MOTHS and bats will be monitored at Pleasington Nature Reserve on Saturday as part of a national census into the nocturnal animals. As part of National Moth Night, countryside staff from Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire Wildlife Trust are
THE police officers responsible for cutting burglary rates in Blackburn have been recognised after reaching the final three in the Public Servants of the Year Awards 2004. Blackburn Burglary Team, nominated for the Uniformed Services award, managed to
BLACKBURN'S new council-run parking attendants will also have a crime fighting role, it has been revealed. Blackburn with Darwen Council is set to take control of parking enforcement on October 1 when a band of town hall attendants will take to the streets
THREE Blackburn teachers are heading across the Atlantic on a research trip - to one of the world's most prestigious universities. The staff from St Wilfrid's CE High School and Technology College are hoping to find the key to recruiting and retaining
I AM pleased to see that schools in the area are taking seriously the issue of children taking part in sports and PE even if they are not able to take their pupils to swimming lessons. However, active play should not end at school and it is equally important
ARSONISTS are believed to have set fire to timber pallets which caused a major blaze at industrial premises in Leigh early on Wednesday. Fire crews were called at 3.15am to Ashton Pallets at the Bridgewater Business Park in Leigh, where hundreds of pallets
A PENSIONER waiting for heart surgery which could prolong his life fears he may die before it is carried out after spending 11 weeks in hospital. Cyril Rainford, 72, of Walton Lane, Nelson, said he felt left in the dark after being allowed home with no
A BURNLEY teenager who battled against the odds to set up her own fashion house has been recognised with a national award. Kiran Mehnaz, 19, of Rivaaz Collections, Colne Road, was among the prize winners celebrating success at the Phoenix Development
DISABLED workers at a Burnley factory will down tools tomorrow to celebrate a national learning day. Employees at Remploy Burnley, on the Smallshaw Industrial Estate, will mark National Learning at Work Day. The learning centre, backed by the Learning
CHILDREN at a Burnley nursery had visit from Neddy the oral health puppet to mark National Smile Week. Le Monde Petit Day Nursery has teamed up with East Lancashire Community Dental Services to help teach youngsters the importance of looking after their
BURNLEY Council has approved plans to refurbish more than 200 homes as part of multi-million pound plans to rejuvenate some of the borough's most deprived areas. At a meeting of the Executive last night members voted in favour of detailed proposals identifying
THE following planning applications have been received by the borough council and can be inspected at the council's Parker Lane Offices:. 2004/0523 Proposed bedroom and kitchen extension at 18 Ormerod Street; 2004/0522 Proposed single storey rear extension
A NEW service is being set up to treat the 63 per cent of people in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale not registered with an NHS dentist. The Pendle Personal Dental Service, due to open in Nelson on May 28, will provide emergency and short-course treatment
CONSTRUCTION work to create new facilities at a Barnoldswick primary school is due to start this week. A ramp access to Coates Lane Primary, in Kirkstall Drive, is nearing completion and work on a classroom extension is expected to start soon. The extension
BURNLEY tomcat Zip turned up after being missing for nearly three years. He was found safe and well, with his original collar still on, on Walney Island, where owners Margaret and Albert Surridge, of White Street, Burnley, had been caravanning three years
A STINKING house had to be fumigated after council workers found rotting animal corpses inside. The rooms were crawling with flies and covered in urine and excrement when environmental health officers forced their way into the house in Staffa Crescent
ATHERTON Botanical Gardens Club will host D-day celebrations on Sunday, June 6 from midday onwards with a family day featuring free bouncy castle, stalls, food and games. 70s act Buck Silver Experience will be on stage this coming Saturday.
