SOMEONE once said that there are now so many rats in Britain you are never more than three feet away from one of the ugly rodents. Take a walk in any of our town centres and it soon becomes clear that in East Lancashire you are never more than three feet
REFERRING to David Kimberley's recent letter about speed humps, why have we horrible things on the Boulevard where traffic can only go three miles an hour? Also Silas Wilson (March 13) writes about humps on St Silas Road and now Johnston Street where
IWRITE referring to a letter (LET, March 12) regarding speed humps. I agree with the writer that these 'humps' are everywhere. What I would like to know is why, on Carluke Street, Blackburn, have they put a 20mph speed limit AND 'humps,' surely if there
IREFER to your article in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph (March 22) regarding motoring in front of Accrington Town Hall. Perhaps the authorities should get their act together first before condemning the motorist for using this part of Blackburn Road
DOCTORS have failed to identify a cause for the death of a week old Atherton baby. An inquest in Bolton heard how Benjamin James Blackwell was born at the Royal Bolton Hospital in November last year weighing 6lb 1oz. His parents Rebecca Simpson and Lee
GREEN campaigners have slammed a Padiham company after half a tonne of fibres spilled into a river when a warehouse collapsed yesterday. But the company today said it was working with the Environment Agency to clear up the problem the agency said was
BLACKBURN's new cinema and leisure complex is set to be the biggest in East Lancashire, it has been revealed. Work on the area's largest leisure park is due to get under way in August after months of delays and hitches. Details about the full scale of
AGE Concern's charity shops are supporting the campaign against the proposed closure of 13 post offices throughout the borough. Petitions are now available for people to sign. All the signatures will be passed on to Post Office bosses. But people are
BURY'S new fusilier museum has taken a giant step closer to becoming a reality. The Fusiliers Museum at Wellington Barracks has been awarded a Development Grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund of nearly £50,000 to help them prepare plans for a move to a
FIVE council tenants who refused to allow Bury Council to service their gas heating appliances will now have to stump up £800 each in costs to the council. The council had to go to Bury County Court on Tuesday last week to secure injunctions against the
Meanwhile, teenage sensation Gallagher has been called into the latest Scotland squad. Berti Vogts has named the 19-year-old in his squad for next Wednesday's game against Romania at Hampden Park. It's the young Scot's second full call-up. He won first
BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Barry Ferguson is closing in on a first team return. The Scotland international, who has been sidelined for the last three months with a fractured kneecap, is expected to resume full training again next week. And Rovers boss
A COAL miner whose health was ruined after 30 years down the pits loved his job, an inquest heard. The hearing at Burnley Magistrates' Court was told Kenneth Dyson, 77, worked in appalling conditions but would have gone back down if he could. He was given
A KEBAB shop worker who went into Argos to discuss buying a camera made the assistant an indecent proposal, a court was told. Burnley Magistrates heard how Mehrzad Abdollian, 43, told the shocked woman he wanted sex with her and would not leave the store
TWO village bars have been ordered to step up security following violence at the weekend. Magistrates have ordered bosses at the Rood Bar, Barrowford, to axe their current security firm, Burnley-based Link Security, and employ a new one from outside the
SENIOR police officers will be canvassing shoppers' views on crime in Colne tomorrow. Officers will be inviting people to fill in a Home Office questionnaire called Building Safer Communities in Asda from 2pm to 4pm. They will also be handing out newsletters
ONE of East Lancashire's most hapless criminals was yesterday behind bars again - four days after being released on his 34th birthday. Burnley magistrates heard Joseph Farrelly Phillips, while high on amphetamine, was spotted wandering up driveways and
A ROMAN Catholic school was planned for Blackburn's Shadsworth estate. Blackburn education committee said it wanted one or more Roman Catholic secondary modern schools to be built by 1956 at the latest. The building of a junior school at Longshaw was
FIFTEEN Blackburn bus drivers threatened strike action if they did not receive a pay rise. The drivers attacked the "penny pinching" attitude of the authorities and demanded they be paid an extra £4 a week. Blackburn transport committee said they would
PENDLE councillors threatened legal action against the county council for failing to ease traffic congestion. Pendle Council demanded that County Hall give its support to a bypass around the Foulridge area to ease traffic problems. They said the county
A COUNCIL'S Conservative leadership has declared its opposition to the principle of regional government, claiming government plans to scrap or merge Lancashire authorities will be costly and undemocratic. The announcement comes as Hyndburn Council prepares
PUPILS can at last swap their wellies for football boots following a £19,616 award from the Football Foundation, the UK's largest sports charity. The cash boost for St Charles' RC Primary, Rishton, will allow the school to install a modern drainage system
