROUD by name and proud by nature. Naaz Volleyball Club lived up to their name when they won a local nine-a-side volleyball tournament for the sixth successive year. Organised by the volleyball club itself, Naaz underlined the fact that they are one of
THE match of the day in the Under 13s section-lived up to its billing with Clitheroe Wolves and Great Harwood Rovers sharing the points. The game ebbed and flowed right up to the final whistle and ended in a 2-2 stalemate. This coming Sunday, most of
SHOPLIFTING is not only the bane of businesses, for it robs every one of us - as the cost theft is added to that of the product. How encouraging, then, is the success of the fight-back thought up by Hyndburn beat bobby PC Jason Marsden. For the strategy
IT is about time someone gave our 'local' councillors a kick up the backside and reminded them that they are elected to deal with LOCAL matters and not to point score on national party policies. If national government wants to restore democracy to the
WHILE delighted his side managed to secure all three points, Shortholme's manager Bob Edmondson was gracious enough to acknowledge that Prairie deserved at least a draw from this keenly contested match. It required a first half goal of sheer class from
PRAYERS were answered for a dry day as the first ever Inter Special Schools cross country championships took place in bright sunshine. Organisers were hoping that the rain would stay away as schools from across the North West descended on White Ash School
JENNIFER Adams was first veteran in last Sunday's Manchester Marathon. Clitheroe's finest ran 3:10.14, a full 15 minutes faster than her class winning time in the British Veterans Championship last month. That was just enough to defeat former England
MAY I express my sincere thanks and gratitude to all those in the Blackburn area who contributed to a house-to-house collection between August 7 and 22, 1999, for The National Kidney Research Fund. The total sum raised was £2,025 and will be used for
FIRST the good news. In the likes of Earl Davis, Tony Bowden, Anthony Shandran and Chris Clark, Burnley have four class acts who have every chance of breaking into the first team in the not too distant future. Now the bad news. Burnley crashed out of
BARROWFORD Celtic, who had a tremendous win away to Scorpions AFC from Leigh, were one of five Hyndburn League teams progressing to the third round of the LFA Under 16s Club Cup competition. The others were Rossendale Valley, who overcame Southport YMCA
WHEN it comes to cup football they don't come any keener than Accrington Combination Division Two side CDS. So when I saw they were drawn away to Burnley Belvedere in this first round tie, I was intrigued to see how these upstarts from Accy would fare
PASSING Accrington Town Hall recently, I reached into my pocket for my hankie and, shock horror, my fingers closed on five chunks of broken biscuit and more crumbs than you can shake a stick at. For a 62-year-old it came as something of a shock. Till
AT 72-years-young, roller skater Annie Clements is on top of the world after her team - The Pacemakers - were crowned Australian Champions. Annie, ne Reynolds, emigrated to Oz in 1960 with her late husband John, but she fondly remembers her skating days
HIGHWAYS bosses are set to press ahead with plans to close an accident black spot street - even though a survey showed a majority of people were against the move. More than half (52 per cent) of those who took part in the survey came out against a county
A FAMILY today demanded police protection, after claiming they had endured years of racial harassment and attacks on their property. The latest flashpoint came for Burnley shopkeeper Amir Zaman, 55, when he and a friend were attacked by bottle-wielding
A VILLAGE youth shelter scheme which has led to a dramatic fall in juvenile nuisance calls is through to the finals of a crime prevention and community awards scheme. The shelter at Briercliffe was designed and sited with the help of local youngsters
A BIG charity bonfire will take place at a new venue this year. Accrington Lions have traditionally held their annual bonfire at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel, Clayton-le-Moors. But because of a recent change in licensing status at the hotel, the Lions cannot
A FAMILY-run grocery business is leading the support for British farmers by banning French products from its stores until France lifts its ban on British beef. Whiteheads, who have stores in Great Harwood, Rishton and Haslingden, have launched their own
INDEPENDENT councillor Adrian Shurmer will not chair the review panel set to examine transport issues, including traffic calming, on Hyndburn's roads. Hyndburn Council's policy and resources committee have voted to remove the Great Harwood councillor
A CAT was today thanked for saving her owner's life after fire broke out at his home. Terry Richardson, 44, of Fir Court, Huncoat, had decided to cook himself chips for lunch yesterday. But, after putting on the pan, he became so engrossed in watching
A CRIME-busting strategy aimed at beating shoplifters has resulted in 41 people being banned from shops in Accrington town centre during its first year. The Hyndburn Association of Retail Traders (HART) scheme was established 12 months ago to tackle thiefs
POLICE used CS gas after a burglary suspect threatened to kill himself in front of officers. Two officers went to a house in Hannah Street, Darwen, early today to arrest a man on suspicion of burglary. Sgt Graham Marshall of Darwen police said: "Because
A FURIOUS father who is recovering from major spinal surgery has won an apology from his bank after it admitted taking almost £500 from his account by mistake. Lloyds-TSB has admitted there was a "breakdown in communication" after the cash was taken from
FILAN: One magnificent save in each half and unlucky with the goal...8 KENNA: Did a good job reducing the threat from Kewell...7 SHORT: Conceded the free kick which led to the Leeds winner but was a tower of strength all night. Cool, composed and full
ROVERS keeper John Filan admitted he was bitterly disappointed not to keep out Danny Mills' last gasp winner at Elland Road last night. But the Aussie stopper confessed there was little he could do about it after his defensive wall left him unsighted.
