Archive

  • Follow Jones's advice on fuel

    THE return of petrol queues is a depressing sight. Panic has set in more than a week ahead of whatever action the protesters might take. Normal supplies will continue next week and we should all hold our nerve. We might yet get through this period without

  • Lessons get very tasty

    CHILDREN at St Thomas's CE Primary School, in St Annes, have been learning about the benefits of home cooking after a special visit to Greens restaurant in the town. Manager and owner of Greens, Paul Webster, said the visit was the school's third cooking

  • Big night out for Rossall pupils

    MORE than 100 pupils from Rossall School in Fleetwood invaded the Pleasure Beach recently in their annual autumn visit to the park. Head of the middle school, Mark Eddon, said the night out at the Pleasure Beach has become something of a tradition. He

  • Soccer: Rams aim to be on song

    RAMSBOTTOM United head for Clitheroe tomorrow hoping to get a game in after recent cancellations The situation was compounded when next Tuesday's Floodlit Trophy game at Prescot Cables was postponed because the Mersey men are involved in a Liverpool County

  • Cup for that!

    RADCLIFFE Borough are aiming for a cup double over the next five days, writes Steve Bott. The Boro take on Leek at Harrison Park in the FA Trophy on Saturday and just over 48 hours later entertain Burscough in the big one -- the FA Cup fourth qualifying

  • Soccer: Thommo hopes for a happy return to Gigg

    LUTON Town's Peter Thomson will be looking to settle an old score tomorrow. The strapping 24 year old striker, raised on the Hillock estate, Whitefield, was shown the door by the Shakers at the end of the 1996/97 campaign and he'll be keen to prove the

  • Sedgley take the leeds role again

    Morley 15, Sedgley Park 23 SEDGLEY Park always enjoy their trips to Leeds where the welcome is warm, and Morley's characterful old ground seems to bring out the best in the players. And so it was, last Saturday, weather conditions apart. Thankfully, a

  • Brilliant Bagnall blunts Boro

    Burscough1 Radcliffe Borough 1 A MAGNIFICENT display by Burscough keeper John Bagnall denied Boro an automatic passage into the first round proper and a home tie with Nationwide League Third Division strugglers York City. As it is, Kevin Glendon's men

  • This week in 1975 25 years ago

    SETBACK: A moved to introduce six-day trading in the borough suffered a setback when a meeting of shopkeepers voted overwhelmingly against the idea. IMPROVEMENTS: A £148,000 scheme to upgrade Bury General Hospital's Kenyon Ward was under way. SKINT: Vicar

  • Helpline seeking recruits

    THE Samaritans in Blackburn are appealing for volunteers. Growing demand means they need to recruit and train. The next training class is in February but selection of trainees will start with an informal session at the Samaritans' office, 105 New Park

  • Appeal for volunteer cooks

    VOLUNTEER cooks are being asked to come forward to help Age Concern with two projects in Blackburn. An urgent recruitment drive is in full swing to get volunteers to help prepare and serve snacks and light meals at the Age Concern coffee shop and also

  • I'd give it no currency

    I FULLY agree with A Sedgwick's comments on Europe (Letters, October 23). It appears that nobody wants this new fangled European currency and I could advise the bureaucrats in Brussels what to do with it. I FISH (Mrs), Sunny Bower Road, Blackburn.

  • Beauty to soak up

    IF we want to stop these floods from happening frequently, all we have to do is reinstate the countryside that we have ripped up over the years to build motorways, housing estates and industrial estates. The countryside is not just a place of beauty and

  • Floods of sympathy

    THERE has been terrible flooding in many parts of England, torrential rain, no electricity supplies for thousands and two tornadoes, causing massive destruction. What more horrendous misfortunes could hit the British people? Yet, not a word from our Prime

  • Panic at the pumps - again!

    PETROL station bosses today warned they were going to run out of fuel by tomorrow morning unless drivers stop panic buying. Queues were this morning building up outside the few remaining petrol stations in Hyndburn which have any fuel left -- and even

  • Tax change gets the okay at town hall

    TOWN hall chiefs have approved plans to change the annual date that council tax payers cough up their cash. Bury's executive committee this week gave the go-ahead to finance bosses to move the payment dates forward from the 15th to the 5th of each month

  • Bookie boss stabbed in face

    THE owner of a Bury bookies was stabbed in the face and a shopkeeper robbed at knife point in two separate robberies yesterday afternoon. Two men burst into Hamer's Bookmakers just before 1pm and attacked Mr Malcolm Hamer with a knife before grabbing

  • Win has Stella over the moon

    SALES manager Stella Edge won a dream trip to meet up with her daughter in Arizona. The mother-of-four, from Crag Lane, Bury, will be reunited with Helen during her prize holiday to America. Stella (47) answered questions on the USA on Manchester-based

  • Devil of a time down in the park!

