Nature Watch, with RON GFREETHY. . . SEPTEMBER and October are the perfect months for watching foxes. The cubs are now becoming adolescents and are learning to become independent. This is the time when they are at their most vulnerable and many become
The Street's Liz Macdonald isn't someone you'd want for Christmas dinner with but surely mothers-in-law aren't all like that? JENNY SCOTT finds out. . . THEY'VE been stereotyped as the nightmare family member. Pushy, interfering and domineering, the mother-in-law
HAVING just returned to work from a six-month maternity break one of my first tasks was to remember to send you a letter regarding Blackburn Borough Council car parks. Being a new mum is no easy task and every car journey becomes a real chore with pram
YOU can always tell when we are in the run-up to a General Election, because Labour politicians including Rossendale and Darwen's MP Janet Anderson start talking tough on Law and Order (LET, September 3). It is now seven years since Labour's 1997 manifesto
A LANDLADY was tied up by three armed robbers who broke into her pub. The 41-year-old woman was asleep at the Old Boathouse pub in Higher Lane, Astley, on Monday when she was woken by three men at around 3.45am. One of the gang pointed a handgun at her
The MARTIN DOBSON column. . . SIR Clive Woodward, Director of Football? Paul Sturrock sacked after 13 games? Unknown Steve Wigley, head coach? Funny things are happening down on the south coast. To shed some light on exactly what's going on, I spoke to
A SOLDIER from Nelson has been charged with murdering an Iraqi civilian who was shot near the southern city of Basra. But the mother of Kevin Lee Williams, of Cravendale Avenue, said she was standing by her son. Williams, a trooper with the 2nd Royal
THE new owners of Blackburn Shopping Centre have scrapped the £15million redevelopment of Lord Square just weeks before it was due to begin. The Mall said the existing scheme did not maximise the site's potential -- but it would not make any announcement
ATHERTON LR won their FA Cup preliminary round replay against Oldham Town 1-0 at home on Tuesday night while Atherton Colls suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat at Congleton in the North West Counties League First Division.
DEAN Saunders last night quit Blackburn Rovers and agreed to join Graeme Souness at Newcastle United. The former Welsh international became the latest member of Rovers' backroom staff to follow Souness to the Magpies, following hot on the heels of Alan
BLACKBURN Rovers chief executive John Williams today said the club are spoilt for choice as they search for a new manager. Rovers have now received close to 30 'applications' for the post which was vacated by Graeme Souness earlier this week. And everyone
BURNLEY road tax cheats have been targeted in a special operation run by local police, the council and the DVLA. As part of the crackdown, officers targeted vehicles known to be causing problems for both the police and the local community. PCSO Nigel
A BRUTAL robber punched a pensioner in the stomach before robbing her, police have revealed. Today detectives - who described the incident as a "traumatic ordeal" for the victim - were hunting the thug. The 67-year-old woman had been to the corner shop
A NELSON-based company with a history of noise nuisance could be prosecuted if it does not clean up its act. Pendle Council is to serve Decorpart with an abatement order for failing to limit noise emissions from its Edward Street factory. And if the company
PLANS to build 28 townhouses in Colne are expected to go-ahead despite residents complaining that councillors are not looking after their interests. Pendle Borough Council consulted 25 neighbours about the scheme for land off Keighley Road and Standroyd
A CHEEKY cricket fan decided to kick off his team's victory celebrations by stripping off. Streaker Shaun Riding got his kit off as he watched Colne Cricket Club win the Floodlit Express Cup against rivals Nelson. But the 35-year-old managed to escape
A SOCIAL club which was saved from bulldozers twice last year is under threat again. Plans to turn Clayton-le-Moors Sports and Social Club into a children's nursery have been submitted to Hyndburn Council. Last year the owners of the club - Bolton-based
DYNAMIC DAVE: Defender Dave Merrington is in action for Burnley against Leeds United. He is pictured taking on Paul Madeley, with Jack Charlton in close proximity COACH ON COAST: Merrington at Southampton SIR Clive Woodward, Director of Football? Paul
