Family Disco, Church of the Saviour, Sunnybank Road, Blackburn, 7pm. "Sleeping Beauty," Central Methodist Church, King Street, Great Harwood, 7pm. Jack Straw MP Advice Surgery, Ivy Street Community centre, 4pm-5pm; Audley Community Centre, Chester Street
HARD on the heels of its announcement last month of a beefed-up drive to clean the streets of Blackburn and Darwen -- back and front -- the council now looks at also setting up a hit-squad to target fly-tippers and to crack down on litter louts. These
A drunken man who challenged people to fight was bound over in £100 to keep the peace for 12 months by Blackburn magistrates when he admitted breach of the peace. Silvia Dacre, prosecuting, said police called to an early morning disturbance at a taxi
ME? -- I don't know my 'Boll' from my 'Nep,' but what I do know is that trying to turn Church Street, in Blackburn, into a shopping experience will take some doing, with or without statues. I will continue to shop in Preston where they just get on with
FROM your description (LET, February 7), the new art sculptures designed for Church Street, Blackburn will be a big improvement on the town's other art -- metal 'trees,' the 'metal beehive' and the hidden-from-view 'nude man.' But to what purpose, when
WHAT a load of rubbish the two former mayors of Blackburn are talking, when they relate the five sculptures to be placed in Church Street to slavery in the past (LET, February 11). I have known Councillor Peter Greenwood since he was a lad and I have
HAVE Blackburn's councillors not stopped to consider how our small town is going to accommodate the vast influx of tourists from all over the world that we will surely get to view this new cultural centre of the North? Have they not thought of the huge
REGARDING the new sculptures depicting the growth of cotton (LET, February 7), does anything in Blackburn meet with Jeffrey Stone's approval? The Lancashire Evening Telegraph, too, seems to find it justifiable to seek the consent of moaning Jeffrey at
A COLLEGE lecturer has been charged with 20 offences of downloading child pornography from the internet. Mark Andrew McVitie, 30, is accused of making indecent photographs of children under the age of 16 in September last year. McVitie, of Clarendon Road
LEIGH Centurions expect to take a massive following of almost 4,000 to Warrington for next week's Silk Cut Challenge Cup fifth round tie. Although the match is not all-ticket, Leigh have been sent an allocation of 3,500 tickets by the Wolves. Leigh's
ROVERS kick off a potentially "make-or-break" seven-day spell at Bolton on Saturday with David Dunn's sights focussed purely on the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. The two promotion rivals meet at the Reebok Stadium on successive weekends with Blackburn
TOWNELEY Hall museum and St Andrew's Church will benefit from Heritage Lottery Fund awards worth nearly £100,000, it was announced today. Valuable art works, plans, coins, medals and ceramics not normally on display at Towneley will find a new easy-access
HEALTH bosses are appealing for more black and Asian nurses to apply for jobs after it was revealed there are just 60 in the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale area. The Department of Health is launching a £4million campaign to fill 22,000 vacancies for nurses
A NEW £12m football exhibition kicks off tomorrow giving fans a touchline view of some of the best soccer memorabilia in the country. The Hall of Fame charts the development of teams like Burnley, and Claret and Blue fans have been urged to send along
A CORONER recorded an open verdict on a woman found dead in her home where witnesses said they saw "flashing lights and a dark figure" before her body was discovered. Tamara Purvis, 46, died at her home in Regent Street, Nelson, and tests revealed she
ROD Duncan became so fed up of drivers knocking over signs he decided to collect them! Over the past 12 months Rod, with the support of postmaster Geoffrey Parker and other residents, has gathered bus stop signs, roundabout signs, give way signs, village
AN East Lancashire family is still in the heartbreaking position of not knowing how their soldier son died near Buckingham Palace. Results of a toxicology test could take another week which means the post mortem examination results for 22-year-old Scots
CLARETS boss Stan Ternent will press ahead with his squad strengthening following clarification of the transfer system with Bournemouth's Eddie Howe top of his shopping list. Ternent has been understandably reluctant to commit too many of the club's resources
