AS the Council drives ahead with its vision of regenerating and brightening Blackburn with a traffic-free town-centre and pavement cafs, it is timely that extra action is being taken to deal with another crucial aspect of making the town attractive to
SWINTON LIONS are expected to feast on minnows New Earswick All Blacks in the Challenge Cup at Gigg Lane on Sunday (kick-off 3pm) and run up a ton, writes STEVE BOTT. The Lions were due to take on Widnes in a Northern Ford Premiership game last night
SEDGLEY PARK are hoping Colin Stephens will be pointing the way to victory again tomorrow when they travel to take on Dudley Kingswinford in the Midlands for the first time. Stephens joined the Park Lane club last summer and has been at the forefront
BURY boxing star Ady Lewis is hell bent on regaining his British and Commonwealth bantamweight title - and with good reason. Because The Mighty Atom - Britain's shortest boxer - reckons he never should have lost them in the first place! Lewis is due to
Bury 0 Brentford 1 IF the alarm bells aren't ringing around Gigg Lane after this result it could be time to appoint an ear specialist to the Shakers' medical staff! Yet another punchless performance - in front of the lowest gate of the campaign 2,274
1926: Baird gave the first demonstration of TV in Soho, London, on this day. 1808: Captain Bligh of The Bounty was arrested for tyranny. 1925: Paul Newman was born. 1905: The world's largest uncut diamond was found by Captain Wells as he strolled around
BUS SKIDS : Three passengers escaped with minor injuries when a double-decker bus careered off the road, narrowly missing a queue of people. The bus, number 472, had just left Ainsworth eight minutes previous to the accident bound for Alfred Street in
A MAN was due to appear in court today charged with abduction and a serious sexual assault after a teenage girl went missing from her home for two days. The 14-year-old girl, who disappeared from her home in Blackburn on Monday, was found in the company
ROY Davies (Letters, January 22) is incorrect when he states that 'Blackburn took over Darwen.' The amalgamation of the two boroughs occurred as a result of the 1972 Local Government Act under the government of Ted Heath. He must also walk around blindfolded
TODAY the JOURNAL can exclusively reveal the proposed new look for Hilton Park, home of Leigh Centurions and Leigh RMI. Plans have been submitted for a £750,000 new stand at the Glebe Street end of the famous ground and the club could receive the go-ahead
THE Chancellor of the Exchequer is coming to visit Ramsbottom school pupils on Monday afternoon (Jan 29) Gordon Brown will drop into Woodhey High School during a whistle-stop tour of marginal Labour constituencies across the region. The Bury North seat
DEMANDS for a new water treatment plant to clean up stretches of the River Irwell downstream of Bury have been made by three North West Euro MPs. Radcliffe-based MEP Gary Titley (Labour), together with Sir Robert Atkins (Conservative) and Chris Davies
WHALES and dolphins in British waters must be given greater protection, says Bury North MP David Chaytor. He says they are under increasing threat from pollution and fishing nets. The Labour backbencher has signed up to a campaign by the Whale and Dolphin
FIREFIGHTERS were given a warm welcome by hordes of screaming women when they turned out at a Bury pub and were mistaken for strippers! The officers, wearing full rescue gear, walked into Chicago Rock Cafe in Haymarket Street, as a hen-night was in full
A "CASH flow" involving Bury Lions will help set up a much-needed well in the Third World. The club has donated £250 to the Water Aid/Water Wells organisation. And the sum will be matched pound-for-pound by the Government. Cash raised will go towards
A COUPLE and their 11 children -- dubbed the family from hell after moving house 90 times in 17 years -- fear they will be split up after being threatened with eviction. Paul Booth, 50, and his wife Gwen, 40, of Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, settled in the
POLICE are continuing their search for missing Bury man Zbigniew Lazurek. Divers were this week checking more local lodges and reservoirs as concerns continue to grow. The 50-year-old disappeared almost two weeks ago from his home in Peers Street, Bury
A MULTI-MILLION pound scheme to banish cars and breath new life into Blackburn town centre has been approved -- and is due to begin taking shape within months. The decision to pedestrianise Church Street and the surrounding area was taken last night after
CHRISTMAS is a dim and distant memory for most of us but the festive celebrations are continuing at St Mary's CE Primary School in Hawkshaw. Youngsters are following the French tradition of marking the Christian festival of Epiphany. With the help of
LEGGY Lisa Camilleri has high hopes of securing herself a place in the Guinness Book of Records for her lovely pins. The 28-year-old, of Webster Grove, Prestwich, is going for the title of the longest legs in the world following national publicity about
A NEW deal for school sports has been welcomed by MP David Chaytor. The Government wants to ensure that youngsters have a minimum of two hours a week spent on high-quality PE. Every child will be given the right to take part in all the main sports including
HOTELIERS have been given a grand tour of their home town in a bid to bring more tourists to Bury. Leisure bosses say it is vital that those who provide accommodation know what's on offer in their own back yard. In 1998, visitors spent more than £13 million
SASHA, a 17-week-old parrot that has charmed staff and customers at a Radcliffe garden centre, has been stolen. It is now feared the blue and gold macaw may have died from the stress of being snatched from her cage during a burglary on Wednesday night
A BURY driving instructor was robbed at knifepoint while he gave a lesson. Mr Bryan Holland, who had a heart by-pass five years ago, suffered an angina attack as he gave details to police about the daylight raid in Higher Broughton. He said he had never
DERBY County midfielder Rory Delap today warned Rovers the Rams will be no pushovers tomorrow -- despite their perilous position in the Premier League. Rovers are clear favourites with the bookies ahead of tomorrow's FA Cup fourth round clash between
BIG MONEY MAN: Seth Johnson, 21, cost £3million from Crewe Alexander last season. He was named in Peter Taylor's England squad to face Italy. Striker Branko Strupar, a Croatian-born Belgian, also cost £3million, from Belgian club Sporting Club Genk and
