Archive

  • Shock at popular Burnley pub's sudden closure

    DRINKERS at a popular Burnley pub were told it was closing after an advertising board was left outside. Regulars at the Waggoners Inn, in Manchester Road, turned up to find a message from the landlords, named only as Linda, Jeremy and Laura

  • Nearly-deserted Burnley street to be bulldozed

    RESIDENTS have cautiously backed a £230,000 council plan to demolish a deserted street and build new homes. Senior councillors are next week expected to rubber stamp the clearance of Duckett Street, in the Trinity area of Burnley, so new properties

  • Clitheroe workhouse given reprieve

    THE threatened Clitheroe workhouse was granted a reprieve from demolition by councillors tonight. NHS East Lancashire was applying for outline permission for 52 houses on the current site of Clitheroe hospital, which would include the demolition

  • Colne pensioner on wife poison charge

    A PENSIONER has been accused of poisoning his wife with mercury. Police said it was alleged that William Terry Dowling had tried to poison his wife’s food and drink on a series of occasions between January 1 and March 31. Dowling, 69

  • Clitheroe Festival set for 1940s theme

    ORGANISERS of the three-day Clitheroe Festival will be taking the town back in time this year with a 1940s theme. The third annual weekend festival will run from May 15 to May 17, with a packed calendar of events to keep the crowds entertained

  • Childcare Your Choice?

    Making Choices is a free course for people who would like to work in Childcare but do not have qualifications. The five-week course is available at Haslingden Community Link on Bury Road and Burnley Football Club from Friday, April 24th.

  • Ramsbottom youngster stars in The Damned United

    A YOUNGSTER has kick-started a life of stardom after appearing in one of the most anticipated films of the year. Ramsbottom schoolboy Frank Skillin won a speaking role in The Damned United, which was released in cinemas on Friday. The

  • Blackburn man admits flashing at three women in an hour

    A FLASHER exposed himself to three woman in less than an hour. Imran Ahmed, 28, of Stirling Drive, Blackburn, struck in Blackburn town centre and the Audley Range area on Monday. Blackburn magistrates heard that Ahmed had mental health issues which

  • New hope for Burnley's Weavers Triangle project

    A LANDMARK scheme to revive the Weavers’ Triangle heartland in Burnley is back on track with a near £5million cash injection. Council bosses have been awarded a £4.9million grant from the Northwest Development Agency to buy a number of property interests

  • End to EU threat to Lancashire firefighters

    THREATS to the future of Lancashire firefighters have diminished after EU talks on changing working practices collapsed. There were fears that the controversial Working Time Directive could see 403 out of 900 firefighters' posts axed, putting

  • North West is rubbish blackspot

    HOUSEHOLDS in the North West produce more rubbish than anywhere else in the country, according to a government survey. The sustainable development survey, which looks at 68 different factors to gain a snapshot of each region, also reveals the North West

  • Watch Blackburn and Darwen pupils' rockets reach for the stars

    SIXTY youngsters from across Blackburn and Darwen showed off their scientific skills at a special rocket day. The event at Our Lady and St John’s RC College in Blackburn saw pupils launch 20 rockets into the sky after receiving expert tuition in the

  • Blackburn MBE man on six sex assault charges

    A PROMINENT East Lancashire community leader has been charged with six counts of sexual assault, it has emerged. Junaid Qureshi MBE, 60, of Blackburn, was arrested at Manchester Airport in October. And now it has been revealed that police

  • Vacancies in sheltered housing across Hyndburn

    RARE vacancies have opened up at sheltered housing schemes across a borough. Hyndburn Homes currently has a limited number of vacancies at one bedroom properties for people over 50. They are in popular developments including Eachill Gardens, Rishton

  • Darwen rapist should have got life, says victim's family

    POLICE and the family of a 12-year-old boy raped by a 'wicked' paedophile have hit out at the sentence and said: He should have got life. And Craig Bennett’s victim has revealed, in a moving statement read to court, the devastating impact the

  • Can you solve Darwen picture puzzle?