SILENTNIGHT, the UK's largest bed manufacturer, has driven off with another industry accolade. The company, based in Barnoldswick, was honoured at the annual Commercial Motor Livery of the Year awards. Silentnight's striped livery caught the eye of the
THE amount of large-scale fraud dropped by 71 per cent to £192 million last year compared to £667 million in the previous 12 months, according to figures from finance experts KPMG Forensic Accounting. It was the first time since 1996 the upward trend
ONE of Yorkshire's leading and longest-established recruitment agencies, Rotherwood Recruitment, has ventured across the border for the first time by opening a new office in East Lancashire. Based in Albert Road, Colne, the office launch is in direct
THE People's Dispensary For Sick Animals, which has a charity shop in Prescot, is appealing for donations of good-quality toys. The charity's national retail manager, Andy Timmins, said: "Now is the ideal time to spring-clean the toy box. PDSA shops are
RAVENHEAD Foyer is to receive £30,000 of funding from the government towards training for disadvantaged people with the help of rugby league players. The money is part of the Adult and Community Learning Fund which is being used for activities that matter
A TOTAL of 15 people recently passed the Intermediate Food Hygiene Course which was organised by the Council's Environmental Health Section. They are: Peter Smith, Redbank School (credit); Ellen Windle, Lea Green Foods (credit); Paul Knott, S Shuker and
WALSALL'S Chief Executive has blamed Bury goalkeeper Paddy Kenny for an incident where the Shakers keeper was struck by a coin. Roy Whalley said he did not condone the actions of the Walsall supporter who threw the coin during Saturday's Walsall-Bury
COUNCIL tenants in the Portico area have given a massive thumbs up to having their homes demolished to pave the way for improvements in their area. A total of 61 out of 81 tenants surveyed voted yes to the scheme. Ten voted against and 10 said they were
PLANS have been unveiled to install a large mosaic outside one of Darwen's most familiar buildings. Artists from Action Factory Community Arts and the Darwen Crafters hope to put the piece in front of Darwen Library Theatre, with the help of funds from
ST HELENS Council's economic plan towards achieving the future prosperity of the borough has been given the green light. The Economic Development Plan, which covers 2001 to 2006, will be launched in April, after consideration by the full council. The
DOORS and Windows of Darwen is the topic of this year's Darwn Photographic Society competition. Entrants are invited to take a picture of any door or window in the town. It may be a normal house indow or a stained glass one at a church. There are three
DISCO dancer Shanley Booth has gone from head girl to showgirl. The former head girl at Darwen Vale High School is living her lifelong dream and taking the Algarve by storm with her dazzling dance moves -- and she is loving every minute of it. Her proud
A WIDOW from Prescot has finally won the right to have a black gravestone placed on a her husband's grave following a nine month battle. Sixty-one year old Jean Ullathorne from Carlton Street in Prescot, challenged St Mary's Church in Prescot after being
POLICE are following up leads in Scotland after a national appeal to find a man who failed to appear in court in connection with a violent attack. Darwen Detective Sergeant Neil Hunter appeared on BBC TVs Crimewatch Daily programme on Monday in an effort
IF ambitious plans for a fundraising event with a difference get on track, East Lancashire will be the setting for a murder most foul. And although determined to make it a success, organiser Mary Fish warned that the whole thing could go off the rails
Food News, with Sonja Karlsen SHROVE Tuesday falls on February 27 this year and for most people this means pancakes will be on the menu. Everyone loves the fun and frolics of tossing a pancake and some people's efforts at this once-a-year pastime are
SUPPORTERS of independent patients' watchdogs won a concession from Parliament when they lobbied at Westminster. Delegates from Blackburn and Burnley Community Health Councils joined supporters from around the country to demonstrate against scrapping
A COLLEGE lecturer has been charged with 20 offences of downloading child pornography from the internet. Mark Andrew McVitie, 30, is accused of making indecent photographs of children under the age of 16 in September last year. McVitie, of Clarendon Road
