Archive

  • BAE in drive to recruit 60 apprentices

    AROUND 60 apprentices are being recruited in East Lancashire by BAE Systems as part of its biggest intake in five years. The defence giant has announced plans to rec-ruit a total of 387 engineering and business apprentices across the UK this year

  • Lancashire patients and pupils get beef guarantee

    FOOD which is supplied to Lancashire schools and hospitals is 100 per cent beef, according to the organisations that provide the meals. The Food Standard Agency has ordered food producers, together with councils, hos-pitals and prisons, to ensure

  • Full time: Brighton 1 Blackburn 1

    A second half Vicente penalty helped Brighton to secure a point at home to Blackburn. Blackburn took the lead with a powerful header from Scott Dann in a first half otherwise dominated by Brighton. Martin Olsson was adjudged to have handled

  • Half-time: Brighton 0 Blackburn 1

    Scott Dann's headed goal in the 24th minute has given Blackburn Rovers the lead at the break of their Championship game at Brighton tonight. The centre back escaped his man to head home a Danny Murphy corner as Rovers hit the Seagulls after soaking

  • Ribble Valley students’ £3,500 for Zimbabwe charity

    PUPILS at Stonyhurst College have raised £3,500 for a children’s charity in Zimbabwe. The Ray of Light Children’s Centre provides food, clothing and education for some of the city’s poorest children in Harare and currently supports about 50 children

  • Team news: Brighton v Blackburn

    Brighton v Blackburn team news Brighton: Kuszczak, Saltor, El-Abd, Upson, Bridge, Hammond, Vicente, Bridcutt, Hoskins, Ulloa, Buckley. Subs: Ankergren, Orlandi, Mackail-Smith, Calderon, Dicker, David Lopez, LuaLua. Blackburn: Kean, Orr, Dann

  • St Mary's College to make £700,000 cuts

    A COLLEGE head said staff redundancies were inevitable as St Mary’s College in Blackburn seeks to make up to £700,000 of cuts. Kevin McMahon said the future of the college was safe, but unpopular decisions had to be made to reduce costs. He

  • Darwen masked men demand cash

    AN investigation has been launched after two masked man burst into a house in Darwen and demanding cash from the owner. Police said the 25-year-old victim had been sitting in the living room with his girlfriend when he was targeted by thieves on

  • Police hunt wanted Ramsbottom man

    Police are hunting a Bury man who is wanted in connection with drug offences. Rizwan Jaffer, 44, originally of Manchester Road, Ramsbottom, was arrested on suspicion of possession of heroin with intent to supply in January 2009. He later failed

  • Bisping baffled by opponent's testosterone exemption

    CLITHEROE’S Michael Bisping has expressed his disappointment that Vitor Belfort was granted an exemption to undergo testosterone replacement therapy before his recent defeat to the Brazilian. Bisping suffered a second round technical knockout defeat

  • Burnley boxers turn on the style

    SANDYGATE Boxing Club has been busy again with two young fighters turning on the style in Manchester. Brandon Hird, 10, and 15-year-old Charlie Martin were on the bill at Jimmy Egan ABC’s home shown at the Wythanshawe Forum, Manchester. Brandon

  • Jack aims to shine at Ju Jitsu national championships

    IT PROMISES to be a big year for young Jack Moody. The 14-year-old from Burnley has recently achieved his junior black belt at the Masters of Martial Arts grading and in April will compete in the British Ju Jitsu championships held by the sports

  • Solid performance from Burnley against Hutton

    A solid performance by Burnley in difficult conditions saw them remain in the hunt for a top seven place in North Lancs Two. The Holden Road side were forced in to some late changes with Billy Lancaster, usually in the second row, played well as

  • Blackburn still looking for first win of the season

    BLACKBURN are still looking for their first win of the season after throwing away a lead to lose to a spirited Upper Eden side. It was a bitter bill to take for the Ramsgreave Drive side who themselves had battle back from 10-0 down to lead 20-

