THOUSANDS of pounds worth of lead has been stolen from a church roof after parishioners mounted a massive fundraising effort to pay for its replacement. Police have appealed for information to catch the thieves who stole £25,000 of lead flashing
A TODDLER who died three years after his mother gave him a huge overdose of paracetamol and codeine was unlawfully killed, a coroner ruled. But the Crown Prosecution Service has decided that the mother will not face a murder or manslaughter
WADE Elliott almost torments himself as he toe-taps a brand new mitre football, so shiny he can almost see his face in it. He turns to team-mate Alan Mahon and says: “We can chase these all day.” But, on only the second day of pre-season, he should
DARWEN school pupils were warned about the dangers of swimming in open waters at the launch of a new campaign. Operation Twitch was launched by Lancashire police, in conjunction with Lancashire Fire and Rescue, United Utilities and Blackburn with Darwen
A SON downloaded child porn images — but his innocent dad got arrested instead, a court was told. Lee Scott Robert-Shaw, 23, used the family computer to secretly access a total of 111 images, including six video clips. Investigations
A SEVEN-hour police stand-off was sparked after two suspected burglars climbed onto the roof of the shop and refused to come down. More than a dozen officers were involved and a number of streets in the centre of Mill Hill, Blackburn, had to
A COUNCIL is bidding to reduce its carbon footprint by installing energy saving devices - and wants residents to follow its lead. The scheme by Burnley Borough Council got underway at Burnley Town Hall today with town hall bosses pledging to
Ribchester has been settled since the Bronze Age and here stood one of the largest Roman forts to be found anywhere in Britain. As many as 500 cavalry were stationed at the fort and excavations have revealed a parade ground on the site of the
I'M delighted that the council is making swimming free in Blackburn with Darwen. It's not that I particularly like swimming. Quite the contrary — I hate how you can never get quite dry enough to put your clothes back on comfortably. But, as any woman
AT the age of 46, Blackburn-born poet Mark Ward has had more experiences than most will in their lifetimes. He’s worked on an Alaskan radio show for the blind, built film sets for Oliver Reed in Africa, and worked on a production company in New Zealand
Trains on the Colne to Blackpool South line were delayed after a wagon struck a bridge in Hollin Bridge Street, Mill Hill, Blackburn. The incident happened on Monday morning and trains between Blackburn and Mill Hill stations were disrupted because
A 15-YEAR-old boy has been accused of raping a girl of the same age. Police said the girl was attacked while walking home in Accrington on a section of land known locally as The Lodge. A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal
A FIRM based in a Ribble Valley village is set to produce two million paper cups annually – just three years after being set up. Mark Woodward, owner of The Paper Cup Company, Worston, has his sights set on reaching that level in the next year after
A FORMER Accrington Stanley player has denied blackmailing a top Premier League player. Goalkeeper Ashley Timms, 22, of Middleton, Manchester, pleaded not guilty at the city’s Crown Court to demanding £15,000 from the unnamed star. He is charged
THE story of a heroic girl prepared to risk everything for justice has been named this year’s top read by school children. Fearless, by Tim Lott has been named the Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year. The award scheme is run by the
Giant cockroaches, a python and stick insects invaded a school as pupils’ studies were brought to life. Children at Holy Souls Primary, Wilworth Crescent, Blackburn, had been learning all about the rainforest. As a special treat, a zoo keeper from
WHEN the NHS was born, exactly sixty years ago today, the aim was that it would provide free treatment “from cradle to grave.” An awful lot has changed since then. And the NHS is creaking under the enormous economic pressure of providing
Darwen Library refreshed its stock by throwing its doors open for a grand sale. Books of all genres, DVDs, videos and CDs that were no longer needed in the library were put on sale so new stock could be introduced. A library spokesperson said:
SCRAP metal thieves have struck six times in Darwen, stealing a 12ft gate, 20ft car park barrier pole and a cattle grid. The heavy objects have been stolen from car parks, industrial parks and residential properties over the past month. It is believed
