Archive

  • Chased car ban driver hid in bed

    A BANNED driver who was spotted behind the wheel tried to give police the slip. Gulzameer Akram drove off from officers who were tailing him before running off on foot and hiding in bed, Preston Crown Court heard. The 20-year-old, of Brantfell Road, Blackburn

  • Clarets Form Watch (v Wigan)

    CRICHTON: Barely tested, the keeper showed some useful sweeping skills to confirm an 18th clean sheet of the season...6 COX: Gave the ball away a couple of times from the back before half-time but nothing got past him and Burnley are yet to concede with

  • Shoplifter was in grip of loan sharks, court told

    AN ex-soldier was put on probation for two years after pleading guilty at Blackburn magistrates to five offences of shoplifting. The court heard the offences had been committed in Blackburn, Burnley, Blackpool and Wigan, at a time when Robert Donald Taylor's

  • Pensioner lucky to escape lorry smash drama

    A PENSIONER today spoke of her amazing escape when vandals sent a 16-ton crane crashing through the front of her maisonette home - as she was watching TV drama Heartbeat. Doris Kay, 75, was trapped by debris and rubble for 30 minutes as rescuers fought

  • 14 days jail for 'bald' comment in court

    A 28-YEAR-OLD man made a rapid return to the dock after calling stipendiary magistrate Jonathon Finestein a 'bald headed coot.' Derek Wildman, of no fixed address, had been committed in custody to Preston Crown Court on a charge of making a threat to

  • Rovers Form Watch (v Stockport)

    KELLY: Alan Miller must have wondered how he is going to get a chance when the number one again had so little to do...6 GRAYSON: County tried to utilise their wide men but he was never in too much bother...7 DAILLY: Certainly the man in control at the

  • Wright proves love for the game in front of full house

    Division Two: Burnley 0 Wigan Athletic 0 - Pete Oliver's match verdict PERHAPS BBC Football Correspondent Mike Ingham should have been at Turf Moor on Saturday. Suggesting, as he did over the airwaves at tea-time, that Ian Wright's receipt of the MBE

  • Cartoon kids' challenge

    YOUNG Disney fans at Our Lady and St John's RC High School, Blackburn, enjoyed the chance to pitch some cartoon ideas in a national competition that could see them made and screened on satellite TV. Pupils have entered the competition run by the Disney

  • Cancer patients special clinics move

    SPECIALIST cancer clinics will be held at East Lancashire hospitals from April in a major shake-up aimed at improving services, it was revealed today. Patients will have access to experts from Royal Preston Hospital who will hold weekly clinics at Blackburn

  • Sick wife plea keeps drink-driver out of jail

    A 48-year-old Blackburn man was spared an immediate prison sentence because of the effect it would have on his infirm wife. Stipendiary magistrate Jonathon Finestein told Mario Lafrancischina that a non-custodial sentence was an act of mercy for his wife

  • Events in East Lancashire on Tuesday, February 22nd

    Gilbert and Sullivan Society present "Trial by Jury," and "HMS Pinafore," Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre, 7.30pm. Bring and Buy Sale , proceeds to New Life for the Blue Peter Appeal, Accrington Road Community Centre, Blackburn, 12 noon-3pm. Blackburn and

  • Safety biker went too fast

    ADVANCED motorcyclist Peter John Laidlaw was caught doing 95mph on his Honda bike on the A59 at Gisburn. And the 44-year-old manager of a Burnley engineering test facility told Blackburn magistrates his conviction for speeding would cause him a great

  • Cilla Black v Mary May in the Swinging Sixties

    HAVING this month evoked the heyday of the ballroom big bands in East Lancashire and their demise at the hands of pop music in the 1960s, Looking Back today recalls the Blackburn lass whose singing career went from one to the other. She set out to be

  • TEN YEARS AGO: Pint breaks £1 barrier

    BAD news hit boozers as Blackburn-based brewer Matthew Brown announced it was slapping 5p on the price of a pint. The increase would nudge the price in many East Lancashire pubs through the £1-a-pint barrier. And drinkers were warned that there could

  • Cancer move is overdue

    CANCER victims have enough to endure without having to travel far for treatment. So the disclosure that sufferers in East Lancashire are soon to get specialist help in their own region is a welcome and overdue move. The NHS has many pressures and demands