    POINTED hats, black cats and vampire fangs were the order of the day at a Hallowe'en event for "little monsters". Organised by Bury Countryside Service, children of all ages dressed up as their favourite "spooky" characters to join the fun at Philips

  • Final word on Stockport County

    BIG MONEY MAN: Stockport splashed out £800,000 to sign striker Ian Moore from Nottingham Forest in July 1998. Burnley and Preston have since tried to lure him away but the powerful frontman is holding out for a move into the Premiership. LAST SIX RESULTS

  • Souness asks for patience

    EWOOD boss Graeme Souness is calling on fans to be patient as Rovers go in search of their fifth straight league victory against struggling Stockport at Ewood tomorrow. With County desperate for points at the foot of the table, Souness expects Andy Kilner

  • Tesco bosses urged to rethink

    PRESTON'S Liberal Democrat group have written to Tesco bosses seeking urgent top level talks about their proposals to axe the Fishergate store. The initiative comes after bosses announced that the store is to close next year with the lease for the building

  • Teenage thief robs woman, 92

    A CALLOUS thief has robbed a 92-year-old woman of £100 cash after ransacking her house. At around noon on October 23 the thief gained entry to the property in Edale Court, Preston where he proceeded to go through the drawers in all her rooms. He was disturbed

  • Wise in Hendrick blast

    THE husband of the late Audrey Wise MP has launched an attack on Mark Hendrick, Labour's candidate in Preston's forthcoming by-election, calling him 'two-faced'. John Wise, a member of Preston Labour Party, says he cannot support somebody as the candidate

  • Anger at train crash

    IN THE wake of the recent Hatfield rail tragedy, Railtrack has announced they are to undertake a programme of extensive track renewals in the North West so that precautionary speed restrictions can be lifted. Following the disaster two weeks ago -- caused

  • Bitumen decision deferred

    RESIDENTS living near a bitumen plant at Preston Docks have been given more time to register their views on controversial plans to re-introduce rail freight to the plant following a public meeting. People living on the Larches Estate, Riversway, fear

  • Fire-starter jailed

    A 61-YEAR-OLD Leyland man who set light to petrol outside the doors of a Luton night club with more than 250 revellers inside has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. Kenneth Bradley, from Westmoreland Close, Leyland, 'flipped' because he thought a doorman

  • Speed plans slowed down

    ANGRY parents living close to a Deepdale primary school are incensed at how plans for road safety measures -- aimed at protecting children from speeding motorists -- have been shelved because of a single objection from a man who lives miles away in Ashton

  • Civic honour for town's sport heroes

    BURNLEY'S "champions of sport" will be invited to a civic lunch with the mayor to recognise their achievements. Councillors voted to send letters of congratulations to Olympic gymnast Craig Heap, British Superbike champion Neil Hodgson and Paralympic

  • Arrests as police swoop on estate

    FIVE women and a man were arrested and property was seized in police raids on houses on Burnley's Stoops e state. More than 50 police were involved in Operation Fisherman, a crackdown on crime on Burnley's housing estates. A convoy of police vehicles

  • 'Harsh' Ofsted ex-chief told off

    EDUCATION watchdog Chris Woodhead was criticised for "vilifying" teachers by a headmaster last night. Alan Chambers, head of Park High School, Colne, departed from his prepared prize night speech to take a shot at Mr Woodhead, who announced his resignation

  • Elected with backing of PM

    AS MPs deliberated over a new Speaker for the House of Commons, the political spotlight fell on Chorley where an election took place to another parliament -- personally endorsed by the Prime Minister. The Woodlands Centre, Southport Road, was the venue

  • Five years ago: Tiny truck stolen

    TINY trucker Tee-jay Brown, 6, had his set of wheels stolen just weeks before a charity fundraiser for Children in Need. Thieves stole his miniature Mercedes racing truck which was to be part of the show performed by singing truckers 'The Heathrow Flyers

  • Conman stole OAP's savings

    A BOGUS official stole a pensioner's £6,000 life savings after claiming to be from the electricity board. The thief accosted the pensioner as he stood with a bag of shopping outside his flat in Henry Street, Church. After telling the man to go upstairs

  • Estate anger as thugs run riot

    RESIDENTS on a housing estate have slammed council bosses for neglecting their area, claiming it has become a magnet for young thugs. Members of the Church Central Residents' Association launched their stinging attack on Hyndburn Council just days after

  • Youth 'almost like an animal'

    A TEENAGER who behaved "almost like an animal," when police arrived to arrest his bail bandit friend, is behind bars for seven months. Burnley Crown Court heard how John Wigglesworth, 19, abused and spat at an officer and then punched him in the face

  • Soda will put fizz back into pop

    AN art teacher has turned her back on the classroom after being tipped as the next singing sensation. Now, less than two months since the day she was told she was going to be propelled into the limelight, Paule Van Wijngarden is lapping up the limelight

  • Panic at the pumps - again!

