OVER-SHADOWED by world events, the ending of the horror of the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Lancashire -- now officially at an end as the county has gone four months without a confirmed case -- may have come as an anti-climax. Nonetheless, the feeling
MY husband and I called in a shop in Accrington on November 13, but left empty-handed in protest at a sign that said they (the owners), would not accept Scottish bank notes. I asked why, but I was told that nobody would accept the notes off them and that
ADRIAN Grady (Letters, November 19) hasn't moved into the 21st Century yet. Of course, people can live without eating meat and have been doing so very heathily for thousands of years. Pythagoras (569-480BC) was feted as the father of philosophical vegetarianism
FIFTEEN months ago, after a serious illness, and four months in hospital, my 89-year-old mother was very fortunate to secure a place in Nazareth House, Blackburn, with full backing from the medical profession. I had a real fight on my hands to get funding
A TEENAGER battling leukaemia has a heartfelt wish for Christmas -- to spend it at home with his family. Daniel Berry, aged 17, was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease in August. He is currently undergoing his third session of chemotherapy at Hope
IN his capacity as a spokesman for and defender of all things Lib-Dem, Roy Davies (Letters, November 22) does his best to avoid answering serious questions about the Lib Dems from the comfort of his armchair, but sadly fails. When Neil Farrar made his
A LEIGH high school gained above average GCSE results -- even though nearly half the students had special educational needs. School performance league tables showed 91 per cent of students gained five or more A* to G passes in 2001 at Westleigh High School
EDUCATION chiefs today unveiled plans for Blackburn's first publicly-funded Islamic schools as part of a multi-faith education revolution. Talks are underway which could give the town state Islamic high and primary schools. They would be the first in
SUPER Swede 'Nissa' Johansson is the first to admit he's still having problems finding his way around Blackburn! But the 20-year-old certainly discovered a route to goal last night after his sumptuous left-foot finish effectively secured Rovers' place
A VERDICT of accidental death was recorded at the inquest of an 89-year-old great-grandmother who suffered a brain haemorrhage after she slipped on steps at Burnley market hall. Retired mill worker Alice Stovold, of Thornber Court, Burnley had been on
GOVERNMENT cash which was expected to go into the NHS was used to bail out the war on terrorism and the foot and mouth crisis. That was the revelation made by Burnley Health Care Trust finance director David Meakin at the board meeting at Rossendale Hospital
A RECENT growth in girls' football in Pendle has led to Pendle Leisure Trust setting up a group to promote and co-ordinate the sport. Members help with funding, training and coaching the girls as well as finding local teams for them in the area. Teams
A TEENAGER who helped himself to a charity box which contained cash for brain damaged children, is behind bars for a total of nine months. Burnley Crown Court heard how Robert Norris, 19, was also found by members of staff in a doctor's surgery and later
A RAIL-USER watchdog group has slammed a train operator's alternative travel arrangements when services are cancelled. The Support The East Lancashire Line Association (STELLA), based in Nelson, has highlighted the problems caused when cancelled trains
THE people of Barnoldswick will be getting fit for charity next weekend during an event to raise money for the Cancer Research Campaign. Fitness instructor Kim Salisbury, who runs Great Shape Fitness upstairs in the Conservative Club, in Station Road,
A HOUSE in Fence will definitely brighten up the dark nights when its 10,000 Christmas lights are switched on tomorrow night. April and David Barnes, and their son Mark, make sure their spectacular display of decorations and lights both inside and outside
NEIGHBOURS plucked a couple from the jaws of death as fire swept through a ground-floor flat. James Doran and Carol Hinds made a desperate bid to escape but fell to the floor in a pool of blood at the Roman Road address. Neighbours broke in and dragged
CHILDREN in Hyndburn are in training for their own mini commonwealth games. More than 30 primary schools, plus one or two 'guest' schools, will compete in the Hyndburn Schools Commonwealth Games next June. Each will be kitted out in the appropriate strip
POLICE are looking for a man said to look like Barry Evans from EastEnders who indecently exposed himself to a 19-year-old girl and her sister. The incident happened at 6.30pm last Saturday on Plantation Road in Accrington. The man stood in a front garden
A MAN who dealt heroin and crack cocaine to undercover police has been jailed for two and a half years. Peter Bailey was netted by Operation Hurricane which targeted drug dealing in the Blackburn area. The 42-year-old of Blackburn Road, Accrington, had
A TROUBLESOME bus stop which was sited outside an Oswaldtwistle man's house is set to be moved. Keith Simpson was shocked when he returned home from work to find the bus stop just a couple of feet away from his front door in Union Road. And he and wife