  • RUGBY LEAGUE: Sad Lynx slip to fellow-strugglers

    Lancashire Lynx 12pts, Workington Town 34 LYNX slumped back to the bottom of the Northern Ford Premiership after losing at home to previous occupants Workington Town. This was Town's first league victory of the season and they were helped on their way

  • Boost for pen needle users

    A BURNLEY patient care group has welcomed the success of a campaign to make life easier for diabetics. The Department of Health has announced that pen needles and re-usable pens for diabetics will be available on prescription for the first time from March

  • Rhetoric over nursery schools 'mealy mouthed'

    LABOUR council bosses in Burnley were accused of 'mealy-mouthed rhetoric' as they refused to back outright opposition to the closure of any nursery schools in the town. Ruling Labour leaders agreed to work with Lancashire County Council to ensure high

  • Blair hears fears for future of dentistry

    FEARS over the future of the 'fast disappearing' NHS dental service in Burnley were expressed directly to Prime Minister Tony Blair by Burnley MP Peter Pike. Mr Pike told of his concern at a round table meeting of a dozen MPs with the Prime Minister.

  • 200 fans in police battle

    HOOLIGANS attacked police after rival fans clashed outside Turf Moor at the end of Clarets' biggest match of the season. There were ugly scenes in Yorkshire Street as a hard core of 300 Burnley and Wigan supporters fought it out after most of the capacity

  • Boogie night

    SCHOOLCHILDREN, parents and staff jived the evening away at a belated Valentine's disco at Broadfield Special School, Oswaldtwistle. Around 100 people enjoyed the event at the Fielding Lane school and support assistant Jennifer McLester swapped jobs by

  • Lorry smash pair injured

    TWO men needed hospital treatment today after an accident involving two lorries. David Lawrence, 56, of Pasture Lands Drive, Billington, and Adam Little, 36, of Brunshaw Avenue, Burnley, were involved in the accident at around 9am on the Accrington easterly

  • Judge's warning on late night violence

    A MARKET trader, who twice struck a man while he had a bottle in his hand, has escaped a prison sentence. Burnley Crown Court heard how Faraz Behseta, 24, told police he had "whacked" victim Richard Berry because he thought he was in danger. Mr Berry,

  • Greg's top of the voting league

    HYNDBURN MP Greg Pope has come top of a league table of voting records in the House of Commons. The Labour Whip came equal first with two other North-West MPs - Bolton South East's Brian Iddon and West Lancashire's Colin Pickthall - managing 98 per cent

  • Drawing a line under massive task

    STAFF at a document management firm have come to the end of their own M65 journey! Cad-Capture has finished scanning thousands of technical drawings and photographs of the M65 for engineers Brown & Root. Brown & Root, who were involved in the

  • Tobacco road to success

    MEET the smokebusters! Burnley-based filter firm Interfilta has joined forces with a firm called Air Care 1 to launch a new product to remove tobacco smoke from public areas. The Intercept smoke unit the firms have developed removes particles and gases

  • Pensioner critical after road accident

    A MAN was today being questioned about an accident in which a 73-year-old pedestrian suffered serious head injuries. Joseph Cichocki of Lancaster Gate, Nelson, was today described as being in a "critical" condition in Royal Preston Hospital. He was crossing

  • 'Get in touch' plea to teenagers

    POLICE are searching for two teenage girls from Burnley and Pendle who have been missing from home for several days. Extensive inquiries have failed to reveal the whereabouts of Stephanie Turton, 15, of the Warings, Nelson, who went missing on February

  • Thugs smash old man's door

    THUGS tried to batter their way into a pensioner's flat, smashing two holes in the front door. Det Constable John Entwisle said the vandals appeared to have used a brick or a stone to smash the door of the 71-year-old man's flat in Cross Barn Walk, Darwen

  • Colour co-ordinated

    OLIVIA Taylor (left) and Catherine Haydon, both eight, members of St Cuthbert's Brownies, Darwen, clutch flowers which match their yellow uniforms, which were for the sale during a Thinking Day. The town's Guides raised more than £500 to help pay for

  • Colourful date

    BLACKBURN-born novelist Josephine Cox returned to her roots to sign copies of her latest book. More than 100 people went to meet the popular writer at WHS Smith in Blackburn. The new hardback is called Rainbow Days. Store manager Steve Park said: "It

  • 200 fans in Turf Moor battle with police

    HOOLIGANS attacked police after rival soccer fans clashed outside Turf Moor at the end of Burnley's biggest match of the season. There were ugly scenes in Yorkshire Street as a hard core of 300 Burnley and Wigan Athletic supporters fought it out after

