MUSICIAN Ben Castle, son of the late entertainer Roy Castle, is in Rossendale tonight when he tops the bill at Rawtenstall's Rhythm Station nightspot. Ben, who has made frequent TV appearances has performed with rock legends Kula Shaker and Supergrass
A DAY'S fly fishing on the River Wharfe, clay pigeon shooting or a scuba diving session are among the unusual items that will go under the hammer when a Pendle high school PTA stages an auction of promises. The event will be held at the Good Night Club
AN inquiry has been launched into the death of a Stacksteads man who was found hanged in his cell. The prison service has confirmed that 31-year-old David Edwards was found hanging from a ligature made out of bed sheets at Armley Prison, Leeds. A prison
AN RSPCA inspector has hit out at the callous person who abandoned four dogs by tying them to a tree with a piece of rope. Dave Anforth was appalled after he heard the dogs had been left in woodland near the Shepherd's Rest pub between Blackburn and Rishton
A fan's-eye view from Turf Moor, with Stephen Cummings THE Clarets' supporter who spoke to me beneath a packed Jimmy McIlroy Stand prior to kick off, was running on pure adrenelin "I couldn't sleep last night" he said excitedly, "I've been like this all
FED-UP residents near Ewood Park have been given assurances that parking problems on match days are slowly being solved. Around 50 people were at a meeting organised by the police to discuss the problems around Blackburn Rovers' home ground. Residents
A fan's-eye view from Ewood Park, with Phil Lloyd IF ONLY we'd put away our chances -again! - we'd have beaten Tranmere by a street. If only the goals were a couple of feet wider, just think how many more we would have scored this season. If only this
I FEEL I must defend my comments (Letters, February 8) from what I consider to be undue criticism. I was not suggesting that pensions should be stopped, but was criticising all the additional benefits that come with them. I realise that most pensioners
ACCORDING to Walt Meadows (Letters, February 22) the Labour Party has spent 50 years "decimating our inner cities and towns by demolishing row upon row of terrace houses and replacing them with dysfunctional tower blocks and sink estates." Obviously,
SHOULD the Government decide to establish a Holocaust Memorial Day, it would do well to remember the US Army prison camps in Germany and France at the end of the Second World War. Almost four million German soldiers were held prisoner outdoors in unsheltered
THE First North Western Trains League has moved to streamline its system of promotion and relegation. After a series of discussions, a newly formed North West Joint Liaison Committee will decide on automatic promotion and relegation from the start of
A MASSIVE £4.1 million cash boost was announced to clear up and improve run-down areas of Blackburn and Darwen. Major projects included improvements in the Duckworth Street area of Darwen and the Brookhouse and Bastwell area of Blackburn. The schemes
NOT before time an end is in sight to the annual scramble for places in the Ribble Valley's two high schools and the shunting of the losers to schools far away, as the County Council reveals a £1.5 million plan to create 350 new places at Bowland and
OUTSIDE of London, the race to be its mayor is of no direct concern for voters. But, already shot through with farce over the choice of runners, it promises to be a fascinating sideshow for the whole country now that Labour rebel Ken Livingstone has kicked
SWIMMING 200 metres would be a huge achievement for most four-year-olds but for Briony Gorton (pictured) it was simply child's play. Briony, of Accrington, spends mornings at the Kinderbear Nursery and afternoons at St John's Nursery, Padiham but still
A YOUNG dad was today starting a three-month jail term after being caught with a screwdriver near a car. Burnley magistrates heard how Albert William Carroll, 24, who has twice breached probation, had been addicted to drugs and drink, had hepatitis and
A RANGE of new mental health services is planned for Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale. The ten-bed unit at Thornleigh, Colne Road, Burnley, will cease as a county council care hostel for mentally ill people and be upgraded to provide an "active rehabilitation
TONY Parkes has faith in his faltering strike force to come good and put Blackburn Rovers' play-off hopes back on course. And, even though the Ewood boss is actively searching for re-inforcements to cure the forwards' goal famine, his message to the men
