CHARITIES across East Lancashire have been given the chance to roar into top gear thanks to cash boosts given to them by bikers from the area. More than £8,000 was handed out to several charities from the proceeds of the Rossendale Bike Show. More than
A SONGWRITING team from East Lancashire is celebrating a rapid rise up an internet music chart. Singer Pamela Neary (pictured) and her music tutor, songwriter and producer John Chambers, have two songs on BT's Get Out There website, which provides a forum
ALMOST 200,000 North West men are claiming incapacity benefit despite being fit for work, a new study has revealed. Sheffield Hallam University researchers found the region has the highest proportion of the male workforce in receipt of the welfare cash
THE arrival of a new head teacher at a primary school will lead to an improvement in the quality of education, according to an Ofsted report. A group of government inspectors found the strengths of Water County Primary in Rossendale already outweighed
AN organisation that represents more than 450 nursing and residential homes in Lancashire has appointed its first chief executive. Pauline Spencer will take the helm of the Lancashire Care Association (LCA) after more than a decade as chief officer of
A TIPSY runaway threatened to jump in front of a car after allegedly being twice sexually attacked by a man she thought was kind, a jury was told. Burnley Crown Court heard how the 14-year-old was said to be crying and shaking after Frank Doherty, 46,
A LOCAL historian is planning a safari to search for the grave of his great-grandfather, who died more than a century ago while exploring Southern Africa. Graham Woodcock, 79, hopes to find the spot where his ancestor Dr Ralph Holden died of fever in
CHARITIES and voluntary groups across East Lancashire have been awarded more than £38,000 from the Millennium Festival awards fund. Fourteen organisations across Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley have been given grants. In Blackburn, award winners
A PROMINENT Labour Party worker and daughter of a Blackburn councillor has died after a short illness aged 46. Kathleen Youds, daughter of Corporation Park ward Coun Dorothy Walsh, died on Saturday at the Royal Preston Hospital. A former pupil of Our
STAFF and pupils at a Blackburn junior school are celebrating today after a team of government inspectors gave it a glowing Ofsted report. A team of five inspectors working on behalf of the Office for Standards in Education said Longshaw County Junior
AN ASTHMA group has decided to leave its national organisation and go it alone to help local people. The Blackburn Area Asthma Support Group has decided to become independent of the National Asthma Campaign so organisers can continue to spend locally-raised
CLARETS fan Coco the parrot is spreading the word about Burnley FC's new star signing, Ian Wright. Coco, who lives at Barrow Post Office in the Ribble Valley with owners David and Susan Wilson, is so impressed with Stan Ternent's latest signing that he
COUNCIL chiefs have hit back at claims that Clitheroe Castle (pictured) is in urgent need of restoration work. Ribble Valley Council senior surveyor Rod Pearce said the building had been inspected by English Heritage and that, although it was on the at-risk
METER readers were hoping to get their message across with the help of a pack of cards. Norweb produced the cards in a variety of different languages to overcome communication problems when dealing with ethnic community clients. The cards were printed
BRITAIN'S longest running ambulance dispute neared an end - and East Lancashire crews wanted to get back to normal working. News that a pay deal had been thrashed out in marathon overnight talks was greeted with relief at ambulance stations throughout
MENCAP, the leading charity for people with a learning disability, has organised two exciting cycle challenges for November, 2000. How about embarking on an 11-day, 420-kilometre adventure across Costa Rica, through jungle and rainforest? Alternatively
A DRUG-addicted shoplifter had got through his biggest hurdle - and won a place on a methadone reduction programme, Burnley magistrates heard. James Bradbury, 29, who helped himself to a £145 trolley full of stolen goods from Sainsbury's, wanted the continued
NELSON skipper Duncan Spencer today vowed to recruit a world class replacement for Roger Harper following his appointment as the new coach of the West Indies. After months of uncertainty, Spencer finally found out this morning that Harper will not be
ASIAN wedding dresses from 1950 to the present day have gone on show at a special touring exhibition in Burnley. Eastern Ties, organised by Age Concern's Shamim Hussain, features 16 outfits, one of them from the '50s flown in especially from Pakistan.