LORD Smith of Leigh will be the guest speaker at the Wigan Churches' Association for Family Welfare annual meeting. The Wigan Council leader will be joined at noon on June 30 by the next Mayor, Cllr John Hilton at Wigan Cricket Club. The group provides
PUPILS at a Clayton-le Moors school are celebrating after being granted planning permission from Hyndburn Council for a new playground. Mount Pleasant County Primary School in Earl Street will start work on the new playing fields in June and hope it will
POLICE have vowed to make sure a man convicted of harassing his neighbours obeys his anti-social behaviour. Officers spoke out after Graham Pye, of Harlech Drive, Oswaldtwistle, failed in a bid to get his conviction quashed. Pye, 50, was convicted by
PUPILS at two Accrington schools have been jumping for joy after finding out their playgrounds are to get a major facelift thanks to charity cash. St John with St Augustine's CE and St Mary Magdalen's CE will both receive more than £41,000 each as part
A MAN who rowed with a taxi driver was seriously injured after the cabbie's colleagues meted out their own 'street justice,' a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that when police arrived on the scene David Thomas Cambridge was on the floor surrounded
PLANNERS drawing up a new-look street for Accrington town centre have been told not to include a tribute to the famous Pals in their designs. Council bosses instead plan to place the £8,000 plaque in the grounds of St James' Church in Accrington town
FORMER Ribble Valley MP David Waddington has launched a fierce attack against the "enormous dangers" of the new European Constitution. He told the House of Lords that the British people must vote against the new document to protect British sovereignty
A COUNCIL chamber is to become the first in the country to be used as a makeshift mosque to solve a long-running worship dispute. Members of Clitheroe's Muslim community have written to Ribble Valley Council asking to use it for prayers on Fridays. And
A CHILD suffered temporary kidney failure after two people were struck down with the potentially killer food bug E. coli. Ribble Valley Council, the Health Protection Agency and Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust are all now 'monitoring' the
ASSISTANT Bolton boss Phil Brown could emerge as a surprise candidate for the vacant Burnley manager's job. I understand former Trotters skipper Brown is being seriously considered for the post along with a host of more established managers. And Sam Allardyce's
FOR all you anoraks out there - a simple question. Who is the only Burnley player to score in a Wembley FA Cup Final? "Surely there's more than one?" I hear you cry. In 1914 the Clarets beat Liverpool, courtesy of a Bert Freeman goal, and in 1962 against
ALEC Swann will be looking to use today's match with Bradford and Leeds University at Bradford's Park Avenue ground to show he can still figure in Lancashire's top order. The opener was a forgotten man last summer when the Red Rose batting went on a run
A CENTURY third-wicket partnership between Tom Smith (66) and skipper Nigel Heaton (67) set up Chorley's comprehensive victory over Leyand by 144 runs at Fox Lane. The pair took the score from 17-2 to 136 and, though Leyland were briefly back in the game
PROFESSIONAL Danny Law lifted Read to a last-over victory over Ormskirk in the Lancashire Cricket Board Knockout Cup. The top Liverpool competition side showed their batting strength with opener Kevin Burns batting through the innings for 107. Australian
WITH all-conquering Read rapidly taking on Arsenal-style status at the top of the table, the race is already on to be the best of the rest in the Veka Ribblesdale League. And leading the way are surprise package Barnoldswick, who have muscled their way
TWO 15-year-old boys had to be rescued from Darwen's India Mill last night after climbing 25 feet to a ledge. Lancashire Fire and Rescue were called to the site off Bolton Road at around 9.30pm. Sub officer Steve Ryan said: "The lads were stuck on a small
TWO Darwen men are raising cash for charity with a sponsored bike ride from Lands End to John O'Groats. Richard Bury, 42, of Northcote Street, and his pal Eddie Cripps, of Sandon Street, are currently journeying through the south of the country and stayed
A HEAD teacher has banned ties less than 10 inches long as part of moves to tighten rules and tackle problems at a failing school. The uniform clampdown, which also includes a ban on skirts above knee length, has been introduced as part of changes aimed
BUDDING artists are being encouraged to come up with imaginative designs to be made into T-shirts for Rossendale Valley Motorbike Show. Carl Nelson, from NCS Support Services in Cloughfold, has agreed to sponsor the competition as well as provide prizes
REAL life Hamburglars will have to steer clear of a Rossendale fast food restaurant after police announced plans to serve up crime prevention tips alongside the burgers and fries. A series of advice clinics, dubbed 'McSurgeries' by police chiefs, will
