ORGANISERS of a concert by the world famous Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band are blowing their own trumpet as preparations for the musical event continued. The championship-winning brass band will be raising the roof at Colne Municipal Hall on May 13
BATTLING Jenny Hill is determined to live life to the full. And the ambitious teenager certainly won't let the fact that she has only got one leg get in the way of having fun. Jenny, 15, of Bacup, had to have her right leg amputated when she was a baby
WEST Bromwich Albion's Alan Miller looks like the leading name in the frame to fill the goalkeeping void left in Blackburn Rovers' squad by John Filan's operation. But he is not the only option, with Rovers still considering other possibilities. Miller
HOUSEHOLDERS in Blackburn and Darwen face an inflation busting 5.6 per cent increase on their council tax bills from April. But for the first time in many years town hall chiefs have been able to set a budget that involves no significant cuts and actually
TONY Parkes is refusing to pressurise midfield stars Garry Flitcroft and Billy McKinlay into a premature senior return - despite the significant loss of skipper Lee Carsley through injury. The two midfield stalwarts, battling to bounce back from long-term
FORMER Burnley favourite Gerry Harrison has been handed a career lifeline by Stan Ternent and given the chance to re-establish himself at Turf Moor. Harrison left the Clarets to join Sunderland under the Bosman ruling in July, 1998 just after Ternent
LOVEBIRDS Stephanie Goulden and Wayne Hester (pictured) will be reaching new heights of passion this Valentine's Day. The daredevil couple are going to make a giant leap of love and abseil down Blackburn Fire Station's drill tower to raise money for charity
ASHLEY Ward is set to step up his efforts to qualify for the Republic of Ireland following renewed interest from manager Mick McCarthy. Republic boss McCarthy desperately wants a target man to replace Tony Cascarino and he has identified Ward as a possible
KEYS to a town hall safe at the centre of a £30,000 theft riddle were kept in a matchbox, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed. Blackburn Council chiefs launched a clampdown in security following the snatch from the cash collection offices. The money
STACEY Houldsworth was hoping to step up her bid for an Olympic spot on three fronts at the World Cup in Italy today. The Great Harwood-based swimmer is set to compete for Britain in the 200, 400 and 800 metres freestyle events. Houldsworth won bronze
MIRACLES still do happen, as I discovered watching 'Casualty.' In a cliffhanger in the last few minutes of the show, a young man was wheeled in with horrific injuries. However, some 20 minutes later, I saw him completely recovered working in a butcher's
CHERRY Tree paceman John Hughes has turned down the chance to sign professional terms with Batley next season. Hughes was approached by the North Stafford and South Cheshire League outfit over the winter but decided to reject their substantial offer and
SAM Allardyce watched his side record their third league win on the bounce, then summed up his 21-year-old matchwinner in one word: "Class". A goal from Icelandic striker Eidur Gudjohnsen handed Bolton the points four minutes from the end, the youngster
AMID the fast-gathering clouds, less than 48 hours before the plug is set to be pulled on power-sharing in Ulster and as the Northern Ireland peace process faces its gravest crisis yet, does there come a saviour in the form of the Bishop of Derry? Certainly
JOHN Seedle has turned down persistent bids by Central Lancashire League club Stand to sign him as professional, in order to continue as skipper of Rishton. And Rod Simpson, chairman of the Lancashire League side, commended Seedle's attitude as an example
COMPULSORY, official identity cards which Mr A Fisk (Letters, January 31) wants to be restored would pose a serious threat to liberty. The government is desperate to introduce them, not to prevent crime, but to gain more and more power. In fact, ID cards
I WILL attempt to tell Jeff Lewis (Letters, January 26) why English nationalism is suppressed. My previous remarks were published in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph because the letters editor obviously considered them a true reflection of what is happening
MOTHERCARE staff in Burnley were left holding the baby when there was an unexpected new arrival at the store. They suddenly found a 12-week-old infant in a pram in the town centre shop - and no sign of any parents! They wheeled the pram around the premises