GREAT Harwood Town suffered a bout of travel sickness as they were beaten 2-0 at Glossop North End last night. Meanwhile, DARWEN are on the road tonight as they take on Brandon United in the FA Cup Preliminary Round replay. The Reds will be looking to
Colne 2 Bacup Borough 1 COLNE inflicted the first league defeat of the season on local rivals Bacup Borough at Holt House last night. Colne were the brighter side from the off, and their passing game was back in full flow after having to be put to one
BLACKBURN Rovers chief executive John Williams today said the club are spoilt for choice as they search for a new manager. Rovers have now received close to 30 'applications' for the post which was vacated by Graeme Souness earlier this week. And everyone
A WINE-tasting event has been organised by Burnley Enterprise to celebrate women in business next week. Forty women, who are either in business or who have a business idea, will get together to enjoy the informal Burnley Women into Business networking
A CAKE company heralded as one of the North West's biggest business success stories was today celebrating 10-years of unsurpassed achievement. And Inter Link Foods boss Alwin Thompson provided the cherry on top - by announcing a new £2.6million investment
JUST 24-hours after rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, Corrie's Chesney Brown was back in Rossendale to draw a raffle for a pensioners' party in Bacup. Sam Aston, who plays cheeky Chesney in the hit ITV soap, had been partying in London on Monday
EXCITING new plans for a multi-million pound re-development of a derelict mill in Cowpe have been unveiled for the first time. Leading Lancashire property and development company the Hurstwood Group plans to transform Kearns Mill in Cowpe, which ceased
THE new owners of Blackburn Shopping Centre have scrapped the £15million redevelopment of Lord Square just weeks before it was due to begin. The Mall said the existing scheme did not maximise the site's potential -- but it would not make any announcement
Premier Cup: SWINDON WILDCATS 4 BLACKBURN HAWKS 2 English Cup: BLACKBURN HAWKS 6 WHITLEY WARRIORS 6 BLACKBURN Hawks started the regular ice hockey season with a gruelling cup programme which produced just one point but left player-coach Bobby Haig still
BLACKBURN Salvation Army Over-55s Club, Blackburn Citadel, Vicar Street, 1.45pm. Speaker: Rosemary Spedding. Blackburn Flower Club, Brownhill United Reformed Church Hall, Brownhill Road, 7.30pm. AGM followed by "A Moroccan Oasis," by Patricia Murphy.
REDEVELOPMENT of Blackburn's Lord Square has many of the ingredients of a soap opera. Under the ownership of Standard Life the square was omitted when the rest of the shopping centre and the market were given a facelift. This resulted in the tattiest
I AM writing about your story that disabled children can now play alongside their able-bodied friends in Mercer Park, Clayton-le-Moors (LET, August 31). It is wonderful to know that children who had had to "stand and watch" can now join in. "Friends of
MY dad, Henry Rigby, served in the Lancashire Fusiliers from the age of 16 years. When the battalion reached China his age was discovered but too late to send him home. He served in El Alamein, Tobruk, Algiers, Germany, Belgium, Holland and was a POW
BLACKBURN Rovers' man for a crisis, Tony Parkes, last night revealed some of the trade secrets behind his success as a caretaker manager. Parkes has agreed to don his famous caretaker's coat for an incredible SIXTH time at Blackburn in the wake of Graeme
do worse than Kenny THE best move Jack Walker ever made was bringing Kenny Dalglish in as manager -- and there's no reason why Blackburn Rovers couldn't do that again. It's a great chance to bring him in with maybe someone younger who could learn under
Blackburn Rovers Reserves...2 Liverpool Reserves...2 BLACKBURN Rovers striker Matt Jansen boosted his chances of a first team recall by grabbing a timely goal in this thrilling encounter with Liverpool at Christie Park. Jansen's career at Blackburn appeared
A WINDOW cleaner who got behind the wheel while banned and over the limit is awaiting sentence. Burnley magistrates heard how ex-convict Scott Dumigan, 23, now said to be a changed man, had been persuaded to give a friend a lift home from a barbecue.