BLACKBURN Rovers today moved to clear up confusion surrounding the financial restructuring of the club which was rubber-stamped at yesterday's AGM. Shareholders gave their seal of approval to a motion which will see £80 million of loans converted into
NOT everyone was overly impressed when Malcolm Christie was plucked from non-League obscurity by Premiership side Derby County two years ago. Many wondered whether the 19-year-old Nuneaton Borough striker would make the grade in the Premiership, not least
POLICE are trying to trace a motorist who drove off after being involved in an accident in which three women were injured. The collision happened in Cavalry Way, Burnley, near the Happy Eater roundabout at 3.15pm on Wednesday. The women were in a Peugeot
A BURNLEY man is appealing for the return of a new camera he lost at his granddaughter's wedding reception. Mario Parenti, 68, of Hart Street, said: "It was the first time I have used it. "I want it back because it contains photographs of the wedding
RESIDENTS have been warned to be on their guard against "smooth talking" crooks who are targeting elderly and vulnerable householders. Burnley and Padiham Community Housing, who took over all of the former council houses, are issuing a warning after a
NELSON: Boss John Bailey has two injuries for their clash with Tetley Walker at Victoria Park. Mark Robinson (groin) is definitely out for the NWCL Division Two leaders and Dave Lee (knee) is 50-50. "We've beat Tetley twice at their place -- 3-2 both
BACUP: Bacup play host to Stone Dominoes in NWCFL Division Two, with boss Brent Peters urging his side to show what they can do. Peters claims his side are better than their league position -- mid-table -- suggests. "Stone said we were the best side that
Rita, Sue and Bob Too And A State Affair, Library Theatre, Manchester until tomorrow MANY will remember the film that was made in the 80s of this play. While it was very funny, I personally found the film rather sordid -- a man having sex with two underage
AMBULANCE crews in Burnley and Blackburn were Kancashire's quickest for answering 999 calls. Burnley area topped the chart with three quarters of emergency calls answered in eight minutes or under, followed by Blackburn with 73 per cent.
MUM and daughter Joan and Carrie Taylor now tuck in to their pudding without a care in the world. The duo from Croft village near Culcheth have no fear of piling on the pounds thanks to a natural slimming course they embarked on under the watchful eye
SCORES of Leigh people came to listen to a public reading of books written by a former headmaster who was affected by the Holocaust. Alan Clegg, 60, of Standish, a retired headmaster of Pemberton High School (now known as Kingsdown) was inspired to write
A LEIGH man jailed for five years for repeatedly assaulting his partner was branded a "monster" and a danger to women by a judge. Martin Jamie Laird stabbed his former girlfriend Anne O'Donnell in the head, narrowly missing her eye, deliberately fractured
"PEOPLE'S champion" Brian Jarvis has withdrawn from the parliamentary battle at the 11th hour. The man whose close friends describe as "like a stick of rock -- if you broke him you'd find Leigh and Leigh people written all through him" is under doctor's
A LEIGH father-of-five has been jailed for nine months after stealing three rings worth £1,445 when he was installing windows at a pensioner's house. Kevin Hurst, 38, of Furness Crescent, admitted taking the rings when he was a labourer working for Highstyle
FOR almost 40 years Joan Elsby has helped to provide hot meals and companionship for the elderly of Astley and Tyldesley. At the age of 78, and infirm herself, she continues as the pivot around which the Astley Luncheon Club runs -- once coming back from
A CHANGE in the law has occurred at Citheroe Police Station -- in the form of Sgt Rob Evans. Sgt Evans, 26, lives in Worsthorne and has seven years' service under his belt. For the past two-and-a-half years he has been acting sergeant at stations in Accrington
ON January 11 between 8am and 5.30pm a dog owner walked their dog(s) down Alder Close, off Chestnut Drive in Pennington to the Glaze Brook. The dog(s) viciously attacked my black Persian cat outside its home. The heartless owner obviously saw what happened
WE should join Lord Smith and Wigan Council in supporting Holocaust Day tomorrow. Six million Jews from across Europe were killed in the Nazi's final solution during the Second World War. But it is not just that black episode in history which we should
WITH regard to the article in last week's Journal about Queen Street arches. It is understandable but tragic that they are now thought of as an eyesore. To many people of Leigh, however, they are a constant reminder that the railway played a vital part
FLOURISHING design and communications consultants Appleby Bowers have beaten stiff competition to ensure a specialist interior landscape company can really blossom. The firm from Bury Old Road, Prestwich has been commissioned to produce a new corporate
BURY companies face fines of up to £50,000 if they fail to comply with new rules to offer employees access to stakeholder pensions. That was the shock warning delivered to delegates at a Bolton and Bury Chamber stakeholder pension lunch. Nick Robinson
CLARETS goalkeeper Nik Michopoulos is in such good form that manager Stan Ternent believes he could soon be in demand -- from clubs and country. Michopoulos has made the number one shirt his own at Turf Moor since replacing the unfortunate Paul Crichton
"THERE are games when you just have to put your cards on the table and say you were outclassed," admitted Atherton Colls manager Chris O'Brien on Tuesday night after a 6-0 NWCL Division One defeat at Newcastle Town. "They were terrific. We just got nowhere
LEIGH Miners Rangers' proud record in the Silk Cut Challenge Cup will be put to the test tomorrow when they travel to meet one of the leading sides in the Northern Ford Premiership, Dewsbury Rams. It's a tough challenge taking on the NFP Grand Final winners
SOCCER went ahead in Leigh last weekend when virtually the rest of the North West's playing schedules were wiped out by frost. Only one game was played in the entire Manchester League four sections and that saw a 3-1 home win for Leigh Athletic over Tintwistle
HISTORY lessons took on a whole new meaning for Bury Grammar School pupil Kirsty Wheeler. The 11-year-old experienced life in Ancient Egypt at the launch of a new exhibition in Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry last week. Kirsty is one of the
