ADVENTUROUS Jan Hartley waved farewell to her fellow Women's Institute members and embarked on a charity cycle ride across Egypt. The 64-year-old, from Blackburn, first saw an advert for the charity cycle in the Blackburn WI's members magazine and jumped
SCHOOLCHILDREN who are visiting France have offered to take personal tributes to lay on the graves of East Lancashire's fallen war heroes. And they will reflect on how 550 local lads gave their lives or were injured on July 1, 1916, at the Battle of the
ON September 29 we had the headteacher of St Christopher's High School in Accrington telling other heads to make sure they spend all, if not more, than their annual school's budget! The reason? Any monies left at the end of term will be "clawed back"
I WRITE regarding the ongoing furore about the so-called "Motorway middle lane hogging". I say that providing you do not drive below the legal maximum speed limit (70mph) I see nothing wrong in continuing in the middle lane. I think that constantly changing
A BURNLEY taxi firm has been ordered to tear down its base because it is ruining the appearance of part of the town centre. AA Taxis has been fighting removal of the eye-sore building at the end of Hammerton Street for more than two years since the council
THE leading fire officer in Greater Manchester has denied suggestions that he failed to safeguard the health and safety of an employee who drowned in a lodge while trying to save a teenage boy. County fire officer Barry Dixon, told a jury at Bolton Crown
A BURNLEY taxi firm has been ordered to tear down its base because it is ruining the appearance of part of the town centre. AA Taxis has been fighting removal of the eye-sore building at the end of Hammerton Street for more than two years since the council
A BURNLEY Roman Catholic school is to teach pupils sex education to combat soaring levels of teenage pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases. St Hilda's RC Girls' High School, Coal Clough Lane, has signed up to Foundations for a Good Life, a published
TALES from behind the scenes at Burnley's Highcliffe Players are told in a new book. Highcliffe Players Remembered by Pam Wood recalls the mishaps, mayhem and hard work of the group which produced Emmerdale's Richard Moore and Coronation Street's Malcolm
A "VICIOUS LOUT" who subjected a 12-year-old girl to a terror attack in a Burnley park has been sentenced to a year behind bars. A court heard how student Asif Mahmood, 19, "completely lost it," and left the child unconscious when he thought she had said
DARLINGTON 1 BURY 2: BURY supporters at the Williamson Motors Stadium were singing in the rain as the Shakers produced the clearest evidence yet they can be genuine promotion candidates. Granted it was a little too close for comfort in the latter stages
ONE of Pendle's new 'super schools' could be built on playing fields in Brierfield. Bent Head playing fields are being considered as the site for the secondary school, which will replace Mansfield and Edge End high schools as part of Lancashire's £170
The Word and the Image featured 50 framed reproductions of stained glass murals. Also on display at the exhibition held at Trinity Baptist Church, in Robert Street, were bronze and fibre glass sculptures by artists and poet Susan Glyn.
EIGHT local pubs and three breweries are celebrating inclusion in the country's top beer drinkers' guide. They are among 2,500 pubs and independent breweries listed in the latest edition of the Real Ale Pub Guide 2005. BREWERIES Bank Top Brewery, The
MRS Doubtfire ran through the streets of East Lancashire to raise money for charity - thanks to Anthony Maffia! Mr Maffia, 60, of Stourton Street, Rishton, was raising money for East Lancashire Hospice and has so far collected £600 dressed as the 1993
CELEBRITY chefs such as Jamie Oliver, Gary Rhodes and Nigella Lawson have some new rivals in the kitchen - and they don't necessarily come from exotic or contemporary restaurants. Instead chefs such as David Liddy and Michael Richardson from Darwen are
AT $300 BILLION, the Joint Strike Fighter is the world's biggest ever defence contract - and engineering expertise from Lancashire is right at the heart of the programme. BAE Systems is a key partner in the American 'super plane' and workers at Samlesbury
Carole Rawstron of Gene Sutcliffe, Accrington WHEN Carole Rawstron heads for work, she never knows which of several 'hats' she will be wearing - probably just as well there are plenty of hats where she works! For Carole occupies many roles, all of which
THE long saga of the hunting debate would have ended sooner had the media been able to secure access to expose the cruelty behind the glamorous facade. An example now is cub hunting, the training of novice foxhounds to hunt fox cubs. If hounds behaving
FAST-EXPANDING Rossendale construction company B&E Boys has a unique weapon in its sales arsenal as it trains its sights on the opposition - army tanks! In addition to the traditional housing, factory, office and retail developments, the Waterfoot
