TEARS of relief and joy were shed by a family as they returned to their home in Bury after spending nearly a month locked in a detention centre, facing deportation. Mr Andrew Jankowiak (46), his wife Elizabeth (40) and 16-year-old son Jack arrived at
COUNCIL bosses today declared war on grime in a bid to make its borough more attractive. But what exactly will it be spending the extra £1million on and just how bad is Blackburn with Darwen? DAVID HIGGERSON finds out. BACK streets covered with ripped-open
A PUB chief today said it was vital a Blackburn bar shut for six months remains as a pub. The Boulevard, next to the railway station, is being sold off by Manchester-based auction house Fleurets, with an asking price of £85,000. The pub closed several
A WOMAN jailed for repeatedly stabbing her neighbour after a long-running dispute has failed to get her conviction overturned. Rose Brownsell, 36, of Preston New Road, Blackburn, complained about her legal team to London's Criminal Appeal Court, contending
BLACKBURN football star Dwight Yorke is attempting to overturn a £350 speeding fine. Lawyers for the striker were arguing at the High Court in London that his conviction was procedurally flawed. His first appeal to Manchester Crown Court was unsuccessful
POLICE are setting up a checkpoint to spot dangerous caravans heading across the motorway network this summer, together with the Vehicle Inspectorate. Stop checks will be run on Thursday from 8am at the end of the M65, close to the M61 and M6. Inspector
A CROOKED solicitor who raided clients' bank accounts while his business partner was seriously ill has been struck off. Pamela Higab was battling cancer when officials launched a probe into Philip Pressler. But Higab was brought before a tribunal as a
SHOP traders are being urged to open their doors to the thousands of spectators expected to visit Darwen's number one music festival. Darwen Music Live, re-named Darwen 2003 - Keeping Music Live! for this year's event, will boast around 60 acts on eight
GLEN Little has followed Gareth Taylor's lead by insisting he would be happy to agree a new contract with Burnley. The winger saw last season out on loan at Reading in order to boost the Turf Moor coffers by £125,000. But Little, who has just one year
ON rolls the local government gravy train in East Lancashire. Hardly have the Tories got control at Hyndburn than they boost the number of specialist posts for councillors and send the allowances bill rocketing up by 20 per cent to £64,500. Councillors
VANDALS are believed to be behind a fire at a Leyland scrap yard where 13 cars went up in smoke yesterday. Paul Rhodes' scrap yard, Leyland Lane, was well alight when firefighter arrived at 7.50pm. Mr Rhodes, 51, said: "This is an act of mindless vandalism
READ teenager Oliver Newby was handed his first class debut by Lancashire at Durham University today. The 18-year-old seamer, who was given a scholarship by Lancashire this summer and has impressed for the second team in their early season matches, was
Former West Indies fast bowler Eldine Baptiste, 43, has been arrested on charges of attempting to import cocaine hidden in golf balls into Britain. He was detained after arriving at Gatwick Airport after a flight from his native Antigua. Antigua and Barbuda
GLEN Little has followed Gareth Taylor's lead by insisting he would be happy to agree a new contract with Burnley. The winger saw last season out on loan at Reading in order to boost the Turf Moor coffers by £125,000. But Little, who has just one year
CHRIS Casper has cleared up the confusion over reports he is set to join Burnley this summer. Speculation had linked Casper - the son of former Burnley player and manager Frank - with a move back north to link up with Stan Ternent's men. But the former
POLICE are appealing for witnesses to a ram raid on Chatburn Post Office. Raiders drove a four-by-four vehicle through the front window of the post office yesterday, then made off with a cash machine in a stolen sports car. The postmaster woke to the
A 10-YEAR-OLD crossbreed dog was virtually bald when it was taken from its owner by the RSPCA, a court heard. And a district judge hearing a prosecution at Blackburn magistrates asked if it was the same animal when he was shown before and after pictures
BURGLARS raided the empty home of an ex-Accrington Stanley player after he died and made off with cherished football memorabilia. The family of Jack Ash, who played for the Reds between 1935 and 1946, today appealed for the return of the photographs,
POLICE have appealed for witnesses to a road crash which left a 32-year-old man with leg injuries. Joseph Walsh, 32, of Stockport, was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary following the accident on the A56 near Huncoat on Monday morning. Mr Walsh underwent
A CAMPAIGN to re-open the Skipton-Colne railway line received more publicity when Pendle MP Gordon Prentice pushed the issue in the Commons. During questions to the Department for Transport, Mr Prentice asked what assessment had been made of the viability
THIS stroll begins with a bit of pleasant controversy relating to the name of the White Bear, at Barrowford. Most think that it refers to the fact that an albino bear was baited here. Others, albeit a minority, think that it may have been named after
ON an early spring morning the sun was shining brightly as I left the Gamecock to the sound of lapwings and curlews displaying around the damp fields overlooking the Calder. After a period of heavy industrial pollution this river is now running clear
PAUL Agnew's journalistic career has come full circle in the last three decades. Twenty nine years ago, the former chief executive of Preston North End was preparing to cut his teeth as a junior reporter on the now defunct Blackburn Times. These days,
