CHICKEN has been pulled from the menu for Muslims in police custody over fears it had been contaminated by pork products. Police have now taken all meat off the table for Muslims as food was being labelled as 'produced in accordance with Muslim law'
THE government hopes to help East Lancashire parents have a Happy New Year by giving them a helping hand bringing up their children. It is believed the experts heading to 77 of the UK's most deprived areas will simply help mums and dads put an end
A SIGN language teacher who challenges prejudices about the deaf could win an international award after judges read about her pioneering work in Syllabus. Debbie Reynolds, 32, has visited the region's classrooms to teach pupils British Sign Language
A HOMELESS teenager handed in a cheque which he found as he walked home from a night out - and was rewarded with a slap-up meal. Stephen O'Neill, 16, said he spotted the cheque in Church Street in Blackburn town centre. The £53.21 cheque was not made
SCHOOL friends of a football-mad leukaemia victim are to wear Blackburn Rovers shirts with his name on the back as a tribute during his funeral. And the grieving parents of Christopher Smith, 16, have been able to kit out his pals after the club donated
A YOUNG dad was stabbed in the head when armed burglars stormed into a couple's home in Burnley on New Year's Eve. The couple, who wish to remain anonymous for fear of further repraisals, were celebrating with family and friends at their house in Oak
THREE East Lancashire parents had a double reason for celebration on New Year's Day. Royal Blackburn Hospital saw three babies born in the early hours, with Jack Balmer first to arrive, weighing 8lb 13oz at 12.32am. Little Jack was born to mum Gail
ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman hopes seeing in the New Year with a winning start will instigate a Reds' revival. Stanley ended an 11-game winless run with a deserved 3-1 win over Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground yesterday. "It's like taking
A COUNCIL chief has banned unnecessary "jollies" and away-days after internal figures revealed that officials spent almost £100,000 at top hotels. Coun Kate Hollern has described the situation as unacceptable' and said Blackburn with Darwen Council officers
A FACTORY threatened with an Anti-Social Behaviour Order after residents' protests could be offered help to move away from homes in Nelson. Ideal Upholstery, based on land at the top of Railway Street, has attracted complaints over noise, smoke, acrid
CHARLOTTE Hartley jets out to Australia today to represent Great Britain in a competition dubbed the mini' Olympics. The 20-year-old from Cliviger is part of the hockey team that will compete in the fourth Australian Youth Olympic Festival - a legacy
RAMSBOTTOM looks set to get its own dedicated children's centre. Bury Council has given the go ahead to plans for eight children's centres designed to provide integrated services to the local community, taking the total number in the borough to 11 by
A WOMAN was subjected to a terrifying sexual assault in Bacup on New Year's Eve. The 41-year-old was walking along a path between Rochdale Road and Ramsey Avenue on her way home in the early hours of Monday when she was approached by a man, who subjected
We asked you: "Will you be doing your Christmas shopping locally?" Here are the results. Yes 36.0%. No 64.0%. So the majority of our users will be shopping elsewhere for their Christmas presents. Take part in our current poll - scroll down
A councillor has hit out at residents' accusations that their views on plans for a new Brierfield school were ignored. Pendle Council has agreed to transfer ownership of Bent Head playing fields to Lancashire County Council, which plans to build a "super
BRUNSHAW Action Group is offering free tickets for its performance of Sound of Music on January 6. The offer is open to any groups or residential homes across the county on a first come first served basis, so if you want to see the show, register your
SINGING RATS raised £280 for charity during their annual carol singing. Members and friends of the Ribchester Amateur Theatrical Society got into the Christmas spirit, with one of the biggest turn-outs of all time. The party walked around the village
EAST Lancashire's hospital authority has scooped a top medical prize for the second year in a row. Orthopaedic surgeon Robin Paton was awarded the North West Orthopaedic Trainees Association Trainer of the Year 2006 Award. It is the second year in a
A SERIES of community food growing projects have been set up by local environment charity the Prospects Foundation. The scheme, launched in Accrington, Great Harwood and Church, aims to see allotment plots cultivated by local people. After a training
A SERIES of community food growing projects have been set up by local environment charity the Prospects Foundation. The scheme, launched in Accrington, Great Harwood and Church, aims to see allotment plots cultivated by local people. After a training
SCORES of people flocked to Ramsbottom to take part in one of East Lancashire's oldest events. The Holcombe Old English Game Fowl Club hosted its New Year's Day game cock show at The Old Dun Horse Hotel in Bolton Road. Fans of the event were disappointed
A NEW takeaway is set to be approved for Earby, despite objections from nearby shopkeepers. A report to Pendle Council's West Craven Committee has recommended that councillors accept the plan to convert the former Robinson's Butchers, Victoria Road,
A PATIENT waited more than six months for hospital treatment after being missed off the waiting list, it has been revealed. The "administrative failure" meant the unnamed patient was only added to the list after attending another clinic. It is the second
POLICE are urging people to come forward if they have been approached by a man making sexual advances to women in Burnley. In the space of a week, two females were targeted by a man who pulled over in his car and made overt sexual remarks to them. On
TOWN councillors in Todmorden are calling on their MP to help keep their health service local. The move has come amid concerns about health services being moved as far away as Huddersfield. The town council passed a resolution to urge Labour MP Chris
TWO Lancashire people have been arrested on suspicion of murder at Manchester Airport after a man was attacked in a hotel room in Pakistan. A 21-year-old man was attacked around 2pm on Saturday at a hotel in Rawalpindi, 35 miles south of Islamabad.