    PETROL station bosses today warned they were going to run out of fuel by tomorrow morning unless drivers stop panic buying. Queues were this morning building up outside the few remaining petrol stations in Hyndburn which have any fuel left -- and even

  • New jobs as Perry's open garage

    A DOZEN jobs have been created with the opening of a new car showroom in the Ribble Valley. Perry's of Clitheroe has now officially opened its Peugeot showroom in Waterloo Road. The new jobs are in the sales and after sales departments. The showroom,

  • Real progress for John

    JOHN Whitesmith has been appointed production director at Radcliffe-based commercial flooring specialists Polyflor Ltd. John (44), who lives in Bury, has been with the company for 18 years and progressed to his present role from those of development technologist

  • Meeting to discuss new village centre

    PLANS for the future of Prestwich will be presented to members of Prestwich Business Forum at their next meeting on Tuesday. Representatives from Bury Council will discuss the Prestwich Village Centre Strategy with local businessmen and women at the Longfield

  • Back on track

    AN astute decision to bring in a "troubleshooter" has turned around an underperforming Bury company. For after reporting a loss in 1998-99, telecommunication company Microcare Systems Ltd has returned to a stable financial footing with a 200 per cent

  • Mitch ready for pitch battle

    DEFENSIVE strongman Mitchell Thomas is preparing for another battle royal at West Bromwich Albion tomorrow as the Clarets stay focussed on guaranteeing their First Division status. The evergreen defender will again have a key role to play against the

  • Phew! Stan's men will not face Hughes

    BURNLEY might be breathing a sigh of relief at not having to face prolific marksman Lee Hughes at the Hawthorns tomorrow. The 24-year-old goal machine is forced to sit the game out having accrued five yellow cards in a season in which he has also scored

  • Elderly 'are feeling trapped'

    HELP the Aged has launched a hard-hitting campaign after a survey revealed one in six people in the North West felt trapped in their own home. They have teamed up with British Gas to launch a "Free Our Old Aged Prisoners" campaign. The survey revealed

  • Black puddings get the chop

    BLACK puddings have been given the chop at some butchers' stalls on Bury Market. New licensing laws which came into force on Wednesday mean that butchers will now need a special licence to sell raw meats and cooked food, including Bury's famous delicacy

  • Euro MP will show red card to transfer plan

    NORTH West Euro MP Arlene McCarthy was visiting Bury FC today to tear a strip off European plans to scrap the transfer fee system. And two Bury fans are set to take a trip to Brussels in a bid to tell the European Commission the drastic effect ditching

  • Elms plans scrapped

    MULTI-MILLIONAIRE property owner Albert Gubay has scrapped plans to develop the Elms Precinct. And in a double blow to the Whitefield community he has vowed that the site will remain in its partial derelict state. The shock news was revealed in correspondence

  • Big plans for hospital land

    PRESTWICH Hospital could soon be a site for the town's first "halfway house" for mentally ill patients as part of major expansion plans. The hospital, which is run by Mental health Services of Salford NHS Trust, has more than 18 acres of land divided

  • Whitefield drama teacher takes top title

    BURY'S Woman of the Year Carol Godby finally took centre stage at the event celebrating the women of Bury. The popular drama teacher and businesswoman said she was "stunned" when she was chosen to receive the title. A week later, and still coming to terms

  • Jussy Thais for European crown

    JUSSY LOWE, the Radcliffe-based British flyweight and Commonwealth ladies Thai boxing champion, bids for the vacant European bantamweight title at Horwich Leisure Centre next month. Jussy, a 25-year-old secretary, will meet an, as yet, unnamed opponent

  • Promotion zone now beckons

    A PLAY-OFF position could be attained by Blackpool if they beat Shrewsbury Town at Bloomfield Road on Saturday. Pool's four match winning run has seen them storm up to tenth position in the league table just three points from a play-off position. The

  • Dinosaurs face film extinction

    DINOSAURS are cool, yeah? Dinosaurs are exciting and scary, yeah? Well not according to Disney. Dinosaur (PG) has to be one of the dullest movies of all time, writes Richard King. The first five minutes are promising enough, but once the dinos start talking

  • 40 new jobs

    BUSINESS peer Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn visited Preston-based Reality today to learn more about how its operators handle 75 million calls a year. He opened its new telemarketing floor which created 40 new jobs. The business solutions company was formed

  • Fred's farewell to brewery

    FRED Clark is packing in work with Blackburn brewery Thwaites...at the packing department. Fred is retiring after completing close on 28 years at the brewery where he carried out a number of different roles in production before joining on to the packing

  • It's no joke

    A STAND-UP comedy club in Darwen could face the final curtain as laughter fans lose their sense of humour. The Humour Section at the newly refurbished Darwen Library Theatre on Knott Street opened to a packed audience in May with top comedian Rob Newman

  • How TeleTubbies floored the WWF hardmen

    CHILDREN'S TV programmes came under fire today from broadcast minister Janet Anderson -- and even the superhuman abilities of the Power Rangers could not deflect the broadside. Mrs Anderson accused telly chiefs of appealing to the lowest common denominator

  • Thanks for generosity

    COMPASSION in World Farming would like to thank the people of Leyland for raising £57.78 at our street collection on Saturday, September 2. All proceeds will go toward campaigning work for farm animal welfare. Karen Mansell, street collection co-ordinator

  • US GI seeks old pal

    IN 1944 I was stationed in Chorley with a unit of the United States Army Air Corps for several weeks. During that time I made the acquaintance of a young lady Betty Forshaw. She lived in Railway Road. We become very good friends. The last I heard from

  • Looking for a new Eric...