ENVIRONMENTAL authorities and conservation groups are investigating oil slicks which have started to appear on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, near Rishton, after heavy rain. Experts have so far been unable to trace the source of the oil, which could come
THE RSPCA called in a ballistics expert to trap a Prestwich man who shot a cat. Pensioner, William Sloane, 66, lied about owning a gun and taking a pot shot at a neighbour's pet, a Manchester court heard. But when police searched his home in Highfield
A SUBMARINE was deployed this morning to search for the body of a Clitheroe diver missing for ten days. Neil Robertson disappeared last Saturday after being swept away in a force 10 gale while exploring a sunken wreck off the west coast of Scotland. Police
When our beloved Burnley Football Club were looking down the barrel, one step away from the abyss of non-league football, the club turned to someone who had represented them with distinction over four decades. When the Clarets took on Orient in the last
HOLKER Old Boys victory over Padiham at Rakesmoor last night gave the Cumbrian side a unique treble over the Storks this season with a double in the league and a cup win as well. It's never easy making the 200-mile trip in midweek, and with the Barrow-based
SECOND World War veterans are being urged to finalise their travel arrangements if they want to attend D-Day commemorative events in June. Anyone who plans to attend the main international parade at Arromanches in Normandy at 3pm on June 6 must complete
BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Barry Ferguson is closing in on a first team return. The Scotland international, who has been sidelined for the last three months with a fractured kneecap, is expected to resume full training again next week. And Rovers boss
RELIEVED Tony Grant has vowed to help steer Burnley to safety after getting the green light to return to action. The Clarets received the news they were hoping for last night when Grant was told the cartilage damage in his right knee was not as bad as
Radcliffe Boro 0 Lancaster 2: PETER Thomson scored a goal and created another for Lancaster City to consign Radcliffe Borough to Unibond Premier Division defeat at Stainton Park on Tuesday night. The match was evenly balanced until the 52nd minute, when
A PETITION to try to reduce the number of youths drinking alcohol on the streets of Darwen will be considered by Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive board meeting in May. Resident and campaigner Roy Davis, of Olive Lane, collected 377 signatures
A MURDER trial into the samurai sword killing of a Ramsbottom man has heard how the victim was stabbed after being chased down an alleyway. The allegations were made by Stephen Goodwin, 22, who with three others had denied murdering a man with a samurai
SLAG Lane waste disposal point is to get a £88,000 facelift. The money will fund a number of improvements including separate entrances and exits for service vehicles and the public, improving and creating additional roads, adding signage and increasing
WHEN Bernard Bennett threw away an old carpet at an official rubbish dump he hardly expected to pick up a £50 ticket for littering. Atherton pensioner Mr Bennett, of Marton Drive, went to Chanter's Industrial Estate at Hindsford last month to get rid
A PROJECT to help sustain the growing number of North West call centre jobs amid global competition has been launched. Call North West aims to protect the 146,000 people who form four per cent of the area's working population and work in its 650 call
CUSTOMER reaction to a new pay and display charge at a Blackburn supermarket has forced supermarket giants Morrisons to make changes to their charging policy. After the car park opened as pay and display on March 15, shoppers had to spend a minimum of
A BLACKBURN teacher could be set to scoop a national teaching award after being nominated by a former pupil. Avril Ormisher, a teacher at St Bede's High School in Livesey Branch Road, is one of four teachers from the North West nominated for the special
A GANG of drunken teenagers who played dust-cart dodgems caused up to £350,000 worth of damage in a waste recycling compound. Blackburn magistrates heard that £80,000 lorries were shunted round the Smurfit site after about 20 youths breached a steel perimeter
A ROW over a parking space between neighbours has sparked a police probe after it resulted in a van being parked on a "dangerous" bend. Neil Cheetham said he is forced to park the vehicle outside his home after Bernad Elcox refused to let him use a track
A BURY teenager was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday on drug trafficking charges in Thailand. Michael Alan Connell, aged 19, was sentenced to death at Bangkok Criminal Court but it was then reduced to life imprisonment because of his confession
A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Meditation with Gen Kelsang Pagpa, Room 2, Blackburn Central Library, 7pm. An introduction to Meditation. Cabinet Question Time with BBC TV's Dave Guest, Keirby Park
TODAY'S news that Blackburn's long-awaited cinema and leisure complex is finally to get off the ground is well timed. The complex, which includes a health club with swimming pool as well as a ten screen cinema and bowling alley, was granted planning permission
THE common shrew is one of the least understood of British animals. The tiny mammal is not a mouse, but a fierce predator eating insects and especially earthworms. A close look at the skull of a dead shrew shows that its teeth have a red edge to them.