CLITHEROE gave a wonderful account of themselves in this Marsden Cup quarter-final clash, but crashed out after a debatable refereeing decision. A Steve Aspinall penalty awarded in extra time was the body blow that left Clitheroe reeling, before the knockout
IN response to your Comment about Lancashire Social Services (LET, February 7), we have both been involved for more than two years in the Standing Conference of foster carers in Lancashire, which is a regular meeting of foster carer representatives from
BURNLEY Rotarians tucked into a "frugal meal" to serve up a financial feast for charity. There was only soup and a roll on offer to Burnley Rotary Club at the town's Alexander Hotel, as members donated the difference between the snack and a full meal
I READ with interest your article "Planning warning on 2000 projects" (LET, February 3), where the chairman of the North West Tourist Board, Anthony Goldstone, expresses worries about millennium projects "falling behind schedule" or being "abandoned altogether
PARACHUTE fabric firm chief Garry Baines (pictured) is flying high after being appointed deputy managing director of Padiham-based Perseverance Mills Ltd. Garry joined the firm 15 years ago as European sales manager and after being appointed to the board
THE recent news that one in 10 people in UK workplaces has been bullied is shocking, but no surprise to me ("Destructive Interpersonal Conflict and Bullying at Work" by Professor Gary Cooper and Helge Hoel from the Manchester School of Management). We
A COUNCILLOR is to shed light on a secret inquiry into the letting of uPVC window works - by sending the full report to every councillor in Burnley. Independent group leader Harry Brooks won a town hall investigation last year when he questioned the way
A WAREHOUSE manager suffered facial injuries after a "big stocky" man allegedly walked in with a suspended employee and smacked him in the face, a court was told. Burnley Crown Court heard how Andrew Parker, 36, was seen by workmates half-kneeling on
BURNLEY'S spiralling council house rent arrears have been condemned as "a woeful tale of the ineffectiveness of housing management." Independent group leader Harry Brooks told the policy committee the arrears headache, highlighted by the District Auditor
AN engineering worker who had half his left thumb ripped off in a horrific works accident was today described as "comfortable" in the Royal Preston Hospital. Peter Ashworth, 51, of Richmond Street, Accrington, also suffered serious chest injuries and
MORE than four out of five North West businesses disagree with the euro currency, a survey out today claims. The Business for Sterling North West Group said the vast majority of local firms had not noticed much, if any, impact from the launch of the euro
DAMIEN Duff has given Blackburn Rovers a major boost by appearing to make a rapid recovery from the viral infection that counted him out of last weekend's win at Stockport. There was a slight concern that Duff was suffering from what might be a serious
BLACK cabs in Hyndburn might not be black from next year - after the borough council agreed to impose a colour code for hackney carriage operators. Hyndburn Council's licensing and traffic orders committee agreed to bring in a colour code from January
RYDER Cup star Padraig Harrington's winless run continued, but the golfer brought a lovely touch of Irish logic to the situation. "I would love to say I'm tired of finishing second, but if I finished third I would want to finish second," he declared.
A SEMINAR to help firms make the most of marketing is being staged next month.. Marketing expert Gordon Jones is speaker at the Business Link East Lancashire event at Turf Moor on March 1. Gordon, author of 'Successful Marketing on a Shoestring', will
LIVERPOOL boss Gerard Houllier is certainly cracking the whip at Anfield these days. And beware anybody who steps out of line. "The problem here is that players think they can drink. Drinking alcohol is as silly as putting diesel in a racing car," he
SNOOKER product manufacturers Burnley-based Riley Leisure has invested in a new fleet of 21 vans for its regional service engineers. The Citroen 1.9 diesel vans were supplied by Walker Farrimond Corporate Sales in Blackburn through their dealership in
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy I MUST admit that until very recently the phrase "environmental art" set alarm bells ringing in my head. I had seen lots of artists working in our woods and producing objects which seemed to intrude into the beauty of the
ALMOST 200 managers gathered for the latest meeting of a club set up to make East Lancashire firms more competitive. The latest Investors in People Network club meeting was held at the County Hotel, Blackburn. The meeting included a seminar by training
SOME people would do anything to play for their country, others well . . . Manchester United's Ryan Giggs has pulled out of the Welsh squad to play Qatar tonight after completing the full 90 minutes of Manchester United's 1-0 win at Leeds. The winger,