    DO you consider yourself another Eric Morecambe? Could you get up in front of a live audience and make 'em laugh? If the answer is yes, then Cleveleys comedian David Booth wants to hear from you. David wrote to The Citizen asking for help in his quest

  • Stone tribute to war victims

    A PERMANENT tribute to the men and women who gave their lives during times of war is to be placed on the war memorial ground at Feniscowles, Blackburn. A four-ton memorial stone will be set in place for Armistice Day on November 11 and will be the first

  • Police crack down town centre thugs

    POLICE have launched a high-profile operation to crack down on disorder in Blackburn centre on Friday and Saturday nights. Operation Safer Streets will run for the next five weeks. Extra officers have been brought in from the mounted and operational support

  • Chef says no to tasty invite

    CELEBRITY chef Paul Heathcote has turned down the chance to see what school cooking lessons are like after launching a stinging attack on education chiefs. Paul, who owns Heathcotes in Longridge, blasted modern-day teaching styles in the Lancashire Evening

  • Woman wins cricket sex bias case

    A WOMAN was today celebrating winning £15,000 compensation from Lancashire CC after successfully winning a sex discrimination case against club bosses. Maria Grant (pictured), 45, of Blackburn, took legal action after she failed to make the shortlist

  • Non-league: Big soak is no joke!

    ROSSENDALE United may need a couple of Olympic swimmers for tomorrow's North West Counties League Division One match at home to Skelmersdale! Because of heavy rain this week Dark Lane is saturated and the game may not go ahead. But the last thing Jim

  • Local cricket: League ponder Sharma decision

    RIBBLESDALE cricket chiefs have adopted a 'wait and see' policy on Padiham professional Ajay Sharma following his suspension from international and domestic cricket in India. Sharma is one of five Indian cricketers named in a report by the Central Bureau

  • Thank you to our volunteers

    AFTER the recent fuel crisis I would like to say "Thank You" to all Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) volunteers who worked extremely hard and used their own valuable fuel to ensure that all Meals On Wheels in the area continued to be delivered.

  • No regard for the right to vote

    IF R M Tudor-Davies believes that "all we have to vote for are party lackeys and crooks", then why does he/she "hold the right to vote in very high regard -- or indeed in any regard at all? (Citizen October 4). If he/she is correct, then the right to

  • Say no to Euro treaty

    I HAVE started a national petition which I will hand in to 10 Downing Street at 2pm on November 11, 2000, telling Tony Blair that we, the people of Britain, do not want him to sign the treaty in France on December 2. The treaty will lock Britain forever

  • Tourists like the new look Blackpool

    SOME weeks ago my letter was printed in The Citizen. I criticised a new political group formed in Blackpool and also gave my opinion that Blackpool had improved under the leadership of Ivan Taylor and George Bancroft. There were several letters the following

  • Pub plan is thin end of the wedge

    I MUST respond to the letter from Mr B. S. Hart (Oct 27) regarding the proposed Waterside development in Summerseat. As we live in the same row of cottages as Mr Hart, higher up Hill Street, I would like to make it clear that we are definitely not all

  • 'Spying' on police was appalling

    AS a retired police officer, I was absolutely appalled to read about two officers from Bury being "tailed", during their tour of duty, by members of GMP's dedicated surveillance unit on the orders of the divisional deputy commander, Supt. Westcott. What

  • Post Office closure problem realised our fears

    A RECENT call back to my former home town of Radcliffe produced the information that the Post Office had been "abandoned". When the former crown office on Dale Street was closed, we regular customers were given extravagant reassurance by the people from

  • Don't be fooled by critic's figures

    ANNETTE Bullock's analysis of the LEAs performance on transfers to high schools (Your Letters, Oct 27) paints a very misleading picture. The claim that 500 were heard during the summer, representing 25 per cent of children transferring to high schools

  • Town hall staff in High Court action over expenses

    FURIOUS staff at Bury Council are to take their bosses to the High Court over more than £50,000 in unpaid car allowances. A total of 106 town hall staff have issued a writ against Bury Council after claiming it was in breach of contract by withholding

  • Lancashire events on Saturday, November 4

    St Gabriel's Scout Group's Second-hand Toy and Book Sale, Scout Hut, Cornelian Street, Blackburn, 10am-noon. Auction and Sale of Goods, Goosnargh School Hall, 1pm. Whist and Domino Drive, Festival Hall, Gisburn, 7.30pm. Sale of Goods, yard of St Edward's

  • Time for churches to get high tech

    MANY of the Lancashire churches attacked by arsonists did not have basic security. John Taylor, spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, went straight to the heart of the matter when he said that many did not even have smoke detectors. He called

  • Train adds to strain!