    80-year-old reader Irene Guy has found this photograph at her Darwen home and needs some answers about it. She doesn’t know who the children are, where the picture was taken, or indeed why she should have it. She thinks it may show children from an

  • Historian keen to find Blackburn address

    FAMILY historian Stanley Cosgrove, of Blackburn, has asked readers for their help in tracing an address. He wants to know where Ellershaw Court once was in town, after discovering a relative was living there in 1911. “I cannot locate Ellershaw Court

  • £1m revamp bid for Oswaldtwistle sports fields

    A PLAYING fields site in Hyndburn is to be upgraded in a £1million scheme. And campaigners behind the scheme are already more than halfway towards raising the necessary funds. A joint bid has been made by the Rhyddings Business and Enterprise

  • Darwen families' ten years of campaigning pays off

    TEN years of campaigning for heart screening has paid off for two families who lost their sons to ‘sudden cardiac death’. Irene Wickers, of Darwen, and the Staff family from Hoddlesden set up the North West branch of CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) in

  • X-treme concern at on-screen ‘horror’

    BUCKET of Blood... The Mummy... Fiend Without a Face... these were just some of the horror ‘diet’ being served up to Blackburn cinema-goers in 1960 – and it was worrying the Watch Committee! Members believed there were far too many X-rated films on show

  • Mussel power for councillors

    COCKLES and mussels were on the menu when councillors in the borough of Clitheroe enjoyed a feast at the Starkie Arms back in 1964. They were, in fact, maintaining a tradition with a long history. In days gone by, a meeting had been held in a local

  • Look what’s going on in the water

    BRITISH Waterways is calling on nature lovers to get out and about on Lancashire’s canals, rivers and reservoirs and record the bugs and beasties they spot there. A wildlife survey is currently being completed and the end results will give

  • Whalley taxi office set for go-ahead

    COUNCILLORS are set to give the green light for a new taxi office in Whalley, despite the concerns from residents. A planning application to convert a ground floor office at Abbey Works, Back King Street, into a taxi booking office is recommended

  • Free leisure extended to all Blackburn with Darwen adults

    FREE use of Blackburn with Darwen’s leisure facilities has been extended to all adults in the borough. The free scheme had only been available for the over 50s and 16 to 24-year-olds until now. People wishing to take advantage of the

  • Rochdale Reserves 1 Burnley Reserves 4

    TWO goals from Alex MacDonald helped Burnley Reserves to a comfortable win over Rochdale. The Clarets struck three times inside four first-half minutes, while a cool solo effort by MacDonald completed his brace 15 minutes before the end. Rochdale pulled

  • Burnley and Accrington Stanley bosses miss out on awards

    BURNLEY’S Owen Coyle and Accrington Stanley’s John Coleman missed out on their respective manager of the month awards today. Both bosses had been shortlisted for the gong, but in the end Sheffield United's Kevin Blackwell won the Championship

  • Darwen Town Council formed

    DARWEN Town Council has officially been formed - paving the way for a hotly-contested election. Today Blackburn with Darwen Council signed a legal order to establish the new council, which followed a Yes vote in a referendum last year.

  • Lancashire face three friendlies in a week

    Lancashire continue their pre-season preparations at Old Trafford next week with a hat-trick of matches. They will be without the injured Gary Keedy and Glen Chapple, but Sajid Mahmood will be in action after returning from the England Lions tour of

  • Nelson Wheelers face Dales

    The Nelson Wheelers Cycling Club promote their 60th edition of the Circuit of the Dales time trial on Sunday and event secretary Steve Wilkinson has received the entries of the usual quality field with 114 riders on the programme. The event has been

  • Padiham 6 Oldham Town 0

    Paul Fildes scored four times as Padiham won 6-0 at home to Oldham Town in the Vodkat First Division last night. Chris Ridehalgh and Robbie Smith also found the net.

  • Deegan in third place

    WITH almost half the starters not making the finish, Darren Atkinson and Phil Sandham guided their Ford Escort Mk2 to a comfortable win on the Legend Fires SMC Stages at Weeton. The perimeter roads of the Army camp near Blackpool look innocuous enough

  • £50,000 to help save Lancashire OAPs lifeline

    AN EMERGENCY cash handout will give a stay of execution to a popular advice service used by pensioners in Lancashire, it has been revealed. An information, advice and guidance service has been provided by Age Concern Lancashire for the last six years

  • Barnoldswick plan could be wheelie good for walk cash

    A LEADING councillor has drawn up plans for a town’s first ‘wheelchair walkway’ – which could get off the ground with help from cyclists. Coun David Whipp, a town, borough and county representative, said wheelchair routes could be created through Victory

  • Minister set to answer East Lancashire A&E questions

    THE Minister of Health is to answer questions put to him by an East Lancashire MP regarding the A&E department of Royal Blackburn Hospital. Labour MP Gordon Prentice has asked MP Ben Bradshaw to reveal the discussions he has had with the