Rotherham United Reserves 0 Burnley Reserves 1 THE Clarets launched their Pontins League Group Cup campaign with a victory at Rotherham last night thanks to Mark Robertson's last-minute goal. Burnley dominated the game for long periods against the reserve
YOUNG offenders released from prison are set to receive one-to-one counselling from professional people, to help them get their lives back on track. Father Jim McCartney, who runs a Blackburn drop-in centre for drug addicts and the homeless, hopes to
A CATHOLIC priest was due to appear before Blackburn magistrates today on 66 sex charges as part of a police probe at a prestigious Ribble Valley preparatory school. Father John James Pearson, 87, faced 20 charges when he appeared in court last week.
Valerie Cowan's Web World SO how was it for you? NetAid, a sort of internet version of Live Aid, may well have attracted millions of hits. The organisers, who include the United Nations and technology company Cisco Systems, hoped it would be the biggest
IAN McCulloch was dumped out of the Snooker Grand Prix by teenage hot-shot Mark Selby yesterday. The Preston cueman lost a nine-frame thriller 5-4 as 16-year-old English junior champion Selby sprung one of the biggest shocks of the tournament so far.
KATY Thompson has been a key member of this year's record-breaking Clayton ladies fell squad, but on Sunday she tasted individual success when finishing third veteran at the High Brown Knoll Fell Race. The 6-miler at Mytholmroyd demands navigational skills
TODMORDEN anglers warmed up for next week's Pennine Winter League at an open match hosted by the home side. A total of 117 anglers took part in the match which gave team members a final chance to get some practice in before the season starts. That match
I WOULD like to remind readers that the East Lancs Hospice is still collecting used postage stamps for their appeal. They can be posted or handed in to: The East Lancs Hospice, Park Lee Road, Blackburn, BB2 3NY. DAVID KIMBERLEY, Duddon Avenue, Darwen.
ST THEODORE'S showed that they are going to be a tough team to beat this season with a fine all-round performance. Such was their dominance over Bury Grammar School, keeper Matt Evans was reduced to a spectator's role as the visitors were kept at bay
FOLLOWING the news that Barnoldswick Round Table have set up a Trust Fund for him, Lee McCash has received another boost with selection for the Belgian Cross Cup race at Ghent. The English Cross Country Association has selected last year's top four under
Calder Vale 3 Blackpool 25 ON AN ideal day for a good game of rugby with a good crowd of spectators following both sides, the scene was set for an interesting game. Vale took the game to the visitors running everything in the first 15 minutes. The front
UPHELD in quick time today is this newspaper's forecast that Labour's coyness over joining the pro-European cause would diminish in the wake of the Tories' increased hostility to the EU. For today Tony Blair, Chancellor Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary
IT riles me to think that slap-bang in the middle of our county is an airfield doing nowt! I'm referring of course, to Samlesbury. I can't see Blackpool airport handling much more traffic during the summer with all the private club flights it handles
UNLIKE John Prescott, the ex-ship's steward (and I have done that job!) I am no longer a member of the Labour Party, but I do believe in, and use public transport. So, it was most upsetting to be addressed by a member of staff at Blackburn Station, as
THE future of athletics is bright to judge from the massive response by the region's young athletes to the annual Open Cross Country meeting at Wilson Playing Fields. Of over 300 runners who took part in the fixture, nearly 200 were in the under 11 and
REGARDING Ron Freethy's article (LET, September 24), I beg to differ at his assertion that there used to be a windmill on the site of the Windmill Inn, Preston New Road, Samlesbury. However, responding to Mr Freethy's relative appeal for further information
I WAS disappointed with what I witnessed at the planning meeting in Great Harwood, having hoped that, given the circumstances, some comment from the public would have been welcomed. Council leader Peter Britcliffe announced that the controversial issue
BURNLEY'S new housing company today announced a £6.2 million house improvement bonanza - with £4 million going to local contractors to carry out massive repairs next year. The major boost to the local economy will start from day one of Burnley and Pendle
STOCKBROKER James Preston is the youngest at one of the oldest! James, 25, who has been appointed manager at James Brearley & Sons' Blackburn office, is the youngest branch manager in the group. He previously worked on the dealing desk at the firm's
Food News, with Amanda Killelea GENETICALLY-MODIFIED food, farmers abandoning sheep, BSE and pesticides have all made food the hot issue of the moment. Shoppers are angry and confused, not knowing if the food they are putting on their family's table is
STAFF at a call centre are helping make a millennium event a major success. Interactive Communications is working with the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce on liaising with schools for the IT 2000 event being staged next month. The technology roadshow
SMALL firms in the region are spending more than 13 hours per employee a month dealing with red tape, according to a survey. The NatWest report found administrative burdens on smaller companies were increasing. Sole traders suffered most, with one-man-band
