Archive

  • Feelings do count in figuring crime

    IT'S well known that statistics can be produced to prove almost any theory or trend. And when it comes to measuring crime many people have acquired a cynical attitude towards figures which politicians dangle in front of us to show that government policies

  • Winter bowls

    THE 14th winner at Pennington Park Winter Bowling was Colin Knight who beat Terry Benbow in the final 21-19.The consolation final was won by Alan Williams who beat Cliff Berry 21-20.

  • Correctness so selective

    YOU ask if political correctness has gone too far? When shops sell 'gingerbread persons,' people in charge of committees are addressed as 'chair' (apparently to be sat on and crushed) and one cannot criticise in public or private, any other nation then

  • Speed does not kill - driver error does

    I FEEL that I must reply to the Rev David Kennedy's letter (LET, January 16) and take issue with the statement that law breakers are arrogant. I have been driving for nearly 40 years and up to quite recently have held a LGV (class 1) licence. At present

  • We're all delighted for young Chappy

    AN ENGLAND star in the Burnley dressing room. How cool is that? I'm sure Richard Chaplow is in for quite a bit of stick off the lads over the coming days following his U19 call up, but equally we're all delighted for him. It's a fantastic achievement,

  • East Lancs jobs blow as firm moves

    EAST Lancashire was today reeling from an employment blow after an expanding company moved 400 new jobs to Northern Ireland in a row over grant support. Homeloan Management - part of the Skipton Building Society - turned its back on Blackburn and Padiham

  • Cole: I'm at Rovers for good

    ANDY Cole today pledged his future to Blackburn Rovers and said he's fully behind the club's battle for Premiership survival. The former Manchester United star's future with Rovers has been the subject of intense media speculation during the past couple

  • Johnson shines for lack-lustre Rovers

    ACADEMY striker Jemal Johnson scored two cracking goals for Rovers reserves but still ended up on the losing side as Newcastle's Michael Chopra strolled off with the matchball. Newcastle roared into a 2-0 lead only for Rovers to fight-back and make it

  • Arson probe detectives in appeal for 'vital' witness

    DETECTIVES investigating a suspected racially motivated arson attack at a Cliviger Indian restaurant have re-appealed for a vital witness to come forward. The incident happened at the Village Spice Indian Restaurant in Burnley Road, Cliviger, when fire-raisers

  • Drink driver made 'foolish decision'

    A PACKER who drove home from a night on the town was almost three times the limit, a court was told. Burnley magistrates heard how Peter Pedder, 22, had not intended to get behind the wheel, but made a foolish decision. Pedder, of Airdrie Crescent, Burnley

  • You've got no chance

    CAMPAIGNERS hoping to see Carnforth Station become a mainline stop enjoyed a brief encounter with the transport minister this week. Dr Kim Howells stopped off at the historic halt on Wednesday on a tour of Lancashire's showcase integrated transport schemes

  • Dying to raise extra cash...

    THE COST of dying in Lancaster and Morecambe is rising as the city council puts up burial charges by 10 per cent. Cemetery fees locally are already among the highest in the county. But Lancaster City Council's Cabinet this week opted to push them up even

  • Hospitals on red alert

    MORECAMBE Bay Hospitals have been put on red alert and operations have been cancelled - for the second time this month. The announcement comes just days after bosses said the last six-day alert, which was stepped down last Monday, succeeded in helping

  • Prof seeks war games truth

    A football match like no other, said to have occurred on the bloody battlefields of Flanders during World War I, is the subject of a new research project by a professor from Lancaster. Iain Adams, who is principal lecturer in outdoor education at the

  • Gun stash pair jailed

    TWO teenagers who stashed weapons and live ammunition during an operation to combat IRA activity have been jailed. Sean Robert Paul Naylor, of Morecambe, and Steven Coyle, of Heysham, were each sentenced to four months detention for concealing a cache

  • Transsexual anguish led to suicide -- coroner

    A TRANSSEXUAL undergoing gender reassignment was found dead in his fume-filled car, an inquest was told. Geoff Sheehan (48), also known as Debbie Fox, was found by neighbour Susan Jefferson in a car park outside his Radcliffe home, with a hose-pipe leading

  • History lesson found in cellar

    TODAY we can reveal images of everyday life in Blackburn which haven't been seen for 100 years. The remarkable pictures of schoolchildren are taken from a series of films which lay forgotten in a cellar until they were discovered five years ago. The films

  • Transport boost for rural areas

    A £706,000 grant for innovative improvements to transport links with rural parts of Pendle has been welcomed. The Department of Transport has allocated the money to Lancashire County Council to implement Pendleside Wayfarer project, as part of a £20million

  • Photo history

    LEIGH Antique and Collectors' Society will hear Len Hudson talk about the "History of Photography" at the January 27 meeting in the Derby Room, Leigh Library, at 7.30pm. Admission will cost non-members £2.50.

