A MAN who raided the residential quarters of a pub disturbed the landlord who was asleep and then fled though a window and down a drain pipe. But the spiderman style escape was all captured on CCTV and burglar Scott Walsh was recognised by a police officer
NELSON crashed to Atherton Collieries as they learned another harsh lesson about the realities of life in the North West Counties, Division 1. Three goals in a four-minute spell just before half-time took the wind out of Nelson's sails. Barry Massay
PADIHAM were not at their best on Saturday at the Arbories when they could only draw 1-1 with Ashton Athletic - a team who had lost seven of their previous nine NWCL Division Two fixtures this season. Trailing to a 42nd minute close range strike by Tom
YOU'VE heard of Black Beauty - well East Lancashire horses are set to be "Bath Beauties" when a state-of-the-art equestrian rehabilitation centre opens. The Higher Spen Equestrian Centre will offer stabling for 16 horses and all the latest therapies,
Bacup manager Brent Peters' plans to keep the rebels at bay were undone by a wicked own goal at Gigg Lane. Despite having to defend for long periods in the first half, the game plan was working and they kept United out. But the home side landed
BURNLEY'S reputation as the Championship's top travellers just gets stronger. Another away venue, another superb showing - the Clarets are the current kings of the road. Norwich are the latest victims to feel the pain on home soil - and it cost Nigel
BLACKBURN ROVERS manager Mark Hughes believes his side is stronger than the team he led to a top six finish last season. Fans feared the goals would dry up when star striker Craig Bellamy was sold off to Liverpool in the summer. But some shrewd pieces
BLACKBURN ROVERS hero Jason Brown admitted he was daunted at the prospect of filling Brad Friedel's boots on his Premiership debut against Wigan yesterday. But the Welsh international proved to be a more than able deputy as he saved a penalty to help
A FORMER British National Party member has been arrested after police found bomb-making equipment at his house. Police sealed off the home of Robert Cottage in Talbot Street, Colne, after storming the address and discovering chemical components that
A THUG launched a "despicable" attack on a youngster just because he was blind. Paul Tunstill, 22, punched and strangled partially-sighted 17-year-old student Michael Harrison in a Padiham pub. Tunstill, of Shakespeare Street, Padiham, knocked his victim
LANCASHIRE'S former top police officer and the country's first woman chief constable has urged East Lancashire businesswomen to aim for success. Pauline Clare worked for Lancashire Constabulary for 36 years and held the top post of chief constable from
A BLACKBURN housing association has scooped a national award for its employment policies. Northern Counties Housing Association, which manages over 1,000 homes in the Blackburn area, was named Employer of Choice' by TV's Eamonn Holmes at the Neighbourhood
AN extraordinary meeting of Hyndburn Council has been called in a last-ditch attempt to halt plans to "close" two East Lancashire post offices. And campaigners have said that they are optimistic that their protests over the franchising of one of the
DARWEN shoppers are being urged to "bear with" traffic problems amid major regeneration and continue to shop in the town centre. Civic leaders have asked people to support town centre traders who have been feeling a pinch to their profits since work
EAST Lancashire TA soldiers have been leaving their mark on Kazakhstan by performing chart songs and dishing up Lancashire hotpot. A Blackburn nurse mimicked the role of Dame Vera Lynn in World War Two by singing to the former Soviet country's troops
A superb winning goal by Liam McManus maintains the Rams winning run as they overcome a very good Newcastle Town side at the Riverside Ground. McManus got the all-important goal in the 32nd minute when Chris Steele whipped over a cross and McManus
THE Stags followed up their excellent performance at Goole with an even better one at Gresley. The two wins have put Dale back on the fringes of things at the right end of the table, and with everyone beating each other another couple of victories could
Darwen moved back to third spot in the North West Counties Football League, Division Two, with their first away win of the season at New Mills. Darwen were out of the blocks very early and took the lead in the fifth minute. A break down the left saw
Accrington Stanley goal hero Andy Mangan hopes his season starts now after his first ever Football League strike proved vital. The 20-year-old secured another injury-time win for the Reds just seven minutes after coming off the bench. And, although
THIS should have been the clash of League Two's joint top scorers. With Gary Roberts and Jermaine Easter locked on seven goals each the stage was set for a tasty showdown. But, with Easter sidelined and Roberts firing blanks, it wasn't to be. Instead
"ARE you Friedel in disguise" chanted the Blackburn Rovers fans as they hailed a new hero between the sticks. Jason Brown had big shoes to fill when American keeper Brad Friedel went off injured with a groin strain at half time yesterday - after all,
STEVE Cotterill was delighted following Burnley's thumping 4-1 Championship victory at Norwich City yesterday. Striker Andy Gray scored twice, with James O'Connor and Alan Mahon also on the scoresheet, as the Clarets strolled to a comfortable win. He
TWO-GOAL hero Andy Gray wants West Brom target Steve Cotterill to stay put at Turf Moor. Burnley boss Cotterill is the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Bryan Robson and land the vacant managerial position at The Hawthorns. Reports have suggested that