A ROSSENDALE man is returning to Romania this year to help raise at least £35,000 to help children who live on the streets. Vic Brown will visit the former Eastern Bloc country in July to spend time with a charity called the City of Hope Association,
A SERVICE has been introduced to make it easier for East Lancashire residents to get information, support and advice about mental health services. Parvaiz Awan has been appointed as patient advice and liaison service officer for East Lancashire. PALS
AN EAST Lancashire hospital has introduced a new 'multislice' CT scanner service for conditions such as lung cancer and abdominal abnormalities. BMI The Beardwood Hospital patients in Blackburn were the first in the area to use the East Lancashire-based
A POSTMAN who decided to hang up his postbag was given a surprise send-off last night by dozens of customers. Ray Spraule, of Heys Lane, Blackburn, had delivered post to houses in Pleasington for 12 years. So when he announced he was calling it a day,
A SPECIALIST stroke facility is the centrepiece of a new multi-million pound medical rehabilitation unit which will open today at Royal Preston Hospital. The new hospital block will be home to some of the services transferring from Sharoe Green Hospital
ACCRINGTON Stanley have made the first of what they hope will be two new signings this week. Manager John Coleman fended off competition from a number of Football League sides to snap up defender Stuart Howson on a one-year deal last night, following
GREATER Manchester Fire Service has to deal with the second highest number of hoax calls in the country. The county brigade received 5,740 (8.5 per cent) of the 67,000 hoax calls handled by fire and rescue services in the UK. London receives the highest
LIFTING the standards and morale of staff and students at a school which has been declared to be "failing" must be hugely difficult. And no small part of that task in terms of lifting a school's image and building pride has to do with an identifiable
I AM writing on behalf of my quartet and myself, who played at Lancashire Homes and Gardens and at Winfields in order to raise funds for the Hall Youth Orchestra, with whom I am going on tour in August of this year. I should like to thank Lancashire Homes
IF your newspaper was to report the clear facts on Wednesday, May 12 the headline "Bully Teacher Claim," might not have seemed too offensive to people of that profession. The only evidence to back up this sensationalism was a mother's claims following
WITH reference to the "sacking of Piers Morgan: I do take issue with MP Nigel Evans that the good name of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment can now be restored. These soldiers need no vindication. Their illustrious name was not sullied, only the name and
I AM a pensioner and was shopping at the B&Q store in Blackburn on Wednesday, May 12 when I desperately needed the toilet. I asked staff for assistance and was told they didn't have a public convenience and I wouldn't be allowed to use their staff
FIRE destroyed a mobile building at Atherton Town Football Club in High Street at 11.15pm on Tuesday night. No-one was injured and the cause of the blaze is under investigation. The premises were completely destroyed by the blaze. The fire service called
A HEAD teacher has banned ties less than 10 inches long as part of moves to tighten rules and tackle problems at a failing school. The uniform clampdown, which also includes a ban on skirts above knee length, has been introduced as part of changes aimed
DWIGHT Yorke's future as a Blackburn Rovers player looks set to be decided at a special meeting today. Rovers' chief executive, John Williams, will meet with Yorke's representatives to discuss the possibility of a severance settlement. But the club have
IF Graeme Souness wants to freshen up his squad this summer then how about making a cheeky bid for Burnley's Richard Chaplow? Blackburn Rovers need to inject more energy and drive into their midfield and Chaplow could be just the man to provide it. As
A BURNLEY school was travelling to London today to compete in the final stages of a national football competition. The under 13s girls football team of Ivy Bank Business and Enterprise College, are representing the north of England in the ESFA Coca Cola
FRED Elliott's Thai bride knows more about Bolton than Bangkok. Actress Casey Lee Jolleys is the lotus blossom from Little Lever who has captured Coronation Street butcher Fred's heart. Unfortunately, far from being Orchid - a sweet, innocent Oriental
A BURNLEY company is sponsoring a world-record attempt to make the first ever kite-powered crossing of the Gobi Desert. Network VEKA, the Burnley-based national trade body, is sponsoring 60-year-old consultant professor Brian Cunningham in his record
WANNABE pop idols are being invited take part in the Burnley and Pendle 'Stars in Their Eyes' competition. The singing competition is being backed by Pennine Police who have secured £5,000 from the Rank Charitable Foundation to help fund the contest.