  • 10 years ago

    CHAS Lloyd exercised shirehorse Tommy through the streets of Darwen. Tommy, a pet of the British Queen pub, liked to drink two pints of mild a day. Millionaire Jack Walker was to have the new main stand at Ewood Park named after him as a lasting tribute

  • 25 years ago

    TWO long-serving mill workers who faced masked raiders relived their terrifying experience after being commended by a judge. George Botterill, 58, and Thomas Byrom, 58, were on the night-shift at Witton Mill when the raiders struck. Burnley manager Harry

  • Fireman Simon hits the long and winding road...

    A FIREMAN will swap fighting fires for a pair of trainers and a running vest when he pounds the streets for charity in this year's London Marathon. Dad-of-two Simon Chadwick will compete in the world-famous marathon on April 18 along with thousands of

  • Inspectors give school high marks

    LOWTON West Primary School has received glowing praise from government education watchdogs. Ofsted officials visited the Slag Lane school and looked at everything from standards in the classroom to after-school activities. In their report, the inspectors

  • Fears at delay in audit report

    FEARS have been raised that a delay in the findings of a government inspection of Hyndburn Council could be linked to its £1.8million financial crisis. The Audit Commission has finalised its examinations of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale councils as part

  • 'Death medal' mystery solved

    A 40 YEAR mystery to find the origins of a First World War "death medal", given to the family of a soldier killed in action, has now been solved. Tyldesley resident Norman Harris had asked the Journal to shed more light on a medal which had been posthumously

  • Death camp liberation remembered

    ONE of the most shameful periods in the history of mankind will be remembered across the borough next Tuesday, the 59th anniversary of the Russian army's liberation of Poland's infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. The attempted destruction

  • Brothers target national title

    AFTER finishing on the championship rostrum for the second successive year, classic sidecar racing brothers Keith and Dave Latheron are aiming for number one spot this year. Both are at an age when for many men the most the competitive spirit might stretch

  • Metrolink spends £2.5 million on Bury line

    ALONG the right lines! That's a £2.5million improvement of Metrolink stops along the Bury-Altrincham line which has been praised by a local transport chief. Councillor Gordon Sharkey, the local authority's spokesman for the Greater Manchester Passenger

  • Chance to have your say on the future of Longridge

    RESIDENTS of Longridge will be able to have their say over its future development at an exhibition to be held in the town. Longridge Market Town Initiative (MTI) are staging the consultation day in the Longridge Youth and Community Centre on January 29

  • Kilroy affair exposes threat

    THE 'Kilroy' affair exposes the dangerous and growing threat to the right to free speech. Those who wish to curtail this hallmark of a free society currently represent the greatest danger to our democracy as they slowly succeed in suppressing open dialogue

  • Eco warriors at church to be honoured with award

    A RIBBLE Valley church is set to be rewarded for its green stance. St John's Church, Hurst Green, is being presented with an Eco-Congregation Award -- an accolade which recognises how churches and parishioners take on board environmental issues. The award

  • Writer should choose his words with care

    I AM both dumbfounded and saddened by the ignorance of the law covering blue badge use shown by your correspondent J T Norbury (Citizen, last week). Double and single line parking is, and always has been, within the law for a blue badge holder, with a

  • Star chef back in the good books

    CELEBRITY chef Paul Heathcote's has seen his restaurant regain the food award it lost last year. The Longridge restaurant lost its one-star rating in the famous Michelin Guide after a renovation and name change. But this year's published guide gives the

  • Sign of the times

    THE loss of 155 jobs at Axa Insurance is a body blow to those directly affected and a blow to the district as a whole. Sadly it is a sign of things to come and we need to two things very quickly indeed. We must challenge and change the Labour government's

  • Direct bus link with city will be restored

    BUS operator Lancashire United has announced changes to its Ribble Valley express service, Route X1/X2, which will restore a direct link between Clitheroe and Manchester to run seven days a week. The changes will come into force from Sunday, January 25

  • We will keep council tax down

    'DISCIPLE' (Citizen Letters last week) has got it completely wrong. I have not 'peddled' a figure of 21.1 per cent for the council tax rise this year. That was in the budget projections for 2004/5 set by the previous MBI led administration - and proved