    A FORMER teacher at King Edward VIII and Queen Mary School, Lytham, who travelled to London to compete for a national lifetime achievement award was stranded this week due to train problems and floods -- and he didn't even win the prize. Ron Naylor, who

  • Berry good show, Phillippa

    RADCLIFFE martial arts ace Phillippa Berry shone at a major tournament in Wales recently. Phillipa is 17 and lives in Salisbury Road, Radcliffe. She was one of three successful competitors from Bury Taekwon-do School at the Welsh Open in Cardiff. Phillipa

  • Delightful moorland walk

    Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy MR E L Proctor, of Pleckgate, Blackburn, has written to suggest a possible route for a drive and stroll. He mentions that there are several stopping points where on occasions hen harriers may be seen hunting: "First

  • Tower-ing inferno!

    ANGRY Radcliffe Borough boss Bernard Manning Jnr. has blasted local radio station Tower FM for letting listeners believe he was ready to shelve plans to sell the club. The Boro chairman was interviewed by the station on Monday and was heard to say he

  • Athletics: Nic's a real stormer

    THE second run in the Red Rose Cross Country League was held at Levershulme Park in Bolton. With full squads in the Under-13s and 15s to choose from, Bury were able to field fiercely competitive teams against the other clubs. A very wet and windy day

  • Angling: Water lot we got!

    THE continued heavy rains of the past week have caused heavy flooding throughout the country and sent water levels soaring, especially the local River Irwell. Sunday saw a short respite with strong winds drying out the damp conditions. On the pleasure

  • Bury CTC

    FIVE hardy souls turned up for last Sunday's A run and in view of the conditions and forecast, it was unanimously decided to go to the Clarion Club house at Roughlee. A real bolt-hole at this time of the year. On the tops going over Burnley Summit, it

  • TODAY'S THE DAY.

    1083: The smallest ever Queen of England, Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror, died. She was 4ft 2ins tall. 1941: Roy Plomley had the idea for Desert Island Discs while he was standing in his pyjamas about to go to bed. He immediately sat down

  • Wise guys play safe

    SAFETY-conscious youngsters with an artistic flair put their talents to good use to get over a Bonfire Night message. The children, all from junior schools in Blackburn, created posters about bonfire and firework safety for a competition organised by

  • Revel in rubbish

    I STAY in Sabden during the week and drive over the Nick of Pendle to get to work. I was thoroughly disgusted by the amount of rubbish left behind by Hallowe'en revellers. Cans, bottles, bin bags, pizza packaging and other items of rubbish were strewn

  • Volunteers fight stress

    "FIRST Steps to Freedom" is a registered charity launched in 1991 to offer help, advice and support to sufferers of anxiety and stress problems such as phobias, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder. It also offers

  • 227 attacks on churches

    FIRE chiefs and police are holding emergency talks with ministers in an attempt to combat the rising number of vandalism and arson attacks on churches. Over the past 12 months there has been 227 attacks on churches throughout Lancashire and today a vicar

  • Teenager is 'flashed at' in public toilet

    PUBLIC toilets on the corner of Whitefield Park were closed temporarily after a man was reported "acting suspiciously". A 13-year-old boy claimed he had been "flashed at" by a man in the gents toilet block, which is owned by Bury Council, on Tuesday afternoon

  • O we do like to be by the seaside!

    STEAM train enthusiasts are hoping to resurrect a journey to the seaside last operated more than 30 years ago. East Lancashire Railway has been given a provisional date for a nostalgic trip from the Rossendale Valley to Blackpool, via Bury and Heywood

  • On the buses!

    A GLIMPSE of yesteryear was on offer last Saturday with a celebration of bus design from the last 100 years. Bury Transport Museum was the venue for a special display of buses from the last century, with a similar exhibition at the Manchester Transport

  • Copters and Robbers

    POLICE chiefs are to use their "eye in the sky" in a bid to spot robbers on the streets of Bury. The force helicopter will swoop on suspects in the run-up to Christmas when crime is on the increase as thieves target shoppers. The move strengthens the

  • Hendry set for Reebok?

    FORMER Rovers stalwart Colin Hendry is being lined up as a possible replacement for Mark Fish at Bolton. Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce confirmed that he had enquired about the out-of-favour Coventry defender and should Fish move on Hendry could be the

  • Friedel granted work permit

    ROVERS were today given the green light in their bid to sign Liverpool keeper Brad Friedel. The Department of Employment have granted Rovers a work permit for the American international. And chief executive John Williams is now confident of wrapping up

  • One of the all-time greats

    MARK Hughes may have celebrated his 37th birthday this week but even the mere mention of his name still sends shivers down the spine of opposing defenders. Stockport skipper Mike Flynn is the latest man to be charged with the onerus task of attempting

  • Mast we put up with it?

