WEARY of late and cancelled trains, rail users may be sceptical of the pledge by Transport Secretary Stephen Byers today of major improvements to services in the region -- given the chaos into which they have collapsed since privatisation. They will note
REGARDING your report 'Shamed officer waits for appeal verdict' (LET, January 8). What stands out in my mind is why this police officer was not given 12 or 18 months to improve his performance. I and others just like to see a bobby about on the street
REGARDING Lancashire police considering LPG conversions for their vehicles (LET, January 3), some 10 years ago Blackburn Council was supposed to have spent £500,000 on a gas station at the Davyfield vehicle depot, the gas supply having to be piped from
RECENT reports in the Press indicate that the Foreign Office has agreed joint sovereignty of Gibraltar with Spain, despite the overwhelming opposition of the Gibraltarians. There have also been indications that this will be forced through, no matter what
HOWEVER outdated some of our laws may be, it cannot be right that Tony Blair, who joins his wife in Catholic worship, should have the final judgment as to who will be the Church of England's next primate. This still predominantly Protestant country has
REGARDING your report (LET, January 12) about Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle joining a last-ditch parliamentary attempt to stop the closure of the Royal Ordnance Factory in Blackburn and the sale of the ROF at Euxton. Why didn't these MPs kick up a fuss 15
THE victim of a bag snatch attempt was left in agony on the ground after being dragged under the wheels of a car. The 50-year-old victim refused to let go of her bag when it was grabbed by the back seat passenger of a stolen car on the Focus store in
A BURY College student is on the road to independence thanks to a local driving school. Darren Mack, who was born with cerebral palsy, has passed his driving test with flying colours. The 17-year-old took lessons with instructor Jane Hogan, from the BSM
SHEFFIELD Wednesday face a goalkeeping crisis ahead of tomorrow night's Worthington Cup semi-final second leg at Ewood Park. The Owls number one Kevin Pressman was stretchered off during their 2-1 win at Turf Moor on Saturday after a clash with Burnley
DAVID DUNN'S World Cup dreams were today in jeopardy after the England wannabe limped out of Saturday's 2-1 defeat against Manchester United with a worrying injury. The 22-year-old midfield star was due to have a scan on the problem this morning amid
A LOOK at the key players and performances from the Premiership game against Manchester Utd at Old Trafford. ROVERS BRAD FRIEDEL: Outwitted by Blanc for the penalty but generally solid apart from that...6 LUCAS NEILL: A stunning performance from the tough-tackling
THE glimpse Looking Back gave last year of one of the "fireless" locomotives that until the 1980s hauled wagons of coal to the now-gone Huncoat power station stirred up memories of the small "stud" of conventional steam engines that operated from nearby
CASUALTY star Liz Hume Dawson will be helping children from five local primary schools and Burnley Youth Theatre boost their confidence through role play and theatre. Liz, who has recently featured in several episodes of the hit BBC TV show, will join
THREE youngsters prompted a major rescue after they became stranded on an island when their dinghy sank. Water rescue officers in diving suits joined firemen in the hour-long operation at Foxhill Bank Lodge, Oswaldtwistle, about 4pm yesterday. Declan
A HYNDBURN youngster has been given the best birthday present he could ever have wished for -- although many children his age would probably disagree. Patrick Batt, who suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, was termed unschoolable by
THE experiences of a mother whose son died from a flesh eating disease will be featured in an hour-long television programme. Doreen Marsden, of Moor Hey Farm, Ribchester, was filmed in October as part of a six-part series for digital channel Animal Planet
STAN TERNENT left Turf Moor on Saturday evening feeling like an angler whose big catch had got away. Unfortunately for the Clarets boss his big fish came back to take a bite out of his boat and sink his side in the process. It is no secret that he tried