  • Partner's festive gift was a beating

    A 22-year-old man punched, head butted and kicked his partner during a Christmas Day domestic, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that when Carly Miller complained that she felt dizzy Paul Laycock slapped her on the other side of her face and

  • Depot sale was right decision

    THE decision to sell the illuminations depot site to Hargreaves Homes was neither 'illogical' nor 'perverse', as reported in Citizen (January 8). There were arguments for putting off a decision and residents who wished the council to do so. Equally there

  • Skipper in transfer tug

    INFLUENTIAL Morecambe skipper Stewart Drummond is at the centre of a new transfer tug-of-war. Conference leaders Chester City have made an official bid for the midfielder who has been at Morecambe since 1995 and has twice been voted the fans' 'Player

  • Big push begins as Blues look to future

    LANCASTER City are setting out to prove there's more to life than football - with a big push to get more people to use facilities at the Giant Axe. New commercial manager Les Taylor is keen to generate more income so that both future team and ground building

  • We learn from the old, we grow with the new

    A GOOD question I have been asked many times at meetings in Blackburn is "You had a full grant and no loan, Mr Straw. Why can't we?" So here's my answer, at rather greater length. I did indeed get a full grant, £300 the first year I was at Leeds University

  • Sugden saves Shrimps

    REVITALISED Morecambe put on one of their best displays of the season against high-flying Hereford at Christie Park on Saturday - and yet almost slid to another home defeat. It took an injury time volley from substitute Ryan Sugden to rescue a point for

  • Chaplow gets England call

    RICHARD Chaplow has picked up an early birthday present through a sensational England call-up. The Burnley midfielder has been selected for the England U19 squad to face Holland in a friendly next month. It caps a remarkable rise for the talented teenager

  • New nursery unit for school

    A KEY stage in the development of nursery facilities at Hindsford slotted into place when a unit to cater for 46 children was installed and assembled on the Lodge Road site. The new nursery will combine and extend the existing services provided by Hindsford

  • Top apprentices pick up awards

    TWO Leigh apprentices have received top awards at a special Wigan Council ceremony. Plasterer Paul Pemberton, from Leigh, and Darryl Ridyard received the Martin Pearse Trophy from the Mayor, Cllr Wilf Brogan. A second apprentice from Leigh, Laura Fisher

  • Inspectors give school high marks

    LOWTON West Primary School has received glowing praise from government education watchdogs. Ofsted officials visited the Slag Lane school and looked at everything from standards in the classroom to after-school activities. In their report, the inspectors

  • Club repair cash

    A LEIGH club is organising a cabaret night to help raise money for repairs. Night Shift will star at the event at the Xll Apostles, Westleigh, on January 30 at 8.30pm. Tickets are £2 and can be bought on the door. Hindley Green Labour Club is also having

  • Spud you believe it?

    THE Great British potato is to be celebrated at an open day in Lancaster next month. Gardeners, allotment holders and just the plain curious are being invited to find out more about different varieties of the spud on Saturday, February 7. The Gregson

  • Karl gets tour call

    RISING cricket star Karl Brown has got his England call-up papers. Next month the teenage Atherton CC opening batsman will be playing for England Under 16s on their tour of South Africa where they will be playing a number of province sides. Karl, 15,

  • Charity Cup

    LAST season's Atherton Charity Cup raised £1200 for local charities. Donations were made to Wigan and Leigh Hospice, Manchester Children's Hospital, Two Porches School, Fourways, Derian House, Manor Fold, Blakeborough House, Atherton House, Referee's

  • Ben strikes twice...

    TWO goals from Ben Obong helped Atherton LR beat Glossop 3-0 and end a run of five successive defeats. Obong had a first-half penalty saved by goalkeeper Williams after Yates had conceded the spot kick with a clumsy challenge. But the former Prescot Cables

  • Daniel jumps to the top

    DANIEL Greaves has done it again! The 11-year-old from Pownall Street, Leigh and who attends Bedford High School, has just won the North West Regional Grade 4 Competition in trampolining for the under 13 boys section, where he won by a full four points

  • Young Carla saves the day

    DATEN Ladies Hockey team played their first game of 2004 against local rivals Newton-le-Willows. Newton are one division higher and it took Daten the first half to get back into things after the Christmas break with the team not passing the ball well.