AN inquest was due to be opened today into the death of Tracy Wilding, 42, who died trying to cross the M55 last week. The inquest will be opened by Blackpool and Fylde coroner Samuel Lee. Ms Wilding, of Reeth Way, Accrington, died after being injured
A SPECIAL ceremony was held in dedication of the new Boys' and Girls' Brigade colours at Ernest St Baptist Chapel, in Walmsley Close, Church. The First Church Boys' Brigade and the First Church Girls' Brigade paraded their new flags into church for the
ONE of Pendle's best known landmarks has been given a massive cash boost to help restore it to its former glory. English Heritage has given a £204,000 grant to regenerate St Mary's Church, Manchester Road, Nelson. Last night, councillors agreed the boundaries
PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice went back to the classroom to learn more about how a successful village school is hoping to expand. Mr Prentice joined staff and pupils at Blacko Primary School yesterday to learn more about the village school and its work. He
TWO hundred youngsters are taking part in the annual Nelson Festival of Dance. The event began at the weekend at Pendle Hippodrome Theatre, Colne, and continues on Saturday and Sunday. Local weekend winners were: national 9-10 years: 1, Jodie Walsh, Rawtenstall
POLICE were called to a high school after two air pistols, a knife and a slingshot were confiscated from a 12-year-old pupil. A spokesman for West Yorkshire police confirmed they were called to Todmorden High School, Burnley Road, at 1.30pm yesterday
MORE than 350 new places are to be created at two Ribble Valley schools as part of a £1.5million plan aimed at ending the area's overcrowding crisis. Lancashire County Council today revealed that £900,000 will be spent on establishing 220 new places at
HAIRDRESSERS from Cameo Cutting Shop in Railway Road, Darwen, organised a dinner dance at Whitehall Hotel in Springbank Ross Street, Darwen. They sold tickets to customers and friends, and Ralph Blunsom from BBC's North West Tonight gave the after dinner
POLICE are hunting two teenagers who threatened a man with a "pointed instrument" before robbing him in Sunnyhurst Woods, Darwen. The man, in his 40s, was walking his dog at 1.30pm yesterday when he was approached by two youths and pushed against a tree
A GUTSY shopkeeper fought off a masked raider who walked into his grocery store and demanded money from the till. The balaclava-clad robber swung a stick over his head as he tried to force Mohammed Zaman to hand over takings at Starkie Street Off Licence
A BLACKBURN council worker caught behind the wheel three weeks after being banned has started a three-month jail term. Burnley magistrates told Joseph Mark Bullock, 31, he had shown flagrant disregard for court orders and committed the offence so soon
FIVE top East Lancashire bands played to a packed house at a charity gig in aid of a new theatre for Blackburn. Organisers of the Red Brick Rock Night at King George's Hall said they were still counting the proceeds but hoped to have raised £2,000 towards
A GENTLEMAN'S dinner was held at St Mary's Chambers, Rawtenstall in aid of the Save the Children appeal. Pictured (left to right) are MC Ian Cosens, guest speaker Derek Hatton, organisers Brian and Peter Boys, with one of the auction items, a Nat Lofthouse
A PREACHER from Ohio in America is the minister of a new Baptist chapel in Blackburn. Gary Kopfstein is leading services at the Islington Baptist Chapel, on the corner of Islington and Canterbury Street. Mr Kopfstein and his wife, Jan, came to Britain
GOLDEN couple Dennis and Emma Roberts (pictured) celebrated their golden wedding with a special meal for all their family. The couple, of Belthorn Road, Belthorn, married in 1950 at St Thomas' Church, Blackburn. Dennis, from Rotherham in Yorkshire, and
SOME people will go to great lengths to raise money for charity. Swimmers in Pendle are participating in a long-distance charity swim. They are taking on the Millennium Challenge to swim 2,000 lengths of the pool at Colne leisure centre. Members of the
PUPILS at Helmshore County Primary School helped to plant 600 trees on land near to Camms Mill. The youngsters were joined by members of the Helmshore Residents Association, Groundwork Rossendale and Rossendale Environmental Task Force. The planting of
