A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. 'Race Night,' Darwen Cricket Club, Birch Hall, Darwen, 8.30pm. Embroidery Exhibition by Preston College City and Guilds students, Samlesbury Hall, 11am-4.30pm. Open Evening
A FORMER East Lancashire curate's son has appeared in court accused of trying to murder his father. Simeon Dagger, 24, is accused of attempting to kill the Rev Kenneth Dagger, 52, at the vicarage of St Martin's Church in Southdene, Kirby, on September
CAN councillors Bill Taylor or Ashley Whalley tell us why they think Blackburn's disastrous orbital route will be so wonderful when completed? For instance, where will all the traffic (shoppers) go as they join the end of the line outside the Infirmary
UNDER Thatcherism, Britain became virtually the 51st state of the United States. Margaret was so besotted with the presidential rancher she obsequiously allowed him everything -- including refuelling of American planes meant to eliminate Colonel Ghadaffi
AS the world recoils in horror at the tragedy of many thousands of innocent people losing their lives, let us take stock and consider how we arrived at this terrible event. The date, September 11, is now indelibly etched in the minds of all United States
AN East Lancashire travel agent was strangled by her husband because he did not want to share his £400,000 lottery winnings with her, a court was told. Liverpool Crown Court heard that former DJ Michael O'Leary, 54, had been "very canny" about his 1995
BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness has turned to former Liverpool hot-shot Dean Saunders as the man to solve his side's striking problems. The veteran Welsh international is currently training with Rovers in a bid to keep fit as he attempts to find himself
A MAN suffered burns to his face when trying to light a gas fire. Leaking gas flared into the face of Mark Faron, 26, as he tried to light the fire at a house in Laithe Street, Burnley. He was taken to Burnley General Hospital for treatment. Ambulance
A MAN spotted with two coshes in a bag by police was going to show them to a neighbour, a court was told. Burnley magistrates heard how Paul Alan Edmondson, 32, had got the coshes for his own protection after his house door had been kicked in. Edmondson
PUPILS at Habergham High School, Burnley, have their sights set firmly on a bright future after winning a European science award. The school picked up two awards in this year's GlaxoSmithKlineHealth Matters European School Awards. Teams of students aged
A NELSON mother of five suffered carbon monoxide poisoning when a chip pan fire, burnt itself out and the fumes overwhelmed her, an inquest heard. Maureen Collier, 37, was found dead at her sister's house in Claremont Terrace at around 9.30am on August
A 14-YEAR-OLD boy is in Burnley General Hospital today after suffering a fractured right leg in a traffic accident yesterday. Sgt Eric Marshall, of Colne Traffic Unit, said James Pugh, of Keighley Road, Colne, had run out between parked cars at around
PLANS to increase the number of antennae and dishes on the Pendle Forest transmitter station at Newchurch-in-Pendle have been recommended for approval by the council's planning department. The proposals are for two dipole antennae at 28 metres high for
A YOUNG boy had to be plucked to safety by the fire brigade after climbing more than 50 feet on to a mill roof to find conkers. Simon Lang, 10, leaned over from the top of a huge chestnut tree to reach the roof of Unity Mill, Lower Darwen, then got stuck
AN East Lancashire travel agent was strangled by her husband because he did not want to share his £400,000 lottery winnings with her, a court was told. Liverpool Crown Court heard that former DJ Michael O'Leary, 54, had been "very canny" about his 1995
MOTORISTS are being urged to curb their speed on a busy Clitheroe road. Clitheroe police have received a number of calls from residents worried about drivers using excessive speed on Pendle Road, one of the main routes out of the town. Insp Bob Ford,
A NIGHT on the tiles ended as a night sleeping in his ex girlfriend's back garden for Mark Stevenson. Blackburn magistrates heard that Stevenson had drunk between 17 and 20 pints before falling asleep outside the Whalley home of Judith Davies. When he
FORGIVE me for licking the sugar-coating off the maximum three stars awarded to Blackburn's hospitals and the two awarded to the Burnley Health Care Trust's in the government's new performance league tables. No, I'm not complaining about the self-assessment
IRONIC though it may have been for councillors investigating a road accident blackspot on a walk-about in Oswaldtwistle to have proof of it delivered by seeing two bumps take place there before their eyes, was there not something else exemplary in this
SAM Collins has been told he can leave Bury if another club makes an offer. The central defender, once rated highly at Gigg, has fallen victim to the club's enfored cost-cutting policy, though his displays of late will hardly have helped him. He was dropped
EWOOD chief Graeme Souness is poised to land Nuremberg defender Nils-Eric Johansson later this week. The highly-rated young Swede jetted into England on Monday for further talks and a medical. And, barring any late hitch, he could be signed before the