  • Rossendale fight back in vain against Harrogate

    The scoreline belies a feisty second half performance by Rossendale who came back from 39-0 down just after half time to cross for five tries and take the half 24-29. Dale picked up a well deserved bonus point, few imagined there were possible

  • Pendle Phoenix get their claws in to Eagle

    Pendle travelled to Eagle in a match that turned out to be a league and cup double header. Due to bad weather and a congestion of fixtures, the league clash also doubled up as Lancashire Bowl semi final. Pendle were happy to welcome new signing

  • East Lancashire schools battle it out in basketball final

    SCHOOLS across Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley have been battling it out to find the best basketball teams in the area. Tournaments for under 14s and under 16s teams have been taking place and have now reached the play-offs. In the under 14s

  • League games on for Rovers v Burnley derby

    THE Blackburn Sunday League has announced that no games will be postponed on the weekend of the Blackburn Rovers against Burnley derby clash at Ewood Park on March 17. The league has had a number of requests to postpone matches but due to a fixture

  • Time to honour your East Lancashire sports stars

    Nominations are now being taken for the Blackburn with Darwen annual Sports Awards which will be held at Blakeys on Thursday, April 18. The event honours the boroughs sporting achievements during 2012 from individuals, teams, clubs and associations

  • Blackburn man did not have licence for scrap metal

    A MAN has been fined after being found carrying controlled materials without a waste carriers licence. South Ribble magistrates convicted Owen Collins, of Audley Close, Blackburn in his absence. Collins, 22, was fined £400, with £75 costs and

  • French farce with a twist

    BLACKBURN Arts Club is going back in time to Paris in the Belle Epoque for a French farce this spring. Monkey’s Uncle, by David Lewis, will be staged by the Gibraltar Street theatre-based group from March 12 to 16. Producer Geoff Baron said

  • Silence please! Filming in the hall in progress

    CAST members of Pendle Hippodrome Theatre Company’s spring musical took over the Regency Room at Townley Hall this weekend. In preparation for Singing In The Rain, with runs at the New Market Street, Colne, theatre from March 19 to 23, principal

  • Rossendale councillor vows to keep tabs on hostel residents

    A COUNCILLOR in Edenfield has vowed to continue backing campaigners in their opposition to a sex offenders’ rehabilitation unit. Coun Darryl Smith said he raised concerns at a recent police briefing about the suitability of service users at the

  • Blackburn youngsters sign up for breakfast club

    A BLACKBURN primary school is helping pupils to feed their imagination by signing up to breakfast club sponsored by bread company Kingsmill. Sacred Heart RC Primary School, in St Silas’s Road, has joined the company’s second national school programme

  • Jail for Colne drinker who crashed and wrote off car

    A DRINK driver who crashed and wrote off his car as he ‘drunkenly careered’ along the road in the early hours, has been jailed for 36 weeks. Burnley Crown Court was told how Gavin O’Hara, 28, was subject to a suspended jail term when he got behind

  • Letter: Principal made such an impact

    RE ‘Blackburn College principal Ian Clinton quits’, LT, February 6), as a former Blackburn College student, I know what a huge impact this forward-thinking man has had on, not only my education but that of many, many others. Having inspired me,

  • Comment: Easy ideas are so often the best

    ALL parents know that children grow rapidly and clothes quickly become too small, usually long before the end of their wearable life. And some of the most expensive items like parts of school uniforms cannot be easily recycled. Or at least

  • Letter: 71% of roads on gritting network

    A number of recent letters and articles have questioned why we don't grit side roads. I understand that people would like us to clear every road as snow and ice makes life difficult for everyone, but there are good reasons why we can’t. We spend

  • Letter: Easy when it all comes for free

    People are sick and tired of seeing their money squandered on people who don’t feel any responsibility for their own lives; people who get free houses, free services and a nice cheque every couple of weeks without any intention of changing their lifestyle

  • Blog: What would make our towns better for cyclists?