AFTER living for a year as a castaway on a windswept Scottish island a night in Radcliffe was the height of luxury for Dez Monks. Dez, a former pupil of Stand Grammar School, will be familiar to millions of viewers who followed the BBC's reality TV show
AROUND 50 workers were sent home from a Bury factory this week amid an asbestos scare. Staff claim the action, by management at Excelsior Rotational Mouldings, came two years after they initially voiced concerns over the possible dangers posed by the
THE Last Post and a simple wreath paid tribute to Bury soldiers who died 101 years ago. Spion Kop, a historic battle in the South African War, was in truth a disaster. The British Army was robbed of a brilliant victory as a result of a breakdown in the
BURY'S premier headline annual event is back on the calendar! For the Bury Times Group is helping to resurrect the town's popular carnival and is bringing it into the new millennium. After an absence of one year, the stage is set to relaunch the carnival
GRAEME Souness today threw down the gauntlet to his promotion chasing side and said: 'Go out and prove you're good enough to play in the Premier League.' Rovers go into tomorrow's FA Cup fourth round clash with struggling Derby County as clear favourites
BURNLEY'S shock FA Cup exit at Scunthorpe has at least left the club with a 10-day break to draw breath and take stock. And while everyone in and around Turf Moor takes the chance to re-charge their batteries, it's vital that the Clarets resume their
LEIGH police have issued a warning to local residents to be extra careful about home security following a number of house burglaries over the past fortnight . The burglaries, occurred in the afternoon and evening periods. The worst hit neighbourhoods
A LEIGH firm has won second prize in a national competition to find Britain's all-round bakery champion. Waterfields was the runner-up in the contest held in London and organised by ingredients supplier BFP Wholesale. Bread, rolls, savoury products, confectionary
AN up-to-the-minute-map of Lancashire -- showing the traditional boundaries of the county has been launched at County Hall Preston. The map was commissioned by the Friends of Real Lancashire. The boundaries of the traditional county have remained the
CONVICTED criminals on probation are being invited back to Leigh -- because they did such a good job of cleaning the place up. People who have committed lesser offences are ordered to serve their sentence improving the community. They have already cleared
A GANG of masked men armed with a handgun and a hammer raided the Booker Cash and Carry in Leigh. The group of four raiders wearing balaclavas burst into the store on Leigh Road at 7.30pm last Thursday night as staff were closing. They threatened employees
EX-pupils of St Michael's School, Howe Bridge, are invited back to recall life in the good old days at an open day on February 3. Everyone is invited to the event between 11am and 3pm to meet church and school officials and view the many archive exhibits
RESTAURATEUR Rachel Shaw and baker Barry Howarth have been using their loaves to help each other. Barry of Cissy Green's in Haslingden takes his unsold bread to Rachel each evening and she turns it into bread and butter pudding, which is a great favourite
DEVELOPMENT worker Sam Nixon thought life was hectic when she looked after 36 staff and 70 children but life has just got even harder. Sam, of Waterfoot, is working her way up the career ladder and is now responsible for 110 independent day nurseries
FIREFIGHTERS are celebrating the success of their prevention strategy. In 2000 Greater Manchester County Fire Service recorded its lowest ever number of fire related deaths since the county service started 25 years ago. Last year 17 people died in fires
A MOSLEY Common man who intervened in a street brawl and knocked another man out putting him in hospital for five weeks has been cleared by a jury. Sean Hogan, aged 25, of Malton Road, "poleaxed" Carl Tonge with one massive blow after he found him and
ARTISTS in Leigh, Tyldesley and Atherton can win a share in the £3,000 fund on offer in the Watercolour of the Year award. Thirteen prizes of £100 -- plus 25 prints of the winner's painting -- will be awarded to local painters. The overall national winner
Council tax payers in Leigh can now be among the first in the country to pay bills to a council over the Internet. E-Government minister and Wigan MP Ian McCartney launched the council's new facility for sending payments at the click of a mouse. Tax payers
FIRE chiefs want to break down the image of firefighters as all beefy men by employing more women from Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley. Greater Manchester Fire Service are also inviting more people from the ethnic minorities to "climb the ladder" of firefighting
TIME is running out for Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley residents and businesses to have a say in the way Wigan Council carries out its regulatory and enforcement role. The council wants suggestions from the public about how it regulates and enforces legislation
PULLING pints at the Bongs Tavern should come naturally to landlady Anne Marie Rawlinson. She's following her family's licensed trade tradition now she and husband Royhave taken over as hosts at the pub opposite the public baths in Castle Street, Tyldesley
AN Atherton firm has answered Bolton Sea Cadets' call for help in transporting a model minesweeper 209 miles back to Bolton. The cadets issued the Save Our Ship plea after accepting the 29ft by 12ft wooden minesweeper as a present from Cromer Navel Association
NHS operation waiting lists have fallen in Leigh and Wigan. Health chiefs have revealed that between October and November 2000 waiting lists for operations were down by 222 people. Within one month total waiting figures were slashed from 6,218 to 5,994
LEIGH folk -- among the most likely to die from a heart attack in the country -- are being asked to take part in a heart study. The British Heart Foundation is spearheading a scheme to discover the rogue human genes which may contribute to coronary heart
WORLD class weightlifters will be pushing the limits next month at a British championship event which has been switched to Leigh. And local world beater Mike Pyke who has helped to organise the men's and women's championships being held on Saturday, February
DARWEN: Mark Ronald Howarth, 29, of Olive Lane, was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay costs of £117 by Blackburn magistrates after pleading guilty to possession of cannabis.