  • Hawks flying high

    LEIGH RU Hawks had to over come dogged Bolton opposition and heavy conditions at Hand Lane before going to collected a 22-0 win. Leigh were unable to turn early pressure into points and all they had to show at half time was a Greenwood penalty for a 3

  • Cole: I'm at Rovers for good

    ANDY Cole today pledged his future to Blackburn Rovers and said he's fully behind the club's battle for Premiership survival. The former Manchester United star's future with Rovers has been the subject of intense media speculation during the past couple

  • A firm check-up

    BUSINESSES in Rossendale are being offered a business 'diagnosis' worth £200 - for free. Cincture, a chartered accountant based in Regent Street, Haslingden, is offering the computer-based system to help firms pinpoint where they can boost their business

  • Surprise as millionaire boss quits

    THE multi-millionaire boss of Leyland-based Enterprise plc has quit the company he helped build. Chief executive Sean Keogh - named as one of the North West's top five earners in 2002 - will be replaced by Jack McGrory, the managing director of Mowlem

  • Mill engine talk

    TEXTILE mill engines will be the subject of a talk by Alan Lewis at Leigh Local History Society on Thursday, January 29, at 7.30pm in the Derby Room, Leigh Library.

  • Photo history

    LEIGH Antique and Collectors' Society will hear Len Hudson talk about the "History of Photography" at the January 27 meeting in the Derby Room, Leigh Library, at 7.30pm. Admission will cost non-members £2.50.

  • Dancers wanted

    FRED Longworth High School is seeking new members for the Masc Dance and Drama Company. Anyone aged 16-25 years with a learning disability and a keen interest in dance and drama is welcome. Workshops are held at the Tyldesley school each Wednesday (6pm

  • Builder to appeal against homes rejection

    A DEVELOPER is on a collision course with councillors who turned down plans to transform the former Airtours site in Helmshore into a housing estate. Bellway Homes Ltd was shocked when councillors went against planning officers' advice at Rossendale Council's

  • Rotary donations

    TWO hospices have received welcome donations from Tyldesley Rotary Club fund-raisers. A collection of £225 made during a well-supported Churches Together With Rotary carol concert has been sent to Wigan and Leigh Hospice and the £300 proceeds of a race

  • Charities benefit from gifts

    LOCAL charities are to benefit from a Christmas gifts amnesty. Golborne Asda is giving disappointed recipients of unwanted presents the chance to get rid of them with a clear conscience. A trolley will be place at the front of the store until February

  • Mill engine work offer

    VOLUNTEERS are being offered the chance to help restore a unique piece of machinery. The Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust is seeking young people from the Leigh area who would like to gain work experience by maintaining and promoting Wigan Pier's huge

  • MP praises school results

    LEIGH MP Andy Burnham has applauded schools, teachers and pupils on their record results in the latest school league tables. All the schools in the constituency performed well with St Mary's, Lowton and Golborne High achieving above the national average

  • Blue rides to Corrie stardom

    CORONATION Street fans on Wednesday saw history in the making when an Atherton star made his romantic debut. When Street youngblood Tyrone proclaimed his undying love for dizzy seamstress Fizz, he did so in style -- on a white charger named Blue belonging

  • The Ramdoms: A band to watch

    NEW northern pop sensation The Randoms, have taken the North West by storm. Their last-minute addition to an exclusive music-insider disc of new songs has confirmed their status as "the band to watch." Sell-out crowds have gone wild when the five boys

  • Fireman Simon hits the long and winding road...

    A FIREMAN will swap fighting fires for a pair of trainers and a running vest when he pounds the streets for charity in this year's London Marathon. Dad-of-two Simon Chadwick will compete in the world-famous marathon on April 18 along with thousands of

  • Mill engine talk

    TEXTILE mill engines will be the subject of a talk by Alan Lewis at Leigh Local History Society on Thursday, January 29, at 7.30pm in the Derby Room, Leigh Library.

  • Angels' delight!