    As cycling become ever more popular and petrol becomes ever more expensive, more and more people are choosing to go to work by bike. But despite the growing popularity of the sport, Britain still isn’t the cycling paradise it should be. The roads

  • Letter: NHS billions just wasted

    When grumbling about life, the late, lugubrious and much-loved Les Dawson used to say: ‘I was a failure in the boom!’ Perhaps he should have worked for the NHS. Failure to run efficient hospitals or stop a proposed IT system wasting £12.7billion

  • A voice for over-50s

    THE leader of Burnley Council is encouraging residents to attend the Burnley Over-50s’ Forum. Coun Julie Cooper said: “The Over-50s’ Forum can play a vital role in getting the views, and concerns, of older people across, and I can assure them the

  • Burnley horse rescue centre to focus on north

    A HORSE rescue charity on the outskirts of Burnley has announced the closure of its centre near Chepstow, south Wales. HAPPA (the Horses and Ponies Protection Association), in Briercliffe, has closed Gregory Farm Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre

  • Last chance to bid for sports funding in Pendle

    YOUNG Pendle athletes have until the end of the week to apply for help with their sporting ambitions. Pendle Leisure Trust is looking for young, talented athletes who could qualify for support with training and competition costs. If you know

  • Owen out to right the wrongs of Stars defeat

    JARED Owen is seeking immediate revenge on title chasing Billingham Stars after seeing his Blackburn Hawks side lose 6-3 to them on Saturday. The defeat all but ends any hope of finishing the league as runners up but player coach Owen knows the boost

  • Ex-thief to speak at victim’s group in Pendle

    A MUM is set to launch a new police initiative after mentoring the burglar who stole a laptop containing precious memories of her daughter who was killed in a car crash. Margaret Foxley formed a bond with Ian Ashworth when she became the first

  • Burned dog dumped outside Chorley Police Station

    HEARTBROKEN animal welfare staff have released images of a stricken dog dumped at a police station in “appalling distress”. The blue shar pei was left outside Chorley Police Station and had to be put to sleep. It is the fourth time officers

  • Hyndburn residents take action against landfill operators

    A TOTAL of 94 residents near an East Lancashire waste landfill site have started legal proceedings against its operators. Solicitors acting for people living near the Whinney Hill Road tip in Altham near Accrington have written to Sita UK informing

  • Column: I’ve no big beef with horsemeat

    SO, in that part of our ‘stable’ diet that is the ubiquitous beefburger, it now seems that we have been saddled with horse meat. Personally, I fail to see the problem. We eat the flesh of so many animals, why is the horse deemed so different

  • Olsson: Hard work paying off for Blackburn Rovers

    MARTIN Olsson believes Michael Appleton is turning Blackburn Rovers into a “90-minute team” after admitting their work-load has increased since his appointment. For much of the season so far, Rovers have been plagued by conceding late goals but Olsson

  • Great Harwood Olympic 2012 architect dies aged 59

    A WORLD-renowned landscape architect from Great Harwood has died suddenly aged 59. John Hopkins, the mastermind and driving force behind the design of London’s Olympic Park, died of natural causes in America. Mr Hopkins was found by campus

  • Volunteers pull plug on Burnley Hospital Radio

    THE airwaves of Burnley Hospital Radio have fallen silent for the last time after 60 years of broadcasting to thousands of patients. One former presenter, who has gone on to work for Sky Sports, called it ‘the end of an era’, while Burnley’s MP

  • Business minister Vince Cable to visit Burnley business

    BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable is set to visit one of Burnley’s biggest and most successful employers. The Lib Dem Cabinet Minister is due to meet workers and be shown around VEKA off Rossendale Road, on Saturday. He will be joined on his second

  • Blackburn families have lucky escape from rubbish fire

    TWO families had a lucky escape after a rubbish fire melted doors and windows at the back of their homes. Firefighters from Blackburn and Hyndburn Fire Stations were called to Bentley Street, in Blackburn, at 12.20am yesterday after a neighbour

  • Jobs chance for teens at apprenticeship fair

    TEENAGERS looking for an apprenticeship will find more than 100 jobs with training on offer at King George’s Hall this afternoon. Forty employers and training providers will be looking for recruits from 1pm to 7pm. In addition to 16 to 18-years-olds