A CORONER has recorded an open verdict after an 83-year-old Leigh woman died from a drugs overdose. Spinster Eileen Scully, a resident at County Palatine Housing Society home at Brideoake House, Widdow Street, was found collapsed on her bed by a fellow
UNION man and London councillor Ian Wingfield, 41, has joined Labour's parliamentary candidature race for the Leigh constituency. Cheshire-born Mr Wingfield, who lives in Peckham, has been a councillor in Southwark since 1989, chief whip since 1990 and
DRIVERS could face delays in the area due to road works. Carriageway and resurfacing work is being carried out in Leigh Road, Hindley Green -- between Pauline Street and Coal Pit Lane. The road will be closed at this point for the next two weekends (January
UNDERCOVER cops in Leigh will be riding round wasteland on 'scrambler' bikes in a crack-down on illegal off-road bikers. Officers will patrol open land and former coal tips around the town to search out bikers who are scrambling without proper documentation
WIGAN Council is still owed nearly £500,000 from Community Charge defaulters -- eight years after the unpopular tax was abandoned. Officers are chasing up £443,978 of cash unpaid from the controversial community charge, known as the poll tax, dating back
A NEW package was due to be delivered to Leigh's devastated outdoor market traders this week. It is believed to promise nominal rent for stalls -- and the promise of discounts for loyal stallholders when the new Union Street market site is ready later
A CONTROVERSIAL scheme to send under-achieving younsters to America looks to have been scrapped. The Leigh Education Action Zone had planned to send a group of six youngsters who were under-achieving in school to New York -- in a bid to motivate them.
A CORONER found a 33-year-old Leigh teacher had not meant to kill herself when she took a fatal overdose. Karen Ashley, of Elizabeth Street, died from lethal doses of prescribed medication -- dothiepin and propranol on June 18 last year. At an inquest
A LEIGH builder has been fined £1,000 for illegally trading as a gas appliance installer without being registered. Fred Berry, aged 58, was caught after he incorrectly installed a boiler at the Atherton home of Cecelia Hurst. Mrs Hurst, of Wigan Road,
A RETIRED train driver from Leigh was reunited with the steam train he used to take through Tyldesley. Jim Carter, 63, of Sandringham Drive, Higher Fold, had tears in his eyes as he again stood on the footplate of The Duchess of Hamilton. Mr Carter, who
A BATTLING Atherton cancer survivor, whose life is now marred by breathing difficulties, has praised Wigan Infirmary's hard working staff. Pensioner mother-of-three Alex Farrimond has just been released after two and a half weeks on the heart ward at
A PACKED church witnessed the moment when the new area dean of Leigh took up office. The licensing service for Rev Dr William Baldwin as area dean of Leigh took place at Atherton Parish Church on Sunday . A congregation of more than 200 saw the previous
THE MILLIONS killed in acts of genocide across the world are to be remembered across Wigan and Leigh. Saturday January 27 is Holocaust Memorial Day and marks the 56th anniversary since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Russian
COUNCILLORS found a deadly razor when they visited a ginnel believed to be a rat-run for criminals. Couns Edward Harrison and Alan Jones, who represent the Meadowhead ward, Blackburn, went to see for themselves the problems with the ginnel between Ernlouen
LETTERS will be sent to parents of children caught misbehaving on the streets of Accrington. And if youngsters continue to cause a nuisance, their teachers could be informed as well. The plan, outlined by Accrington police inspector Dale Allen this week
A MUSLIM holy man approached a 14-year-old girl as she waited for her school bus and asked her to kiss him, a court heard. Blackburn magistrates heard that Mohammed Athar Sufi approached the same girl on three further occasions as she stood at the bus
A NEW teeth extraction service for youngsters with painful abscesses has opened but dental bosses say they still do not know how long young patients will wait for treatment. The new operating theatre at Blackburn Royal Infirmary opened this week, to give
CLITHEROE: The Blues face a tough top-of-the-table clash at home to Newcastle in NWCFL Division One. Newcastle had a confidence-boosting 6-0 win over Abbey Hey on Tuesday night which leapfrogged them over Clitheroe to fourth in the league. Carl Greenwood
CHORLEY: The postponement of Tuesday's UniBond League Cup game at Congleton meant Simon Kay, Michael Wallace and Steve Hook, who are returning from long-term injuries, did not get a run-out. It means the trio are unlikely to feature at Trafford in the
RAMSBOTTOM: Manager Ken Bridge is hoping Dave Roach will be fit for the run in at the end of the NWCL Division One season after a cartilage operation. David Yorke-Robinson will also be seeing a specialist about his knee. Danny Goodall should be back for
ROSSENDALE: Rossendale travel to Prescot Cables as they look to continue their charge to get among the promotion pack in NWCL Division One. Gary Rishton is back from suspension and new boys Paul Heavey, signed from tomorrow's opponents Prescot, and Jamie
STRUGGLING Colne need experience to boost their survival challenge, says boss John Lister. With an average age of just 18, the NWCL Division Two side have struggled to make an impact this season, and lie third from bottom of the league. But Lister says
IF it were not a serious issue then the present vendetta being waged against cyclists would seem hilarious. Where are cyclists supposed to cycle? The cyclist has now become the subject of hate campaigns. On the agenda: cyclists are not wanted on the roads
WHILE you are reading this letter, do you know where your young children are? Better still, where were your children on the weekend of Jan 13-14 between the hours of 6pm to 11pm? Were they at home or were they part of the gang causing a nuisance to the
I RECEIVE many envelopes from the council, Government and non-government organisations and businesses. The envelope is usually right for the document. But the Bury MBC Environment Forum postings are always in heavy-duty envelopes far too large for the