A LOOK at the key stats and figures from the game against Sheffield Wednesday. BURNLEY NIK MICHOPOULOS: His last minute penalty save had no bearing on the result but he had some uncertain moments...6 DEAN WEST: Had a tough time in competition with the
DAVID DUNN'S World Cup dreams were today in jeopardy after the England wannabe limped out of Saturday's 2-1 defeat against Manchester United with a worrying injury. The 22-year-old midfield star was due to have a scan on the problem this morning amid
DAVID Moyes claimed this game was big one - with the three points available vital what with the match being sandwiched between two cup ties. After the game, he claimed his players had worked very hard and tried everything to score. That might have been
SUSPENSIONS are going to take their toll on the Shakers relegation fight in the coming weeks. Full back Jamie Stuart has discovered that his reward for the red card he received against Huddersfield Town last week is a four match ban. The straight red
Bury 0 Tranmere Rovers 1by Phil Thorp: DEFEAT and more disciplinary woes combined to make it a day to forget at Gigg Lane on Saturday. Rovers gained revenge for an opening day of the season defeat with a 1-0 success but the dismissal of Shakers player-manager
THE leader of a multi-million pound drugs ring is being hunted after he went on the run from a Darwen bail hostel. John Barber, disappeared halfway through his trial at Liverpool Crown Court and was convicted of conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine and
A SPECIAL needs support teacher at a Blackburn school stole camera equipment worth more than £500 from a store cupboard. Blackburn magistrates heard that Joanne Dewhurst later went into a town centre second-hand shop and, after producing three separate
THE owner of a Blackburn bar has applied to build a larger nightclub just weeks after he was stripped of his public entertainment licence following complaints about noise. Scott Moon, who owns Cubes in Duke Street, Blackburn, has submitted a planning
TRAVELLERS were today assured of major improvements in East Lancashire rail services, after a former Blackburn-man revealed a 10-year improvement plan. Transport Secretary Stephen Byers promised commuters using the area's rail network would begin to see
POLICE have put women across East Lancashire on alert after two terrified victims were raped by strangers in the space of 30 minutes. In the first incident, an 18-year-old was attacked by a man who knocked on the front door and forced his way into her
SOCCER: Bamber Bridge manager Jimmy Willis, who took the reins at Irongate from Tony Greenwood, pictured , seven weeks ago, has resigned to help the cash-strapped club balance the books. Second team boss Paul Byron has taken over. They were beaten 5-0
CONGLETON...2 GT HARWOOD...0 GREAT Harwood dropped deeper into relegation trouble with this NWCL Division One defeat against fellow strugglers Congleton. After their first league win in 15 games against Warrington Town last weekend, manager Denis Underwood
ROSSENDALE UTD...1 EASTWOOD TOWN...1 BOTH sides produced a highly entertaining UniBond First Division game at a windswept Dark Lane, and a draw was just about the right result. It was the visitors who started brightly and Mark Smith was denied twice by
AS YEAR 11 pupils look ahead to their options if they are leaving school this summer, an East Lancashire training group may have the answer. Pendle Training, which is based in Nelson, is planning a massive careers show aimed at 16-year-olds who are still
AN East Lancashire school is today picking up the pieces after a week when youngsters were injured in a mass brawl and police were forced to mount a massive guard to protect pupils and staff. Everyone in education agrees on the diagnosis: violence in
A MAJOR drive to combat the misery created by unruly youths has been launched in the borough. A large number of police are being used to patrol residential areas plagued by teenagers causing annoyance. Tactics that have already worked in the Woodhill
Pool slip closer to the relegation zone to 17th place after top placed Reading strolled to 3-0 victory thanks to a Nick Forster hat-trick. One win in ten doesnt make good reading for Steve McMahon, and the Blackpool boss will need to look for improvement
IHAVE just come out of Blackburn Infirmary where I have never been treated better in my life. The meals were excellent and the service was spot on. So don't call the NHS to me -- I won't have it. JIMMY LEEMING, Walmsley Close, Church, Accrington.