  • Forensic experts fly out in hostage body riddle

    A TEAM of British forensic experts have flown to India to examine a body local police claim is Blackburn hostage Paul Wells. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are to carry out tests on the body as part of an ongoing investigation into

  • Farewell, but Margaret will be back

    A SCHOOL secretary who has retired after 18 years plans on taking a holiday - then coming straight back to school! Margaret Boyle, 60, first came to Shadsworth County Junior School to teach sewing as a volunteer and she plans to return to lead a sewing

  • Hair dryer sparks bedroom blaze

    HOUSEHOLDER Val Smith suffered burns to her arms as fire swept through the bedroom of her Crawshawbooth home. Mrs Smith escaped from the house and was treated by paramedics at the scene, but refused hospital treatment. Rawtenstall firefighters found the

  • Bride to be hit on head with bottle

    A WOMAN out on her hen night was hit with a bottle - and her fiance was also attacked by the same person. Preston Crown Court heard that Lisa Aldore was struck on the head in an incident at Blackburn's Utopia nightclub. In scenes that followed, her boyfriend

  • Doorstep conman alert

    DETECTIVES are hunting a bogus official who targeted the homes of two elderly women in the Lincoln Road area of Blackburn. The man, who is white and in his early 20s, was wearing a blue jacket when he pushed past a 73-year-old woman at 6.15pm on Saturday

  • Burglar raids London home of MP

    AN early morning telephone call from her distressed daughter alerted Rossendale and Darwen MP to a burglary at her south London home. Mrs Anderson, the Minister for Broadcasting, Tourism and Pop Music, rushed from her constituency home in Darwen after

  • 'Private' council not cut and dried

    HIGH ranking Labour councillors have insisted that possible plans to contract out more than 175 key council jobs to a private company are far from cut and dried. Splits have recently appeared in the ruling Labour group on Blackburn with Darwen Council

  • Families enjoy fitness fun day

    FAMILIES were shown how much fun getting involved in organised physical activities can be during a day of demonstrations. The event, at Feilden Fitness, Blackburn College, was the last in a series of three Family Activity Break roadshows. The multi-agency

  • Last waltz for mayor's man Bob

    MAYORS from throughout the north joined Rossendale civic leaders Alan and Janet Neal for the annual Mayor's Ball at the Astoria Ballroom. More than 200 people attended, enjoying dancing and a sit-down dinner. Music was provided by Rawtenstall singing

  • Woman forgave man who broke her jaw

    A MACHINE operator who smashed a "great friend's" jaw has walked free from court - because she had forgiven him and did not want him to go to jail. Burnley Crown Court had heard how Asoka Rodrigo, 56, had attacked Rosemary Cooper, dragging her by the

  • Paperboy watched as bike was stolen

    A PAPERBOY watched in horror as thieves stopped in a car to steal his prized mountain bike. Liam Haworth, 15, had got off the 21-gear lime green Apollo Guru to drop off his delivery bag at the newsagents in Benson Street, Little Harwood, at tea-time on

  • Town in a league of its own scares off TV crew!

    ONE of the creators of a bizarre TV comedy has revealed that the show is based on his experiences of growing up in East Lancashire. Steve Pemberton, from the cult BBC show League of Gentlemen, was born in Blackburn and brought up in Darwen. And today

  • Boyfriend whispered 'I love you' - then died

    A FARM labourer died as a result of a freak accident as he returned home from a Millennium Eve celebration. An inquest heard how Christopher Nelson fell into a rose bush after getting out of a taxi outside his home in Sherwood Road, Blackburn. He was

  • Crime clamp backed by MP

    A NEW crackdown on criminals goes some way to reassuring the public that police are serious about reducing crime, says Pendle MP Gordon Prentice. He welcomed new targets which aims to see cuts of more than 30 per cent in vehicle crime and house burglaries

  • Woman suffered brutal beating

    A MAN subjected his partner to a brutal and prolonged beating during which she lost consciousness. Blackburn magistrates heard that when Donna Arkwright's mother and grandmother came to her assistance, they too were assaulted by Robert Armour Reid Laing

  • Andy's moans of the match

    STOCKPORT boss Andy Kilner had nothing but complaints after his team became Rovers' first "double" victims of the season. But that was hardly surprising as he had spent most of the afternoon animatedly berating a set of officials who, despite what he