ANOTHER teenager killed. Below this headline this week, smaller print noted the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s Origin of Species book. The items are not unrelated. Teaching six generations of kids that they are merely evolved hairless apes is criminal
A WILDLIFE charity has welcomed a Government announcement that it has abandoned plans to cull badgers in a drive to control tuberculosis (TB) in cattle. The Lancashire Wildlife Trust said the weight of scientific evidence has shifted towards
AN investigation is set to take place into why a community centre – opened by the Bishop of Salford just eight years ago – is now closed. The £600,000 Waterbridge Resource Centre was opened on the site of the former Sacred Heart School in Rigby Street
SAWLEY rocked to the sound of live bands and top DJs at the Beatherder Festival. Nine different stages and venues were on offer Dockber Farm in the heart of the Sawley countryside, offering a variety of music and entertainment. Among the artists
Villagers in Trawden turned out in force for the annual scarecrow trail and garden festival. Residents opened up their gardens for visitors and a trail of scarecrows was laid around the village. Meanwhile, Earby brass band entertained the crowds
MORE than 80 people battled wind and rain to climb Pendle Hill for a rugby match on Saturday. Members of Colne and Nelson rugby club walked to the summit before players ranging from a two-year-old to a 70-year-old put on a display for spectators. Goal
LANCASHIRE Constabulary and two other North West forces have joined forces to launch a motorway policing unit to fight terrorism and organised crime. Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire police have formed a single group covering 10 motorways
Members of the Caneze Riaz Trust presented £6,000 to the Christie Hospital, Manchester, in memory of a tragic Accrington family. Adam Riaz, 17, was being treated at the Christie when his mum, Caneze, and his sisters were killed in a fire at their
WHILE I was on the coastline of Cumbria I went to study the seabirds on the headland at St Bees and from which the Isle of Man can clearly be seen. The family of birds called the auks have always fascinated me and I have studied them closely for more
THERE has been a lot in the national news recently about the need to conserve the wildlife around the coast of Britain. It is bound to be a case of out of sight, out of mind because what we don’t actually see, we don’t understand. This is why all naturalists
Blackburn Rovers chairman John Williams has given manager Paul Ince his full backing in terms of holding on to Blackburn’s best players. It follows reports over the weekend that Manchester City are lining up a bid to take goalkeeper Brad Friedel
MARK Clayton was the hero for Todmorden as his superb innings helped book their place in the Worsley Cup Final with a four-wicket win over Ramsbottom. The visitors had set a challenging total of 240-7, with opening batsman Phil Hayes top scoring
RAWTENSTALL’S top-of-the-table clash against Accrington received top billing before the weekend, but the weather made sure the encounter finished like a damp squib. The two must do battle again after rain stopped play with the home side on 60-2. The
League leaders Leyland dominated proceedings in a reduced-overs match at Windsor Park but, facing a mammoth total, Chorley hung on to deny the visitors an outright win. Leyland pro Ameer Khan was the star of the show, hitting an unbeaten 108, and he
SO, David Tennant wasn’t exterminated after all. And after a week of speculation and hype about the possibility of a new doctor, I actually felt quite disappointed. The wife and I had eagerly talking about who should replace Tennant
Ribblesdale Wanderers are one match away from lifting the PM & M Ramsbottom Cup for the first time since 2000. But the identity of their final opponents at Barnoldswick on August 3 is unknown. Wanderers, recovering from a senior division
Padiham kick-start their Vodkat League Division Two campaign at home to Ashton Town on Saturday, August 9.
In Division Two of the Vodkat League, Darwen kick-off their season with an away fixture newly-formed AFC Liverpool, on Saturday, August 9.
VITAL lifelines look set to be thrown by County Hall to three cash-strapped projects in Burnley and Hyndburn which help crisis-hit families to cope. Funding cuts were being faced by all three organisations, as various state and charitable trust cash
Colne begin their Vodkat League Division One campaign with a home match against Congleton Town. The following week, Nigel Coates’ men are in FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round action as they entertain Daisy Hill.
