TELEVISION soap fan Ellen May Whittaker celebrated her 104th birthday yesterday with a family gathering and an episode of Coronation Street. Thought to be Rossendale's oldest resident, great-great-grandmother Mrs Whittaker lives at Deansford home for
BRAMWELL SPEAKS OUT I BET you thought I was going to write about David Beckham, didn't you? Well, you were wrong. But, before I move onto this week's topic, was it just me or did he con the football pundits yet again in the game against Argentina last
TEENAGERS have been urged to take up their last chance to get immunised against the deadly meningitis virus. Two more sessions are being held for East Lancashire teenagers aged 15 to 17 to be immunised with the new vaccine against group C meningococcal
SHARP-eyed Jessica Hurley has already found out that diamonds are a girl's best friend. Jessica, six, spotted a £1,300 jewel on the floor of a Blackburn church hall as she played with friends at a Rainbow Brownies group. Jessica said: "I saw something
BURNLEY'S chances of leapfrogging Wolves in the Pontins League table were blown apart by a three-goal salvo in the last half hour at Turf Moor last night. A Micky Mellon blockbuster and a sharp finish from Dean West saw the Clarets surge into a 2-1 half-time
A DISTRAUGHT pensioner today claimed she was being plagued by threatening letters complaining about her pet Doberman. Kathleen Clark, 67, of Melville Drive, Blackburn, was upset when she received the third anonymous letter complaining about her dog barking
INFLUENTIAL defender Gordon Armstrong is rated as 'extremely doubtful' for Saturday's trip to Colchester after picking up an injury in last night's reserve clash against Wolves at Turf Moor. The Clarets had to finish the game with 10-men as Armstrong
WORLD Superbike champion Carl Fogarty today threatened to quit racing over a legal wrangle with his uncle. Blackburn's race ace is fighting a complicated battle to prevent his uncle, Brian Fogarty, from selling merchandise on the back of his name. And
A COUNCIL has made a green pledge. The Mayor of the Ribble Valley, Coun Brian Collis, signed the Lancashire Biodiversity Declaration, confirming the borough council's commitment to wildlife conservation. The declaration calls for a partnership of community
A BUSINESSMAN from the Ribble Valley who was struck down with suspected meningitis during a Caribbean holiday has died in Blackburn Royal Infirmary. Michael McKeown, 53, of Longridge Road, Hurst Green, was flown home from the Dominican Republic in January
VAL COWAN'S WEB WORLB LADIES - if you are thinking of popping the question to your man on February 29, you might want to check out Desktop Lawyer first. The online legal service - which already offers online divorce documents - is now offering pre-nuptial
BLACKBURN MP Jack Straw gave his support to the campaign to extend the M65. Speaking at the public inquiry in the town, he said there was a question of balancing the social, economic and environmental needs of East Lancashire and the proposed route of
INJURY-plagued and relegation threatened Hicks suffered another defeat as high-flying St Annes romped to a convincing 4-1 win. The Clitheroe club's season has been severely hampered by the lose of several keys players and a string of injuries. Now the
MOTOR sports fans everywhere will be saddened if world Superbike champion, Blackburn's Carl Fogarty keeps to his threat to quit racing over a legal row over the merchandising of material linked to his name. The case is complex, but the issue is simple
AS part of research into physiotherapy provision, I am trying to contact disabled people who have been unable to access physiotherapy services. If anyone has been advised that physiotherapy would be beneficial for them, but they have then been unable
IN replay to Nick Holt's remarks regarding pensioners (Letters, February 8), I am a pensioner and, luckily, I have a works pension (into which I paid and for which I pay tax) as well as my old age pension. As a result, I can manage quite well, but I would
THIS top of the table clash between league leaders Worsthorne and second placed Chatburn looked to be all over bar the shouting as Worsthorne raced into a 4-0 half time lead. Looking every bit true title contenders, Worsthorne swept away a Chatburn defence
WHO needs Ian Wright when you have a three-pronged strike force with more than 60 goals between. And thankfully for Bacup St Mary's, all of them resisted the urge to head for Turf Moor to see the former England striker's goalless debut. Craven probably
COUNCILLOR Simon Danczuk (LET, February 2) is right for once - Labour-run Blackburn with Darwen Council is in need of a hard shake. We have had 20 years of Labour misrule and hundreds of millions of taxpayers money down the drain - for what? They have
POLICE are appealing for witnesses to a hit and run accident in which a 44-year-old motorcyclist was injured. Michael Hayden of Fulwood was thrown from his machine in Accrington Road, Burnley, after a white van emerged from a side street and collided
BRUNSHAW residents are to march through the town in protest at plans to erect a 50ft high phone mast at a Burnley beauty spot. The march was announced after members of Burnley Council agreed to defer the decision on an application to lease land in Springwood
HOME and hardware retailer Wilkinson's will create up to 88 full and part-time jobs when it opens its new Burnley town centre store in June. The Midlands-based group today announced it would start recruiting staff for the 30,000 sq ft Curzon Street store
BURNLEY FC, still buzzing with the signing of top striker Ian Wright, will relaunch Turf Moor mascot Bertie Bee at the biggest home game of the season against Preston North End. A new superfit Bertie has thrown out a challenge to Preston's Deepdale Duck
A MYSTERY hound has chewed its way through 41 swings at a children's playground over the past 12 months - leaving Hyndburn Council taxpayers with a £2,000 bill. Police, the dog warden and the council have failed to track down the troublesome pooch which
A TOP chef from East Lancashire today thanked a passer-by whose quick thinking saved his brother from drowning in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Stephen Finch, 39, was pulled from the canal in Clayton-le-Moors after he collapsed while fishing and fell