AFTER studying the plans submitted to Bury MBC for the proposed re-development of St Anne's Parish Hall in Tottington, it is obvious that this exercise has become totally divorced from reality. It is a sprawling complex, looking like something borrowed
DOUBLE cancer survivor Alex Farrimond has nothing but praise for the life saving nurses at Wigan Infirmary. This week, Alex, 70, of Atherton, who now suffers from bronchial asthma, was released from the Royal Albert Edward after a spell as a well-treated
50/50 Dancing with MCs Duncan and Margaret, Tony's Ballroom, Town Hall Street, Blackburn, 7.30pm-11pm. Chinese New Year events, Asda Store, Accrington. Activity Day, St Mary's Church Hall, Whitefield, Nelson, noon-3pm. The Ella Fitgerald Songbook, Burnley
DANNY GOODALL is expected to return and new signing Tony Morris could be included in the squad when Ramsbottom travel to Mossley tomorrow. Goodall has been sidelined with a toe injury and Morris, a central defender, may have to be content with a seat
IAN LUNT, Radcliffe Borough's all-time top goalscorer, has been released and has joined local rivals Salford City, writes STEVE BOTT. The news will come as a shock to many Boro fans, for while 37-year-old Lunt, who hit 138 goals in seven years at Boro
MARTIAL arts fans have the chance to train with the experts tomorrow when some of the country's top teachers come to Blackburn. Twelve ju-jitsu instructors -- including three from East Lancashire -- will give tips to enthusiasts as well as helping those
IN reply to S Hamer (Letters, January 17), I never criticised the council workmen, as I have no doubt they do a good job. I stated that the council itself came up with excuses for failing to grit roads, apart from main ones -- one being that there wasn't
I READ with interest the story (LET, January 18) about Leanne Brown and her 14-month old baby being left with no gas for cooking and heating for more than a week and her being unable to warm the child's bottle. Was it beyond Leanne to boil a kettle, fill
THERE can't be many people in Britain who can afford to write off £1million in bad debts. In Blackburn we have a few such people -- and we call them councillors. The lost money, I hasten to point out, is not their own -- it is council tax payers' money
AS one of the bitter, bigotted Darweners, described by Dick Davidson (Letters, January 11), I would like to ask why shouldn't we have a good bus service with new vehicles? On the down side, has Mr Davidson ever travelled by bus to or from Blackburn? Believe
POLICE are hunting a teenager who stole a handbag containing £100 in cash from a 71-year-old woman. The theft happened at 5.10pm on Thursday (Jan 18) as she walked along Livsey Street in Whitefield. The pensioner was not injured but was left in a very
A WHITEFIELD businessman is offering a £1,000 reward for the recovery of his prized Mercedes. The S320 model was stolen from outside Mr Raj Sarin's home in Fairhaven Avenue as he went indoors to get water for the vehicle. Mr Sarin (54), said: "I have
FIREFIGHTERS deserved a pat on the back after coming to the rescue of a stranded cow on Sunday morning (Jan 21). Cutting equipment and a special hoist were used by Bury crews to free the trapped cow stuck in the sludge-filled foundations of a derelict
BOOKWORMS at Derby High School in Bury were rewarded after taking part in a sponsored reading event to raise money for the Roald Dahl Foundation. Pupils at the school took part in the "Readathon" and designed special bookmarks and front sleeves. The best
BURY Photographic Society will get more exposure on Saturday (Jan 27) when the Mayor of Bury, Councillor Bill Johnson, opens its annual exhibition. Along with the winning prints shown here, there will be more than 200 other photographs on display, taken
WEALTHIER people are being sought for council houses to stop estates becoming "ghetto-ised". Those who have a job or "friends and family" in the area will be given priority when looking for a home. Town hall bosses are scrapping their current "needs based
PAUL Terzis has pulled several big guns out of the firing line ahead of Sunday's Silk Cut Challenge Cup third round tie against amateur side West Hull. Instead the Leigh Centurions head coach will rely on his fringe players to help steer Leigh through
GRAEME Souness today threw down the gauntlet to his promotion chasing side and said: 'Go out and prove you're good enough to play in the Premier League.' Rovers go into tomorrow's FA Cup fourth round clash with struggling Derby County as clear favourites
A WOMAN died after taking a lethal mixture of drugs and alcohol, an inquest heard. Jean McGuire, 41, of Ferndale Street, Burnley, was found dead at her home last October after drinking a bottle of gin and taking a high dose of sleeping pills. Janet McGuire
A COUPLE and their 11 children -- dubbed the family from hell after moving house 90 times in 17 years -- fear they will be split up after being threatened with eviction. Paul Booth, 50, and his wife Gwen, 40, of Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, settled in the
YOUNG people in Pendle are calling for lively communities with a reduction in violence, more leisure facilities, preservation of the countryside and less vandalism. They made their suggestions about how life should be in Pendle in the next ten years when
TAKE supervisors from B&Q and a glass company, an engineering firm worker and a couple of unemployed men and what have you got? Nelson's answer to the Full Monty! Forget Robert Carlyle and Hugo Spear, the owner of JJ's Club Brian Goddard and his regulars
PADIHAM: The Storks are at home to Ashton Town in NWCL Division Two. Boss Graham Howarth, whose side lie in mid-table, said: "We could do with the three points. We have only played two league games since the beginning of November and we have lost them
PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice has urged the government to help North Korea whose 20 million people have been fighting starvation following repeated harvest failures. Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Prentice, a long standing member of the Parliamentary
A STEADY stream of budding ice skaters flocked tothe opening of the Blackburn Arena ice rink. British ice dance champion Karen Barber and free skating champion Steven Pickavance were available for coaching and general advice.