LAST week, because the sticks that children were throwing to try and dislodge conkers were threatening to damage passing cars, one local authority was chopping branches off chestnut trees. This week another wants to ban conkers from the playground. Yet
I WAS sorry to read that Jim Homewood was unable to hear the debates at the Labour Party Conference (Letters, October 8). I was present most of the week as a visitor and can assure Mr Homewood that there were some real debates. It wasn't all simply listening
A RURAL post office in the Clitheroe area will close temporarily from November 3. The sub-postmaster of Sabden Post Office, Whalley Road, has resigned and Post Office Ltd wants to hear from anyone interested in running a post office in the vicinity. Applicants
PENSIONER Basil Oddie finally came face-to-face with his famous cousin, thanks to a TV documentary which traces the family history of celebrities. For years people used to ask, 75 year-old Basil if he was related to his famous birdwatching namesake Bill
JOE Royle tore into Burnley's tactics after a dramatic injury time equaliser preserved Ipswich's unbeaten home record. Town boss Royle was later asked a loaded question inviting his thoughts on Burnley's 4-1-4-1 system, which has frustrated teams all
IT is some time since we had a monochrome print folio at the Prestwich Co-op Camera Club from the Lancs & Cheshire Photographic Union. But we had one on Tuesday evening. A member of the St. Annes Photographic Society had prepared a taped commentary
BEFORE the entertainment began at Prestwich and Whitefield Probus Club on October 7, president Albert Molineux announced the death of another respected member. So soon after losing Peter Goodwin, members were shocked to learn that Jack Hodgson had passed
NELSON boosted their league position with their third win in a row at Castleton Gabriels on Saturday. A superb first half display meant that they had the points in the bag by half time and held a comfortable three-goal lead. After 10 minutes Neil Chapman
Padiham1 LEADERS Padiham had to settle for a share of the points for the second week running on Saturday after initially taking the lead through Stuart Telfer in the 35th minute. Norton equalised midway through the second half from a penalty after a foul
APART from the opening five minutes when player-manager Mark Molyneaux was called on twice to make smart saves to prevent Eastwood scoring, Rossendale controlled the first half. Mark Redshaw was a constant threat and his tricky runs at the Eastwood defence
IT was another case of missed opportunities for the Magpies as an ordinary Belper side were allowed to make off with the points from Victory Park. Incredibly, Chorley have yet to defeat Belper in six seasons in the UniBond First Division and, though the
IAN Moore is set to undergo knee surgery that could sideline the Burnley striker for up to two months. Clarets boss Steve Cotterill broke the bombshell news in the wake of the battling 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town on Saturday. Moore has been playing through
YOUNG Rossendale singing sensation Megan Cherelle Ramsay has been given the boot from TV show X-Factor. The 16-year-old was in the running to become one of the final nine pop hopefuls after 'Mr Nasty' Simon Cowell branded her first performance 'potentially
EMPLOYEES at Remploy in Burnley, who manufacture cartons and boxes for a range of retail and commercial customers, have won another safety award after going two years free from reportable accidents. The company, which is planning to spend a further £500,000
A £7 MILLION industrial development is being planned in Leyland which could create up to 400 jobs for the town. Development company Hurstwood Group has bought a six-acre site at Centurion Park capable of accommodating 110,000sq ft. Hurstwood has submitted
LANWAY sales director James Rigg has been chosen to lead a Lancashire-wide consortium of IT firms. He has been named chairman of the Lancashire Digital Alliance, which brings together more than 70 cutting-edge firms from across the county. The aim is
BLACKBURN College is the first place in the country where members of the public can make their own films. The Digital Storytelling Centre, in conjunction with the BBC, will provide facilities for people to turn their own personal memorabilia onto the
A MAN was attacked while he was on his first night out after moving to Blackburn. The 45-year-old man, who has not been identified by police, suffered a broken arm after trying to break up a fight. Police are hunting a group of Asian men, but believe
THE new high-tech Parkhill Business Centre in Burnley is now open for business with a high-profile tenant returning to East Lancashire to take more than half the available space. The former Abbey National computer centre building has been completely refurbished
TWO drunken 15-year old girls who robbed and beat a frail 17-year old as she made her way home at night have had their sentences substantially reduced on appeal. The two Blackburn girls - who were named only as 'S' and 'D' for legal reasons - carried
RESIDENTS look set to win their battle against a planning application for a 200-place private school in their community. Council officers will recommend to Blackburn with Darwen's planning and highways committee that they refuse plans for an independent