A REVIEW of training needs and requirements in Earby will be carried out following a decision to close a community training centre. Pendle Council's regeneration unit will co-ordinate the study, which was sparked by a decision by Enterprise plc, the Lancashire-wide
A TECHNOLOGY college in Blackburn has secured the final slice of sponsorship cash needed to secure Government funding. Blackburn company RHP Bearings donated £5,000 to the joint technology college set up by Crosshill Special School and Queen's Park High
A 24-YEAR-old Ramsbottom woman found dead in bed with empty tablet containers and a note left nearby was suffering from an incurable and viciously destructive disease, a coroner was told. Bury District coroner Barrie Williams opened the inquest into 24
FURTHER support for the controversial Colne-Thornton-in-Craven by-pass has come from members of the public, following talks on the multi-million pounds project. More than 1,500 responses were returned following a series of displays on the road plan -
HUNDREDS of purple and green balloons were released in Blackburn town centre to mark the start of International Women's Week. Incorporated into Blackburn with Darwen's Festival 2000, the week-long celebration aims to recognise and value the diversity
FOOTWEAR firm Lambert Howarth has seen profits almost triple after its decision to pull out of manufacturing in East Lancashire. The firm, which supplies customers including Marks & Spencer, said the £12million pre-tax profit it made last year reflected
A LEFT-HANDED gorilla who encounters difficulties at school is the subject of a new book, written by a 15-year-old pupil at Southlands High School in Chorley. Clare Nolan wrote and illustrated the children's book called Gus Goes Bananas as part of the
Division Two: Burnley v Luton Town - Pete Oliver's match preview LUTON old boy Steve Davis is planning to head off any possible revival from his former club and get the Clarets' promotion bandwagon back on the rails at Turf Moor tonight. Davis was a big
A JURY returned a verdict of accidental death at an inquest into the death of James Green. Mr Green, 60, a builder from William Street, Blackburn, died after falling off a roof he was repairing in Manor Road, Billinge, shortly before Christmas. Converted
A THREE-year-old Japanese Akita dog (pictured) was allowed to starve to death in what an RSPCA inspector described as the worst case he had seen in 26 years in the job. Blackburn magistrates heard the dog weighed less than half the expected weight for
Division One: Ipswich Town v Blackburn Rovers - Peter White's match preview EXPERIENCED midfielder Jim Magilton had already warned his Ipswich Town team-mates to beware the month of March. And, after Saturday's shock home defeat by struggling Portsmouth
ANDY Payton (pictured) will be champing at the bit to get back on the goal trail against Luton Town tonight. The Clarets' 19-goal leading scorer is available again after a three-match ban. And while boss Stan Ternent is backing Ian Wright to open his
PICTURED at the presentation of a £402 cheque to Blackburn and Darwen British Heart Foundation and certificate award at St Peter's RC Junior School, Mill Hill are nine-year-old Stephanie Hargreaves, receiving the certificate from Matthew Grant from the
FARMERS from across East Lancashire lobbied outside Blackburn Town Hall with the message that falling milk prices could cripple the dairy industry. The march, Fair Share of the Bottle, was organised by the National Farmers' Union, who highlighted the
TED Taylor, the Blackburn Rovers youth scout responsible for spotting future stars such as Jason Wilcox and David May, died suddenly at his Bury home on Saturday aged 64. Mr Taylor, who came from Manchester but lived for a time in Blackburn where he ran
AFTER watching the recent home games against West Brom and Norwich, I feel compelled to point out blatant facts to the management team at Ewood, that they can't (or won't) see and, yet, are seen by thediminishing thousands of fans. 1. The team is crying
DETECTIVES are hunting two bogus roofers who tried to con elderly women. The two men called at houses along Aspinall Fold, off Pleckgate Road, Blackburn, claiming to have done work on roofs and asking to be paid. They targeted a 94-year-old women and
Lyn Andrews - bestselling author, Hornby Lecture Theatre, Blackburn Central Library, 2.15pm-3pm. Sale of Goods, Audley Community Centre, Blackburn, noon-4pm. Blackburn and District Junior Chamber, Knowles Arms, Pleckgate Road, Blackburn, 7.30pm. Rossendale