OPERATION Nimrod, the Lancashire-wide initiative to tackle street-level drug dealers, has resulted in more than 300 people being sentenced to a total of 1,000 years in jail. The figures, which work out at an average of 3.3 years in jail per person, were
MR Wignall wrote (LET, March 18) saying that both 4x4 off-road vehicles, motorcycles and doubtless any other engine/motor powered vehicles should be allowed to use public foot/bridleways in the countryside! Ordinary vehicle insurance "does not" cover
IWOULD like to agree with the sentiments of the letter published from A Pensioner (LET, March 17) regarding "Mutant Yobs." The people referred to were probably born in the mid-sixties, just about the time the do-gooder society was about to click in. The
YOU know it and I know it. However, the remarkable Football League record currently held by Burnley seems to have become something of a state secret! Arsenal's relentless charge towards the Premiership title has now taken them to 29 unbeaten league games
PHIL Starbuck faces a hectic time trying to bring in more new faces before Thursday's transfer deadline. His Leigh RMI side are next to bottom of the Nationwide Conference and staring relegation in the face, but with seven games remaining have a chance
I was so happy to see him back in the Rovers team on Saturday because they're going to need him in the final push to avoid relegation. He has made a fantastic start to his career in the Premiership, not just because of the fact that he's scoring - but
AMID all the bullets which were flying last week, Graeme Souness made a profound statement about the sticky situation in which his players found themselves. "In my experience, football mirrors life and you only really find out about people when the going
AN inquest has been opened and adjourned into a pregnant mum who died after falling down the stairs at her home. The hearing at Burnley Magistrates' Court was told Deborah Carroll, 33, was rushed in hospital after developing back pain. She later underwent
BURNLEY MP Peter Pike is backing a Bill to make wearing cycle helmets compulsory following the tragic death of James Hadfield in a cycling accident. Mr Pike attended the launch of the Protective Headgear for Young Cyclists Bill - a Private Member's Bill
RESIDENTS in Burnley are planning to transform an area of wasteland into an open space for the community. The residents' group, Piccadilly's Moving, said the site, which includes Jessie's Park, has been a magnet for mess and anti-social behaviour since
A UNIQUE scheme to give Clarets fans cheap chat is becoming the talk of the terraces. Club bosses hope the service, Turf Moor Telecom, will raise vital funds for the cash-strapped club and say it could pay for a new player each season. More than 1,000
GREEN campaigners have slammed a Padiham company after half a tonne of fibres spilled into a river when a warehouse collapsed yesterday. But the company today said it was working with the Environment Agency to clear up the problem the agency said was
A NELSON-based solicitor has taken on an uphill challenge to raise money for people with head injuries. Geoff Dickinson, 47, a solicitor at Farnworth and Watsons in Carr Road, will take on a 150km ride including 18 hills, many of them cobbled, when he
ELDERLY people and those with mental health problems are among those expected to benefit from a new partnership across Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale. The agreement between Lancashire County Council Social Services and Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary
AFTER three wins on the trot, and the prospect of a home game for the first time since late January, Blackburn RUFC's second string where hoping to capitalise on the their recent convincing performances against Chester. Chester played with the wind in
CHORLEY Lynx remain rooted at the foot of their group in Arriva Trains Cup after suffering their fifth straight defeat against Oldham at Victory Park. Once again Lynx were made to pay for a series of unforced errors which cost them tries especially in
A CHOIR will take part in a special fundraising performance at Immanuel Church, Oswaldtwistle, this weekend. The Conchord Singers, who are based at Rhyddings Methodist Church, will perform Mary Magdalene, by Roger Jones, on Sunday. Choir secretary, Barbara
THE work of a stray dog charity has highlighted by the leader of Hyndburn Council. Coun Peter Britcliffe, of Oswaldtwistle, met dog warden Steve Wood at the council's Scaitcliffe House offices in Accrington, to highlight the work of Hyndburn-based Stray
A TEN-year-old East Lancashire girl charged with two arson attacks on Accrington shops, which endangered lives and caused over £500,000 of damage, appeared in court yesterday The girl, from Burnley, who cannot be identified because of her age, was brought
THE Conservative Party today claimed the Government had wasted more than £5,000 trying to promote the case for an elected regional assembly in Blackburn this month. After regional affairs spokeswoman, Caroline Spelman, and her assistant, Bernard Jenkin
TWIN Valley Homes is threatening - amid safety fears - to turf out tenants who refuse to let in gas inspectors. The housing authority has a duty in law to make sure that gas fittings are safe to use in all their properties in Blackburn and Darwen. Tenancy