WIGAN Council chiefs are taking legal action to block a Government Inspector's decision to allow houses to be built on a Leigh wildlife "oasis". Planning inspector Norah Ball, of the department of the environment, approved outline planning permission
BRAZEN thieves have left staff at a building suppliers baffled after stealing a full-sized five tonne garage. The 16ft by 9ft garage with a white up-and-over door was one in a row of five outside G F Sectional Buildings on the Riverside Industrial Estate
CLUB regulars have raised more than £1,500 for a sick little girl who they have never even met! Charlotte Speddy's story moved regulars at Rishton Conservative Club to support a £100,000 campaign which could lead to a better quality of life. Charlotte
LEIGH'S pro-life campaigners have accused chemists dispensing the morning after pill of becoming front-line abortionists. They claim that it will leave teenage girls more at risk from sexual abuse and under greater pressure to have casual sex. Protesters
A GROUP of enterprising Leigh teenagers have attracted the attention of nationwide organisations after devising a ground-breaking electronic gadget. Students at Bedford High School have produced a "rain alarm" to warn blind people to rush out and save
A GROUP of residents are terrified that radio equipment proposed for the top of a Leigh factory will expose them to harmful radiation. Plans have been submitted to install equipment that includes six antennae and four microwave dishes, on the roof of
NIGEL Evans and Tony Blair have clashed in the Commons over the plight of the Ribble Valley countryside and population. The Tory MP demanded that the Prime Minister meet a delegation from his constituency when they g to London to join in the countryside
Now this is not to say that our MPs do not mean well. I'm sure that the majority sincerely believe that their policies will bring health, wealth and happiness. But wait a minute! Where is God in all their planning? Surely the Creator who gives us, "life
HEAR a cry of pain echo through the corridors of the European Parliament building in Brussels and you can be confident of the cause. Yet another person has gouged their leg as they crashed into an old tin trunk. The certainty stems from the fact that
FORMER Bury man Steve Harwood has joined Cardiff-based secure personal loans provider FIRSTPLUS. He has been appointed quality assurance and compliance manager after 12 years in trading standards with Bury and Oldham councils. Originally from Bury, Steve
EXPORTING to the Euro Zone will come under the spotlight at a major seminar in Bury next Tuesday (Jan 30). The event will coincide with the annual general meeting of Bolton and Bury Chamber's Bolton and Bury Export Club. Local international traders are
ADAMS, makers of the world-famous Halls Mentholyptus, has had its achievements in energy efficiency recognised. The company, a division of Pfizer and formerly known as Warner Lambert, has been awarded Energy Efficient Accreditation by the Institute of
HI-TECH and health conscious . That's a Bury drug store company which has found a prescription for success on the Internet. Gabbies, based on The Rock, has established its very own website to promote its ever-expanding range of natural products and to
BURNLEY'S shock FA Cup exit at Scunthorpe has at least left the club with a 10-day break to draw breath and take stock. And while everyone in and around Turf Moor takes the chance to re-charge their batteries, it's vital that the Clarets resume their
TYLDESLEY Swimming Club will be mixing it with the best this weekend when they compete in the prestigious Deep Water Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. This invitation-only event is open to clubs who finish in the top half of the first division
LOCAL professional boxer Mark Paxford returns to the ring on February 4 when he fights Nottingham's Matt Scriven at the Deeside Leisure Centre, Queensferry. Since beating Paddy Martin before Christmas, the Hindley fighter has been resting but was soon
ALONG with most of the other clubs in the north, Tyldesley RU got the weekend off due to a frozen Well Street pitch. In what is becoming a hectic season, the title chasing Blues enjoyed a week off from a campaign that sees them fighting on three fronts
Leigh 1 Northwich Victoria 0 IN a Nationwide Variety Club Trophy first round tie that seemed doomed to never end, RMI finally earned a second round tie at Morecambe. Weather conditions and more important ties had contrived to set the fixture back by an
A PUB which appears to have all the answers is living up to its billing as the Manchester United of the local quiz league. And the question being posed by regulars at the Rose and Crown, in Starling, is just how many more titles their quiz team can notch
PIONEERING Bury is to show the nation how to set up and expand successful community safety warden schemes. The town holds the country's first conference next week to share its expertise with others looking to follow in the borough's footsteps. Up to 100
YOUNG business boffins at Castlebrook High School in Unsworth have certainly proved themselves to be the "write stuff." For their Adults' Guide to Teenagers handbook has helped the teenagers triumph in the Bury Young Enterprise interim awards. The school's
A SCHOOL that suffered a barrage of criticism from Government inspectors three years ago has made a dramatic turnaround. Butterstile CP School in Prestwich was highlighted as having "serious weaknesses" in 1999 by Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education
A GROUP of angry parents are to take to the streets in their fight for a school crossing patrol. Pupils at Sedgley Park CP School in Prestwich have to cross the busy main roads outside school themselves after their lollipop lady of 34 years retired from