FORMER Spurs midfielder Nicola Berti made his debut in Australia for Northern Spirit but found his game affected by a cricket square on the pitch. The ex-Italy World Cup star admitted he was concerned about risking his knee on the hard area that had been
WHO said: "I've had offers to play in lower leagues, but that is definitely not for me. There is no way I could do what Ian Rush and Peter Beardsley have done by dropping through the ranks. "They are two of football's greats and should be remembered for
POLICE called to a house had been told a man was trying to hang himself, Burnley magistrates heard. Officers who went to Colne Road, Burnley, found Glen Kennedy, 26, in something of a 'deranged state,' banging on walls with his fists. They thought he
"Portillo plans 'vote-winning' Tory tax pledge" - headline. Our new Shadow Chancellor isn't promising to bring back the poll tax, is he? Well, that's the last tax this so-clever, caring Conservative said was a vote-winner. Remember? So the BBC are shoving
The opinions expressed by John Blunt are not necessarily those of this newspaper. IF I was a Londoner picking the city's mayor, I would rather vote for one of his pet newts than for 'Red' Ken Livingstone. Anyone in their right might who remembers his
THE latest stage in a project which has helped cut crime in Sudellside, Darwen, by a third is to be launched this week. Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson, is guest of honour at the official launch of a new all-weather 'kickabout' area in Rose Street
A DARWEN GP's arrangement for an elderly patient and his wife to be admitted to a residential home which was registered in his own name was condemned as "inappropriate" at a conduct hearing. Within days of making the arrangement for 78-year-old Thomas
CARA Ann Booth turned to prostitution to try and fund her heroin addiction, a court heard. But Blackburn magistrates were told the 19-year-old mother of an 18-month-old child now realised the importance of getting off the drug. Booth, of Andrew Close,
AN emergency service in Lancashire is on the lookout for new volunteers. The British Red Cross Lancashire Branch Carer's Emergency Card scheme - a 24-hour emergency cover service for carers - wants to hear from anybody who can spare time to help . The
A LANCASHIRE police officer arrested in India on suspicion of drug smuggling is to face a criminal investigation by his own force. Lancashire Constabulary has launched a probe into Shabir Mubarak's activities in the United Kingdom - but it is refusing
THE boss of a Blackburn removal company and two of his workers have appeared before Blackburn magistrates charged with benefit fraud. Sylvester Joseph Creane, 27, of Guernsey Avenue, boss of Intack Hire, is charged with three offences of aiding and abetting
TRAVEL group Airtours has unveiled plans to buy a leading American travel firm for £240million. The move to takeover Travel Service international sent the share price of the firm - which was hit by poor financial results last week - up by more than 15
HOUSE prices in Blackburn and Darwen are rising - but latest figures show they are lagging well behind the rest of Lancashire. In the last three months of 1999, the average price of houses sold in the borough was £47,877, up by just over four per cent
A TRIAL scheme to check benefit claims in the North West will be based in Blackburn and supported by a £142,000 government grant. The project to check welfare claims in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, managed from the Blackburn DSS office, will receive
A MUSEUM in Helmshore looks set to be one of the first in Lancashire to benefit from a new award which has been given to the county council. The county museum service has been recognised as a pre-eminent collection of national and international importance
COLLECTORS of stamps, envelopes, postcards, coins and cigarette cards, can take advantage of a free valuation when auctioneers Warwick and Warwick visit East Lancashire. Old picture postcards can have value, especially those containing busy street scenes
FERN Dewsnap repaid a friend's kindness by selling his television to a secondhand dealer. Blackburn magistrates heard that Michael Taylor had taken the then 17-year-old under his wing after she had been left destitute by a house fire. He lent her money
A 19-YEAR-OLD man ran into a Blackburn petrol station and shouted at the assistant to get an ambulance because he was going to die. Blackburn magistrates heard that the assistant instead called the police, who were told by the man that he had taken "Es
BRITAIN'S biggest beds manufacturer has given its support to the new lottery launched by Burnley and Pendle Hospice Care by signing up as one of its sponsors. The Barnoldswick-based firm's financial backing will help the hospice promote the lottery while