TELEPHONE software specialists Ryder Systems has expanded its operations in Blackburn to cope with an increase in staff needed for its continued expansion. Foreign Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw officially opened its new office at the Daisyfield
AN auction of Carl Fogarty memorabilia yesterday raised just £26,000 - well below its expected value. The East Lancashire superbike star's father, George Fogarty, put 59 rare items under the hammer. But the collection, auctioned by London-based Bonhams
EAST Lancashire has been given £150,000 to persuade pupils to cycle to school. The cash, divided among Barnoldswick, Blackburn and Burnley, is part of a major government drive. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling announced a long-term £10million project
PRESTON'S dismal run of away form continued at Elland Road as Leeds snatched victory with their only real chance of the game. Danny Pugh hit his sixth goal of the season with 12 minutes of the game left to play, after being set-up in a close-range position
FOURTEEN-year-old Kelly Whittle has been testing her business skills ready to sell stationery. And she is one of a growing number of pupils in East Lancashire's specialist business and enterprise colleges who are running real-life business projects. Fifteen
LEAVES on the line are more of a problem in East Lancashire than anywhere else in the region, according to train operators First North Western. And it's one of the excuses they have put forward for delays to rail services and even for changing the timetable
View from the Lords, with LORD GREAVES ONE wet evening my umbrella went missing in the Lords. No great loss, just an ordinary Boundary Mill brolly, but I did wonder about the class of people in the House... It turned up some weeks later. The doorkeeper
A NURSE was due in court today charged with the manslaughter of an 18-month-old Blackburn patient. Rose Aru, a paediatric nurse at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, is accused of killing Jake McGeough, of Leicester Road, Whitebirk, in July 2001
WITH reference to Letters (October 8) I was pleased to know that a certain councillor does have feeling about something, when he wrote putting things right about how much allowance councillors do or don't get for accommodation. I just wish he was as passionate
I HAVE served for a number of years in different parts of Africa, including Eritrea and the Sudan, and I know there is no "quick fix" to the situations that exist in a number of such countries. Consequently, I find it quite unrealistic for Blair to visit
AN APPEAL against an "unduly lenient" sentence on a father who killed his five-week-old daughter is to be heard at the Court of Appeal next month. Andrew Ashurst, aged 22, was jailed for three years in May this year after he admitted the manslaughter
EAST Lancashire fire chiefs today warned it was only a matter of time before pranksters "cost someone their life." Accrington crews rushed out on Thursday at about 6pm to a reported fire at a empty house in Richmond Avenue. The caller, who used a mobile
TRAFFIC wardens were unable to blitz school run parents outside schools because council bosses had failed to make the right traffic orders. Opposition councillors today criticised the blunder, and called for reassurance that there were no other meaningless
Dagenham & Redbridge 2: LEIGH'S disappointing season continued as poor finishing saw them slip to their fifth successive defeat. Dagenham & Redbridge striker Craig Mackail-Smith scored both second-half goals to leave RMI still searching for only
BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Steven Reid today insisted he and his team-mates have the character to bounce back from Saturday's demoralising 4-0 defeat against Middlesbrough. Mark Hughes's 10-men slumped to their heaviest defeat of the season as Jimmy
BLACKBURN Rovers manager Mark Hughes felt Tugay's first half dismissal cost his side dearly as they slumped to a 4-0 defeat against Middlesbrough on Saturday. The Turkish midfielder was sent off for two bookable offences in the 30th minute of a game that
FORGET ProZone. On Saturday night, Mark Hughes must have felt like reaching for the Prozac after one of the worst week's of his football career. Just days after his reign as the Wales manager ended in bitter disappointment, his new start as the full-time
A WOMAN was taken to hospital with burns after an explosion in a mobile food stall parked in Burnley town centre. The unnamed woman was working in the stall which sells jacket potatoes when a minor gas explosion happened. Police, ambulance and fire crews
A COUNCILLOR has renewed his call for speed cameras in Cliviger despite police cracking down on speeding motorists. David Heginbotham, reiterated his wish for cameras to be installed after police revealed 25 people were warned about their speed. During
LEIGH Literary Society have speakers covering a wide variety of subjects on the agenda for this season. The society, which was founded in 1878, meets in the Derby Room, Leigh Library, on alternate Mondays at 7.30pm and meetings began this week with Brian