    RESIDENTS have bitterly accused Preston council of cashing in on mobile phone masts and putting profits before public health. The accusation follows national newspaper reports last week that linked mobile phone masts with serious birth defects by scientists

  • PNE will survive Euro fee plan

    EUROPEAN plans to scrap football transfer fees could spell 'full time' for some clubs -- and that could include Preston North End! That's the warning from leading accountants Deloitte and Touche, who claim that many of the country's 92 professional clubs

  • Water, water everywhere

    PRESTON was thrown into chaos earlier this week as torrential rain and flooding caused mile-long tailbacks on the roads. Some thoroughfares were left feet-deep in water after some of the worst weather seen for several years struck throughout the county

  • Pub licensee Les makes noisy exit

    LICENSEE Les Harrison and his wife Brenda called "last orders" for the final time after 11 years at the Coal Clough pub, Burnley. They left the trade on a high note with a music weekend, including a concert by one of their favourite bands, Acoustic Ceilidh

  • Panic at the pumps in East Lancs

    PETROL panic again gripped East Lancashire today as drivers rushed to beat the threat of new blockades. It was all hands to the pumps in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale as filling stations reported double normal sales after the government again appeared

  • Worker escapes blaze

    NIGHT shift worker Eric Thorpe was saved by a smoke alarm when a fire broke out in a takeaway beneath his flat in Railway Street, Nelson. The fire and rescue service was called to Captain Cook's when an officer at the nearby police station smelled smoke

  • Police hunt rapist

    A VICIOUS rapist is being hunted by police after an attack on a 27-year-old woman in the early hours of Tuesday morning (October 31) in the Deepdale area of Preston. It is believed the man attacked the woman as she took a short cut home across wasteland

  • Lights, camera, action!

    Cue, Citizen ... Keep your telly tuned to Granada's Sunday Supplement this weekend and you will see the people who bring your community closer to you here at The Citizen's office in Preston. As part of the programme, Granada want to show the work local

  • Ten years ago: Kitten's close call

    A ONE-MONTH-old kitten was found minutes from death in a plastic bag dumped in a stream at Knuzden Brook. The stricken animal, named Spotty because of his distinctive colouring, was found gasping for breath by a horse-rider who took him straight to the

  • Pies with pulling power

    THEATRE director Michael Berry is on the pull -- lorries that is! He flexed his muscles for charity at Hollands Pies, Baxenden. The firm will be helping with a massive sponsored pulling event which will see a train, a boat and plane on the move this weekend

  • Family's wait in death case probe

    A REPORT into the way Lancashire Police handled the disappearance of a teenager who was later found dead has been completed. The investigation, launched after murdered Sajjad Mahmood's mother claimed her fears for her missing 18-year-old son were initially

  • Award is child's play

    INVESTORS in People has helped a Bury nursery move a step closer to its dream of becoming a centre of excellence for professional childcare. The Linda Gill Nursery in Tenters Street has won the national award in recognition of its staff development programme

  • TNT is just dynamite

    HOT on the heels of TNT's hat trick of Motor Transport customer care "Oscars", TNT Ramsbottom depot is celebrating another success. The local operators have won a prestigious UK accolade: the Management Today/Unisys Service Excellence Award 2000. At a

  • Click on for check-up

    AT your service! That's the new company of a Bury businessman who aims to put the motorist well and truly in the driving seat. For Lee Petch and his business partner Andrew Jones have established what they hail as a "unique product" on the Internet. Their

  • Micky's back on familiar stomping ground

    THE HAWTHORNS will welcome back a Wembley winner when Micky Mellon lines up in the Clarets' midfield tomorrow. Mellon joined West Bromwich Albion from first club Bristol City in February, 1993 and immediately helped them to promotion to Division One via

  • The last word on West Brom

    BIG MONEY MAN: West Brom broke their transfer record in the summer when they won the race to sign powerful striker Jason Roberts from Bristol Rovers for £2 million. He has responded with seven goals in League and Cup. LAST SIX RESULTS: Grimsby Town (A

  • Soozy Q chasing the Big Time

    UP AND COMING Blackpool singing sensation Soozy Q has announced details of her new song in her second collaboration with the band Big Time Charlie. The trio are all set to release Chasing Rainbows, hot on the heels of their last release, Mr Devil, which

  • 1st glass tumbler

    ST ANNES language student Ross Gibson feels like doing somersaults after becoming Great Britain's number one tumbler. Twenty-year-old Ross, of Norwood Road, clinched the top ranking place in Britain by finishing fourth in the European Tumbling and Trampoline