BLACKBURN manager Mark Hughes has set his sights on another push for Europe after Rovers started 2007 with a bang. Rovers recorded their third straight Premiership victory thanks to a 3-0 win at Wigan yesterday. That result lifted Hughes' side up to
THE majority of young people in Lancashire believe qualifications are crucial to get ahead in business. That was the overwhelming finding of a survey carried out in the county by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. More than 300 people
A MILLION-pound redevelopment for a Pendle park is set to get under way soon. Plans for Victory Park, Barnoldswick, include building a clubhouse to replace the pavilion, creating a bowling club and making improve-ments in landscaping and drainage.
Could it be because the system of trying to ensure our young folk get a degree, however puerile, makes them a view manual work as somehow degrading? Once there was a pride in apprenticeships, learning a trade, of not being afraid to get your hands
CLARETS great Andy Lochhead believes new signing Ade Akinbiyi is the answer to Burnley's goalscoring dilemma. Akinbiyi re-joined Burnley less than 12 hours into the new January transfer window, penning a £750,000, two-and-a-half year deal at Turf Moor
PUPILS at West End Primary School, Oswaldtwistle, make rapid progress thanks to its "high calibre" teaching. That's was education inspectorate Ofsted's verdict after visiting the 207-pupil school in Aspen Lane last term. As well as praising the quality
AN East Lancashire health authority said it expects to end its year with £1.5million in the bank - as hospital bosses struggle to meet costs. Blackburn with Darwen NHS Primary Care Trust, which organises GP surgeries and decides what hospital treatment
MATT Derbyshire hopes 2007 is going to be his year after he and Blackburn started it in style at Wigan yesterday. The 20-year-old grabbed his first senior goal for Rovers in their 3-0 win at the JJB Stadium. It was a magic moment for the striker, who
COUNCIL bosses have warned residents not to dump rubbish in the street but put it in their wheelie bins. The warning comes after residents in Nicolas Street and Scholes Street in the Sunnyhurst area of Darwen complained that rubbish had been left strewn
LANCASHIRE bosses are being urged to avoid a tragedy by ensuring staff are trained before using chainsaws. With the wintry weather leaving trees damaged, the North West branch of the Health and Safety Executive has issued a warning that using chainsaws
A CAMPAIGN to clean up part of Accrington has been praised as a "huge success". The Crime and Grime initiative saw police team up with the fire service, environmental services, Hyndburn Council and the DVLA to combat crime and anti-social behaviour.
AN education boss has hit back at allegations that he is failing Hyndburn's youngsters with his stance over a proposed sixth form centre. Lancashire County Council education chief, Coun Alan Whittaker has accused Hyndburn Council leader Peter Britcliffe
A DOCTORS practice is refusing to allow patients to book their own hospital appointment - because managers say they can't be trusted to do it. Brookhouse Medical Centre, Whalley Range, Blackburn, has not joined most other surgeries using the Government's
I was shocked to read of the 78-year old MS sufferer in Burnley who could be prosecuted just for putting an orange juice carton in his cardboard recycling sack. This petty council bureaucracy just puts people off recycling. Friends of the Earth has urged
Can anyone at the council please explain why it is now impossible to travel south on the Darwen part of the A666 and turn into Railway Road. It will mean all vehicles including 40 foot articulated delivery trucks having to use Duckworth Street, Union
Blackburn with Darwen Council have a lot to answer for. During a recent visit to Darwen Old Cemetery I was absolutely disgusted with the state of the cemetery. Bushes have been cut down and nothing has been done to remove them. Gravestones were piled
I was disappointed to see the letter (LT, December 19) from Mrs Julie Eastwood on local train services, apparently on the basis of one cancelled train. Mrs Eastwood says her daughter has to travel to work in Manchester by train as she cannot drive.
Burnley's scheduled match with Stoke City was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, following incessant rain in East Lancashire. "Unfortunately the elements have beat us," said referee Russell Booth. "The ground staff have worked incredibly hard
TALKS between a council and a housing association over the £3.5million bill for removing potentially lethal asbestos from more than 100 homes appear deadlocked. Blackburn with Darwen Council and Twin Valley Homes have been locked in negotiations since
AS Big Ben struck midnight to signal the end of 2006, no-one would have blamed John Coleman for reflecting on the last 12 months with a great sense of pride. After seven years as manager of Accrington Stanley, in April he got them back into the Football
BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes was quick to praise Morten Gamst Pedersen after the Norwegian was the life and soul of this New Year's Day party. The former Tromso star may have struggled for form since he changed the name on his shirt to Gamst at the beginning
STEVE Cotterill hailed the return of Ade Akinbiyi to Burnley and believes his New Year's Day swoop will lift everyone at Turf Moor. Striker Akinbiyi completed his switch back from Sheffield United in a £650,000 move that sees the Clarets pay a further
The cardigan-loving whingebag that is Pauline Fowler has finally kicked the bucket - hooray! But is it just me or does the Square already seem a lonelier place in EastEnders? After 21 years playing the most miserable character in Britain's most depressing
AN HISTORIC stone-carved coat of arms dating back to 1890 could be restored in Accrington after action from the local civic trust. It was saved when the former Accrington Gas and Water Board premises at the corner of Willow Street and St James Street