CLUBBERS will be able to relive the highlights of their youth when a famous nightclub opens for the last time ever. Eclipse night spot, in Eagle Street, Accrington, has been closed for around three weeks. But current licensee Ken Marland is determined
TWO men have appeared before Blackburn magistrates after officers from the Major Crime Unit seized drugs worth more than £40,000 from a house in Billington near Whalley. A further amount of amphetamine, worth £5,000, was recovered from a car stopped as
A GOVERNOR today vowed to appeal against a decision by councillors to refuse a two-storey extension to a popular private school after opposition to the plans were led by just one resident. Tony Baron, chairman of the governors at Oakhill College, Whalley
YOU won't find a bunch of standard shoot-'em-ups at the Orisinal website more a case of the wild and wacky. You can, for example, hit a cranky crab with a yo-yo, or help a frog jump around a pond, or guide a koala bear through the rainforest. The site
A CEMENT factory has been cautioned by the Environment Agency after it was found to have released more than three times the recommended limit of potentially poisonous metals into the air. And the shock findings come just months after Castle Cement's Ribblesdale
IT'S not easy building a website for a charitable organisation, especially when time and money are short. The web is the perfect vehicle for low-cost communication and, more crucially for charities, spreading the word at low-cost. If you can create a
ITALIAN hitman Ciccio Grabbi is ready to seek showdown talks about his future after insisting today he wants to stay at Ewood. Reports in Italy continue to link the former Juventus star with a move back home amidst claims he has failed to settle in England
EAST Lancashire companies were honoured at a recent awards ceremony hosted by the environmental charity Groundwork. Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes was guest speaker at the BEA Annual Dinner, held at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel, Clayton-le-Moors. The winners were
Bury 1 Lincoln 1 (Lincoln won 3-2 on penalties): CROWD hero Jon Newby turned to villain missing two spot kicks as the Shakers crashed out of the FA Cup writes Steven Canavan Newby missed an extra time penalty which would have won the match then had another
TWO youths who took part in a street confrontation in which a brick and bottle were thrown at two older men have been given terms of custody. Lee Finglass, 19, who also took part in a street mugging when a knife was held to a youth's throat, was detained
A MAN caught burgling a Blackburn address tried to make it look like he was doing the householder a favour when found on the premises. William Crossland told his victim he had spotted a break-in at the Laxey Road address and entered the home to make sure
LARGE chunks of East Lancashire are to be exempt from Stamp Duty on properties worth less than £150,000 from Friday. Chancellor Gordon Brown announced the major concession in his Pre-Budget Report. A total of 2,000 deprived wards in the "slowest growing
THE Blackburn man being held on suspicion of being a hit man is in one of New York's toughest jails, it has emerged. Mansoor Qadar will be expected to work throughout the week for as little as 12 cents in the Brooklyn penitentiary. And today foreign secretary
SAMARITANS in Blackburn believe the September 11 terrorist attacks in America which apparently drove a woman to kill herself, were the trigger for many to seek help for underlying problems. But, counsellors say, although problems like September 11, the
CALLUM Fitzpatrick is contemplating his first career change at the age of 12 after winning the latest round of the Reebok Cross Country Challenge. Fitzpatrick has concentrated on the track ever since he joined Hyndburn AC at the age of eight and has already
MORE than 200 orienteers from all over the country took part in the Cowpe Badge avent at Rawtenstall on Sunday. Our two local clubs Pendle Forest Orienteers and South East Lancashire Orienteering Club joined forces to organise a baffling array of 16 different
A TEENAGE hero who saved a depressed woman from drowning has spoken of the dramatic moment he plunged into the water. Christopher Park from Radcliffe has been honoured by police for his bravery and courage in rescuing the 29-year-old woman from the River
A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Accrington Camera Club meet Rishton Primetime Centre, 7.45pm. Viewing of colour slides portfolio. East Blackburn Social Action Committee with Fecitt Brow Neighbourhood
POLICE in Blackburn have appealed for witnesses to an assault which left a 32-year-old man needing staples to a deep head wound. The man, who was attacked in King Street in the early hours of Saturday morning was left with a deep, jagged cut to his head
REGARDING your report, (LET, November 21), after eight years in office, Hyndburn MP Greg Pope should be aware that the siting of bus shelters is the responsibility of the Labour-controlled county council. However, even though they are not county councillors
THE hunt is on for two men who stole a car after threatening its female driver. The 51-year-old woman was about to leave the car park at Kwik Save in Twist Lane, Leigh, when she was approached by two men just after 6pm on Tuesday. They threatened her