  • Danny does his bit

    CANCER care topped the bill at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. And it was a "reet good do", too, according to the deputy director of fund-raising for Victoria Hospital's Macmillan Windmill Appeal, Elaine Fossett. The great and the good of the Fylde coast packed

  • It's over: Me and Robbie are finished

    WELL, typical isn't it? After all these years of waiting, hoping and looking forward to the day when it actually happened ... this week it did. And do you know, I wasn't impressed in the least. Not one little bit. In fact, I would go as far as to say

  • Verging on the ridiculous

    MUD, mud, inglorious mud -- there's nothing quite like it for heating the blood of Outwood residents. They are furious that Bury Council has turned their attractive grass verge into a quagmire. "The council, in their wisdom, decided to spray six inches

  • Drivers topping up amid new fuel fears

    MOTORISTS are preparing for possible fuel shortages amid fears of a new petrol crisis. Drivers across Bury have been topping up with extra fuel after Tony Blair ruled out an across-the-board cut in fuel taxes in next week's mini-budget. Protesters set

  • Community's groups merge

    A VOLUNTARY group has been disbanded after ten years of sterling work in the community. But residents will not lose out when the plug is pulled on the Chesham Fold Community Project. For the move has been made in the hope of ensuring future improvements

  • Patients back banned doctor

    PATIENTS of a banned family doctor are publicly backing the medic following the General Medical Council's (GMC) decision to stop him from working for 18 months. Letters of support from many of Prestwich GP Dr Colin Ogdon's patients and colleagues have

  • Super six shine in Warby's

    SIX Radcliffe Swimming Club members recently competed in the Warburton's Children's Triathlon held at Turton High School in Bolton. The event consisted of a continous swim, cycle and run of varying distances depending on the age category. Although the

  • Big fish in the pool

    THE girls from the Horseshoe Inn in Radcliffe were celebrating a huge success in the pool world this week. For the girls, who go under the title of the Swinton Sharks, have won the National Ladies Inter League Championships. Competing in Great Yarmouth

  • Ewood Viking raids

    BLACKBURN Rovers are preparing for a Viking invasion as Graeme Souness bids to pep-up his squad in their march towards the play-offs. As we exclusively revealed yesterday, Souness was in Norway last weekend to watch Egil Ostenstad's former club Viking

  • League explain Ternent snub

    THE FOOTBALL League insist that Stan Ternent was not a forgotten man after being overlooked for the October manager-of-the-month award. The First Division prize went to Watford boss Graham Taylor, despite the fact that his side collected one fewer point

  • Aerospace firm in machinery boost

    IMPROVEMENTS made by an East Lancashire firm to one of its subsidiaries has boosted its capacity to provide specialist treatment to metal surfaces. Brookhouse Aerospace, a member of Darwen-based Brookhouse Holdings, carried out the improvements to its

  • Venice award winner

    PUTTING the business parts together has helped Alan Hambley pick up a top award. Alan, assistant parts manager at car dealership Greyhound Ford, of Accrington, ran away with the honour in a nationwide competition organised by Ford. Alan was whisked off

  • Bury FC: Boss set to play on

    ANDY Preece has shrugged off calls for him to concentrate on managing by vowing to carry on playing for as long as he can. Pundits like former Manchester United star Arthur Albiston and former City winger Eddie McGoldrick have spoken on local radio stations

  • Christmas crackers!

    A FESTIVE family is setting the pace by being the first to put up a Christmas Tree. While some homeowners were busy carving pumpkins for Hallowe'en, the McHughs were balancing the baubles, tying the tinsel and attaching the angel to their festive fir.

  • Learning about mixed marriages

    I AM currently developing a major year long educational series for Channel 4 about British Asians and marriage in your region. Two of the films are already in production but one has hit a stumbling block. The programme in question intends to follow a

  • Call yourselves fans?

    I AM writing to express my anger and disappointment regarding last Friday night's match between Preston North End and Barnsley -- and I'm not talking about the result! What really upset and angered me, and many supporters sat around me, was the many hundreds

  • SUNDAY CHEMISTS

    Blackpool: Boots, 28-38 Bank Hey Street, 10.30-4.30pm Co-op Pharmacy (in Asda), Cherry Tree Road, Marton, 10-4pm; Moss Chemist, Morrisons, Squires Gate Lane, 10-4pm; Lloyds Pharmacy, 110 Talbot Rd, 10-5pm; Superdrug, Hounds Hill Centre, 10-4.30pm. Cleveleys

  • He's off to a flyer!