  • Derby win would take Padiham top

    PADIHAM will go top of the North West Counties Premier Division if they win their East Lancashire derby at Colne tonight. The Storks currently sit second in the table, two points behind Maine Road, but tonight’s fixture is one of three games in hand

  • Pendle MP praises breast cancer screening and care

    PENDLE MP Andrew Stephenson praised East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust Breast Screening Unit during a recent visit. He was greeted at the unit, based at Burnley General Hospital, by chief executive Mark Brearley, consultant radiologist Dr Richard

  • Burnley Council in wage boost bid

    BURNLEY Council is looking at the possibility of becoming a Living Wage employer to ensure its lowest-paid staff are paid enough to meet the basic costs of living. The council’s executive will discuss the proposals at its meeting on February 18

  • Burnley appoint former Blackburn Rovers fitness man

    BURNLEY have appointed former Blackburn Rovers head of sports science Mark Howard as their new fitness coach. The Clarets have parted company with Jon Dalzell, who was brought in by former boss Eddie Howe in January 2011.

  • Darwen man's torch attempt as neighbour was inside

    A DARWEN man who tried to set fire to his neighbour’s home while she was in it following a dispute has been sent to jail. Preston Crown Court heard that Sean Cooney carried out the arson attack on June 25 after constantly falling out with his neighbour

  • Terrific Taylor’s top 10 finish

    RISING golf star Emily Taylor completed a sensational second ever professional tournament as she celebrated a top 10 finish in the New Zealand Women’s Open. Chorley’s Taylor had missed the cut in her debut event in Australia but responded with a fine

  • Ofsted inspectors praise committed staff at Darwen nursery

    PROUD staff at a Darwen nursery are celebrating after receiving a good Ofsted report. The report comes after Marshmallow’s day nursery, iin Marsh House Lane, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. It was one of the first pre-school units

  • Worker in scissor stand-off with Blackburn shop thief

    A FEARLESS shopkeeper stood her ground in a stand-off with a knife-wielding robber. The Blackburn shop worker was confronted by an armed thief demanding cash in the teatime robbery. Detectives said 26-year-old Tammy Byrom, who was working at

  • Blackburn Rovers new boy eyes Premier bid

    LEE Williamson is determined to make the most of his second chance as he bids to earn a Premier League return six years after his first taste of the top flight. The 31-year-old midfielder could make his Rovers’ bow in this evening’s Championship clash

  • Burnley no closer on Austin deal

    BURNLEY are no closer to securing top scorer Charlie Austin on a longer term contract. The Clarets have held preliminary talks about extending the striker’s current deal, which is due to expire in 2014. The focus was on Austin during the January transfer

  • Charges win for Blackburn Market traders

    BLACKBURN Market traders have won a partial victory over backdated rises in council service charges after threatening revolt. The council has reduced the new fees and halved the amount it will charge stallholders in a retrospective increase for

  • Sabden sex attacker lured girl, 14, into alley

    A 14-YEAR-OLD girl was dragged down a driveway before being sexually assaulted in an early morning attack. The terrified youngster had been walking along Padiham Road, Sabden when she was grabbed by her attacker, who had followed her for a short

  • Clitheroe street brawl after Facebook party invitation

    A BIRTHDAY party that swelled after being advertised on Facebook ended up with a brawl in the street. Police were called to Sobar, in King Street, Clitheroe, after four young partygoers began fighting after attending a private function at the bar

  • Great Harwood deputy head cleared of slapping a pupil quits

    A DEPUTY headteacher who was cleared of slapping an ‘unruly’ pupil has stepped down at a Great Harwood primary school. Royden Cope was found not guilty of assaulting a pupil at St Bartholomew’s CE Primary School by Blackburn Magistrates’ Court

  • £60,000 expansion move by Colne IT firm

    AN AWARD-winning East Lancashire IT specialist has announced a major expansion without having to move. Holker Network Solutions, based in Colne, is spending upwards of £60,000 on the ambitious scheme to treble the size of its operation. The