  • Ex-Burnley star Waldron: USA is not a bed of roses

    A FORMER Burnley defender who went on to play in the United States has warned Ade Akinbiyi to expect a very different experience on the other side of the Atlantic. Colin Waldron appeared for the Clarets on 308 occasions between 1967 and 1976

  • Accrington health workers push bed up Pendle Hill

    HEALTH workers went to extremes to promote the benefits of a good night’s sleep – carrying a bed on a four-mile hike up Pendle Hill. The Healthy Minds team from NHS East Lancashire began their intrepid journey about 9.30am yesterday, taking

  • Bishop of Blackburn: Churches should help in recession

    Churches in Lancashire are being urged to help parishes with new recession guidelines. The Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Bishop Nicholas Reade, has commended the 10 guidelines created by the Stewardship, the national Christian financial services charity

  • Hat-trick of awards for Altham clothes firm

    A WORK wear manufacturer has scooped a trio of prestigious awards. Altham-based Simon Jersey triumphed in the account management, catalogue and website categories at the Company Clothing Industry Awards 2009 at London’s Park Lane Hotel.

  • End of the road for Ribble Valley's rotting bus stops

    WOODEN signs on rural bus routes are to be replaced because they are rotting – just eight years after they were installed. County Hall bosses have to fork out £15,000 to replace the poles in the Ribble Valley. At the time, the poles were made of wood

  • Longridge road reopens after pedestrian knocked down

    AN ELDERLY pedestrian is believed to have been knocked down in an accident in Longridge at around 10.30am this morning. The accident occurred in Inglewhite Road, outside Somerfield. The road remained closed between the Berry Lane and Derby

  • Review: Shameless, Channel 4

    Shameless is funny for all the wrong reasons. I don’t know if I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t really like Shameless. I watch it from time to time and find myself laughing at how bad it is. It’s just 45 minutes of more bad language than

  • We’re not going to repeat the mistakes of 30s

    Samuel Brittan, the distinguished economics editor of the Financial Times, asked a very good question last Thursday: “Why should it be more alarming for governments to get into debt to put people into useful work satisfying human needs than to borrow

  • Fight to keep casualty open

    BACK in 1960, Nelson Town Council was seeking government support in a bid to keep open the casualty department at Reedyford Memorial Hospital. It was threatened with closure by Burnley and District Hospital Management Committee, but councillors were

  • ‘Growing up’ on timetable

    HALF a century ago, everything in the garden was rosy at Blackthorne County Secondary School, Bacup. For wedged between history and mathematics on the timetable was – gardening. And in 1960 it was a compulsory subject for pupils who were 12 and over

  • Top marks for primary schools

    PRIMARY school pupils and teachers in East Lancashire deserve congratulations for their performances in the latest government tables. More youngsters than ever before are leaving primary school having attained the required standard for English, maths

  • Nelson-based building society celebrates good year

    AN EAST Lancashire building society has celebrated a successful year – as a Scottish rival is rescued by a larger firm. Bosses at Nelson-based Marsden Building Society said the company was “extremely well-placed” for the coming year, despite

  • North West worst for rubbish and burglaries

    HOUSEHOLDS in the North West produce more rubbish than anywhere else in the country, according to a government survey. The sustainable development survey, which looks at 68 different factors to gain a snapshot of each region, also reveals the North West

  • Chorley pupil scoops prize for underwear idea

    PRINTED underwear telling youngsters to think twice before having unprotected sex is one of the latest tools to be used to promote good sexual health. High school students across Lancashire took part in a competition to promote sexual heath

  • Hunt for 'giggling' Padiham flasher

    A MANHUNT has been launched after a man indecently exposed himself to an 11-year-old schoolgirl. Police said the incident happened at the junction of Shakespeare Street and Stockbridge Road, Padiham, at 8.10am yesterday. The offender giggled before

  • Concerns after spate of cat deaths in Trawden

    VILLAGERS have urged the police and parish council chiefs to be vigilant after a series of cat deaths at a beauty spot. Parish councillors in Trawden have been told that four felines have been found on the Tram Tracks, and another cat was missing

  • Haslingden textile firm in administration

    WORKERS at a textile company face an uncertain future after it was placed into administration. Textile manufacturer JH Birtwistle and Co Ltd, Haslingden, has brought in administrators Begbies Traynor in a move that will lead to an unconfirmed