ROLLS-ROYCE workers were left stunned today after being told 295 jobs are to be axed. The company dropped the bombshell news to staff this morning that nearly a third of the workforce in Barnoldswick was to be made redundant by next spring. The company
LEIGH RMI have switched venues with Stalybridge Celtic for their two derby games over the festive period. The Boxing Day clash will now be held at Hilton Park ko 3pm with the New Years Day game at Stalybridge. The Railwaymen have already brought forward
BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness admitted for the first time last night that Rovers WERE serious contenders in the chase for Robbie Fowler. Ewood chief Souness has ultimately had to accept defeat in his six month chase for the Toxteth terrier after Leeds
ITALIAN hitman Ciccio Grabbi is ready to seek showdown talks about his future after insisting today he wants to stay at Ewood. Reports in Italy continue to link the former Juventus star with a move back home amidst claims he has failed to settle in England
A LOOK at the key moments and figures from Rovers win over Manchester City. ROVERS: FRIEDEL: Made a crucial first half stop from Shaun Wright-Phillips when the game was goalless...7 CURTIS: Caught out by the pace of Huckerby on a couple of occasions but
A NEW police chief is now in charge at Todmorden station. Inspector Mark McManus, 31, has pledged to work towards driving known criminals out of town. He has been appointed to serve at both Todmorden and Hebden Bridge as the area's inspector to work in
THE sky above Padiham was lit up last night as children from a local school pulled the switch on the town's Christmas lights. A service of traditional carols was given on the steps of the Town Hall in Burnley Road before the lights were switched on to
SEVEN-year-old scalds victim James Lively has presented a £700 thank you to the air ambulance service that took him to hospital. The air ambulance dropped in at James's school, St Joseph's RC Junior, Wellington Street, Todmorden yesterday. James was able
PENDLE'S indoor markets in Nelson and Colne have announced longer opening hours during the Christmas period. The Admiral's Market Place, in Nelson, will be open on Tuesday, December 18, from 9am to 5pm, and on Sunday, December 23, from 10am to 4pm, in
A 27-YEAR-OLD Nelson man who jumped to his death from the top of the car park above the town's bus station had suffered depression for several years and sometimes heard voices telling him to commit suicide. An inquest heard how Vaseem Azam, of Ashford
ROLLS-ROYCE workers were left stunned today after being told 295 jobs are to be axed. The company dropped the bombshell news to staff this morning that nearly a third of the workforce in Barnoldswick was to be made redundant by next spring. The company
THREE vehicles were involved in an accident at roadworks on Keighley Road, Laneshawbridge, at 4pm yesterday. Police said a VW Polo driven by Philip Mason, 26, of St Anthony's Road, Kettering, ran into the back of a stationary Ford Courier van driven by
FOREIGN Secretary Jack Straw has been urged to show what he is doing personally to help the 12 British plane spotters held in Greece. Mr Straw had provided no evidence that he was effectively trying to resolve the plight of the 11 men -- including Andrew
PENDLE Council has been offered a grant of £60,000 divided over three years from the English Heritage to develop a regeneration scheme in Barnoldswick. Despite the amount being substantially lower than the £150,000 grant the council had hoped for, planning
NEWSQUEST Media Group Limited, owners of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, were cleared by the Government to go ahead with the £305 million purchase of Westminster Press. The acquisition of the regional newspaper arm of media group Pearson was approved
A 36-YEAR-OLD Accrington man has appeared before Blackburn magistrates charged with a sneak-in burglary at the home of a 91-year-old woman in Park Lea Road. Michael Alcorn, of Pollard Street, who is already on bail to Hyndburn magistrates for an allegation
PUPILS at a Leigh school will invite their teachers to come out and play every day in future. Playtime will now mean something much more at Newton Westpark Junior and Infants' School thanks to a revolutionary initiative. The Leigh Education Action Zone
A FARMER is patrolling his land after dogs savaged £2,000 worth of sheep in one night. Mark Lancaster discovered the bodies of 15 sheep at Lodge Lane Farm in Atherton. Another 18 of the flock were so badly injured that they had to be destroyed the following
IF you fancy a lung full of bracing Scottish air, but don't want to leave your desktop, drop by the Highland Folk Museum. The site (http://www.highlandfolk. com/) offers a look behind the scenes of life as a clansman from 400 years ago. The museum recently
THERE'S an interesting site hiding behind the cartoon style graphics at Blazecity.com. The city offers a virtual tour of a fictional town, with a real life city theme, providing tourists with a series of links and information. Blaze City is divided into
THE future of first division football came under the spotlight this morning at a meeting of the 24 chairmen at Notts County's Meadow Lane ground. And Burnley chairman Barry Kilby was ready to fight the Clarets cause and make sure that they are not left
JACK Hixon is arguably the most famous scout in football. He has unearthed dozens of young players who have gone on to become household names, not least former England skipper Alan Shearer. But the 80-year-old also knew something about what it takes to
