WHILE people in countries around the world battle to achieve democracy it's long been a sad fact that hundreds of thousands of people here can't be bothered to vote. In local government elections across East Lancashire polling turnouts are often significantly
MAY I congratulate the relevant authority for this year's bumper crop of 20 new speed cameras. Standing there like giant yellow electric 'triffids,' many major roads in and around Blackburn now have at least one camera site. While I do realise that speeding
THOSE of you out there who have been watching the news are probably at last fully aware of the real agenda of our glorious government. Having finally admitted to themselves (if to no-one else) that their mainstream policies on health, education, transport
A POLICE officer today re-lived the moment he feared he would die when he was attacked by a man wielding a six-inch hunting knife. PC David Taylor said he dodged lunges to his head and fell to the ground when he was set upon by Peter Pearson, 34, of Springfield
Telford 5 Leigh RMI 0: LEIGH RMI's defensive problems mounted when they followed up their 4-1 defeat by Scarborough last week by leaking in another five at Telford. Goalkeeper Chris McKenzie produced two great saves to deny Leigh's David McNiven and Warren
THE Japanese Ambassador to the UK has chosen to visit a Burnley wrought ironsmith on a whistlestop tour of the North West. Rourke & Co Ltd is one of only three places that His Excellency Masaki Orita will be visiting when he comes to the region on
RESIDENTS on a rundown Burnley estate are meeting to form a lobby group to fight for funds to regenerate their area. Piccadilly's Moving was started by a small group of residents from two residents' groups - Palatine Square Residents' Association and
BURNLEY residents are being given their say on the future of the borough's sports centres. Last month Burnley Council revealed plans for a major overhaul of its sports and leisure facilities, which included the closure of some or all of the three main
TWO women who have launched a controversial saucy calendar to raise money for charity have been given a helping hand -- by one of the original Calendar Girls. Barnoldswick town councillor Jennifer Purcell and her friend Dianne Hodkinson, have produced
A FEW minutes before 11am bailiffs arrived at the house adjoining Albert Road Methodist Church, Colne, where Mr and Mrs Ernest Harper lived for 17 years. And into the street went all their family belongings. The Harper's 18-month-old Spanial, Lassie,
A MAJOR disaster loomed when a chemical tanker was involved in a crash on the main Darwen to Bolton road. Two men were trapped in the accident but fears of a massive explosion were averted. Stuart Holt, head of Clitheroe Royal Grammar school, praised
A POLICE officer today re-lived the moment he feared he would die when he was attacked by a man wielding a six-inch hunting knife. PC David Taylor said he dodged lunges to his head and fell to the ground when he was set upon by Peter Pearson, 34, of Springfield
BUTCHERS Bennett's have proved they're a cut above the rest! The company, which has been in the town since 1919, struck gold, silver and bronze in the coveted North West Excellence for Meat Products event held at the Bolton's Reebok Stadium. Bennett's
A NURSE whose project to help people with learning difficulties won her national acclaim has collected her prestigious award at a ceremony in London. Since 2001, Isabel Robinson, of Langho, developed specialist psychotherapy treatment for people with
A MAN was today fighting for his life after his car collided with a 13 tonne cattle wagon on a country road. David Hughes, 36, of Almer Place, Clitheroe, was airlifted to Royal Preston Hospital after the accident at 2.30pm on Saturday. Police said his
STAN Ternent has ordered Burnley to "buck up" following another demoralising defeat at Derby. Ternent was unhappy at seeing another gift goal cost his side dear at Pride Park, where Arthur Gnohere compounded the misery by picking up a red card in stoppage
RESIDENTS were invited to air their concerns about their neighbourhood and point out improvements at a meeting at Darwen's Earcroft Community Base. The public meeting, entitled Neighbourhood Learning and Planning In Earcroft, was organised by Blackburn
A PUBLIC meeting to discuss controversial plans for a £50million wind farm on Scout Moor is being held in Edenfield tomorrow. Residents who believe the 26 turbines proposed by Peel Holdings and United Utilities will be a blot on the landscape have been
A CHARITY night in aid of Blackburn and District Children's Diabetes Group has been given a boost by Coronation Street. The show is currently featuring the character Katy Harris, who was diagnosed with diabetes. And show bosses have donated the group
A NEW arts company could be formed from pupils at Our Lady and St John RC High School, it was revealed. Headteacher of the Blackburn school, Collette Gillen, announced the move at the annual prize-giving and asked students to come forward as would-be
A BLACKBURN drug-users' charity, a national blueprint for helping addicts, is preparing to open in Burnley. Those on the Margins of Society (THOMAS) has successfully operated in the Blackburn area for 10 years and has been hailed as a Godsend for the
ACCRINGTON Stanley will play a friendly against Prescot Cables tomorrow night at the Interlink Express Stadium, kick-off 7.30pm. Admission is FREE to all supporters.