OUTDOOR market traders have made a scathing attack on draft plans for a proposed multi-million pound development of Accrington town centre. None of the outside traders want the £7million complex to go ahead and are in favour of refurbishing the current
HOME improvement chain Wickes said it was continuing to reap the rewards of a major shake-up. The firm, which recently opened a major new store in Blackburn, said sales were up 14.7 per at stores which have been through a facelift programme, well ahead
CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating a victory for people power today after plans to build a windfarm on the hills above Bacup were rejected. Councillors in Rossendale have ruled that Renewable Energy Systems Ltd cannot build a nine-turbine windfarm at Hogshead
THE yesteryear football stars of East Lancashire today paid tribute to the 'Wizard of the Dribble' Sir Stanley Matthews. Former Blackburn Rovers winger Bryan Douglas, who took over Sir Stanley's place in the England side, described him as "one of my idols
CHIEF executive John Williams today defended Blackburn Rovers' decision to turn down David Dunn's transfer request - even though other players seem likely to be leaving Ewood in the near future. "Selling David would be against everything we are trying
"Thank You For The Music with Real Abba Gold," King George's Hall, Blackburn, 8pm. Jack Straw MP Surgery, Ivy Street Community Centre, 4pm-5pm; Audley Community Centre, Chester Street, 5.30pm-6.30pm, both Blackburn. "A Tribute To Abba," Dunkenhalgh Hotel
THIS week I've had a request for my views and advice on fondue cookery. In my opinion, fondue cookery is best likened to an indoor barbecue with the advantage of being a smoke-free alternative that does not depend on the weather, making it ideal for cold
THEY took five years to build and lorded it over the local landscape for more than three decades. But when the end came for Padiham power station's massive cooling towers, it was swift. It took less than seven seconds for the 300ft high twin giants to
THE Accrington and District Cricket League have hotly denied racist allegations after docking a team points last season for fielding an ineligible player - and then banned their captain indefinitely. Chairman Paul Gateson denied the claims made by A Division
QUEEN'S Park High's Centre of Excellence made its mark on this year's championships with five winners having all benefited from the top class set-up in recent years. And add the fact that four runners-up also trained at the Blackburn centre, and you soon
FROM East Lancashire's hot-spot for traffic calming controversy - Hyndburn - there now comes evidence that backs up the grudges of so many motorists' against it . . . that some of it is done so badly that roads are made more dangerous as a result. And
FENISCOWLES suffered their first defeat of the season against fellow 'exiles' Darwen Anchor in a real blood and thunder clash. Both sides, the only clubs in the area to play in the Bolton league, played the match at a frantic pace and produced some quality
IT is hard to know why Mr J Pilkington (Letters, February 7), should be so critical of the Government's decision to establish a Holocaust Memorial Day. After all, the Nazis' attempt to eliminate the Jewish race in Europe led to approximately six million
rescue package ERIC Whalley has come to the rescue of the Lancashire League by agreeing to sponsor the Worsley Cup this summer via his company EW Cartons. Mr Whalley's three-year sponsorship of the league has just been taken over by Transco. But chairman
PARTICIPATING in the schools' Valentine Day Musical Celebration in King George's Hall, Blackburn, was a joy for the 400 pupils and 500 family, teachers and others who were there. We had pupils from a dozen local primary, secondary and special schools
CRISIS Ribblesdale League outfit Whalley's future is in doubt unless a desperate search for new players is successful. That's the view of league representative Andy Pratt following a pre-season mini-exodus. Former pro and last season's skipper Mark Fallon
REGARDING your article 'Council workers low pay shock' (LET, February 8), in which Transport and General Workers' Union secretary Bill Morris called for a rise in the national minimum wage, the figures revealed by the TGWU showing the number of local
FOR almost three years, we have been led by a Prime Minister determined to join the single currency, thereby abolishing the pound, and have listened to his so-called reasons for doing so, but they simply do not hold water. He said that we would be cast
RESIDENTS who organised public meetings and protest marches in a bid to bring law and order to an East Lancashire town are celebrating a victory for people power today after the Government gave the go-ahead for a £1million scheme. Neighbours in Padiham
PLANS went on show today for three major developments in Burnley, and Burnley Council wants to hear people's views. Artists' impressions of the new multi-million pound bus station are on display in the foyer of the Council's planning office, in Parker
A YOUNG motorcycle rider has lost a leg after an accident involving three vehicles. Lee Entwistle, 27, of Oakwood Road, Accrington, was travelling along the A65 Skipton to Otley Road on the way to Draughton in Yorkshire when the crash occurred. A Range
ENGINE giant Rolls-Royce plc has won a £50million order. The firm is to supply Trent 700 engines to power three additional Airbus Industrie A330 aircraft for Hong Kong-based Dragonair. The firm's Barnoldswick site manufactures wide chord fan blades for
A TAKEOVER deal that will bring more work to a Burnley factory has been completed. McLeod Russel Holdings - parent firm of Farrington Road based Interfilta - announced it was buying Vokes Filtration in a £8million deal earlier this month. The deal has
WORLD Superbike champion Carl Fogarty today threatened to quit racing over a legal wrangle with his uncle. Blackburn's race ace is fighting a complicated battle to prevent his uncle, Brian Fogarty, from selling merchandise on the back of his name. And