A NEW bus station has been so badly designed that buses cannot pull into the stands and congestion is causing delays, according to transport companies. Accrington bus station, which was redeveloped last year, now has shelters which are so close to the
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy LAST week I enjoyed a visit to an East Lancashire woodland. This set me thinking about how our wildlife has adapted to life in towns and cities. Where street lights overlook a stretch of road crossing a bridge over a river
It's a fair Kop Mike SHOULD we really have been surprised that referee Mike Reed did a lap of honour (okay, okay no exaggerating - punched the air in delight) after Patrik Berger put Liverpool 2-1 up against Leeds? Well - like football reporters - they
A FORMER Pendle woman has been killed in a mountaineering accident in Scotland. Ann Watson, 48, was climbing with two male friends when she fell on Liathach, a 3,100ft peak near Torridon on the West Coast. The men reported her missing. A mountain rescue
A SCHEME to create a conservation area centred on St Mary's Church, Nelson, has been enthusiastically backed by councillors. The church and its landmark spire will be the focus of the proposed conservation area which will take in part of Whitefield ward
THE Bishop of Blackburn called on a Nelson parish to become a beacon of hope against racial prejudice as he installed the diocesan community relations adviser as its new vicar. The Rt Rev Alan Chesters told the congregation at St Bede's, Nelson: "We all
TONY Blair ought to heed the size of the 210-to-165 majority by which the House of Lords rightly and clearly rejected the Government's plan to repeal the Section 28 law banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools. This is because it reflects the
A BUS company is to review its rules after a mother complained that her children were left stranded by a driver. Annette Ford said her 15-year-old daughter Samantha was told that she would have to pay for her four-year-old sister, Sammy - or get off the
A SUICIDAL thief has been sent back to jail, after a magistrate told him his latest offence had thrown any chance of a non-custodial sentence "out of the window". Rafiq Shaban, 25, was sent to prison for three months after Burnley magistrate Michael Abelson
COLNE Gala will not be held this year after a plea for last-minute volunteers to help organise the annual event fell on deaf ears. The gala's organising committee appealed to local people to come forward to join them in staging the event in Alkincoats
COUNCIL house rents in Blackburn and Darwen will rise by three per cent, an average of £1.49 a week, from April. The latest rise, agreed by the council's policy and resources committee last night, will see average rents rise above £50 per week for the
A MAN charged with battering pensioner Leslie Jackson to death failed to appear in court because he is being treated for leukaemia. Robert Atkinson, 36, has been placed under police guard at Burnley General Hospital where tests are being carried out.
Blackburn Artists' Society meet St Gabriel's Church Hall, Brownhill Drive, Brownhill, Blackburn, 7pm. Livesey WI meet Livesey Parish Community Hall, York Terrace, Feniscowles, 7.30pm. Blackburn Flower Club meet Trinity United Reformed Church Hall, Brownhill
A PUBLIC meeting will be held in Sawley tonight to discuss plans to improve the habitat for fish in two Lancashire rivers. North West Water and the Environment Agency are planning to change the way water is abstracted from the Rivers Brennand and Whitendale
COUNCIL staff were to be offered a "loyalty bonus" to try to stop them leaving for better paid jobs elsewhere. The bonus was part of a package of proposals being considered to ease Hyndburn council's staff crisis. However, other members of Hyndburn's
CALLING for transport supremo John Prescott to drop plans to let town halls tax company car parks, business chiefs today warned that it would cost British firms a staggering £2 billion a year - even if only a quarter of councils did so. This estimate
REGARDING the worrying resurgence of fascism in Austria and the ensuing imposition of diplomatic sanctions against Austria by the European Union, I say it would be wise to go further and suspend Austria's membership of the European Union. The taking of
NOW New Labour have found their new friends office accommodation in the House of Commons, will Tony Blair offer them living accommodation in Downing Street, or will Peter Mandelson advise them on how to obtain mortgages for more luxurious abodes? Why