A NEW £12m football exhibition kicks off tomorrow giving fans a touchline view of some of the best soccer memorabilia in the country. And Blackburn Rovers take their rightful place in the museum as champions of the Premier League in 1995. The National
NELSON went five points clear at the top of the NWCL Division One with what was eventually comfortable win at near neighbours Colne. But they had to survive an early scare when Colne's Fyles gave the strugglers -- third from bottom of the division --
CLAYTON Harriers were finally placed second in the 45 mile long Rossendale Way Relay on Sunday after an objection against winners Bingley was dismissed. The controversial incident was on the final of the six stages from Stubbins when Clayton's Ian Greenwood
THE St Helens branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution will be meeting at Windle Pilkington House, King Street, St Helens on Tuesday February 20 at 7.30pm. The branch organises events to support the work of Lifeboats and crews and as a charity
THE Freshfields Animal Rescue Charity is appealing for volunteers to help out with the vital work in its charity shop in Cambridge Road. The charity has been rescuing and rehousing animals in the Merseyside area for 26 years and care for 400 animals at
MARGARET Wall, National Secretary of the MSF union and deputy chair of the Labour Party National Executive Committee, is visiting St Helens tomorrow (Friday, February 16). A meeting will be held in the Banqueting Suite of St Helens Town Hall, starting
MEMBERS of the public are being invited to have their say at the next full meeting of St Helens Council on Wednesday, February 28 starting at 6.15pm. Time will be set aside for a public question session. Questions and deputations from members of the public
I AGREE with the Bishop of Blackburn's call (LET, February 7) for more Christians to go into teaching. While Christians do not have a monopoly on life and moral values, they do have a major contribution to make in education. As Education Secretary David
A FEW weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending a presentation of the sculptures to be placed in the Church Street, Blackburn, regeneration scheme. I listened with rapture to the artist, Ian Randall and his description of each of the five sculptures
A WOMAN from Hindley was in intensive care this morning after being rescued from her smoke-filled house. Firefighters carried her semi-conscious from a blaze which left her house in Lincoln Road, Hindley, severely damaged. They gave oxygen to the woman
A 24-YEAR-OLD Stacksteads man has been charged with the murder of 74-year-old Burnley caretaker Bryan "Joe" Platt. Gavin Cox, 24, of Church Street, was due to appear before Burnley magistrates today -- along with two other people charged in connection
A STORM of protest is gathering over proposals by Merseyside Police to open a 'custody suite' on wasteland in Pocket Nook. Neighbours from surrounding homes fear the site, which contains 22 cells, could become a mini-prison on their doorsteps. Local residents
A CORONER recorded an open verdict on a woman found dead in her home where witnesses said they saw "flashing lights and a dark figure" before her body was discovered. Tamara Purvis, 46, died at her home in Regent Street, Nelson, and tests revealed she
A COUNCILLOR who called on people to use the internet rather than sex shops to access pornography has admitted defeat in a battle to stop a shop in Burnley being granted a licence. Coun Granville Lord said: "It's the lesser of two evils," after councillors
GORDON Prentice is quizzing Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers to ensure that the government's £250million launch aid for the new generation of Rolls Royce Trent engines secures jobs in East Lancashire. This week's decision to give the aero engine
AN ex-traveller lured a former Clitheroe schoolgirl back to their home to kill her by using the two things he knew would work -- her children, a court has been told. Preston Crown Court heard that Christopher Lee Waddington, 27, threatened to take away
POLICE were searching for an alsatian dog which attacked a schoolboy in a Blackburn street and left him with a fractured wrist and torn ligaments. Colin Arkwright, 13, of Stansfield Street, was set up on by the animal as he walked passed a yard in Canterbury
A committee was set up to raise £40,000 to refurbish a building off the Whalley Arms car park and after raising a quarter of the target amount, members turned to villagers for a loan for the remainder.