Stevenage 2 Accrington Stanley 1 RORY Prendergast spent the night in hospital following a sickening collision with Stevenage skipper Steve Watson. It was feared the Stanley midfielder had broken his collarbone after he lay motionless on the ground for
ALSAGER ...2 BACUP BOROUGH ...5 BACUP Borough rocked Alsager with a stunning five star first-half performance. On 16 minutes Lee Anderson made a long clearance which finished with the home keeper averting the danger by racing from his line and clearing
NELSON ...1 DAISY HILL ...1 NELSON had to settle for a point against a vastly improved Daisy Hill at Victoria Park on Saturday. The Blues started well and could have had the game sewn up by half-time but Duncan Bennett was guilty of a glaring miss when
CHORLEY ...1 GUISELEY ...2 ANOTHER three important points slipped from Chorley's grasp in a tight contest in which the Magpies had worked very hard to take control. But two substitutions gave Guiseley a sharper edge in the last 20 minutes and they duly
FESTIVE primary school pupils have won themselves an early Christmas present from the Mayor of Bury. One of Bury Council's official Christmas cards has been designed by six-year-old Kate Smith of St Mary's CE primary in Hawkshaw. Her creation, entitled
DETECTIVES are investigating the possibility that two armed robberies committed in the Bury area within an hour of each other could be linked. Two men in balaclavas entered the Co-op Late Shop on Mile Lane at about 8.45pm and demanded cash from the female
Clitheroe Ramblers meet car park, Chester Avenue, Clitheroe, 10am for Bursnall. Leader Jim Lees. Craft Fair, Pendle Hippodrome Theatre, Colne, noon-8pm. Until Nov 23. Blackburn Fellowship for the Hard of Hearing meet Ardley Centre, Bent Street, Blackburn
I WAS astonished to watch the council erect a speed camera opposite Lytham Road on Roman Road, Blackburn. I have lived in an adjacent property for more than 10 years and haven't seen any speed-related accidents where the camera is sited. It is a blatant
I SEE from your report (LET, November 12) that the people of East Lancashire are being asked to back an extra payment of 26p a week on top of our council tax for us to keep our local 'bobby' on the streets. Would it not be possible for the revenue created
RECENTLY we were promised a review of community centres and provisions for the whole of the borough. Publication was promised for the end of October. We were then told this had been delayed and it was then announced at a council meeting that four community
A PIONEERING drugs charity used as a national blueprint for helping addicts is setting its sights on Burnley in a move heralded as a godsend. Those on the Margins of Society (THOMAS) has helped hundreds of people get their lives back on track in the 10
BLACKBURN battler Barry Ferguson has revealed he is finally settling into life at Ewood Park. The Scottish midfielder had confessed he was homesick shortly after making the £6m switch from Glasgow Rangers two months ago. But the midfield ace, who starred
A DISUSED mill building in Burnley has been destroyed by fire. The blaze in part of Livingstone Mill, in Cameron Street, at 1.20am, yesterday, is believed to have been started deliberately. Firefighters said the building was well alight when they arrived
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man attempted to hold up a security van. A Securitas guard was attacked after collecting money from Daneshouse Health Centre, Daneshouse Road, Burnley. The man demanded money from him, but the security guard
AN ASIAN newsagent has had BNP scratched into the bonnet of his car by vandals. Qamar Zaman, who has run the shop in Whalley Road, Padiham, for 18 months, woke up on Saturday morning to find the damage. This is not the first time the 22-year-old newsagent
Bristol Rovers 1 Bury 2: GLENN Whelan put his forthcoming international commitments behind him to turn in an outstanding performance as Bury grabbed all three points at the Memorial Ground. It would have been easy for the on-loan Manchester City midfielder
A BANNED driver who clocked up more than 120mph on the motorway with police in pursuit has been jailed for 18 months. Burnley Crown Court heard how Khobibe Ansar, 21, drove a BMW M3 convertible on the hard shoulder, went round a roundabout the wrong way
THIS week sees the culmination of our Pride of East Lancashire Campaign, with a bumper gala awards night at King George's Hall, Blackburn, on Saturday. The event will yet again prove just how good local people are at having a party. Reporter IAN SINGLETON
BLACKBURN Co-op hoped to introduce "the most competitively priced petrol in north east Lancashire" at their new filling station site in Mill Hill. Prince Charles visited British Aerospace in Warton and maintenance men walked out of Great Harwood's big
TRADITIONAL Sunday lunchtimes conjure up images of huge plates of roast beef and Yorkshire puddings and maybe a quiet pint in the local pub. But while regulars at one Great Harwood pub tuck in to their food they're treated to something spectacular - salsa
A FATHER-OF-SIX who attacked his terrified wife and held a knife to her throat has avoided jail - but has been warned he will go to prison if he does it again. Burnley Crown Court heard how Mohammed Pervaiz, 48, threatened to kill victim Marie Pervaiz