AFTER visiting the new Royal Blackburn Hospital I was pleasantly surprised by the layout, which, at the first look seemed very difficult. As always, staff proved very helpful and courteous and I am sure people will come to the conclusion that money was
A MAN had to undergo an emergency life-saving operation after he was stabbed through one of his kidneys during an attack in Nelson Town Centre. Doctors were left with no other option than to remove the 23-year-old victim's kidney during surgery following
BRITAIN'S only amputee driving instructor has been praised at an award ceremony highlighting unsung heroes. Barnoldswick man Gareth Almond lost his right arm in a motorcycle accident 30 years ago, but is now able to expertly drive and teach in both manual
WORSTHORNE residents have started a campaign to bring traffic safety measures to the village after a teenager was left fighting for his life. A petition calling for the introduction of speed restriction measures has attracted scores of residents' names
A MOTHER of three who claimed handouts of almost £21,000 as a single person - but went on the TV programme Wife Swap - has been spared jail. Rebecca Fairhurst, 31, "stole" the cash in a near four-year fiddle whilst living most of the time with long-term
A TASK group has been set up in Rossendale to review the state of the borough's roads and make much-needed improvements to the Valley's highways. The Highways Task Group, established by Rossendale Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee, will be looking
DOGS who use streets of the Ribble Valley as their toilet are at the centre of a tough council crackdown with their irresponsible owners in line for hefty fines. Dog enforcement officers have launched a round-the-clock CCTV vigil at a beauty spot in
BURNLEY AND Blackburn students are being offered a permanent helping hand after their college became the first in the UK to appoint a head of survival.' The pioneering appointment has been made at Myerscough College which has bases at Towneley Park,
A DISABLED woman has been left stranded after vandals slashed the tyres of the car she calls her lifeline to the outside world. Eileen Holt has trouble walking and uses a mobility scooter to get around. The 62-year-old has recently had a disabled parking
THOUSANDS of litres of suspected toxic chemicals have been dumped at a notorious fly-tipping site in Hyndburn. Large amounts of a bright-blue substance spilled out on to the countryside after six huge drums were dumped at the remote King's Highway in
THE victim of Blackburn's notorious Witton Park rapist has broken her 11-year silence and said: "I always knew he would be caught." Graham Darbyshire is facing a life behind bars after he admitted that he carried out a savage sex attack on a 22-year-old
We asked: "Should Wayne Thomas remain as Burnley captain?" Here are the results. Yes - 24.3%. No - 75.7%. So the majority of our users think Wayne Thomas should not be Clarets' captain. Take part in our current poll - scroll down and it's
BASIC rules of film reviewing - don't give away the ending, never offend the filmgoing public and always appear to know more about movies than is strictly accurate. First off I'm fine - to reveal the denouement of Kevin Smith's Clerks II would breach
Juliette Lewis is the new celebrity icon for disaffected public schoolgirls now that Courtney Love's really lost it. She can pack a tune with energy and has a certain edgy sense of charisma, but this still smacks of a Hollywood vanity vehicle. Smash
Blood Meridian handily name check The Rolling Stones, They Byrds, Nick Cave and Neil Young as influences, though you don't need the ears of a bat to hear all that in their amalgam of folk, country and rock. Showing some violent tendencies found in
Who let Morrissey in here? No, wait, my mistake - he hasn't been this good in years. The Boyfriends' vocalist Martin Wallace sounds strikingly like the miserablist Mancunian, but the music has a lot more to offer: influences range from Blur to Joy
America is an emotionally charged soft indie-rock anthem that draws images of a sea of lighters held aloft at a sell-out festival gig. Try as one might to loathe the way the track over-earnestly begs for attention, it really is a swelling, rousing
It's all too rare these days when praise dished out by the NME turns out to be well-deserved, but this is the case with this young 24-year-old Alabama man. Cursory comparisons to Johnny Cash just don't walk the line, though on recent single Replacement
As the initial ambience washed over me I thought wow, this is really something. Then the vocals kicked in and by the end all that was needed was Terry Wogan to announce nil points. The music would fit in perfectly in some trendy bar with leather
Dolly Dolly is Piranha Deathray's first proper single, after the much sought-after digital download The Rising/Your Chilling Presence. And, boy, they're good. Hailing from London, this four-piece seem to have everything in place, sounding like a mellow
A channel-hopping retro treat with extra limited-edition fringe floppery, a few backwards guitars from an early Ride E.P. and vocals like the Alisha's Attic girls playing on a garden swing reading Just 17. A rather quaint and faintly fascinating three
In the crowded post-sampling retro-jazz genre, Swedish duo Koop's swinging rhythms stand out like a breath of sweet, refreshing Caribbean air. Though evoking 1930s swing and 1940s cruise orchestras, none of the songs sound even a little bit old.