    AN East Lancashire business project is set to move to a new £2.5million headquarters in Blackburn. The development by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council at Furthergate is set allow the Guardian Angels to offer a whole new range of mentoring services

  • Vicar still tackling the horrors of war

    A CLERGYMAN who moved to the Falklands today spoke of how he was helping people deal with the devastating effects of war - 22 years on. The Rev Paul Sweeting is the rector at Christchurch Cathedral, 8,000-miles away in the Falkland Islands' capital Port

  • Boundary shake-up inquiry draws to a close

    A GOVERNMENT inquiry into the future of Parliamentary seats in Lancashire was due to end today. The inquiry was set up after the Boundary Commission announced its intention to add another seat to the county map. Blackburn MP Jack Straw, and Darwen and

  • County rapped on assemblies article

    LANCASHIRE County Council has been accused of using its own newspaper to mislead residents about regional assemblies. January's edition of the council's Vision newspaper, which is posted to half a million homes in the county, features a three-page article

  • East Lancs jobs blow as firm moves

    EAST Lancashire was today reeling from an employment blow after an expanding company moved 400 new jobs to Northern Ireland in a row over grant support. Homeloan Management - part of the Skipton Building Society - turned its back on Blackburn and Padiham

  • Stanley to go full-time

    ACCRINGTON Stanley will become a full-time professional club in July. And manager John Coleman believes the move will be key to the Reds' progress in the Nationwide Conference and bid to earn promotion to the Football League. "I think it's the way forward

  • RUGBY: Evans goal helps scrape a cup win

    BLACKBURN were looking to banish their league blues with a quarter-final win over lower division Leigh in the Lancashire Intermediate Cup - but they only just sneaked through. Blackburn were without fly-half Luke Elston who broke his thumb in the previous

  • International flavour

    IF you thought having two Jamaicans in the team was about as exotic as Preston North End could get - think again. As well as taking an Argentinian on a week's trial, Preston have also welcomed in an international from ... Guatemala! Dwight Pezzarossi,

  • Special needs services in line for modernisation

    PLANS to include special needs pupils in mainstream schools moved a step nearer on Thursday. The Local Education Authority is seeking the views of parents and teachers in a bid to modernise the way services for these children are provided -- which could

  • Good for the grey brigade...

    PENSIONERS marched on Downing Street at the weekend to protest over council tax charges and the high annual increases which eat up their meagre pension rises. Good on them. But it's not only the OAPs who are suffering from the high costs. As a part-timer

  • Justice done on M61

    WHILE sitting impatiently with hundreds of other motorists in a two mile tailback on the M61 at Westhoughton on Monday morning I was astounded to witness white van man zoom past on the hard shoulder. What a nerve I, and no doubt many of the sickened off

  • New charges are a scandal

    I'M sorry to read that parking charges are to rocket at local hospitals. From March 1 both patients and visitors must pay a blanket charge of £1.50 for spaces at Leigh, Wigan, Wrightington, Whelley and the Thomas Linacre Centre -- if they can find them

  • Shield tie

    HINDSFORD FC, who were without a game last Saturday, are away at Milton in the second round of the Murray Shield this weekend, kick off 1.30pm. The reserves are at home against Old Standiians, KO 2pm.

  • FA bosses kick RMI out of Trophy

    LEIGH RMI made a dignified, if controversial exit from the FA Trophy without kicking a ball - thrown out of the competition by the FA after fielding goalkeeper Seb Rowe without international clearance. The Railwaymen had their third round replay against

  • MEP's silence is deafening

    ONE would think that Federalist and European integrationist Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies would have enough to worry about concerning the many failures of the European Union in 2003 instead of challenging the government over individuals found and detained

  • Anthony's legacy could be heart checks for young

    THE tragic death of a brilliant 17-year-old student has led his MP to call for regular heart tests for all young people. Anthony Lancaster was discovered dead in his bed -- just three days before his family discovered he had won a place at Cambridge University

  • Residents fear over special school plan

    RESIDENTS living near the proposed site of a new special school in Burnley say they fear it could lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour. Lancashire County Council have approved a scheme for a 40-place school on the site of what is currently Cherry

  • RMI boss wants strikers to ease pressure

    LEIGH RMI are looking for their new look strikeforce to deliver the goods, and fast. The struggling Railwaymen gave debuts to new boys Carl Alford and Kris McHale against Farnborough Town on Saturday, but still drew a blank. RMI expect the two frontmen

  • People power moves bollards

    ANGRY Lancaster residents have won a war of the bollards in a city centre street. The locals - backed by the Green Party - complained that the posts placed on the railway bridge in Meeting House Lane as part of a traffic calming project were a 'nightmare

  • Pike backing for local choice as successor

    AN East Lancs MP said he will be disappointed if a local candidate is not short-listed in the race to find his successor. Peter Pike, who has been Burnley's MP for 20 years, has decided to stand down at the next general election. He spoke on the day that

  • Op surgeon tells of his fatal error

    A DEVASTATED surgeon who headed an operating team that 'robbed' a patient of his only healthy kidney told the GMC yesterday how he would replay his error for the rest of his life. Registrar Mahesh Goel, 41, a former locum at Burnley General Hospital,

  • Blooming lovely!