AN ex-serviceman from East Lancashire has joined the battle to save the county's last remaining regiment. And Dave Elliott has taken the fight to save the Queen's Lancashire Regiment on to the streets by collecting more than 4,000 signatures. Dave, who
A BURNLEY duo will cycle the length of Britain to raise money for charity as a tribute to a friend and a family member struck down with serious illnesses. Darren Aggett and Michael Fenton will ride from Land's End to John O'Groats - around 1,000 miles
LEISURE chiefs in Pendle are getting ready for a fun day at the Leeds and Liverpool Canal that could help to make the waterway a bigger tourist attraction. Victorian fairground rides, kite making, Hindu dancing and a drumming workshop will all be by the
TELEPHONE masts could be put up in a Brierfield street, raising health fears among residents. An application for a telecommunications base station with a 20-metre slim-line mono-pole tower, three antennae, two transmission dishes and radio equipment housing
A NEW play area at Nelson's Marsden Park will be officially opened by the Mayor of Pendle, Coun Dorothy Lord, on Friday. The play area, situated below the lower tennis courts, is the first project to be completed as part of the £1.5million restoration
A SOLDIER from Nelson has been charged with murdering an Iraqi civilian who was shot near the southern city of Basra. But the mother of Kevin Lee Williams, of Cravendale Avenue, said she was standing by her son. Williams, a trooper with the 2nd Royal
THE World Black Pudding Throwing Championships take place this weekend at The Royal Oak pub in Ramsbottom. The event, which has a distinct War of the Roses flavour, is being staged by landlord Stuart Law for the second year running. Competitors have to
A HOARD of 800-year-old silver coins discovered on a Barnoldswick farm has been ruled as treasure by an inquest. The haul of 21 medieval pennies and half-pennies was made on land owned by James Pilkington off Brogden Lane in April by an amateur treasure
PLANS for a by-pass for Colne have moved a step closer after the county council gave the go-ahead to build a £113 million by-pass in Lancaster. Leading Tory Bernard Whittle had claimed that projects in Pendle and other parts of the county were being overlooked
50 years ago A WOMAN was attacked by a cow in Rivington. Mrs G M Dixon saw that the unruly animal had strayed onto the road from a field at Wilcock's Farm, Sheephouse Lane. She tried to send it back to the field but it turned on her and left her badly
GREEN fingered Great Harwood residents will be given the chance to pick the trees in a council planting scheme. The trees will replace those lost in recent years to a disease which wiped out many of the horse chestnut trees in the Memorial Park area.
A LORRY driver has told how a row with his girlfriend turned into a "nightmare ordeal." Shaun James Owen, 33, told Blackburn magistrates that his former partner attacked his car with a spade, smashing windows and lights. And as he sat inside the car smoking
AN Accrington headteacher is considering putting on security patrols at night after a spate of burglaries and vandalism. Alasdair Coates, of St Christopher's CE High School, believes building work currently taking place on site is attracting youths into
BOSSES have been accused of running Hyndburn Council like Toytown after it went deep into the red for the second year running. The authority faces more cuts to prevent it going £420,000 into debt, less than 12 months after arrears were almost £2million
CAMPAIGNERS who fought to get an East Lancashire railway reopened today warned they need more support if they are to keep battling for improvements. Members of Ribble Valley Rail fear their next big battle - to get the line from Blackburn to Clitheroe
IT once provoked cynics to brand Clitheroe a haven for tree-huggers, but the town's pioneering woodland burial site has now earned respect from an unlikely source. The decade-old ten-acre site, one of the first in the country, is now considered one of
A MOTHER-of-two was reduced to tears by a policeman who told her she didn't love her children, a court was told. Julie Jeffries, 32, claimed the officer made the comments after she let her daughters, aged 10 and two, sit in the front seat of her car without
IAN Moore has told Clarets playmaker Robbie Blake: 'I'll be there for you'. The Burnley's goal-grabbers have already notched five of the Clarets seven goals this season. And Moore, whose second headed strike of the campaign came in the 2-1 home defeat
VEKA Ribblesdale League officials are toasting a successful season in the aftermath of one of the tightest title races in the league's history. Read took the honours and became the first club since the Second World War to clinch a hat-trick of championship