A CORONER has urged drug abusers in East Lancashire to use clean needles and spare themselves blood infections or even death. Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley coroner Michael Singleton has spoken out during two hearings in the last three weeks, warning
SHORTLY after appearing on two charges of failing to answer bail Lee Duffy made it a hat-trick when he absconded from the court corridor. Duffy, 27, of Pendle House, Blackburn, appeared from custody to face two charges of shoplifting as well as the two
BLACKBURN Rovers and England football legends Ronnie Clayton and Bryan Douglas were among a host of star guests at a special celebrity sports dinner held at Ewood Park. Ronnie Clayton is renowned for his 36 England caps and captaining the country's under
A MAN feared for his life when he was kidnapped in Blackburn, driven away and ordered to hand over money. Preston Crown Court heard that victim Irfan Mohammed was beaten, put in a car boot, tied up and slashed. His near five-hour ordeal came to an end
Leeds United Reserves 1 Blackburn Rovers Reserves 1 GOALKEEPER Alan Miller made his first appearance for Rovers last night as Ian Miller's men earned a battling point at Elland Road. The former West Brom stopper recovered from conceding a goal after just
BURNLEY striker Andy Cooke today backed Stan Ternent's decision to sign Ian Wright - even though it puts his own first team place under serious threat. Cooke admitted it felt like a dream to partner Wright up front in a new-look strike-force against Wigan
DAMIEN Duff has given Blackburn Rovers a major boost by appearing to make a rapid recovery from the viral infection that counted him out of last weekend's win at Stockport. There was a slight concern that Duff was suffering from what might be a serious
A THREATENED bus service has been reprieved after elderly people claimed they would be left prisoners in their own homes. The Blackburn Transport Service to the Warrenside Close area was threatened with the axe when the company said not enough people
PUPILS from St Augustine's RC High School, Billington, won a public speaking contest. The team of four, Jonathan Keane, Helen Flatley, Samantha Richardson and Amy Nickson, took first place at the competition arranged by the Knights of St Columba, beating
Blackburn Artists' Society meet St Gabriel's Church Hall, Brownhill Drive, Brownhill, Blackburn, 7pm. "Trial By Jury," and "HMS Pinafore," Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre, 7.30pm. "Tin Pan Alley," Darwen Library Theatre, 7.30pm. Blackburn Flower Club meet
PARTY-GOER Neil Perry suffered multiple fractures of his eye socket and cheekbone, a broken nose and a dropped eyeball after a single punch from Curtis Lee Brunker in an unprovoked attack, a court was told. At Blackburn magistrates court, Brunker, 28,
LESS than a year after passing his test Kieran John Taylor's driving career came to a crashing end. Blackburn magistrates heard that he collided with railing at the entrance to a car park in Queensway, Clitheroe, and when breathalysed gave a positive
POLICE and brewery bosses have launched an investigation into claims that rogue clampers are targeting people on a controversial pub car park. Villagers in Whalley claim the opportunist thiefs are lying in wait for people parking cars and clamping them
Division One: Bolton Wanderers 3 Portsmouth 0 BOLTON took their blistering FA Cup form into the league as they demolished visiting Portsmouth at the Reebok last night, leap-frogging Rovers into ninth spot in Division One. Veteran striker Bob Taylor opened
NATHAN Astle is to make a shock return to Accrington as professional this summer. The New Zealand Test star was pro at Thorneyholme Road in 1997 but quit after just a matter of weeks to join Nottinghamshire. But he is ready to repay what he sees as a
Division Two: Bury 0 Cambridge United 2 BURY'S lowest crowd of the season witnessed a performance in which the Shakers looked more likely relegation fodder than their opponents, who quite deservedly took all three points from a game which they completely
WHETHER or not the surprise resignation this week of NHS chief executive Sir Alan Langlands was triggered by him getting wind of the plan by Health Secretary Alan Milburn to draft in doctors, nurses and hospital chiefs to run the health service instead
IS anyone as confused as I am about what is going on in Ireland? According to a Unionist interviewed on the radio, Sinn Fein has not broken the Good Friday agreement by not handing over arms because this need not be done until May. I am sure we are only
LANCASHIRE League batsmen have been delivered a chilling warning ahead of the new season: 'Jason Gillespie is on the warpath'. Former Ribblesdale League player Casey Tanner still bears the bruises from a face-to-face confrontation with Rishton's new professional
RESIDENTS are mobilising against a mobile phone mast being erected at a "beauty spot" near their homes. One-2-One wants to site a 50ft-high telecommunications pole on land above Towneley, near to Johnson's garden nurseries in Higher Brunshaw, Burnley.