ONLY weeks after surviving five hours fighting for life in a sea fishing tragedy, Harry Houghton was unfit to travel abroad on a pre-booked holiday. But despite submitting a doctor's report stating he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder
Special report by Lesley Richards: HUNDREDS of marchers turned out in a moving display of remembrance of the tragic day a mining community will never forget. Survivors, families and friends robbed of loved ones, and ex-miners were joined by local and
FARMERS are being urged to put up signs telling people how to get to their houses - because police officers are getting lost. Officers in the Ribble Valley are issuing letters to farmers and people in remote houses - like barn conversions - appealing
YOU'VE heard of the dirty dozen, now meet East Lancashire's very own dairy dozen -- and they're coming to a supermarket near you! The 12 loveable faces make up the Little Town Taste Team and all are the grandchildren of Eileen and Matthew Forshaw, whose
RELIEVED Tony Grant has vowed to help steer Burnley to safety after getting the green light to return to action. The Clarets received the news they were hoping for last night when Grant was told the cartilage damage in his right knee was not as bad as
COLNE will look to boost their North West Counties Division two title hopes even further at home to Flixton tonight. The Reds have already dealt a severe blow to Formby's chances by beating them 2-0 on Monday night. That loss leaves the Merseysiders with
INJURIES led to Darwen's downfall last night, but manager Steve Wilkes blasted his players for "throwing in the towel". Goalkeeper Rob Batty suffered a three-inch head wound, which needed six stitches, after being caught by David Harper's bladed boots
CHORLEY never recovered from the loss of two early goals and the concession of two more in the second half enabled Workington to gain ample revenge for their 4-1 defeat at Victory Park at the start of the season. After this frail performance, only a super-optimist
ORGANISERS of this year's Darwen Gala in August are hoping it will be the best yet and are encouraging people to start thinking now how they can better it. Members of the community are being asked to come up with ways of improving the road parade, which
A 38-YEAR-old Darwen man who made a menacing phone call to police in which he threatened to kill a particular officer later said he was not a violent man. And Blackburn magistrates heard the prosecution accepted Anthony Vincent Mellinger had never intended
RESIDENTS living near to Donelan Trading in Darwen have shown their opposition to plans for a warehouse and offices behind their homes by writing letters of objection to the council. They have two weeks left to object to the proposals by the Tower Road-based
A ROSSENDALE pressure group believe residents and businesses in the area are against the council's proposal to introduce parking charges. Rossendale Chartists have put together a draft response to Rossendale's Council's plans in which they say residents
CHILDREN in Rossendale are set for an action-packed Easter with a series of activity days being held over the holidays. Bury Council have organised several days where youngsters can practise and learn new skills. The programme, aimed at eight to 14-year-olds
FIGHTING and anti-social behaviour that spills over from pubs and into takeaways is the target of a new crackdown. A Takeaway Watch initiative is being launched this week in Rossendale to help reduce incidents of disorder in fast food restaurants and
PEOPLE who want their post early can collect it themselves. Postal service changes mean from this week first and second dispatches in the WN7 Leigh postcode area have been amalgamated into a single daily delivery which will start at 7am for completion
ACTRESS Lisa Tarbuck has challenged the people of Lancashire to get involved in a project to help the environment. The Environment Agency Action Earth 2004 campaign, which will be running until June 5 this year, is being run by the Environment Agency
AN East Lancashire MP is calling for sprinklers to be fitted in all new schools. Gordon Prentice, who represents Pendle, made his call following a house fire killed three young sisters in Hapton earlier this year. It also comes after a House of Commons
LAST week the Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed how a backstroke ban had been slapped on swimmers at a council-run pool at busy times - because it was too dangerous. The news has created a real splash among the swimming world nationwide. ANDREW TAYLOR
BLACKBURN's new cinema and leisure complex is set to be the biggest in East Lancashire, it has been revealed. Work on the area's largest leisure park is due to get under way in August after months of delays and hitches. Details about the full scale of
EAST Lancashire's new leisure complex in Blackburn is one of a series of high profile projects taking place in the town. Blackburn with Darwen has committed itself to regenerating the town centre as a way of kick-starting a much needed economic boost
PREDATOR Lutel James believes Accrington Stanley will benefit from their 11-day break. The Reds' scheduled trip to Telford on Saturday has been postponed because of the Bucks' involvement in the FA Trophy semi-finals. And star striker James feels a weekend