THE Leigh Townswomen's Guild have raised almost £1,000 for charity. President for Year 2000 Mrs Mona Pugh, along with chairman Mrs Edith Wright are pictured presenting a cheque for £900 to Mrs Pam Houghton, specialist palliative care community nurse,
TOFFEE shop tales in recent Journal heritage columns aroused plenty of interest among readers. One of them, Tommy Jackson, is anxious to see a 1960s' or early 70s' photograph of Evans's Bongs Toffee Shop in Elliott Street, Tyldesley. "I've searched the
THE POST Office has announced its new charity fund which will help support adult literacy this year. The Stepping Stone fund totals £250,000 and has been developed to help community-led projects take a step forward. Funding ranging from under £500 to
LAST week Eddie Worthington from Croxdale in Co Durham revealed his family tree search had led to the Worthingtons of Standish. Local history collector Joan Szymanowski says that though she cannot tell them where any of the family is she has information
A NEW free advice leaflet has been published to help inform older people and their relatives about residential and nursing home care. Residential Care produced by Help the Aged aims to help people understand the care they can expect to receive and offers
EX-SERVICEMEN from Tyldesley are backing a national campaign for an inquiry into the health problems of Gulf War Veterans. The Royal British Legion is renewing its call for more action to investigate the illnesses that veterans of the Gulf War, the Balkans
LEIGH town centre manager Laurie Barton has stepped in to save a major event for Leigh after it had appeared doomed. Ms Barton has secured a grant of £5,000 from the Coalfield Challenge fund and £2,000 from the town centre management fund to rescue the
A DISUSED church building listed as of Grade two importance could be turned into homes. Hindsford St Anne's Church was made redundant over a year ago by the Church of England's Manchester Diocese. It was taken out of commission because of structural defects
PARENTS, former pupils and schoolchildren are being given the chance to give teachers who have helped shape their lives top marks. The teaching awards, an independent charity, in partnership with BT kicked off its annual nomination period this year on
A GROUP of Culcheth friends who love dancing have stepped out into the world of fund raising. The trio, led by Hester Samuels, were so fed up of travelling miles to dances they decided to arrange one of their own. And because they didn't want to make
A RED and white race replica motorbike could be the key to a night time robbery at a village grocery. Terrified assistants at the shop in Bickershaw Lane, Bickershaw, were threatened with a baseball bat by a helmeted raider who snatched £200 takings from
A WATER-based paint plant in Lowton has helped a firm win an environmental award. Staff at VBG have gained the ISO 14000 industrial standard for their company. To receive the award VBG had to demonstrate a high standard of commitment to the environment
A CARTOON website is to be set up to capture public and private rants about every day life in Leigh. Cartoonists Grennan and Sperandio plan to set up Leigh's first cartoon website. And they want to know the obsessions and pet hates of local people so
TRADE unionists are being urged to band together to back one nominee to be Labour's next Parliamentary candidate. The much-delayed selection process to decide who will replace retiring Leigh MP as Labour's candidate at the next General Election is well
IT'S an old footballing cliche to call a match a six-pointer but that's just what Bury's relegation clash is on Saturday against Swindon Town. Andy Preece has told his team defeat is not an option as they battle furiously to move away from the drop zone
A POCKET size park scheme will give Bickershaw youngsters somewhere to play. Although the mini play area was attacked by environmental watchdogs, planners have now passed the project which has local councillors' backing. Leigh Central ward representative
A LEIGH woman who frequently complained of headaches died as a result of accidentally taking too many tablets. An inquest at Leigh heard how Maria Watkins-Wilson, 46, died last June in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. Mrs Watkins-Wilson, a horse-owner
PUPILS at Leigh's Apple Dance Centre are in great demand when it comes to panto. Girls from the Twist Lane school have just completed a double take in a two week run of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs at Warrington's Parr Hall. They played both the dance
LEIGH residents are invited to have their say on shaping the future of the borough. Wigan planners are starting preparation now for new homes, shops, industry and leisure in 2016. An exhibition on the updating of the Unitary Development Plan, which was
ACHTUNG Baby! Leigh's very own U2 guitarist won the battle of the tribute pop stars in front of millions of viewers. Ivan Meredith, 27, of Duke Street played mega-star The Edge in U2 tribute band Achtung Baby on prime time national television last Friday
COUNCILLOR Peter Steen listened to complaints about rubbish collection -- then went out on the bin wagon to see for himself. The chairman of Rossendale Council's direct works and services committee went with the refuse wagon to the back of Blackburn Road
A BUSINESSMAN who was awarded almost £50,000 when he took Lancashire police to court for not paying their bills was celebrating today after the force lost its appeal against the ruling. Raymond Stansfield took Lancashire Constabulary to court last year
THE Wigan and Leigh Hospice appeal fund has risen by £1,000 in memory of a late Tyldesley baker. Family, friends and customers of the proprietor of Dawson's Bakery, Fred Rushby, contributed the total following his death in the hospice in November, aged