BURNLEY boss Stan Ternent wants to bring new players into his squad and the board will do everything they can to back him. Club chairman Barry Kilby promised today: "The board is now looking at what flexibility we have to help Stan improve the team. "
Bury 1 Wycombe 1 by Steve Canavan of the Bolton Evening News ANDY Preece's Shakers may have got a draw last night but it felt more like defeat. Wycombe had ten men on the field for 74 minutes after captain and key defender Paul McCarthy was harshly sent
AN INQUEST into the death of a swimmer who drowned in an East Lancashire reservoir will be heard later this month. Mitchell Bury, of Nuttall Street, Blackburn, died swimming in Wayoh Reservoir, near Edgworth, after a drinking session, in July. Mr Bury
A DARWEN priest is worried that new parking regulations set to be introduced by the council will deter worshippers from coming to his church. Father David Foster, of St Joseph's RC Church on the Bolton Road, says the proposed regulations, which would
A PUB in Shuttleworth has been purchased by Thwaites brewery from a family who ran it for four years. Pat and Keith Edwards bought the Eagle and Child in Whalley Road after ten years as tenants of Thwaites' Crown and Thistle on the road between Edgworth
A FOLK music fan who was fed up with leaving Rossendale to hear his favourite groups has decided to organise an event in the Valley. Steve McCluskie has enlisted the help of Mick Gribben, landlord at The Crown, Bacup Road, Rawtenstall, which is where
SHOP steward Gerard Kenny argued with police officers called by his wife because he was threatening violence towards her. Blackburn magistrates heard that Kenny, an ex serviceman, challenged the officers to fight and when one took hold of him sank his
SHOPS are to be given a security boost after a £15million grant aimed at deprived areas was announced by the Government. Eighteen schemes in the north west will benefit from the three-year crime-busting scheme with funding allocated to five counties.
RADIO weather girl Heather Stott caused a storm yesterday when she said Blackburn's shopping centre was like a "tiled toilet" live on air - although she hasn't visited the town for more than a decade. Locals poured scorn on her views and said Blackburn
THE mother of a teenager assaulted by a gang of thugs while on a shopping trip in Blackburn today blasted police for failing to answer her son's call for help. Lawrence Willsher, 15, now faces an eight-week wait to see if three teeth will remain in their
PIONEERING research into stomach cancer is to be undertaken by specialists in East Lancashire. A team at Queen's Park Hospital in Blackburn believe they are one step nearer to understanding one of the possible causes of the illness. The team, headed by
ENGLAND Under 21 boss David Platt last night called up Charlton's Paul Konchesky after a spate of injury problems are threatening to hamper his preparations for Friday night's crunch European qualifier with Greece at Ewood. Owen Hargreaves was forced
METROLINK has become a victim of its own success, according to a rail watchdog body. The good news is that the pioneering light rapid transit system accounts for more passenger journeys within Greater Manchester than all other train operating companies
RADIO and TV weather girl Heather Stott's on-air remarks rubbishing Blackburn's shopping centre -- likening it to a 'tiled toilet' -- are more than flippant. They are an insult to the town and its people and display immense ignorance of its major efforts
I ALWAYS have mixed feelings when late summer gives way to autumn. I don't like the nights closing in but the autumn bird migrations are often spectacular. It is at times like this that I plan visits to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust reserves which are
WEANING Asian babies on to family foods was the subject of an advice day for local health staff. The event at Audley community centre, organised by Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust and CommuniCare NHS Trust, was to help health workers give advice
A 25-year reunion is being planned for former members of 260 Signal Squadron. If you were a member or know someone who was, we would like to hear from you. Contact the secretary, 260 Sigs Sqn (SAM), 7 The Heath, South Tankerton, Whitstable, Kent CT5 3HU
REGARDING his previous comments about the appearance of today's women, Leslie Jones (Letters September 21) claims that he is not a misogynist. After reading his remarks, I believe he is -- and perhaps also a misanthropist with a hatred of human society
A hospital patient from Tyldesley died after receiving a lethal dose of the wrong medication. The tragic death of 37-year-old divorcee Craig Richardson, of Kershaw Street, happened on New Year's Day at the Royal Bolton Hospital. An inquest was today told
A GRANDFATHER was killed when an articulated lorry swerving to avoid stationary vehicles collided with his van. Christopher Taylor, 44, of Acre Avenue, Stacksteads, died at the scene when his Renault Master Van was in a head-on collision with the Volvo