    RIVALS have rounded on Labour's candidate for publishing the by-election date -- days before the House of Commons released the writ. Labour's Mark Hendrick, who was selected to stand for Preston MP at a meeting last Saturday, published the election date

  • Window cleaner dies after fall

    A WINDOW cleaner who fell from his ladder after suffering a brain haemorrhage has died in hospital. David Bowman, 52, of Coleridge Street, Blackburn, fell 15ft onto stone flags at a house in Monmouth Road, Blackburn, earlier this week. Doctors said he

  • Store tipped off over booze scam

    MANAGEMENT at a Blackburn store received a tip-off that a member of staff would be passing alcohol through her check-out without charging. Blackburn magistrates heard that the "free offer" was to provide booze for the girl's own 21st birthday bash and

  • Family fury over flood victim son

    THE family of a teenager left "homeless" after floods devastated his Blackburn flat are furious that he has still not been re-housed. Aaron Howard (pictured) has been forced to sleep on the floor of his father's flat since his home in Addison Close was

  • Anger at jail sentence

    A CHARITY has criticised the decision to send an alcoholic repeat offender to prison. Help group The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre said that imprisoning Ernest Miller, who recorded his 118th offence when he appeared at Blackburn magistrates, would

  • CAB back in the fold

    THE manager of a citizens advice bureau found guilty of race discrimination today spoke of staff's relief after its suspension from national association was lifted. Sue Seabridge said the lifting of the suspension, imposed in January 1999, was a morale-boost

  • 227 attacks on churches

    FIRE chiefs and police are holding emergency talks with ministers in an attempt to combat the rising number of vandalism and arson attacks on churches. Over the past 12 months there has been 227 attacks on churches throughout Lancashire and today a vicar

  • Non league: Darwen boost

    DARWEN: Andy Walsh and David Barnes are added to the squad for the home NWCL Second Division cup clash against Tetley Walker. However, manager Steve Wilkes is without Jimmy Khan due to work commitments.

  • Non league: Full squad

    PADIHAM: Boss Graham Haworth will have the luxury of picking from a full squad ahead of tomorrow's NWCL Second Division Trophy clash with Squires Gate at The Arbories (ko 1.30pm). Fireman Steve Yeoman is available again after work commitments as The Storks

  • Non league: Cup hopes

    BACUP: Brent Peters is looking to bring a bit of long overdue cup success to West View when his side takes on Castleton Gabriels in the NWCFL Second Division Trophy tomorrow. Peters has previously lifted the trophy when manager of Glossop and also guided

  • Non league: Harwood in for busy time

    GREAT HARWOOD: Town face an important three-day spell in their quest to climb away from the NWCFL First Division drop zone -- weather permitting. Denis Underwood's men entertain fellow strugglers Nantwich Town tomorrow and Cheadle Town on Monday night

  • Non league: Derby date to savour

    THE big derby game in the North West Counties League Division One features high-flying Clitheroe against up-and-coming Ramsbottom. Clitheroe enjoyed ten straight victories at the beginning of the season but have lost the last two league games. They are

  • Non-league: Striking up a forward battle

    CHORLEY hitman David Eatock goes head-to-head with Stanley hot-shot Gary Williams in the FA Umbro Trophy at Victory Park tomorrow. The young strikers have experienced similar ups and downs over the years as they have tried to ascend the football pyramid

  • Talent in Blackpool

    I WOULD appreciate your help in the following project. In Blackpool apart from the esatablished "super stars" there is a wealth of good talent performing for little or no money. To me this is the true Blackpool and I would like to promote the town and

  • Care home staff not getting justice

    THE campaign to protect levels of care at the council care homes is not over. Why it has to be such a hard fought campaign I do not understand.The current issue is one of basic social justice for the staff. Without debate or approval from councillors,

  • Don't be deceived by Eurofanatics

    OF course the MEPs, because of their lucrative vested interest in the EU, are keen to keep Britain in this dubious club. They refer constantly to "benefits" accruing to Britain from our membership, but none of them ever tell us what these benefits are

  • He's off to a flyer!

    RIVALS have rounded on Labour's candidate for publishing the by-election date -- days before the House of Commons released the writ. Labour's Mark Hendrick, who was selected to stand for Preston MP at a meeting last Saturday, published the election date

  • At least I won't be a speed victim

    DESPITE having been a victim of vandalism and theft, namely my car, in the past month, I have still not seen a police officer, though I have received two letters informing me that they will do all in their power to catch these villains and bring them

  • One Stop is at a stop!

    WE are now going into November and still nothing has been done to the site where One Stop was and which has now been demolished. On the notice at the side of the road it states that completion of the site was scheduled for summer 2000. I wonder have they

  • Give generously on Poppy Day

    POPPY Day, November 11, is the main anniversary day of the year for the Royal British Legion which depends so heavily on funds to maintain their homes in the UK. These homes are for the benefit of ex-servicemen and women who were disabled in war time

  • We must fight threat to CHCs

    I RECENTLY received material from the director of the Association of Community Health Councils which, to say the least, is disturbing. Headed "Muzzling the watchdog", it deals with a proposal by the Government to abolish Community Health Councils. Since

  • 560 bus: we can't put it any clearer

    I WRITE in regard to the ongoing discussion on your Letters page in relation to First Manchester's decision, at the beginning of September, to withdraw the 560 bus service, and the replacement shared taxi service (APT) funded by Greater Manchester Passenger