Nelson start their Division One campaign by heading to Ashton Athletic on Saturday, August 9. Despite finishing bottom of the table last season, the Blues were given a late reprieve.
Bacup Borough start their season with a home match against Winsford United on August 9. The following week, Brent Peters’ side travel to Atherton Collieries in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round.
Ramsbottom United will begin their quest for honours in Vodkat League Division One by taking on Blackpool-based Squires Gate at the Riverside Ground on August 9. New boss Andy Feeley will have his work cut out from the opening day as the Rams
DAVID Unsworth believes Clarets boss Owen Coyle has all the credentials to be a success in the Premier League. And he hopes the Scotsman can fulfil that ambition with Burnley. The 34-year-old defender left Turf Moor last week after rejecting
OWEN Coyle is hoping to bring in one new signing before the squad jets off to America tomorrow. But the Burnley boss has said all transfer activity will be put on hold while they are in the States. The Clarets have already added four
ROQUE Santa Cruz will be an absentee when Blackburn Rovers begin pre-season training this morning. Rovers manager Paul Ince will meet his Rovers charges for the first time since landing the Ewood Park hot-seat when the squad report to the club
PAUL Ince is closer to finalising his backroom team at Blackburn Rovers after making two more key appointments. The Rovers boss was dealt a setback after losing reserve team manager Glyn Hodges and fitness coach Damien Roden. But Ince
I haven’t told my husband because I don’t want him to get too excited, but today sees the start of National Shed Week. Since acquiring our first garden four years ago, the shed has become the hub of my husband’s existence, and if he knows there is a
RAPE victims in Lancashire are almost five times more likely to see their attackers jailed than in other areas of the country. Lancashire police has the second best rate nationally for securing convictions against rapists, according to new figures
THERE is no shortage of things for people to feel miserable about locally and nationally at the moment. Our so-called summer weather and the way the economy has taken a turn for the worse in the past six months are just two topics which induce gloom.
Harry Nuttall column: IT’S nearly 25 years since plans to redevelop Jack’s Key Lodge were first revealed. Since then other ambitious plans have come and gone while the reservoir has been drained and the whole area has steadily become a vast wasteland
A BLACKBURN entrepreneur, who has triumphed over personal adversity to successfully establish his own business, has been named one of the North West Region’s Top 10 business heroes. Philip Rothwell, 54, who started Chair Bears Traditional and
A SINGER found drunk in her car had secretly been nipping out to drink vodka out of sight of her mother, Burnley magistrates heard. Clare Eccleston, 33, was found in the vehicle after police attended a report of a drunken woman trying to drive a car
SEVEN primary schools in Pendle learned about safer cycling and ‘going green’ after police and Lancashire County Council teamed up. Pupils and staff from the schools met at Higham St John’s CE Primary to take the Big Safe Green Challenge.