FIRE chiefs have issued a firework warning after a gang of youths threw a lit firework into a Burnley shop. Fire crews were called after the yobs threw a rocket into a shop in Raglan Road at 7.55pm yesterday then ran off. The rocket did not cause much
AN appeal to restore an historic altar-piece in a Burnley church has raised more than ten per cent of the total after its first fundraising event. The reredos - a screen behind the altar - in St Andrew's Church, Duke Bar, is in need of specialist restoration
EAST Lancashire's bars and washrooms are being targeted in a new firework safety campaign that has been welcomed by local MPs. The campaign's message 'Think of the Consequences' is being aimed at men and older teenage boys - the people most likely to
EIGHT local pubs and three breweries are celebrating inclusion in the country's top beer drinkers' guide. They are among 2,500 pubs and independent breweries listed in the latest edition of the Real Ale Pub Guide 2005. BREWERIES Bank Top Brewery, The
A WOMAN has appeared in court accused of murdering her husband who worked in a Radcliffe takeaway. Lana Yadgari, aged 32, of Northridge Road, Blackley, is charged with killing Abdul Sameh Yadgari last Tuesday. The 35-year-old take-away worker was found
10 years ago POLICE uncovered a massive car theft ring thanks to a state-of-the-art tracking device. More than £80,000 of dismantled vehicles were discovered in the Blackburn lock-up garage after officers traced a car stolen in Merseyside using the tracker
FLARES and platform boots were the order of the day at the weekend when a new exhibition devoted to rock band Yes opened in Accrington. Yes - 35 Years of Wondrous Music, opened at the Haworth Art Gallery. The display, put together by super-fan David Watkinson
A PADIHAM company that has developed ground-breaking software for the aerospace industry has raised £400,000 of investment from the RisingStarsGrowth Fund. J2 Aircraft Solutions, which is based at the Shuttleworth Mead Business Park, will use the cash
A NEW company has been launched in Lancashire which allows people to text for a taxi rather than dialling a phone. Text a Cab is to be extended across the whole of Lancashire and the men behind the business believe it will be the latest craze in mobile
IN Russia, it is impolite to ask where the toilet is, while in Germany making eye contact while toasting someone is considered bad luck - resulting, it is said, in seven years' bad sex! These are a couple of light-hearted examples of business etiquette
THE hotel chain run by Blackburn brewers Daniel Thwaites has achieved a proud first for the industry after its was named RAC Hotel Group of the Year 2004-05. Shire Hotels, which is based at The Oaks at Reedley, won the AA Hotel Group of the Year in 2003
FOR the team at Rossendale-based Shuttleworth Veterinary Centre, juggling the balance between work and life is a piece of cake. The practice is the first in the UK and only one of six businesses in the North West to achieve the prestigious Work-Life Balance
ON behalf of Radcliffe and Whitefield Lions Club we would like to thank the managers at Asda, Pilsworth, for allowing us to carry out recent collections at the store. We are also most grateful to the public who generously contributed to the collections
IT was scissors and business portfolios at the ready for Rossendale-based hairdressers Headmasters, finalists at the annual British Hairdressing Business Awards 2004 - the biggest and most prestigious competition in the industry. Headmasters was among
MOST people will be well aware that the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 came into force on Friday, October 1. However, there is a recently erected de-luxe two-storey "marketing suite" -- belonging to a large company building apartments in Prestwich
IAN Moore is set to undergo knee surgery that could sideline the Burnley striker for up to two months. Clarets boss Steve Cotterill broke the bombshell news in the wake of the battling 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town on Saturday. Moore has been playing through
STEVE Cotterill vowed to ignore the critics queuing up to blast Burnley as boring. Town manager Joe Royle became the latest to question the Clarets tactics following the 1-1 draw at Ipswich on Saturday. Wholly unjustified criticism is taking the gloss
THE 'Big club syndrome' is everywhere you look these days. Constantly seeping into the nation's subconscious from blanket coverage in national newspapers to the hours and hours of tediously repetitive television coverage. In Joe Royle's eyes, life would
ON October 8 members of Whitefield & District Women's Luncheon Club welcomed Mrs H. Lowe and her beautiful collection of Queen of England dolls. These were so beautifully dressed that, even before her talk, they created much interest. The members
OUR neighbourhood does not suffer much from the young hooligans, drug-takers or professional criminals who prey on so many areas not too many miles away. Yet day-by-day we see the insidious change that eventually takes us to where we prefer not to be.