NORA Tomlinson Peach, who lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, is anxious to trace a hymn tune which her father used to play when she was a girl in Oswaldtwistle. Has anyone a very old Primitive Methodist Hymn book? The words of the hymn are: Thou shepherd of
WITH the so-called season of goodwill over with a vengeance in our area of Blackburn -- two burned-out cars, a pile of household items two metres high dumped in the back street and land in our road again looking more like a second-hand furniture shop,
FIREFIGHTERS revived a dog that had been overcome by fumes in a kitchen fire in a house in Cumberland Avenue, Atherton, at 4.30pm yesterday. The owners of the house managed to evacuate but Charlie, an eight year old King Charles Spaniel, was overcome
POLICE have put women across East Lancashire on alert after two terrified victims were raped by strangers in the space of 30 minutes. In the first incident, an 18-year-old was attacked by a man who knocked on the front door and forced his way into her
Leigh RMI 3 Telford 1by David Magilton: IF there was one thing beleaguered manager Steve Waywell wanted more than anything on Saturday, it was a top performance from RMI. Waywell, who agreed a new four year deal at the start of the season, has come under
REMEMBER where you were on Saturday, January 19, 2002. For like Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon or the day JFK was shot, Rovers' trip to Old Trafford was an equally historic occasion. But I'm not talking about the record-breaking exploits of
THE victim of a bag snatch attempt was left in agony on the ground after being dragged under the wheels of a car. The 50-year-old victim refused to let go of her bag when it was grabbed by the back seat passenger of a stolen car on the Focus store in
THIS is a look at the histories of certain buildings of Hurstwood. The most imposing building in the old part of Hurstwood is Hurstwood Hall. It was built by Barnard Towneley in 1579. He was an illegitimate son of the Towneley Family. In 1550 he carried
COUNCIL bosses have been accused of municipal vandalism, after plans were revealed to cut down more trees in Clitheroe. Members of Ribble Valley Borough Council's planning and development committee were asked for permission to remove a stone wall, railings
STAFF at conservatory specialists Ultraframe are celebrating the year with the news that sales in the UK are booming at the Clitheroe-based company. Chairman Rod Sellers told shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in Clitheroe that the company was
Owls manager Terry Yorath - "TO come to Burnley and win even when they have got injuries is a terrific performance, they gave me real fight. "When they came back with the penalty I think I would have settled for a point. Putting your hands up in the penalty
HAVING picked up just two points and two goals from their last four games the Clarets have slipped to fifth in the first division. Stan Ternent's squad has been hit by injuries and he has repeated his intention to strengthen his squad with talks set to
HAVING picked up just two points and two goals from their last four games the Clarets have slipped to fifth in the first division. Stan Ternent's squad has been hit by injuries and he has repeated his intention to strengthen his squad with talks set to
DARWEN Tower is expected to be open again by April after dates were finally announced for repair work. The town's landmark was sealed off in October 2000 when it was found to be unsafe and the resulting building project has been blighted by problems ever
A COMMUNITY arts project is hoping to set up shop in Rossendale. Artists working on Rossendale's First Out scheme want to open a base in St James Street, Bacup, and use the premises rent free for the community project. The group, working under the area's
POLICE say a man found dead in his Manchester flat at the weekend was originally from the Chorley area. David Connell, 60, was discovered with multiple stab wounds to his chest at his home in Woodlands Street in the Cheetham Hill area of the city at around
SQUIRES GATE 2 PADIHAM 1 A GOAL seven minutes from time by Squires Gate's number 10 Scott Sugden ensured the home side secured all three points after a gutsy second half performance by Padiham's defence looked like they might hold out for a point despite
BOOTLE...1 BACUP...1 STUART Farnell headed home an equaliser to give Bacup a deserved point against in-form Bootle in NWCL Division Two. The Liverpool side beat league leaders Stand last week inflicting only the second league defeat of the season on the
RAMSBOTTOM UTD...1 NANTWICH TOWN...2 RAMSBOTTOM'S top scorer Russell Brierley levelled the scores in this North West Counties first division game with a penalty on 27 minutes after Eddie Bishop had put Nantwich in the lead, but another Bishop goal just
CHORLEY...1 WITTON ALBION...2 THIS keenly-contested match, vital to both teams' hopes of reaching a UniBond First Division play-off spot, went Witton's way as the Magpies were left to rue missed chances at a crucial stage of the game. Albion had the boost
ABINGDON...0 CLITHEROE...3 CLITHEROE cruised into the last 16 of the FA Carlsberg Vase - although they left it uncomfortably late to underline their dominance. Two goals in the last four minutes eventually made victory safe for Lee Sculpher's men against
SCHOOL MESSAGE: St Stephen's is a Church of England school with many strengths, Ofsted inspectors reported recently. There is a strong sense of direction in the school. In national assessments for 2000 it was found that the many pupils who have English