  • We are easily promotion candidates, says striker

    ONE game in a claret and blue shirt was enough to confirm Ian Wright's belief that Burnley are genuine promotion prospects. The former England striker's much-heralded Burnley debut ended in a 0-0 draw with third-placed Wigan Athletic at a packed Turf

  • Former special policeman held in heroin probe

    A FORMER special constable from Blackburn is being held in India in connection with an alleged plot to smuggle heroin worth almost £1million into Britain. PC Shabir Rehman Abdul Mubarak, formerly of Blackburn, was one of five men arrested in Bombay on

  • Little fears follow Wright euphoria

    BURNLEY winger Glen Little was set to have an X-ray today on the leg injury which forced him out of Saturday's top-of-the-table clash with Wigan Athletic at Turf Moor. But Clarets chief Stan Ternent believes the injury is not as bad as first feared and

  • Red carpet treatment at Rovers

    A RED carpet was laid out for newly weds Graham and Jelena Peacock (pictured) when they arrived at their beloved Blackburn Rovers for a celebration lunch. The cyberspace sweethearts were married on Saturday following a year-long romance. They met after

  • New Year's Day death tragedy of man, 28

    MICHAEL Francis Redmond hanged himself on Millennium night following the break-up of his 14-year romance with childhood sweetheart Catherine Caton, an inquest heard. The hearing was told that Mr Redmond had been unable to come to terms with the fact that

  • Kidd is cool on United return link

    BRIAN Kidd was left stunned by the latest bout of speculation linking him with a return to Old Trafford as head of Manchester United's youth development. The former Blackburn Rovers boss has been reported as being on the point of joining Liverpool, Wales

  • McAteer stunner seals the points for Parkes's men

    Division One: Stockport County 0 Blackburn Rovers 1 - Peter White's match verdict UNTIL Jason McAteer clinically made Stockport County pay for a monumental mistake just 11 minutes from time, this game had long been marked down as another of those to forget

  • Balloons to launch Women's Week

    HUNDREDS of purple and green balloons will help International Women's Week get off to a flying start. They will be released in Blackburn town centre at noon on Saturday, March 4 at the clock tower in King William Street to mark the start of the celebrations

  • Pupils eye up the Dome

    PUPILS from St Mary's Hall in Stonyhurst visited the Millennium Dome and enjoyed a ride on the London Eye before it opens to the public on March 1. The Year 7 pupils from Figures Playroom were guided round the Mind Zone and the Money Zone, before watching

  • Woman grabbed round throat by jilted ex

    LOVELORN Nigel Thomas Willman harassed his former girlfriend over a two month period after she had terminated the relationship. Blackburn magistrates heard that he phoned her at home and at work, sent her a letter and confronted her in person on two occasions

  • Computers capture changing county

    PEOPLE had the chance to learn about how computer records are used to build up a picture of Lancashire during a visit from county archaeologist John Darlington to Slaidburn Heritage Centre. He demonstrated the work of the County Archaeology Service, particularly

  • New road surface to cut noise

    A ROAD through a village blighted by heavy traffic is being coated in a special surface in a £170,000 scheme designed to reduce noise. The Highways Agency have begun work on coating the A59 Longsight Road between Ribchester Road and Park Gate Inn, Copster

  • FIVE YEARS AGO: Seabird in a flap

    A SURPRISED seabird got in a flap when it took a dip in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal - and became stuck in a lock. The cormorant, with a wing span of more than 4ft, didn't have enough room to take off from the canal, at Nova Scotia Wharf, Bolton Road

  • ICE HOCKEY: Hawks at the double

    Blackburn Hawks 6 Whitley Bay 2 ; Bradford Bulldogs 4 Blackburn Hawks 12 HAWKS kept up their run of good form with an impressive double victory against a mixed standard of opposition. Saturday saw Bobby Haig's side pick up a good Border League win at

  • London poll result should concern us all

    APART from being amused by the distractions thrown up by both major parties' tribulations over choosing a candidate for the race for Mayor of London, voters in the rest of the country have only an academic interest in the outcome. But those with a regard

  • Rising to the challenge

    MY thanks to the schools and community groups who have entered the BT Reading Challenge. We have received details of a number of projects which are very creative and designed to create an appetite for reading among people who may lack literacy skills,

  • Marathon invite

    I WOULD like to invite East Lancashire runners who have been accepted in the forthcoming London Marathon and others in the region to join me and go the extra mile - by using their place to help raise funds for the Children's Society, which works with

  • NON LEAGUE SOCCER: Pleasure and Payne for Stanley

    Eastwood Town 1 Accrington Stanley 7 STANLEY were in seventh heaven after a brilliant display at Eastwood Town left them only six points behind second placed Burscough with two games in hand, as the first division promotion race hotted up. The Reds had

  • Services are just superb

    IS the criticism of Lancashire Social Services fair? (LET, February 7 and 8). I can write authoritatively of the work carried out by the ground forces of the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley purchasing teams at Clitheroe and Accrington in regard to myself.