TWO elderly woman aged 80 and 67 were victims of a con man posing as a police officer in two separate incidents in Prestwich. On both occasions, the conman approached the front door of the houses in Stanhope Court, Bury New Road, and showed a false identification
A POPULAR Bury town centre pub has been put on the market. The sale of the lease of the Duke of Clarence is being handled by commercial property agents Kings Business Transfer. The Silver Street pub is in a prime location and Gerry Murphy, a partner at
BURNLEY FC have announced ticket details for the festive trips to Preston and Crewe. The Clarets have been allocated 3,000 tickets for the First Division game against North End at Deepdale on Saturday, December 20 (ko 12.30pm). Prices are £16 for adults
Derby County 2 Burnley 0 - DARREN BENTLEY reports BAD misses, poor defending, awful refereeing. Delete where applicable, but underline the fact Burnley now find themselves deep in the sticky stuff. Stan Ternent put it more succinctly in his post-match
BURY'S on-loan midfielder Harpal Singh could be out of action for up to six weeks after dislocating his shoulder. The 22-year-old, who earlier this week extended his loan deal from Leeds until the end of the season, sustained the injury in training. Singh
BLACKBURN battler Barry Ferguson has revealed he is finally settling into life at Ewood Park. The Scottish midfielder had confessed he was homesick shortly after making the £6m switch from Glasgow Rangers two months ago. But the midfield ace, who starred
STAN Ternent has ordered Burnley to "buck up" following another demoralising defeat at Derby. Ternent was unhappy at seeing another gift goal cost his side dear at Pride Park, where Arthur Gnohere compounded the misery by picking up a red card in stoppage
I HAVE lost the number of times I've said "I only popped into town to go to pay a bill...", as I struggle home with armfuls of carrier bags. It's sad, but I can't venture into any town centre without being drawn to the shops. It is as if an invisible
PEOPLE interested in finding out more about the history of their townspeople have one week left to go along to an exhibition of local church war memorials at Darwen Library. The exhibition, organised by the Imperial War Museum and Darwen Camera Club,
A BRAVE boy who was mauled and seriously injured by a dog is hoping to leave his nightmares behind him after returning to school. Joshua Preston, eight, of Springfield Street, Darwen, had a two-hour operation to re-attach his nose and stitch bite marks
A PENSIONER who had her head shaved in aid of an East Lancashire theatre said: "If it wasn't for the make-up, I'd look like a convict." Betty Wilkinson, 72, of Kirkstone Avenue, in Cherry Tree, Blackburn, had her white locks shaved-off on stage at Blackburn's
YOUNG arsonists in East Lancashire are to meet firefighters face to face in a bid to stop them re-offending. The programme is a collaboration between Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, youth offending teams, police and social services. Youths aged 10
MUSLIMS in East Lancashire today claimed they were being victimised in the war against terror after a Blackburn scholar was detained at Heathrow Airport for seven hours. Shaykh Yusuf Suleman Motala, of Blackburn, is one of Britain's leading Muslim scholars
DISTRICT and European elections could all be carried out by post in East Lancashire next year, signalling the beginning of the end for polling stations. The move could see the June ballots being used as a practice run for the autumn's referendum on a
Castleton Gabriels ...0 Colne ...3 AFTER the midweek high of beating Southport in the Marsden Trophy it was back to league action for Colne. On a very poor playing surface, the Reds took the game to the home side in the early stages but had a let off
DARWEN ...3 OLDHAM TOWN ...1 DARWEN grabbed a confidence-boosting win over Oldham Town at the Anchor Ground. Boss Steve Wilkes named the same side that went down 4-3 to Curzon Ashton in midweek, and the players responded by netting three times in the
SALFORD CITY ...0 CLITHEROE ...3 CLITHEROE moved back to within a point of league leaders Mossley following a comfortable victory over Salford. The Blues took the lead on 10 minutes when Chris Heslop robbed the full back and cut inside to fire home past
RAMSBOTTOM UNITED ...2 ST HELENS TOWN ...1 RAMSBOTTOM'S caretaker boss Ged Walsh made only a few changes to the side which impressed in last week's Lancashire Marsden Cup win over UniBond side Barrow. The only enforced change was the debut of goalkeeper
ROSSENDALE UNITED ...3 BISHOP AUCKLAND ...0 ROSSENDALE United claimed a much needed three points from what turned out to be a comfortable victory in the end. A lack of league games in recent weeks had seen the club slide to third from bottom in the UniBond
THE Retired Teachers' Association is appealing for new members to carry on the legacy of their years of experience. The association is affiliated to the National Union of Teachers, although members do not have to be membersn. Founders envisaged a social
