PATIENTS at Blackburn Royal Infirmary found it was good to talk after being given the use of 10 new cordless telephones. The state-of-the-art phones were donated by the hospital's league of friends to help bed-bound patients keep in touch with relatives.

The phones, which could be carried around the ward, also allowed more mobile patients to talk in privacy.

25 YEARS AGO

DARWEN'S new multi-purpose leisure centre was officially unveiled by MP Charles Fletcher. The eagerly-awaited multi-thousand pound centre was to hold everything from bowling to archery.

Police with dogs were called to a punch-up outside an Altham nightspot. A group of five men were arrested after the brawl at Martholme Grange. A number of people were taken to hospital with cuts and bruises but nobody was seriously injured.

50 YEARS AGO

A LABOURER was jailed for a month after stealing a hen from a coop in the middle of the night. The 34-year-old from Clayton-le-Moors admitted to police he sneaked into the hen house, stole and killed a hen. He said he stole the bird on his way home from a wedding and was drunk. Magistrates described the man's previous criminal record as "weary".