RIBBLE Valley Mayor's attendant Stuart Riley (pictured on the left) is hanging up his mace and retiring from the job after 12 years. Mr Riley, who is 65 this month, will leave the post on Thursday. He was thanked warmly at Ribble Valley Borough Council
PHIL Riley, Secretary of Blackburn Labour Party (Letters, February 24) avoided any mention of the main point of my previous remarks - which was the hypocrisy of the Labour leaders talking of peace by way of establishing a Holocaust Day, when only a short
REGARDING television licences, I agree that blind people should have preference for concessions as well as people over 75, most of whom cannot go out. But I strongly disagree that I, like hundreds of other senior citizens, have to pay in full. Who, in
I WONDER if readers know that their jewellery and collectables can help the Royal National Lifeboat Institution save lives at sea. Since 1986, our Jewellery Appeal has raised nearly £400,000 for lifeboat funds. I would be delighted to receive any high-quality
OVER the past few weeks, you have published a number of letters concerning the role of the council in keeping the streets clean. As chairman of the environment services sub-committee this is partly my committee's responsibility. Contrary to popular belief
THERE'S a chance to see England stars of the future in action when the Under 18s face France at Wigan Athletic on Wednesday. The England squad includes two players from the North West. Former Rochdale goalkeeper Stephen Bywater, at just 18, has already
BOLTON boss Sam Allardyce will be without midfielder Gareth Farrelly for the fifth match in a row as Wanderers travel to First Division rivals Crystal Palace. Farrelly returned to the squad for the game against Charlton at the weekend after a three-match
DAVID Moyes could without skipper Sean Gregan for tonight's Division Two clash with Colchester at Deepdale. Moyes looked on in horror on Saturday as Burnley's Lennie Johnrose pole-axed the influential midfielder with a crunching tackle that left Gregan
PATHOLOGY services at Blackburn and Burnley hospitals were next in line for a major shake-up - with a transfer of staff on the cards. More than 100 path lab medics and support workers at the two trusts were told their departments were under review. Converted
IT WAS a freezing cold dull March morning when I left Hambleton with Kevin Ryan at 6.30am Monday morning along with jockeys Fergal Lynch, Iona Wands and Mark Bird. The horse box had already left at 5.30am, destination Southwell racecourse with Lincolnshire
A PIPE layer "trying out" a moped the morning after the night before, has paid the price with his second driving ban. Burnley magistrates heard how Anthony Robinson, 24, had a previous conviction for failing to provide a specimen. He has now lost his
A FATHER-of-two caught over the drink-drive limit told a court he was law abiding and things had just built up. Noel Marsden, 42, said his firm had been taken over by another company just before he committed the offence. He said: "Nobody knew anything
NEW service which helps resolve neighbourhood issues such as noise, nuisance, car parking, pet problems, boundary disputes and harassment, held its first annual general meeting in Burnley. Mediation in Burnley was launched in December and has already
SMOKERS have the chance to kick the habit for good tomorrow, as well as raising cash for the British Heart Appeal, during National No Smoking Day. Hypnotherapist Lee Carlin is hoping to double the £300 total he raised last year for the Kosovo appeal,
A BURNLEY councillor lashed out at town hall officers for producing figures for them to discuss - when the fees and charges had already been set in the budget for the next financial year. Coun Harry Brooks also attacked price rises for being above the
ENFORCEMENT action is being considered by Burnley Council after it was discovered that work at the former Padiham Power Station had breached planning conditions. The Shuttleworth Mead site has outline planning permission for industrial development with
THE speech and drama section of Burnley Festival attracted over 300 entries from all over the North West. The event was held on Friday and Saturday at Central Methodist Church, Burnley. The music classes are taking place this coming weekend at St Peter's
A RECORD half a million people logged on to the internet in February and enjoyed the benefits of fishing online with the Fish4 services, whether it was to search for a new home, car or job, or the number of a local business. That's more people than ever