    PLASTIC flowers have been planted next to rubbish-laden skips to put the colour back into a council recycling centre. Four workers from Lancaster City Council contract services have brought an early spring to Carnforth Recycling Centre by rescuing a mass

  • Residents fear over special school plan

    RESIDENTS living near the proposed site of a new special school in Burnley say they fear it could lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour. Lancashire County Council have approved a scheme for a 40-place school on the site of what is currently Cherry

  • It's time to back new look Midland

    NEGLECT has taken its toll on Morecambe's landmark Midland Hotel - but now councillors look set to back plans to transform it into a 21st century visitor destination. Lancaster City Council's planning committee meets on Monday when officers will advise

  • Rogue landlords beware

    TIGHTER rules could soon be applied to properties in Morecambe - and the local MP says they will combat poor housing in the area. Morecambe and Lunesdale MP Geraldine Smith says the new Housing Bill, introduced in the House of Commons, will be a great

  • Police probe mystery of teenager found dead

    A BOOK of remembrance is to be opened at a Lancaster school after one of its students was found dead at the weekend. Skerton Community High School pupil Ryan Ireland was found by a family friend at his Sycamore Grove home on Lancaster's Marsh estate at

  • Student was thrown like a 'rag doll' by car

    A UNIVERSITY student hit by a speeding car on a pelican crossing was catapulted through the air "like a rag doll," a jury heard yesterday. A witness gave the vivid description of the crash during the trial at Manchester Crown Court of Sadakat Hussein,

  • Park open day

    AN OPEN day is being organised so visitors to a popular Leigh park can have a say in its future. Wigan's Leisure and Culture Trust has organised an open day at Lilford Park where some of the ideas for the park's future will be on display in a marquee

  • 50 years ago

    EAST Lancashire mopped-up after wide areas were hit by flood water. And Mr D Hewitt, headmaster of Burnley Grammar School, said that schoolchildren were not as dishonest as they were four or five years ago when, he said, as a result of the war it was

  • Death camp liberation remembered

    ONE of the most shameful periods in the history of mankind will be remembered across the borough next Tuesday, the 59th anniversary of the Russian army's liberation of Poland's infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. The attempted destruction

  • New clue in fatal hit-and-run

    A CAR involved in a fatal hit-and-run may have been a taxi or pizza delivery car, police revealed today. Shaun Metcalfe, 34, was returning home from a night out at the Hare and Hounds pub, Oswaldtwistle, when he was killed as he crossed Blackburn Road

  • Army on the move again

    THE Salvation Army is to temporarily wind up activities at its Seven Brooks Centre and is planning to restart from scratch in June. Divisional leaders feel a new approach is needed in the area and they are taking time out to reflect on the position of

  • Special needs services in line for modernisation

    PLANS to include special needs pupils in mainstream schools moved a step nearer on Thursday. The Local Education Authority is seeking the views of parents and teachers in a bid to modernise the way services for these children are provided -- which could

  • Drive rumour is just not true

    I WISH to let the people of Scotforth West know there is no truth to the rumour that there is going to be a driveway through the big gap in the high wall on Belle Vue Terrace. Tree roots were pushing against this wall, which surrounds a council property

  • What a pity MP is on other side

    SO THE battle to revitalise Morecambe has begun. It's only a pity that our MP is on the other side. She describes the proposed development of the old bus depot as unpopular, illogical and perverse. Unpopular, because some residents are against it, though

  • Leaders give City a finishing lesson

    TITLE-CHASING Hucknall Town bagged all three points in real smash and grab fashion against City on Saturday - cantering home to a highly flattering win. City more than matched the league leaders for an hour - and could count themselves unlucky not to

  • MP praises school results

    LEIGH MP Andy Burnham has applauded schools, teachers and pupils on their record results in the latest school league tables. All the schools in the constituency performed well with St Mary's, Lowton and Golborne High achieving above the national average

  • Literary Society date

    lLEIGH Literary Society will take a trip through Peru with Andrew Calder, who will give an illustrated talk on his travels in the country, in the Derby Room, Leigh Library, at 7.30pm on Monday February 2. Admission for non-members is £1.50.