ENGLAND today cruised to the first victory of their Indian tour with a four-wicket triumph over India A in Jaipur. On the third and final day England reached their victory target of 173 with a fine all-round team effort. Three wickets apiece from Craig
BURY road tax dodgers whose vehicles are targeted in a high-profile campaign could receive a "crushing" blow. For crushing is the fate that could await some of the unlicensed cars which are wheel-clamped as part of the crackdown. Latest figures released
THE future of first division football came under the spotlight this morning at a meeting of the 24 chairmen at Notts County's Meadow Lane ground. And Burnley chairman Barry Kilby was ready to fight the Clarets cause and make sure that they are not left
BURY chairman Terry Robinson has warned that dozens of football clubs will go bust if the so-called Phoenix League goes ahead. A huge slice of TV money ear-marked for the entire Nationwide League would instead go to a new Premiership Two. That would leave
DON'T forget that the big switch on for Darwen's Christmas lights takes place this Saturday. There will be a whole range of entertainment starting at noon in Darwen town centre. Dorothy, the star of Darwen Library Theatre's Christmas show, the Wizard
AN APPEAL has gone out to motorists in Darwen not to leave their cars unlocked - even for a minute - after police revealed that a pattern of thefts from industrial estates and outside shops is emerging. Darwen inspector Graham Ashcroft said thefts from
PUBLIC toilets in Ramsbottom have had to be closed after being vandalised twice in a few days. Bury Metro staff are hoping to have the facilities in Market Place back working as quickly as possible after attacks by mindless yobs. The sink was ripped off
POLICE are still hunting a former Todmorden man they want to question in connection with a 25-year-old murder. They are trying to track down 56-year-old Raymond Hewlett who used to live in Dyneley Avenue, Todmorden. He has been named in a Sunday newspaper
HE'S overcooked. And even if you were starving you wouldn't eat him. But to the Johnsons, 'Pie' is a member of the family. Without doubt Pie, as he is affectionately known to his owners Tony and Alicia Johnson, from Bacup, is the most widely travelled
WATERFOOT's nightclub the Club Royale, which has been operating without a public entertainment licence for 14 months, has had its application for renewal rejected. After a lengthy debate at the health and housing committee, councillors also turned down
POLICE are appealing for information after a gang fled empty-handed after trying to rob a security guard and a post office. They threatened the driver of a security van and demanded cash after it pulled up outside Tyldesley post office in Johnson Street
YOUNGSTERS at St Gabriel's School in Blackburn, took a step back in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their school. The Wilworth Crescent school opened in 1901 and to celebrate 100 years of learning, children and teachers got out the dressing-up
A DAY of celebration is planned to mark the International Day of Disabled People in Blackburn on Monday. The Mayor, Coun John Williams , will join employees and guests at the Remploy factory in Bank Top to mark the occasion. The factory, where educational
WORK on restoring an old shopping centre to its former glory has led to an unusual discovery -- a secret room. Builders moved into the centre in Fleming Square, Blackburn, last week to start work on the £200,000 restoration project. But within days of
WORK to flatten a derelict building branded a 'deathtrap' by a fire chief will be completed by the end of this week. The former sausage skin factory in Eachill Road, Rishton, had been set alight four times by vandals in as many months and 15 firefighters
AN East Lancashire council has been short-listed for two prestigious awards which could lead to it becoming a shining example to other authorities. Blackburn with Darwen Council is in the running to receive Beacon Status for two of the services it provides
STORK smashed 11 past their First Division opponents North Valley Celtic, progressing to the next stage of the Pendle Charity League Cup. Stork took the lead through Andy Bennett.Centre half Benfield doubled the score. Bennett added to his tally with
FORMER Accrington Stanley midfielder Brett Baxter is enjoying life back in full-time football. The 22-year-old former Tranmere pro signed for Conference side Chester just days after the 5-0 drubbing of Worksop at the Crown Ground in early October. Baxter
LOATHE them or hate them you can't get away from the fact that football can't live without referees. So it is worrying that pressure again seems to be building on that special breed who, for reasons best known to themselves, take up the whistle. In recent
TWO youths were arrested following the suspicious death of a man in St Annes . Police were called to an address today (November 29) on Richmond Road following reports of a disturbance shortly after 2.30am. When officers arrived they found the body of
Brett Ormerod struck twice in Blackpool's extra time FA Cup first round replay win over Newport County, further boosting his reputation as one of the hottest properties in the Second Division. Coventry, Southampton and Wigan Athletic are thought to be
