REVIEW OF THE YEAR: Looking back at the first half of 2019

JANUARY

THE first Hilton hotel for East Lancashire would form the centrepiece of the £100million Frontier Park complex, it was announced.

Hampton by Hilton Blackburn is expected to bring 150 rooms and conference facilities for 1,400 delegates to the Whitebirk site.

A GIANT mound of soil, dubbed ‘Donald Trump’s Mexican wall’, appeared behind

a row of gardens.

Residents in Prunella Drive, Lower Darwen, were left shocked and frustrated after

builders pushed hundreds of tonnes of soil against their back gardens.

FEBRUARY

HAVE-a-go heroes were praised after they foiled an attempted robbery at the McDonald’s restaurant in Accrington.

Three men, one armed with a hammer, approached a staff member leaving the eaterie,

in Hyndburn Road. But maintenance workers Scott Ashton and Stuart Williams intervened and managed to pin him down.

TRAVELLERS who caused more than £300,000 worth of damage to the old Thwaites brewery were jailed for eight years in total.

Thomas Ward, 44, and John Ward, 34, both from Leigh, were jailed for four years and three months and three years and nine months at Burnley Crown Court

MARCH

A FAMILY were left ‘heartbroken’ after their 11-week-old puppy was

found dead on their front gate – strung up by metal wire.

British Bulldog Wilma was stolen during a burglary at their house on Cranberry Lane, Darwen. Andrew Bolland’s family had posted appeals on social media with a £1,000 reward for her return.

A MAN who killed love rival Tarro ‘Taz’ Grogan after a play fight turned nasty was jailed for eight years and three months.

The father-of-two, 29, was fatally wounded by knife-wielding Dylan

Mark Slater in a violent confrontation at a house party in Peridot

Close, Blackburn, last October.

APRIL

ONE of Blackburn’s oldest ‘iconic’ buildings was reduced to ashes after a fire ripped through it.

Up to 70 firefighters from across the county were called in to battle the inferno at The Bureau Centre for the Arts.

A NEW gateway road into Blackburn was named after the town’s motorcycle racing

star and TV ‘King of the Jungle’ Carl Fogarty.

The four-time World Superbike champion, known as ‘Foggy’, took to two wheels to

open the 600-metre highway from the Red Lion roundabout near M65 junction six to Bottomgate. He joined a select group of local heroes with roads named after them including Blackburn Rovers benefactor Jack Walker, the club’s Premiership goal-scoring

hero Alan Shearer and former MP Barbara Castle.

MAY

THE man who threw a milkshake over far-right extremist Tommy Robinson

said he had received threats since the incident.

Danyaal Mahmud, 23, from Blackburn, said he was approached by the former English Defence League leader, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, on his way home after a work meeting.

TRIBUTES were paid to Blackburn’s Lord Adam Patel died at the age of 78 after a long illness.

The Labour peer, who came to the town in 1965, had suffered a long illness. He was buried at Pleasington Cemetery.

He was one of first Asian and Muslim members of the House of Lords when he was given a peerage in 2000.

READ MORE >>> REVIEW OF THE YEAR: Looking back at the second half of 2019

JUNE

BLACKBURN’S Festival of Making organisers hoped to have set a new takings record despite the frequent downpours which threatened to spoil the two-day event.

The festival, now in its third year, put a national spotlight on the town, and one newspaper listed it among the top three must attend events across the country.

Organisers hoped to have matched the 40,000 attendance figures from last year. However, the very wet weather meant fewer people attended the outdoor activities, which were all but washed out.

PLAYERS and family paid tribute to Blackburn Rovers superfan Stephen Harrison who died this year.

The 56-year-old, who had Downs syndrome, was an Ewood Park regular for many years and a friend of many of the club’s stars.

The club sent a wreath to say goodbye to a former ‘Fan of the Day’, while former players Robbie Savage, Jason Roberts and Stephen Warnock spoke of their sadness at the news of his death.