  • Rotary Club start play area appeal

    LEIGH Rotary Club plan to celebrate the movement's centenary year by building a new future for young estate children. They are making an extra fund-raising effort during 2004-5 to set up a play area for up to five-year-olds on Higher Folds. Members have

  • Folk Club talent spot

    LEIGH Folk Club is looking for new talent to play at the club when they hold their first singers night. They are looking for acoustic musicans, singers and poets to come along to the club on Friday, January 30 to play. The night will be held at the Conservative

  • Robbers are foiled as guard does a runner

    A SECURITY guard held onto a bundle of cash and dashed into a building society when two men jumped him. He was one of a team of three Securicor workers making a cash delivery to Abbey National, Morecambe, on Monday evening when the offenders appeared

  • Leigh RUFC fixtures for Saturday

    1st XV: Anselmians away, meet at 12.00 pm. 2nd XV: Anselmiansl at home, meet at 1.00 pm. 3rd XV: Vale of Lune at home, meet at 1.30 pm. Tofts: Ashton on Mersey at home, meet at 1.30pm. Vets: Wilmslow away, meet at 12.30 pm.

  • Keavney is a Viking

    WIDNES Vikings have signed Leigh East junior Martin Keavney on a three-year contract following a successful spell on the Vikings scholarship programme. Sixteen-yaers-old Keavney, who spent 10 years with Leigh Miners, is the grandson of former Widnes scrum

  • Cricket club celebrates 150 not out

    LEIGH Cricket Club plan to celebrate their 150th anniversary in style with a series of gala events planned for this year. The Beech Walk cricket, tennis and bowling outfit kick off their festivities with a celebration dance on April 3 to mark the founding

  • Dominant East put an end to losing streak

    Oldham St Annes 6 Leigh East 21: A SUPERB defence and a dominant second half attack brought to an end a three-match losing sequence of Arriva Trains Conference League games for Leigh East. The combination also brought sweet revenge for the early season

  • Chaplow gets England call

    RICHARD Chaplow has picked up an early birthday present through a sensational England call-up. The Burnley midfielder has been selected for the England U19 squad to face Holland in a friendly next month. It caps a remarkable rise for the talented teenager

  • Band award

    ASTLEY Youth Band has been awarded almost £4,000 towards equipment and new music by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. The grant will benefit the band on their July concert tour of the French Alps

  • Pooh bear raffle

    HSTORE staff are raffling a giant Winnie the Pooh bear to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation and Wigan and Leigh Hospice. Tickets can be obtained from employees at Golborne Asda.

  • Literary Society date

    lLEIGH Literary Society will take a trip through Peru with Andrew Calder, who will give an illustrated talk on his travels in the country, in the Derby Room, Leigh Library, at 7.30pm on Monday February 2. Admission for non-members is £1.50.

  • Club repair cash

    A LEIGH club is organising a cabaret night to help raise money for repairs. Night Shift will star at the event at the Xll Apostles, Westleigh, on January 30 at 8.30pm. Tickets are £2 and can be bought on the door. Hindley Green Labour Club is also having

  • Appeal for expert help with mystery object

    BOSSES at a company in Darwen are hoping for help from tram experts after they discovered a strange object under a concrete floor at the premises. Howard Ritherdon, managing director of Ritherdon &Co Ltd, in Lorne Street, said the circular wheel-type

  • Thief targets boy's scooter

    A SCHOOLBOY was robbed of his motorised scooter in Hindley. The 15-year-old was wheeling it home along Derby Lane when a man threatened to beat up him if he did not hand over the machine. The robber then picked up the scooter and put it in his car before

  • Pledge over lost trees

    RESIDENTS have been reassured that trees being removed from a Darwen street will be replaced after the council was accused of "sheer vandalism". Laurence Yates, of Hawkshaw Avenue, said he was appalled when he noticed that all the trees on each side of

  • Rotary Club start play area appeal

    LEIGH Rotary Club plan to celebrate the movement's centenary year by building a new future for young estate children. They are making an extra fund-raising effort during 2004-5 to set up a play area for up to five-year-olds on Higher Folds. Members have

  • Folk Club talent spot

    LEIGH Folk Club is looking for new talent to play at the club when they hold their first singers night. They are looking for acoustic musicans, singers and poets to come along to the club on Friday, January 30 to play. The night will be held at the Conservative

  • Generator blaze at recycling plant

    rFIREFIGHTERS were called to deal with a fire at a rubber recycling plant in Astley in the early hours of Tuesday morning. A diesel generator, which powers machinery at Rubber Cycle UK, on Chaddock Lane, burst into flames at 2am. A quick thinking employee