  • Choir: The poor aiding the rich

    I thought that the stories of Robin Hood were fiction. But now I am sure that he and his band of men is alive and well and living in the grounds of Blackburn Cathedral. Unfortunately, the fable of taking from the rich and giving to the poor has a new

  • Gamblers’ help group needed

    IS your husband, wife or partner a gambler? If the answer is yes, you will know what it’s like to carry the burden and suffer the consequences. There are many support groups for gamblers but none in Blackburn for us – the wives, husbands and partners

  • Planners right to show impartiality

    FAR from being weak (LT, March 28), the Hyndburn Planning Office is to be admired for considering planning applications impartially. The need for this will be emphasised in their professional training. I also admire the Hyndburn Planning Committee

  • Hypocrite MPs take the mickey

    Seeing and hearing reports in the media about the way Members of Parliament abuse their positions, I become more and more convinced that the electorate of this country are being misled by a gang of cash and sex-obsessed con men (or to be politically correct

  • Signs of bygone times in Ribble Valley village

    AN East Lancashire village has gone back in time after restoring its signposts to their original 1930s style. The directional signs, known as fingerposts, at the village green in Newton-in-Bowland, have been restored to their early 20th century glory

  • 'Upmarket' Blackburn bar stages 'Ibiza porn party'

    A NEW bar aimed at bringing a more “upmarket crowd” to Blackburn town centre has been criticised for arranging an “Ibiza porn party”. The move has been greeted with outrage and dismay after bosses of The Snug, an after-hours venue in Church

  • Burnley MP to move family to London

    BURNLEY MP Kitty Ussher is make London her permanent home so she can send her children to school in Westminster. The MP, who was elected in 2005, said she had made the decision after a great deal of “soul-searching” because of her children,

  • Barritt off to Algarve

    AFTER scoring their first World Championship points of the year, rallymen Daniel Barritt and Conrad Rautenbach will be looking for more of the same on this weekend’s Rally of Portugal. The pair finished a fine sixth on the Cyprus Rally, but the Portugese

  • Khan wary of O’Neill Stanley bid

    ACCRINGTON Stanley’s second biggest shareholder Ilyas Khan has revealed he will refuse to support plans to buy the club that could threaten its future. Chairman Eric Whalley has accepted an offer for his majority shareholding from Dave O’Neill, who intends

  • Ripley warns Blackburn Rovers to ignore Shearer factor

    STUART Ripley has urged Blackburn Rovers to ignore the ‘Shearer factor’ as they fight for Premier League survival – insisting their fate is in no-one else’s hands but their own. The former Rovers winger admits the relegation run-in has taken

  • Al's well for elite ace Leonard

    Alison Leonard has been hailed by her coach Arthur Almond after finishing fourth in the elite women’s race at the Middlesbrough Mile. The Blackburn Harrier clocked 4:48, a second behind winner Susan Scott. Leonard showed that she could

  • Sarah is Liver ace

    Sarah Ridehalgh of Accrington Road Runners was the winning woman at the Mizuno Liverpool half marathon on Sunday. Despite all the leading runners, including Ridehalgh, being sent the wrong way near the start, she equalled her personal best to win by

  • Starlet Chadwick makes her mark

    Lucy Chadwick has put down her marker for the forthcoming track and field season with a sensational performance at East Lancashire’s first outdoor meet of the summer. Competing on her home ground at Seedhill, the U15 shot putter set a Grade

  • Adrian’s joy at 500 meet

    BIKE racer Adrian Wilkinson missed out on a trophy in the inugural Thundersp-ort500 meeting – and he wasn’t bothered in slightest! For Wilkinson, who the brains behind the all-new series, was just happy to see the Mallory Park paddock bursting

  • How Blackburn Rovers stars fared on international duty

    Ryan Nelsen scored twice in New Zealand’s friendly draw against Thailand A - despite having never scored for Blackburn Rovers. Morten Gamst Pedersen scored an injury-time winner in Norway’s 3-2 friendly triumph in Finland last night.

  • The nerves won't get us, says Burnley's Jordan

    DEFENDER Stephen Jordan believes Burnley can hold their nerve as the Championship draws to a dramatic climax. With just six games to go, and a four-point cushion inside the top six, the fifth-placed Clarets are in a strong position to extend

  • Residents demand action on Pendle bottle-neck

    RESIDENTS near a well-known Pendle bottle-neck have said more pressure needs to be put on the Government to provide funding for a by-pass. Plans to build the A56 Colne to Foulridge bypass were halted in 2006 when unelected officials at the North West