ACCRINGTON Stanley have been named the UniBond First Division's club of the month for January. The Reds reeled off six straight victories during the month to pip Yorkshire-based outfit Ossett Town, who also boasted a 100 per cent record but from two fewer
LABOUR-controlled Lancashire County Council is once again to increase local taxation way above the rate of inflation - another kick in the teeth for residents, retailers, tradespeople and industry. Leader County Councillor John West, has the confounded
A LATE goal from substitute John Morgan wrecked Darwen's chances of claiming another famous scalp in the Marsden Lancashire Trophy. But Anchor boss Steve Wilkes had nothing but praise for his brave troops after watching his side push UniBond Premier Division
MY brother, Stuart, and I are looking for relatives in the Darwen area. Our parents were Robert and Florence Moss (ne Guy). Our last address in Darwen was 4 Ash Grove and living next door at number 2 Ash Grove were our Uncle George and Aunt Gertrude Yates
CONGRATULATIONS to Darwen Library Theatre on a brilliant first night production from the Reduced Shakespeare Company. The theatre, newly refurbished, is well worth a visit and I hope Darwen and Blackburn people will support it in the coming months and
ENVIRONMENTALIST Carol Stinton persuaded councillors to preserve an old corner shop after threatening to quit her job with a conservation group in protest if they agreed plans to change it. She told them she would quit as secretary of conservation group
BURNLEY council could face a compensation bill of more than £500,000 after losing a trail-blazing county court test case against its market tenants. A four-year battle between indoor market stallholders and their council landlords ended with Judge Philips
POLICE arrested and charged 15 people for offences including burglary and pedal cycle theft in an operation targeted at known criminals in Accrington. They said that more than £2,000-worth of stolen property had been recovered and returned to its owners
Apprentice Steven Almond has made the grade under a new training programme. Steven, who works for Hillendale Land Rover in Nelson, has completed three years of study under a programme that leads to an NVQ level 3 in vehicle mechanical and maintenance
THE boss of Whitbread's brewing arm, which employs more than 600 at its Samlesbury site, has bought more than £23,000 of shares in the company. Miles Templeman bought 5,000 Whitbread shares at £4.67, taking his total holding up to 27,705 shares. The move
A FAMILY doctor today admitted that he blundered by giving a seven-month-old baby boy a controversial injection linked to harmful side effects by mistake. Dr Gullam Bhat has apologised to the family of Reece Paul Burton (pictured) who was given the jab
Bosses swapped their desks for dishcloths to raise cash for charity. Managers and secretaries at BAE Systems agreed to take part in a sponsored pot wash in the Pendle Restaurant at Samlesbury site. "I never realised how tiring it would be. I knew the
A MULTI-MILLION pound aid package to help aerospace firms go green to win more business has been unveiled. The Government is putting up the money to encourage companies to work together on developing new technology to replace old pneumatic and hydraulic
MANUFACTURERS' order books in the North West are rising but exports continue to fall, according to the latest CBI story. Bosses in the sector which dominates East Lancashire's economy expect domestic orders to continue to swell during the coming four
THE Navy with which Britannia once ruled the waves is unable to put to sea because it cannot afford the fuel. It is also facing new cuts that threaten the mothballing or sale of one aircraft carrier and the tying up of more than a score of other vessels
NOW that there are now as many job vacancies as there are jobless, the government has decided that, in order for them to get and hold down a job in this age of jobs galore, out-of-work youngsters need coaching in getting up in the morning, looking smart
SO, at long last, the gloss has come off the government and Tony Blair is clearly rattled. About time, too. The government's current wobbles started last month with the crisis in the NHS, the departure of junior minister Peter Kilfoyle over London-focused
A FAMILY doctor today admitted that he blundered by giving a seven-month-old baby boy a controversial injection linked to harmful side effects by mistake. Dr Gullam Bhat has apologised to the family of Reece Paul Burton (pictured) who was given the jab