A NELSON man who admitted threatening and assaulting a police officer has been spared a jail term. Asim Hussain, 25, was abusive when a police officer went to arrest him from a property in Railway Street, Nelson, in May, Burnley magistrates
POLICE in East Lancashire are still hunting for a man who pestered a 12- year-old girl on a bus. The schoolgirl was travelling from Colne to Burnley bus station when a suspicious man got on board and started staring at her. She decided
POVERTY-stricken children in Cambodia could be getting luxury sports kit – thanks to an East Lancashire charity. ‘I Believe’, based at St Alban’s RC Church, Larkhill, and The Good Shepherd RC Church, Earl Street, Blackburn, is appealing for
A SCAFFOLDING worker has been fined for smoking in his work van while on a break. Thomas McSorley, 39, of Richmond Road, Accrington, was fined £50 for smoking a cigarette in his company van while working in Pendle. He was also ordered
I WOULD like to express my thanks to the Royal Blackburn Hospital. I was on C1 ward a few weeks back. No matter how busy the nurses were, their efficiency and care was always with them. I would like them to know they really are appreciated. M W
ALL local authorities across the United Kingdom should collect household waste once a week. Let’s make the Government aware of this by signing the petition that has been started on the Prime Minister’s website at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk.collectionwaste
I AM writing after reading A J Marsden’s letter (LT, June 30) about penny arcade pre-1960. I well remember it, I lived in Regent Street then. I went to see what the butler saw with my penny. On coming out one night to go home, a German plane came over
I AM writing re the Veterans Parade in Blackpool on June 27, 2008. The majority of the veterans turned out smartly dressed in blazers and berets. They were a credit to their regiments and corps etc and to themselves. Alas! There was a small percentage
CONTRARY to the rumour circulating in Great Harwood, the Great Harwood Conservative Club is not closing. Like all pubs and clubs it is facing a difficult time following the “smoking ban” and the swingeing price increases imposed by the Government and
I WAS surprised to read about the Bishop of Burnley’s wife’s petition against women bishops. In my view it is no wonder that 700 women priests are in favour of women bishops. A few women bishops would knock some sense into the men and
A WOMAN taxi driver was assaulted after she had gone to pick up her boyfriend from the pub. Hyndburn magistrates heard that Andrew Lamb complained that it shouldn’t have taken her half an hour to get there. And when she tried to get
A POLICE officer watching the house where a suspected major drug dealer was said to be operating told a jury he did not see him there. Detective Constable Stuart Livingstone said he saw a man named Kevin Barsky visit the house on Springhill Road, Oswaldtwistle
A MAN supplied what he thought was ecstasy to his partner and a friend within months of being freed from jail for dealing the drug. Burnley Crown Court heard how Gary Sowerbutts, 24, had taken ecstasy costing £120 "recreationally” at weekends
A MAN who had been drinking at the home of a 58-year-old woman stole cash and a bank card from her purse when she fell asleep. Blackburn magistrates heard that Russell Edward Smith then used the card to “buy” an internet chatroom site for £348
AN EARLY morning fire which began in bins at a Rishton supermarket spread to the roof of the building. Two fire crews were called to the High Street Co-Op after a blaze took hold at 4.09am on Saturday. The fire had spread to the roof space of the building
THE Bishop of Blackburn is among members of the clergy who have written a letter supporting colleagues threatening to quit the church if women become bishops. The Rt Rev Nicholas Reade signed the document along with the diocesan bishops of Chichester
EIGHTIES revivalism seems to work better coming from the mouths of Americans – and once again, a band from Brooklyn leads the way. As always, marketing executives were way ahead of the rest of us, using Jupiter One tracks on various video games
SWAGGERING, effortlessly cool rock from Seattle, from a band who look gratifyingly like they really don't give a damn. Don't Want That Now is a little bit bluesy and a little bit spiky, but most of all it feels gloriously old-fashioned.
A VOICE so deep and gravelly, if this had been released on vinyl you’d swear your turntable was playing slow. But there’s something wonderfully enticing about it, from the Hammond organ to the clever guitar work. Imagine Kris Kristofferson
A WATER safety campaign will be launched today at Wayoh Reservoir, Edgworth. The police, primary school pupils, members of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Lancashire Fire and Rescue and United Utilities will be highlighting the dangers of swimming
THE county's wetlands must be protected and restored for the next 50 years to combat climate change, according to environmental experts. A series of maps have been produced highlighting areas where wetland has been lost or fragmented - and
A FEMALE school worker has been suspended after a parent was allegedly assaulted during an after-school club outing. Marsden Primary School, Percy Street, Nelson, is investigating the allegation against the staff member, who is not a teacher
AN East Lancashire aid-worker has described how she was tear-gassed by police after being caught up in riots as a country descended into crisis. Teacher Sheila Marshall, 48, left Blackburn for Mongolia in February and has sent messages home to