  • Caring for young

    A NEW social services scheme for young people who need special levels of care and support will be launched in Burnley this week. Care Plus will provide a specialist residential and foster care service to 13-17-year-olds who need extra support to improve

  • COUNTY CRICKET: Athers chance to save face

    LANCASHIRE officials will let Mike Atherton decide whether to apologise to the county's members for his attack on Championship cricket when they meet him this week. Chairman Jack Simmons shrugged off a demand that Atherton should be disciplined at Saturday's

  • Anyone for coffee?

    MENINGITIS continues to hit the headlines and although we have seen the introduction of the new vaccine against meningococcal C, there is still no vaccine against other strains and people continue to get this devastating disease. The National Meningitis

  • Happiness is, Sadie's safe!

    YIPPEE! Your Page One story 'Sadie safe at last' (LET, February 10) was a real heart-warmer for me. I moved to a house near St Jude's Church, in Accrington Road, Blackburn, at the end of June 1999 and, therefore, had to walk along Bottomgate and Copy

  • Supporters go wild as star makes his debut

    SATURDAY Wright Fever hit Turf Moor at the weekend as ex-England striker Ian Wright made his eagerly anticipated debut in a Burnley shirt. A crowd of 20,435 - the Second Division's biggest gate of the season - gave the 36-year-old a hero's welcome as

  • Can you see, JB?

    IT has been four months since I wrote to this page asking John Blunt (LET, February 2) to comment on the current state of the agricultural industry in this country. Now, while he may not have bought any cotton goods, coal or shoes in that time, I'm fairly

  • Town hall 'invaded' by fish and chips guzzlers

    BURNLEY town hall's members' room has been taken over by the fish and chip eating public, declared Coun Gordon Birtwistle. He said the room, furnished with armchairs and ornaments was once a quiet sanctuary for councillors escaping the heat of council

  • Hospice lottery hits the jackpot

    ORGANISERS of a lottery draw to boost an East Lancashire charity and help provide essential care for seriously ill patients have been overwhelmed by people's response since its launch. More than 150 members have signed up to the draw organised by Hospice

  • Christian Stable blessed

    THE Hyndburn Christian Stable, in Russia Street, Accrington, held its official opening and blessing. Project co-ordinator Barbara Fishwick is watched by (front, from the left) Archdeacon John March, the Mayor of Hyndburn, Coun Bernard Dawson, and Coun

  • Old soldiers honour fallen heroes

    HEROES of the First World War were honoured at a service to commemorate the bravery of the Accrington Pals. Relatives and friends of the fallen soldiers were among parishioners and dignitaries who remembered a generation of men lost in the Battle of the

  • Councillors cut by a third in shake-up

    THE number of councillors in Hyndburn is set to be cut by a third, as part of sweeping new changes in the borough. The shake-up has been proposed by the Local Government Commission for England, which has published its draft recommendations for Lancashire

  • Warning to small firms

    SMALL firms in Lancashire will find it harder to survive in 2000 than they did last year, according to a leading accountant. Blackburn-based Diane Eatough, president of the North West Society of Chartered Accountants, said that the general impression

  • Helping hands

    SAMANTHA Turbefield (back, left), area fund raiser for Marie Curie Cancer Care, and Ruth Livesey fund-raising assistant for Marie Curie Cancer Care, enlist the help of firefighters at Blackburn Fire Station to promote Daffodil Day, on March 18, to raise

  • Fears allayed over servicestation plan

    PEOPLE living in the shadow of a planned motorway service station in Darwen voiced their concerns during a public meeting. Earcroft councillors Mike Barrett and Simon Danczuk invited householders from Oaksfield bungalows, View Road and Redvers Road to

  • Wall game

    YOUNGSTERS and staff at an infants school now have their very own wonder wall! Artist Chris Burns has been painting caricatures of pupils, teachers, governors, and dinner ladies for a millennium wall at Shadsworth Infants School. The school came up with