A GRIEVING husband whose wife became the 82nd victim of variant CJD today slammed the Government's decision to compensate families as "too little, too late." Health Secretary Alan Milburn has announced interim compensation payments of £25,000 at set to
BURNLEY RES 6 STOCKPORT RES 1 THE Clarets reserves turned round their recent poor home form in the Avon Insurance League Premier Division in emphatic style with a thumping victory over Stockport at Turf Moor last night. Burnley, with a number of senior
ROVERS kick off a potentially "make-or-break" seven-day spell at Bolton on Saturday with David Dunn's sights focussed purely on the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. The two promotion rivals meet at the Reebok Stadium on successive weekends with Blackburn
A NATIONAL chain of franchise operations aimed at providing private carers for a wide range of clients has launched a scheme in Blackburn. Chester-based SureCare provides staff to clients from individuals to social service departments and nursing homes
A PLAY aimed at young people takes the stage in a theatre production organised by Barnardo's and the Citadel in St Helens. Barnardo's disability support worker Ken Williams has invited the YMCA's Y touring Theatre company to the Citadel Theatre on February
TRADING Standards officers at St Helens Council, with colleagues throughout the region, are still carrying out investigations following a massive haul of counterfeit goods. Among the 57,000 items seized in the pre-Christmas period included computers,
A CHARITY night in memory of a little girl who died from meningitis raised over £1,200, mainly for research into the disease. Six-year-old Shannon Jayne Peters, of Duke Street, St Helens, died suddenly in Alder Hey Hospital last November of the Meningitis
MORE than 200 parents campaigning against the proposed closure of Southmead Primary School took their protest to the opening of a new, high-tech learning centre at Higher Side Comprehensive School in Cumber Lane, Whiston. The protesters lobbied the opening
A TOUCH of magic was in the air when amateur magicians cast a spell over mesmerised customers at a Rossendale pub. Robert Grant, of Crawshawbooth, near Rawtenstall, waved his wand over customers at the Holden Arms, Grane Road, Haslingden, in a joint fund-raising
SEVERAL firms are interested in taking over a Rossendale packaging company which is currently being run by administrators. Begbies Traynor, of Manchester, cut the workforce at Valley Supply Company, Stacksteads, from 50 to between 30 and 35 three weeks
A 24-YEAR-OLD Stacksteads man has been charged with the murder of 74-year-old Burnley caretaker Bryan "Joe" Platt. Gavin Cox, 24, of Church Street, was due to appear before Burnley magistrates today -- along with two other people charged in connection
AN ACCUSED man's defence denied a single mother's claim that he vanished with some of her belongings after he boasted of his wealth.
A £350 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a conman who robs pensioners homes after posing as a council worker. The reward has been put up by charity Crimestoppers which says the man has visited a number of homes in Burnley
POLICE who spoke to a late night mountain biker in Witton Park, Blackburn, found a small piece of cannabis in his pocket. Blackburn magistrates heard that Mark Anthony Duxbury claimed he had forgotten the drug, worth about £4, was even there. Duxbury,
A MAN flattened the front door when his girlfriend locked him out of their flat because she jumped to conclusions when he walked a young woman to her taxi. Blackburn magistrates heard that when police arrived the couple, who had both been drinking heavily
A WOMAN crashed into the back of another car as she drove home early in the morning after a family party. Blackburn magistrates heard that the other driver was a doorman and as soon as he smelled alcohol he seized Bernadette McManus' car keys and called
THE family of a woman suffering from an agonising bone disease have said they are postponing plans to sue the health trust after it launched an inquiry into the way she was treated. Lesley Battle's family claimed she was repeatedly told there was nothing
A COUNCILLOR is donating his allowances to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph-backed earthquake campaign -- and has urged others to follow his lead. Coun Salim Mulla, Labour representative for Queen's Park, Blackburn, is handing over £750 to the Earthquake
A LEADING clergyman has revealed he is quitting the church because he is opposed to the ordination of women. The rector of Chorley, Reverend Dr John Fenwick, 50, will leave St Laurence's Church in April as part of an arrangement allowing early retirement
THE TONY GARNER COLUMN LENNOX Lewis has spent the last decade trying to build up his credibility. Like any sportsman he craves respect. The Heavyweight Champion of the World spent a large part of his career being snubbed and sidelined. While Mike Tyson
POLICE are investigating an attempted burglary on a house in Haresfinch Road, St Helens, on Tuesday, February 6. The incident happened at about 11.30am when someone about 18 years old with a badly bruised right eye forced his way into the groundfloor.
DREAMS of creating a £30,000 skatepark in Radcliffe are set to become a reality tonight (Thurs Feb 15). Members of Bury's planning control sub-committee are expected to formally approve proposals to develop a skatepark for use by skateboarders, BMX bikers