CLITHEROE ended a run of six successive defeats with a victory over their illustrious hosts. Manager Lee Sculpher's call for more goals seemed hapless when lone striker Gary Jackson limped off injured but Clitheroe continued to play some neat football
BACUP BOROUGH remained at the top of the league after their second goalless draw with third-placed St Helens Town this season. During the first 45 minutes Bacup created the best chances as Lee Wilkinson was unlucky on three occasions, inlcuding one shot
Burnley were denied all three points at Ipswich with virtually the last kick of the match. Matthew Richards netted in injury time to keep up Town's unbeaten run at Portman Road. Robbie Blake's seventh goal of the season looked to have given the Clarets
BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Steven Reid today insisted he and his team-mates have the character to bounce back from Saturday's demoralising 4-0 defeat against Middlesbrough. Mark Hughes's 10-men slumped to their heaviest defeat of the season as Jimmy
AS a teenager growing up in a North Yorkshire village I longed for the day when I could pack my bags and leave for a new life somewhere else -- a life of my own. Not that I had a dreadful childhood, quite the contrary. But I wanted to carve out a life
RADCLIFFE Boro's reward for reaching the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup is a trip to famous giantkillers of the past Hereford United following the draw on Monday morning. Struggling Leigh RMI will travel to Accrington Stanley. Full draw: Southport
A WOMAN behind controversial plans to open a private children's home has had paint-stripper thrown at the door. Pauline Ainsworth, a qualified social worker, applied to convert a house in Whitehall Terrace, Darwen, into a home for four teenage boys who
JUBILANT residents were celebrating today after winning their fight to prevent a communal playing field from being sold to private developers. Residents living in Ashworth Road, Waterfoot, are now planning to apply to Rossendale Council to transform the
EAST LANCASHIRE businesses can now log onto a new website page from the Health and Safety Executive which explains the benefits of tackling health and safety at work. The moral, business and economic benefits are explained, case studies are described
A TOP firm of business advisers and chartered accountants has agreed a sponsorship deal with Lancashire's motorway police. Pierce, based in Blackburn, has backed the safety campaign Making the Motorways of Lancashire Safer, aimed at reducing crime and
HSBC Bank is stepping up its support for businesses Lancashire with the launch of three new commercial centres in Blackburn, Preston and Blackpool. The bank claims the centres' dedicated managers will spend three out of every five days on the road, meeting
BLACKBURN with Darwen Borough Council has been criticised by the borough's disabled community. It emerged a wheelchair ramp to one of its buildings cannot be used without a three-point-turn. The ramp outside the old town hall in Blackburn town centre
SPECIALIST expertise from a Bacup engineering company is being used to create the world's most luxurious residential development. Pennine Vibropiling has won a £1 million contract to work on the multi-billion-pound Palm Tree complex in Dubai which has
THE Royal Bank of Scotland's chief economist Jeremy Peat is backing business and industry in East Lancashire to recover from the economic slump. Speaking at a seminar in Blackburn, he said he had been encouraged by the optimism displayed by the bank's
SMALL and medium- sized enterprises are embracing technology with open arms with more than 80 per cent now having access to the internet and broadband technology. According to a recent survey, the number of firms able to transact online has more than
SMALL businesses often suffer because they are so busy looking after their day-to-day work that they don't have time for anything else. Managing everything from finances to marketing, while keeping your customers happy is a difficult balancing act - and
EAST Lancashire's railway tracks are more prone to 'leaves on the line' than anywhere else in the region, train bosses revealed. First North Western's training manual for drivers lists 14 potential leaf-fall areas on the Preston to Colne line - and classes
TRAFFIC wardens were unable to blitz school run parents outside schools because council bosses had failed to make the right traffic orders. Opposition councillors today criticised the blunder, and called for reassurance that there were no other meaningless
IT was enough to make Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman consider his future. After working hard to clean up their act and improve their disciplinary record, the Reds chief was frustated to see four of his players pick up bookings for nothing more
SEDGLEY Park bowed out of the Powergen Cup at the Third Round stage, losing 44-20 at Manchester. Full reaction on Tuesday. Powergen Cup results: Penzance/Newlyn 64 - 0 Esher Bracknell 27 - 31 Otley Bedford 52 - 13 Tabard Westcombe Park 24 - 19 Cleckheaton