Morecambe 1 Leigh RMI 3 by Martyn Hindley MARCUS Hallows made one goal and scored the other two as Leigh romped to a crushing defeat of Morecambe - previously unbeaten at Christie Park. Hallows played a major part in the opening goal as Steve Waywell's
EWOOD chief Graeme Souness is poised to land Nuremberg defender Nils-Eric Johansson later this week. The highly-rated young Swede jetted into England on Monday for further talks and a medical. And, barring any late hitch, he could be signed before the
BURNLEY Borough Council staff have revealed they are "delighted" with the first six months of a kerbside paper recycling collection scheme. Over 650 tonnes of newspapers and magazines have been recycled and the amount of rubbish going to landfill sited
ASSURANCES of improved services, major upgrading, investment and staffing of Manchester Road railway station, Burnley, will be sought when the town's MP Peter Pike meets one of the three short-listed bidders for the Transpennine Express franchise. Mr
A NATIONAL review of how police tackle serious disorder is to be carried out in a bid to prevent repeats of this summer's trouble in towns like Burnley. The review will result in a new tactical training manual designed to assist officers in dealing with
A SHOPKEEPER whose home, business and car were firebombed during Burnley's racial disturbances in June has written to Prime Minister Tony Blair in a bid to win compensation for the cost of the damage. Despite gangs of Asian and white youths rampaging
TRAVELLERS camping at a disused petrol station were warned that they could be risking their lives. They set up camp on the old Shell UK filling station at Bottomgate, Blackburn, when other travellers moved in on land near Tesco, across the road at Hill
ONE OF the world's top Elvis impersonators left Oswaldtwistle "all shook up" at the weekend. Liberty Mounten stopped off at the Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre on Saturday night as part of an 80 gig nine month tour of Britain. Liberty has taken his impersonation
A MAN from Accrington was ordered to pay more than £40,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to seven waste offences. Frank Spencer, of Plantation Road, was fined a total of £39,330 by Accrington magistrates and ordered to pay costs of £3,180.25
BURNLEY boss Stan Ternent wants to bring new players into his squad and the board will do everything they can to back him. Club chairman Barry Kilby promised today: "The board is now looking at what flexibility we have to help Stan improve the team. "
DON'T the do-gooders ever tire of their nannying nagging? I'm sure the kids on the receiving end this week must be punch-drunk as they are exhorted to bike or walk to school and have a banana when they get there -- though, of course, a nice tropical fruit
A FREE health-check day for the over-55s has been organised in Darwen. The event, which is part of Age Concern Week 2001, will take place at Derwent Hall from 10am to 2pm on Friday. Age Concern and Darwen Old People's Welfare Committee are working in
A MAN who refused to leave the area after being thrown out of a nightclub was bound over in the sum of £50 to keep the peace for six months by Blackburn magistrates. The court heard that Michael Joseph Wright, 22, of Blackburn Road, Darwen, was ejected
A SUSPICIOUS blaze destroyed a double garage and workshop in the remote village of Lumb-in-Rossendale. Firefighters were today investigating the fire, which was found to have been started in two places in the garage and in a nearby house under construction
FOUR members of Sion Baptist Church, Higher Cloughfold, will tackle the Great South Run in Portsmouth to raise money for two worthy causes. They will split the proceeds between the Imperial Cancer Research fund and a local cause Deanna's Florida Dream
IT MAY sound daffy -- but 1,500 ducks today breathed a collective quack of relief deep inside a Blackburn warehouse. They've all been promised good homes at last -- and lots of warm, sudsy bathtimes -- after spending a year cooped up in boxes in their
A PHOTOGRAPHY group has been handed a £5,000 Lottery grant - to take pictures of old gasometers. But the scheme has been blasted as a waste of money. The new community group, called Brilliant f11, received an Awards for All lottery grant which will help
A WOMAN made threats towards a social worker and his family in a series of menacing phone calls to his work and home numbers. Blackburn magistrates heard that 22-year-old mother of three, Lisa Fitzmaurice, blamed Craig Docherty for her children being
A WOMAN who was attacked, along with her female partner, in front of her five children while on holiday spoke today about their ordeal. The 25-year-old from Blackburn said she received a cut to her head after being struck with a bottle by a teenager.
TEACHERS in East Lancashire are being urged to watch out for increased tension between pupils from different ethnic and religious groups as military action looms following the terrorist attacks on America. And a teachers' leader warned that his ethnic
QEGS made an impressive start to the defence of the Independent Schools' Football Association Cup with a 5-0 win over Kimbolton. Promising striker Chris Porter, who scored the winner in the 2000 final last year, was on target twice.