A CULCHETH pensioner is seeing the world differently -- thanks to revolutionary eye treatment. Usually growing older goes hand in hand with deteriorating eyesight -- but at the age of 69 retired hospital worker Elizabeth Oddie has thrown away her specs
A LEIGH father, roused from his sleep by a phone call from an undertaker, discovered his son dead in a bedroom. Carl John Williams, 26, who once had told his mother he wanted to commit suicide, had killed himself with a lethal concoction of tablets. He
POLICE and relatives found the decomposed body of a 55-year-old man lying on the floor of his Atherton home. Geoffrey Michael McGrath, of Alder House Cottages, had not been seen for a month before the gruesome midsummer discovery, an inquest at Leigh
REBEL lecturers are holding out in a running dispute with bosses at the Wigan and Leigh College. Unions are backing the 29 higher education teachers at the sites in Leigh and Wigan who have refused to sign a new "flexible" contract with a 3.3 percent
LEIGH's newest town centre pub is getting a £400,000 facelift but heritage-conscious locals are not pleased that its name will change. Owners Bass sent in the workmen last week at The Spinning Jenny in King Street and in early March it should reopen as
BLACKBURN'S Education Action Zone has been praised for raising private sector cash and spending it wisely. The commendation comes from Whitehall's chief financial watchdog the National Audit Office. In a report today the NAO studies the operation of the
A GRIME busting assault on the streets has been launched, with the aid of state-of-the art weaponry and an army of cleaners. Blackburn with Darwen Council has declared war on rubbish to try and stem the growing problems with litter right across the borough
AN action group is kicking off a campaign to turn an disused football pitch into an all-weather skate park to keep kids off the street and out of trouble. The Women's Action Group (WAG) claim local youngsters will not use the pitch because it is waterlogged
SOME of East Lancashire's worst-off areas were today told they would be getting a multi-million pound boost. Local authorities have been told they will now get double what they first thought under the Government's Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy. Improvements
A MULTI-MILLION pound scheme to banish cars and breath new life into Blackburn town centre has been approved -- and is due to begin taking shape within months. The decision to pedestrianise Church Street and the surrounding area was taken last night after
SOCCER: Bury make the trip to Swindon hoping to shake off a worrying drop in form which has seen them win once in 15 games. The Shakers have dropped perilously close to the relegation zone and a victory over the Robins -- who are third from bottom --
SOCCER: Ricardo Gardner is out of Bolton Wanderers' FA Cup fourth round tie against Scunthorpe on Sunday after getting a call up to the Jamaican squad for friendlies against Bolivia and Bulgaria this weekend. Bolton will also be without on loan Colin
upsets Nelson COLNE 0 BLACKPOOL MEC 3 COLNE's 14th defeat of the season last night was a particular disappointment -- to local rivals Nelson! For victorious Blackpool Mechanics now move above Nelson to head the NWCL Second Division table on goal difference
DARWEN should have played Prescot Cables in the Worthington Challenge Trophy on Tuesday night -- but no one told manager Steve Wilkes. Wilkes thought his side were due to play Atherton LR in the Division Two of the North West Counties league. But the
NOT many professional footballers can say they have played at Wembley twice. But non-League stalwart Clive Dunn has great memories of his two games on the hallowed turf -- which mean even more now he has been forced to hang up his boots. The 38-year-old
ON behalf of Bury Round Table, I would like to thank residents for their generous contributions to our tinned food collection. This Christmas we delivered in excess of 100 parcels to the elderly and needy. It is at this time of year that these people
COUNCILLOR Derek Boden's recent comment that "the days when you can drive whenever and wherever you wish have gone" is nothing more than an excuse to levy another tax burden on motorists. As discussions have already taken place with other councils in
"MOTORISTS could be driven out" was the headline on a story in the Bury Times (Jan 5). This seems to be the main aim of the Government and now the local council seems determined to hound the motoring fraternity for as much money as they can possibly get
SOMEWHERE along the line I must have missed something big in the news! I was always under the impression that riding a bike was a nice, peaceful pastime and a pleasant form of transport. However, having read the Letters page these past few weeks I now
I READ with dismay but not surprise of the frightening situation that people face when all our local hospitals are in the bottom 20 in the country, as shown in the recent survey of hospital mortality rates. It is said that this high death rate is related
I WRITE in response to the article headed "OAP's battle for Red Bank" (Jan 5) and the opinion of Mrs Muriel Waddington regarding the condition of Red Bank field in Radcliffe. Most readers will be aware that last year was just about the wettest on record
The Final, between the two clubs who head the East and West Divisions of the Northern Ford Premiership after the first nine rounds of the comepttion, will be played in Yorkshire on Wednesday, March 14. A toss-up for the final venue was made at a meeting
THE Bury Times is throwing its weight behind two of the town's institutions to keep them alive and kicking. GOAL NUMBER ONE is to help keep Bury Football Club afloat until the end of the season and then beyond. The Shakers, founded in 1885, need £200,000