The GLENN KEELEY column. . . THE best move Jack Walker ever made was bringing Kenny Dalglish in as manager -- and there's no reason why Blackburn Rovers couldn't do that again. It's a great chance to bring him in with maybe someone younger who could learn
RADCLIFFE professional Pasan Wanasinghe is to up stumps and move clubs after the Racecourse side reluctantly released the popular Sri Lankan for financial reasons. But he will leave with words of praise flowing from all at Radcliffe as he searches for
THERE was disappointment all round at the Racecourse on Saturday last week as Radcliffe slumped to a another defeat in Pasan Wanasinghe's final game for the club. Radcliffe were outplayed in both disciplines of the game and were made to pay by a Werneth
RADCLIFFE Boro boss Kevin Glendon is refusing to press the panic button after just four games of the new campaign. Despite being favourites to finish top of the pile, Boro have had a slow start to their campaign and stand mid-table following a haul of
IAN Moore has told Clarets playmaker Robbie Blake: 'I'll be there for you'. The Burnley's goal-grabbers have already notched five of the Clarets seven goals this season. And Moore, whose second headed strike of the campaign came in the 2-1 home defeat
ROSSENDALE-based business club for women She.RV is organising the Valley's biggest coffee morning. The event which is being held at the two Kingfisher Business Centres in Rawtenstall and Bacup is due to take place on Friday, September 24, between 8.30am
A PARISH magazine read by Darwen people for 138 years has been saved from extinction. The magazine of St Peter's, Darwen, and St Paul's, Hoddlesden, was under threat after editor Phil Leather decided to call it a day. But now Darwen woman Margaret Yates
VILLAGERS in Edgworth and surrounding communities are to speak out on how links between their neighbourhoods and Darwen can be improved. Residents in Darwen have already been asked for their ideas as part of a regeneration action plan. And tomorrow from
A MAN bidding to become Rossendale's new MP has hit out at late Royal Mail deliveries across the Valley. Tory Prospective Parliamentary candidate Nigel Adams, who will contest the seat held by Labour's Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson at the next
POLICE have virtually ruled out foul play after the discovery of a man's body in a stream at a Haslingden caravan park. Officers launched an investigation following the gruesome find at Holden Mill at about 4pm on Monday. The body was found by a man out
A POPULAR Rossendale funeral director who died last week helped to plan his own funeral. And the family of John Disley, a funeral director at A&H Hargreaves in Schofield Street, Waterfoot, today paid tribute to an 'honest and straight-forward man'
A MAJOR chemical alert was sparked by an alleged "road rage" incident involving two motorists on the slip road of the Haslingden by-pass. Police were called to the A56 at 1pm yesterday after a member of the public called to say two drivers were fighting
Radcliffe Borough 1 Bamber Bridge 2: BAMBER Bridge were the latest club to take all three points from Stainton Park. Boro conceded two soft defensive goals inside the first 20 minutes, as they struggled to string together any form of cohesive play. With
FORMER Blackburn Rovers striker Dwight Yorke appeared at Chorley Magistrates Court charged with dangerous driving and speeding. Yorke travelled at speeds up to 109mph along the M61 southbound carriageway and 'intimidated' other drivers, the court heard
A BLACKBURN sales manager died after taking a cocktail of paracetamol and whisky in a desperate cry for help, an inquest heard. Kevin Massey, 37, was discovered in the bedroom of his home in Aintree Drive, Lower Darwen, by his estranged wife on June 28
SIXTY pupils have been sent home after the merger of two Blackburn primary schools hit a snag -- just days into the autumn term. St Bartholomew's CE Primary School in Bolton Road, Blackburn, merged with St Andrew's CE, Scotland Bank Terrace to become
STEVE Jagielka has urged Accrington Stanley to be quick off the mark. The midfielder was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet and avoid a 0-0 draw at home to Woking on Saturday. And he believes early goals will be key to Stanley's progress this season
A 19-YEAR-OLD man was rescued from a river after falling 20 feet from a bridge. The man was on the bridge near Woodhill Road, Bury, at around 10pm on Tuesday night when he slipped and fell into the shallow water below. Friends helped to drag him out of
THIS is the woman said to have been the intended victim of a Hallowe'en night killer. Diane Lomax was targeted by a woman wearing a Scream mask and armed with a sawn-off shotgun because she was a love rival, a court was told. Heather Stephenson-Snell