  • Friend's farewell to brave priest

    MORE than 60 clergymen from across the North West packed St Peter's Church in Rossendale to say a fond farewell to a popular priest. Father Gerard Duffy, who died on January 12, was remembered at a funeral service attended by 500 family, friends and parishioners

  • Park open day

    AN OPEN day is being organised so visitors to a popular Leigh park can have a say in its future. Wigan's Leisure and Culture Trust has organised an open day at Lilford Park where some of the ideas for the park's future will be on display in a marquee

  • Four hurt in club fight

    POLICE are seeking four men following a fight in a Tyldesley nightspot in the early hours of Sunday. Officers called to TK's Nightclub at 1.30am found four men had been injured and one, a 35-years-old who was head-butted in the face, was taken to the

  • Council rated 'poor' vows to improve

    BOSSES at Rossendale Council have pledged to improve services after receiving disappointing performance ratings. The authority was given a 'poor' rating - the lowest rating possible - by the Audit Commission in the first round of Comprehensive Performance

  • Search on for early history of Westleigh Meths CC

    A CLUBHOUSE fire in 2000 meant a lot of Westleigh Methodist CC memorabilia went up in smoke. But club secretary Alan Todd hopes that readers may be able to help him piece together the early history of the club. One such person is 92-year-old Mary Clarke

  • New nursery unit for school

    A KEY stage in the development of nursery facilities at Hindsford slotted into place when a unit to cater for 46 children was installed and assembled on the Lodge Road site. The new nursery will combine and extend the existing services provided by Hindsford

  • Top apprentices pick up awards

    TWO Leigh apprentices have received top awards at a special Wigan Council ceremony. Plasterer Paul Pemberton, from Leigh, and Darryl Ridyard received the Martin Pearse Trophy from the Mayor, Cllr Wilf Brogan. A second apprentice from Leigh, Laura Fisher

  • Body in garden riddle

    DETECTIVES are trying to piece together the final hours of Paul Oakley's life. Mr Oakley's body was found in the garden of a house in Golborne on Saturday morning. The results of a post-mortem examination on the body have proved inconclusive and toxicology

  • Travel agents shed lbs to raise charity £s

    TRAVEL agent staff are losing lbs to gain £s to help send a terminally ill cancer patient colleague for treatment abroad. Four employees at Going Places, Leigh, have in just two weeks shed a stone and a half between them and raised over £200 for Donna's

  • Residents declare war on 'grot spots'

    RESIDENTS of Atherton are being asked to go to war on litter. The Cleaner Greener Campaign is appealing for local residents to identify notorious 'grot spots' in their local area which they would like to see cleaned up. Atherton Litter Free Steering Group

  • New measurement blamed for rise in crime

    VIOLENT crime soared by 47 per cent in Lancashire last year -- but residents are being told: Don't panic! Senior officers said the entire increase was due to applying government criteria which meant minor incidents, never before recorded, had to be classified

  • ATHLETICS: Pioneers Hyndburn host indoor match

    HYNDBURN Athletic Club, the pioneers of the sport in East Lancashire, hosted the second match of the Lancashire Sportshall League at Hyndburn Leisure Centre on Sunday. Loosely based on the conventional track and field disciplines, the events are imaginatively

  • ATHLETICS: Impressive Wood strikes silver

    IN HIS first race as an under 20 athlete, 17-year-old Matt Wood got a silver medal at the Northern Indoor Championships at Sheffield's new Sport England indoor facility on Saturday as East Lancashire athletes scooped a total of four medals. He clocked

  • International flavour

    IF you thought having two Jamaicans in the team was about as exotic as Preston North End could get - think again. As well as taking an Argentinian on a week's trial, Preston have also welcomed in an international from ... Guatemala! Dwight Pezzarossi,

  • Nationals Fuller nonsense

    A £2million bid made for Ricardo Fuller by a Premiership club has been thrown out, North End have confirmed. The club's board have refused to say who the bid was from and, in a statement, said 'it was received more than a week ago and was considerably

  • Guard of honour for PC Craig

    POLICE officers formed a guard of honour at the funeral of a popular colleague from Bury. PC Craig Orange, aged 46, who was attached to Bury Police divisional traffic unit, died on Wednesday last week at Bolton Hospice after a long illness. He leaves

  • Beaten Railwaymen have that sinking feeling

    Leigh RMI 0 Farnborough Town 2 by Robert Johnson: RMI boss Phil Starbuck said he was bitterly disappointed after the Railwaymen crashed to their fifth successive defeat against fellow strugglers Farnborough Town. Farnborough simply had more passion and