A DOWN'S Syndrome sufferer was today comfortable in hospital after a radio aerial pierced her eye in an accident. Joyce Holgate, 54, who lives in a county council-run home for people with learning disabilities in Grange Lane, Accrington, was taken to
THE future of shopping in Accrington town centre will be bleak and Hyndburn Council will be left with egg on its face if plans to create a new market and retail development are rejected tonight, council officers have warned. The council has spent hundreds
HASLINGDEN is to be given a brighter, greener look this spring. A number of improvements are taking place, funded jointly by Action for Haslingden Partnership and Rossendale Council. Hanging baskets are to be provided on new specially-designed columns
LINE dancers of all ages joined a marathon line dancing session to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. All the line dancers had a great day, while attempting the challenge of completing more than 30 dances. Most line dancers who were capable of a
TWO Haslingden landmarks, Manchester Road Methodist Church and the former Liberal Club, are to be given face-lifts thanks to grants from the Action for Haslingden Partnership. Both are classified as important landmarks under Rossendale Council's key buildings
ILLEGAL drugs were produced in an industrial unit then put on to the black market, a jury has been told. Some of the amphetamine tablets made found their way to Burnley, others to Manchester and some were even traced to Belfast. A man alleged to have
A TELEVISION actor who knifed three men in a street fracas in Clayton-le-Moors has gone to jail while his brother, who was armed with a meat cleaver, has walked free from court. Burnley Crown Court heard how John Norwood, 22, had a previous conviction
ARE you up for it? World Book Day will be celebrated on Friday, and last week's NIE column issued an invitation to report on your own special school events for the day. Like any real journalist, you must meet your deadline and ensure that your fully corrected
THE story of the battle for women's suffrage in the mill towns of East Lancashire will be retold next month by Jill Liddington, author of the classic history "One Hand Tied Behind Us". The focus will be on the involvement of local women in the first decades
PUPILS (pictured) are aiming to bring out the first edition of their own school journal as a result of using our NIE Pick and Mix literacy and numeracy resource. Throughout March and April, students in all years at Bank Hey School, Blackburn, will be
THE winning balloon in a race organised by a Pendle primary school ended up in southern Ireland. But the winner of the "high-flying" contest organised by St Paul's Primary School, Nelson, proved to be a lot closer to home. School secretary Edwina Yates
CHILDMINDERS gathered in Burnley to celebrate their recent training achievements. They also met at the Stoops and Hargher Clough community centre to start up a new child minding support group and to re-launch their toy library. It was all part of the
LABOUR MP Gordon Prentice has been praised by campaigners who are fighting for warmer homes. Pendle member Mr Prentice is supporting the Warm Homes Bill, which would create a national programme for installing energy efficiency measures such as insulation
A YOUTH arrested in the early hours near Mean Cat Daddies nightclub, Burnley, was bound over for six months, in the sum of £100, by the town's magistrates. An allegation of threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour, was withdrawn by the court
ANGRY residents who vowed to fight "tooth and nail" to stop houses being built on fields in Colne have collected the biggest ever petition handed in to Pendle Council. Campaigners opposing four hectares of fields off Windermere Avenue being earmarked
THE head of a Pendle school released from special measures after a successful Ofsted inspection has thanked parents, staff and governors for their support. Peter Dixon, associate head of Mansfield High, Brierfield, highlighted the high level of support
A CRIME busting police blitz has been launched to spread fear among criminals in Darwen. Extra officers have been drafted in to help make Operation Tanoy a success. The crackdown aims to cut the number of burglaries and incidents of car crime and criminal
PEREGRINE falcons will have to find new nesting sites this year while urgent repair work is completed at a Darwen town centre landmark. Steeplejacks are putting nets in place around the upper ledges at India Mill, a 303ft Grade II listed chimney, which