AFTER campaigning with the local authority over the last 20 years for regeneration works to be carried out to the south of Blackburn, we are delighted the day is dawning for this to become a reality. Being aware of the proposed developments for this area
A FAMILY have issued an emotional plea for help after being struck down by a second bone marrow crisis in a year. Burnley-born Zeashan Nawaz, 17, is in desperate need of a life-saving transplant after being diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. His 14
A FORMER council leader has been appointed chairman of East Lancashire Health Authority - spearheading health care for more than half a million people. Coun Kath Reade (pictured), 51, of Burnley Council takes over from retiring chairman Bill Ashworth,
FOUR people were trapped in a lift for 20 minutes after it became jammed. The incident occurred at Hyndbrook House, Dale Street, Accrington, at 6.30pm yesterday. Firefighters managed to release all four, who had remained calm and were uninjured. Converted
THREE members of the Boys Brigade in Hyndburn have received the highest award in the organisation, the Queens Badge. They are (from the left) L/Cpl John Foote, of the 1st Accrington Boys Brigade Company, S/Sgt Nick Flyyn, and Simon Jackson, both of the
THREE young girls with pony tails stole £12 from an Accrington off-licence while an adult distracted the shopkeeper. The three, aged between 10 and 13, stole from the Drinks Cabin in Whalley Road, Accrington late on the night of February 16. The woman
CHILDREN are taking part in a series of play events in Hyndburn during half term. Youngsters enjoyed activity sessions at the Civic Hall in Clayton-le-Moors on Monday and there will be some more fun and games there tomorrow. Sessions for four to seven-year-olds
A PIONEERING scheme set up to help disabled shoppers is in the process of securing its own premises. Shopmobility, which was set up last June, should have a place in Whalley Road, Accrington, by April. The scheme gives disabled shoppers the free loan
"IT seems to us that, with the organ grinder having gone, one of the monkeys has been appointed in his place" - Barry Birks, chairman of Sheffield Wednesday's Independent Supporters' Association on the board changes at Hillsborough. Converted for the
BUSINESSES had a taxing time at at exhibition. More than 400 people attended the Inland Revenue's tax and national insurance roadshow staged at Ewood Park. A series of seminars was staged during the day covering topics including PAYE and payroll, tax
A SUB-postmaster says his business will go bust if government plans to switch welfare payments to banks and building societies go ahead. William Aspin, 52, of West End Post Office, Blackburn Road, Oswaldtwistle, said that he, along with many post offices
LEEDS boss David O'Leary, having realised how daft he looked following his ridiculous and outspoken defence of Lee Bowyer's awful tackle against Tottenham has changed to a rather more diplomatic tack. From now on, O'Leary says he will not make any such
UNION leaders representing workers at two East Lancashire factories have welcomed a jobs pledge by bosses. Remploy, which employs more than 300 at its Blackburn and Burnley sites, had been planning to close a number of its factories around the country
BURNLEY Council today confirmed that a member of the town hall staff had been arrested and subsequently suspended from work. Legal section worker Elizabeth Bolton, 44, of Palace Gardens, Burnley, has been charged with arson. Burnley magistrates this week
A YORKSHIRE millionaire has left £5,000 to the Burnley-based animal charity the Horses and Ponies Protection Association. John Fewster, from Batley, died in January last year leaving £3,274,000, including bequests of £5,000 to HAPPA and £3,000 to the
FIVE Burnley FC fans were due to appear in court today charged with offences following Saturday's home game against Wigan. Appearing in court today charged with threatening behaviour are Ronnie Anderson, 36, of Aspen Drive, Burnley; Paul Murgatroyd, 26
WHEN police were called to a chip shop they found a drunken man on the other side of the counter who refused to leave, a court heard. Robin Knowles, of Hazel Avenue, Darwen, admitted being drunk and disorderly in Halliwell Road on February 19. Bolton
AIR is being blasted through water mains in Darwen in a bid to clean up the water supply. North West Water is spending £315,000 on cleaning 87 kilometres of mains in the area. The job involves scouring the mains with an air bubble, which disturbs sediment
YOUNG Alicia Wade (pictured) won a big prize by supporting her Mellor school - and promptly decided to share it. Alicia, seven, won a raffle at St Mary's RC Church and St Mary's Primary School's coffee morning and walked away with a huge teddy bear. The