A PENSIONER waiting for heart surgery which could prolong his life fears he may die before it is carried out after spending 11 weeks in hospital. Cyril Rainford, 72, of Walton Lane, Nelson, said he felt left in the dark after being allowed home with no
BURNLEY coal traders refused to accept "poor burning" coal from Bank Hall pit. Seventy wagons stood empty at the pit as traders talked for more than an hour with depot manager, Jim Whittaker. Housewives had been complaining strongly to traders and urged
STAFF at Asda in Accrington will be kicking off a charity fundraising session by wearing football shirts to work. They will be allowed to wear their favourite team top on June 17 in return for making a £1 donation to the Motability charity, which assists
COUNCIL bosses have revealed the £2million set aside to improve housing in Hyndburn is nothing compared to the amount available if the stock was transferred to private landlords. The money allocated for the 12-month revamp will be approved this week,
A CRIME prevention scheme pioneered by Hyndburn officials has been launched to help cut down crime in the area. Crime prevention officers in the borough came up with the idea of printing personal safety messages on napkins, to be delivered to homes by
A YOUNG girl who acts as a 'second mum' to her disabled brothers and sisters is to be honoured at a special ceremony. Tiana Taylor, of Central Avenue in Oswaldtwistle, is just eight years old, but is always happy to help out her three brothers and sisters
ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners today welcomed a decision by the government allowing Castle Cement to power a kiln with old tyres. The company, which runs the Ribblesdale Works at Clitheroe, carried out a six-month trial burning of 4,085 tonnes of old tyres
BOSSES at the Philips TV glass factory in Simonstone have apologised to residents who complained about dust coming from waste glass on the site. Villagers, particularly those living in Bank Terrace and Railway Terrace, feared dust and fibres coming from
COUNCILLORS have branded consultation over plans to close two post offices in Clitheroe a sham after the Royal Mail forgot to tell them about it! Members of Clitheroe Town Council were left to find out through the media and local gossip that the axe was
A BUZZ of anticipation. A rush of excitement. The feeling of following in the footsteps of heroes. It's surely every supporter's dream to emerge from the tunnel and run on your own team's hallowed turf while wearing the colours. As a football-mad youngster
DARWEN manager Steve Wilkes admits he is "devastated" his side has missed out on promotion for what he believes is a breakdown in communication. The Anchor Ground side expected to be promoted to the North West Counties First Division after ending the
ASSISTANT Bolton boss Phil Brown could emerge as a surprise candidate for the vacant Burnley manager's job. I understand former Trotters skipper Brown is being seriously considered for the post along with a host of more established managers. And Sam Allardyce's
DWIGHT Yorke's future as a Blackburn Rovers player looks set to be decided at a special meeting today. Rovers' chief executive, John Williams, will meet with Yorke's representatives to discuss the possibility of a severance settlement. But the club have
A DISABLED man attacked by a gang of youths today pleaded: "Stop bullying me." Brian Peel, 34, said he was attacked in Darwen on Friday night after drinking with friends at Highfield Working Men's Club, in Ratcliffe Street. He had left the club at midnight
A VOLUNTARY organisation in Rossendale will shortly stage an action-packed summer event. Positive Start will present Spicy Hot Pot, a summer gala event at St Mary's Chambers to help raise money for the new community centre, at the old fire station in
LANCASHIRE County Trading Standards Service has vowed to crack down on counterfeit goods following one of the biggest seizures ever made in the county. Clothing worth more than £3million was seized by Trading Standards officers from a warehouse in Lench
JACK Straw has been involved in a bizarre European war of words during a Brussels summit. As he was accused of trying to prevent talks on a new European Constitution concluding successfully, Blackburn MP Mr Straw turned to the insect world to hit back
A JEALOUS father has been found guilty of murdering his former partner after stabbing her in the heart in a police station car park. Nahed Akhter, 41, who was brought up in Blackburn, was sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing to death Yvonne Heap
THE future of Lancashire's 115 crime-fighting community support officers (CSOs) is under threat unless new cash is found, police chiefs have warned. The concern was revealed as Lancashire Constabulary put in a bid for £350,000 of Home Office cash for
TWO suspected drug addicts threatened a shopper with hypodermic syringes in a "disturbing" designer clothes robbery. The pair made the shocked 27-year-old man hand over his shopping in Hope Street, off Preston New Road, Blackburn. A cream Armani jacket
THE family of a Blackburn woman who fought breast cancer for three years today paid tribute to her tenacity and bravery in trying to beat the illness. Penny Rose Lewis, 36, died at her home in Brownhill Road on Monday, May 10, surrounded by her husband
A BLACKBURN police constable has won her second award for bravery after helping to resuscitate a man who had taken a drug overdose. PC Nicola Furness, 31, won the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society Award after resuscitating the man when called to