A POULTRY firm manager who drove while banned gave police false details after being stopped coming off the motorway. Burnley Magistrates were told that Mohammed Munawar Chaudhry, 27, was not identified by police until six months later. The defendant,
PROPOSALS to upgrade Burnley Central station due to start soon have been put back, the town's MP has learned. Peter Pike has expressed his disappointment at the latest delay on a redevelopment project he has been urging for 40 years. He made his revelation
STAFF at Burnley Council's parks department have launched an investigation into how several gravestones in a Padiham churchyard came to be vandalised. A number of headstones in the cemetery at St Leonard's Church, which is maintained by the council on
FIREFIGHTERS are to team up with Burnley Council and police to hand out safety advice to residents in an arson hotspot. Officers from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and Pennine Police will meet residents in Burnley's Trinity ward. The event has been
EAST Lancashire MP Peter Pike has urged the government to do more to support art centres and theatres in the area. The Burnley MP tackled culture minister Kim Howells on the issue demanding to know how much money was going to such bodies in smaller towns
BLACKBURN fans could be forgiven for casting a few envious glances at the TV tonight. Martin O'Neill's Celtic take on Porto in the final of the UEFA Cup -- a tie set to be screened live on the BBC. And I, for one, will be sat in front of the box hoping
DAVID Dunn's future as a Blackburn player was today shrouded in doubt after the Rovers midfielder turned down the offer of a new contract. Rovers boss Graeme Souness wants Dunn to stay at Ewood next season and the club approached him about the possibility
A £1MILLION blitz on Blackburn and Darwen's rubbish-strewn streets was launched today. People caught dumping rubbish and littering streets were warned they would face court and heavy fines. A whole host of initiatives, ranging from the appointment of
I READ your report (LET, May 1) on the absence of Blackburn councillor Graham Pound with disgust and agreed with Ian Hawthornthwaite's comments (Letters, May 8). How insulting to local electors can you get? To hear the other Conservatives arguing about
DID you know that the proposed constitution for the European Union could effectively end Britain's history as an independent nation? The proposed constitution is openly federalist and would leave us only a few steps away from a unitary European state.
LAST week I was watching a herring gull chick emerging from its egg. On the top of the bill of each young bird is a structure known as an egg tooth. This works like a sharp chisel and the young birds bash the inside of the egg until the shell breaks.
A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Tony Hadley, Municipal Hall, Albert Road, Colne, 8.45pm. Blackburn Cathedral Drama Group present "The Women Who Would Be Clever," Blackburn Cathedral, 7.30pm. St Cuthbert's
A MUSLIM soldier who was refused halal meat rations despite offering to buy his own sheep for the pot had his human rights claim dismissed by Appeal Court judges. Former corporal Annis Mangera took the Ministry of Defence to an employment tribunal alleging
VANDALS have wrecked a pair of 100 year-old stained glass windows by hurling bricks at them in two nights of destruction. The vandalism has deeply upset the minister and parishioners of New Row Methodist Church in Heys Lane, Livesey, Blackburn. Yet, the
A MAN hit by a taxi on the way home from a Blackburn pub died of natural causes and not as a result of the crash injuries, a post mortem examination has revealed. Terence Higginson, 57, of Waterloo Close, was crossing Livesey Branch Road at 11.20pm on
A PENSIONER died while trying to help friends cross the road after a church trip, an inquest was told. Barbara Berry, 69, of Cherry Crescent, Rawtenstall, had stepped off a coach in Rawtenstall and was trying to stop the traffic when she was hit by a
DAVID Dunn's future as a Blackburn player was today shrouded in doubt after the Rovers midfielder turned down the offer of a new contract. Rovers boss Graeme Souness wants Dunn to stay at Ewood next season and the club approached him about the possibility
THE increasing return of bobbies to the beat is a move welcomed by all but villains -- as they deter crime and their visible presence makes the streets feel safer. And hats off to new police 'surgeries' scheme being tried next month in yob-plagued parts
MARK Rishton can sense the good times returning to Baxenden a decade after he experienced the sweet taste of championship success. Rishton is the club's only surviving member of the Jennings Ribblesdale League title-winning side of 1993 and he still uses
SCHOOLS are being encouraged to get involved in a new recycling initiative. Up to 1,000 schools across the UK are involved in the scheme to recycle old Yellow Pages directories. The school which collects most books will get a prize of £300 and every school
THE future of care provision for the elderly in Lancashire has moved closer with the opening of a sheltered accommodation scheme - but the project met with anger from protesters against care home closures. The Extra Care Sheltered Housing Scheme has been
REGULARS at an East Lancashire club could get more than they bargained for when they ask for a pint -- because the steward is a veteran blood donor who has just served up his 50th pint. John Freeman started giving blood when he was in his 20s after being
VETERAN soccer referee Ian Nicholson blew his own final whistle after 34 years as an official in the amateur leagues. The Keighley Cup Final was the last match refereed by Ian, 74, of Tarleton Avenue, Burnley.
MUSEUM curator Susan Bourne was not laid back when it came to buying a bed. She snapped up the 17th-century four-poster for Towneley Hall museum, Burnley, for £23,000.
TODAY we launch the first of our Pride of East Lancashire Awards -- the accolade for Community Groups. In all there are more than 2,000 groups operating in communities throughout East Lancashire which make a huge difference to people's lives. Each of
STEVE Palmer, executive director of the Learning and Skills Council Lancashire, said: "We are proud to be supporting the Pride of East Lancashire Awards and in particular, the Community Group category which launches today. "The campaign is a tremendous
A LANCASHIRE woman has had to put her first venture into business on hold as a result of the SARS epidemic in China. Fiona Arnold, from Foulridge, was planning to launch MiHan - a Chinese furniture emporium - in Barrowford this summer. But now due to
MELISSA Westwood can't believe her good fortune to working at the stately home she visited as a child. She spoke to Jenny Scott... WHEN Melissa Westwood was eight years old she visited Hoghton Tower with her family. Now 37, Melissa can remember little
LANCASHIRE artist David Lyons gave a sneak preview of his latest work to County Coun Niki Penney, the outgoing chairman of Lancashire County Council, at the 'Worlds Apart' exhibition. The Barrowford born painter's love of art began when he started painting
PUPILS at a primary school in Nelson got their teachers's mouths watering when they turned their school hall into an Indian restaurant. As part of their geography studies, pupils from year four at Marsden Primary School, in Percy Street, took part in
HUNDREDS of visitors including nine schools visited East Lancashire's Anne Frank Exhibition, local MP Peter Pike has revealed - and he now hopes to bring it back to the area. The Labour backbencher is delighted by the positive feedback he has had on the
AN OLD tree stump in a Burnley park has been given a new lease of life thanks to an artist. Tree sculptor John Adamson has created the "hide and seek" carving after being asked to spruce up the tree stump by the borough council and the Friends of Thompson
A DRUG-addicted thief escaped a jail sentence but was warned by magistrates if he breached his sentence, custody awaited. Christopher John Woodrup, 33, was given a 12-month community rehabilitation order by the Burnley bench and ordered to pay £20 costs
POLICE in Lancashire have ruled out any links between the murders committed by beauty salon killer Rena Salmon and her Burnley-born nephew. The Lancashire Evening Telegraph reported on Saturday how police in the county were liasing with the team investigating
BURNLEY MP Peter Pike has praised the newly opened Burnley Citizen's Advice Bureau saying he is impressed with the changes that have taken place. Mr Pike said: "The much improved premises - with good access for disabled people - is clearly providing a
POLICE today warned people living next door to empty homes to be vigilant after burglars smashed their way through the wall of a vacant house and raided a man's home. Robert Taylor returned from a break in Blackpool to find a gaping hole in his bathroom
A COLLECTIVE sigh could be heard echoing around the Pennine hills earlier this week. Barry Kilby's admission that Clarets boss Stan Ternent must perform his summer rebuilding programme without any transfer funds was a steely dagger through the heart of
I ENJOY an occasional drink myself, but I am becoming increasingly concerned at the way our society accepts and, in some cases, even embraces the over-indulgence of alcohol and drink-related behaviour. With the young in particular, it seems to be a joke
WHY all the fuss and condemnation of the British National Party winning council seats in Burnley and Blackburn by the other main political parties and the media? Members of the BNP are British by birth from several generations of British stock and are
OF course Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies (Letters, May 7) will plug the Euro for all he's worth -- his career and lucrative salary and expenses depend on it. The electorate will eventually vote 'no' to shackling our economy more closely to the gravy
LITTER, graffiti, dumped rubbish - you don't have to look far to find it in East Lancashire. Litter creates eyesores and health hazards, harms people's quality of life and stains our region's image. That is why, hard on the heels of the launch of our
