I'M surprised at Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans' statement after the Selby disaster that the railway companies should redouble their efforts to make the train network safe (LET, March 1). Just what does he think they are doing? Did he not read about the
AFTER this month's council meeting, the people of Blackburn and Darwen will have to face an above-inflation rise in council tax and, if they live in a council house, a rent rise. Defending these rises, executive member for finance Councillor Gail Barton
A QUICK-thinking passer-by raised the alarm as flames from burning bins threatened to spread to a nursery. Arsonists have been blamed for setting light to a bin compound in the grounds of the Gloucester Street Day Nursery in Gloucester Street, Atherton
IT is rare for Councillor Warren Lishman to utter a word on any issue affecting his ward or his town, so what provoked him to such ire that he put pen to paper? (Letters, March 9). It was that the unfortunate councillor could not find a parking space.
A QUICK-THINKING barmaid and a 999 operator from Leigh were honoured for bravery today after helping save the life of a suicidal customer. Elizabeth King, assistant manager of Ye Olde Man and Scythe pub in Churchgate, Bolton, kept a cool head after discovering
JUBILANT Rovers boss Graeme Souness today threw down the gauntlet to strike-duo Matt Jansen and Marcus Bent and said: 'Go out and score me the goals to get us back in the Premiership.' Souness celebrated his first anniversary in the Ewood hotseat with
THE racing world may have been pulled up short because of the foot and mouth outbreak but that did not stop members of Burnley Lions Club going to the races to raise money for charity. About 65 turned up for an "early spring meeting" race night at the
THE first in a series of dawn drugs raids on houses in Burnley was launched today. Officers smashed down the front door of a house in Stroyan Street at 7am. Police seized what they described as drugs paraphernalia and an offensive weapon, an axe. They
POLITICIANS and presenters had better look out because teenage "MP" Charlotte O'Horo has big ambitions. She's only 5ft 4ins and aged 15 but she knows her own mind and has bags of confidence to get up and shout for what the youth of today wants. As she
A COUNCIL boss in Pendle has hit back at claims that its council tax department had been harrassing a member of the public. Brian Jackson, a leading campaigner for environmental issues across East Lancashire, accused Pendle Borough Council of harassment
EVER wondered the hidden meaning of your favourite pop idol's name? Now you can take a gander at www.music365.com. Traditional cockney rhyming slang has a hip new rival. The redefinition of pub and club talk has bang-up-to date meanings for you to rhyme
IF you like to voice your opinion, then you can with online readers' letters on: www.thisislancashire. You can e-mail your views direct from the site while checking out other views on what is happening in and around the area. The page is updated every
ON-SONG Clarets front man John Mullin is planning to take out his frustration on Sheffield Wednesday after forcing his way back into the Burnley line-up. Mullin started only his tenth game of the campaign when helping the Clarets to victory at Watford
GRAEME Souness will whisk his players away to Dubai next week for a well-earned break ahead of a hectic month which is likely to make or break Rovers' season. Due to international fixtures, Rovers' game against Grimsby next Saturday has now been postponed
JUBILANT Rovers boss Graeme Souness today threw down the gauntlet to strike-duo Matt Jansen and Marcus Bent and said: 'Go out and score me the goals to get us back in the Premiership.' Souness celebrated his first anniversary in the Ewood hotseat with
BLACKBURN property surveyor Martin Kerry has joined Connel Survey and Valuation, to increase its presence in Lancashire. Martin has been a surveyor in the Blackburn area for almost 15 years and ran his own business for eight years in the town.
INTERNATIONALLY-renowned business adviser Professor Amin Rajan, will be passing on his knowledge to East Lancashire company bosses. He will tell them how to expand their vision and business potential at a seminar at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel, Clayton-le-Moors
BLACKBURN-based Pierce Chartered Accountants has won a prestigious national award for its work with small to medium-sized companies. It has been named Accounting Firm of the Year by the Added Value Network, a national association of independent accountants
WALSALL will not be charged by the Football Association over an incident where Bury keeper Paddy Kenny was struck with two coins writes Steven Canavan. Kenny was hit by the coins as he kept goal in front of a standing area full of Walsall fans during
Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson popped into Asda in Rawtenstall to digest the facts on a campaign to boost healthy eating for children. A recent government survey found that one in five four to 18-year-olds ate no fruit during the week of the
A PRE-SCHOOL group based at a Blackburn church has been given a glowing report by Ofsted inspectors. Feniscowles Pre-school provides a happy, secure, and productive environment for two to four year olds to learn, the inspectors found. They also found
BLACKBURN has been chosen as one of the first places in the country to get a radical new service to help people claiming benefit get back into work, the Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett revealed today. The purpose of the new-look Working
A FAMILY furniture store which has traded in Blackburn town centre for more than a century will close its doors this year, blaming the planned pedestrianisation of Church Street as "the final straw." Peter Howarth, owner of the specialist furniture shop
ROSSENDALE manager Jim McCluskie hasn't seen his side lose at home in the NWCL Division One since he took charge in September. And he's determined it won't happen tonight as his side prepare to play their third game in six days against Flixton -- and
Denis sees side boost survival bid GREAT Harwood gave their hopes of surviving the drop a great boost with a comfortable win over NWCL Division One promotion chasers Prescot. Manager Denis Underwood was delighted as his side clinched only their third
PRESTON 2 WOLVES 0 RICHARD Cresswell had no problems winning over the North End faithful despite rejecting them twice before. The striker, on loan until the end of the season at Deepdale, was on the pitch for just five minutes before he tricked his way
A 75-YEAR-OLD pensioner was left with a dislocated shoulder after being mugged by a 10-year-old boy, police revealed today. The elderly woman was attacked by the boy as he tried to steal her handbag. But the woman managed to keep hold of it even though
I WOULD like to put my view regarding the transport debate as it might do some good and jog the memories of the council. My suggestion is to bring back the trams from Blackburn to Darwen, then folk could leave their cars, making town free of traffic and
I am trying to trace Mary Shearon, who was born on May 1, 1913, at 23 Moor Street, Blackburn. Her mother was Martha Shearon, formerly Marsden. They later moved to 11 Briar Road, Blackburn. In 1930-31, Mary disappeared aged 18 years. Any help would be
RECENTLY, I had the privilege of showing a party of Dutch visitors the sites of historical interest in Blackburn. The second place we were to look at on our tour was to have been the Blackburn Curriculum Centre. It was a building made up of two parts.
A MAJOR environmental clean-up has been launched after 10,000 litres of oil spilled from a school and got into a tributary of the River Calder. Environment Agency protection officers were alerted and firefighters in Burnley also had to be called to deal
HEALTH watchdogs today called for a re-think over the controversial MMR jab after it was revealed that hundreds of children are not being protected against highly contagious diseases. Latest figures show only 82 per cent of tots in Blackburn, Hyndburn
GRAEME Souness will whisk his players away to Dubai next week for a well-earned break ahead of a hectic month which is likely to make or break Rovers' season. Due to international fixtures, Rovers' game against Grimsby next Saturday has now been postponed
Friedel Curtis, Berg, Short, Bjornebye Gillespie, Dunn, Flitcroft, Duff Jansen, Bent Subs: Mahon (for Bent, 74) Not used: Berkovic, Hignett, Taylor, Kelly (gk) Birmingham (4-4-2) Bennett Atherton, Purse, Johnson M, Grainger McCarthy, Hughes, Woodhouse
BIRMINGHAM boss Trevor Francis was forced to admit his team were beaten by a better side last night as Rovers' 2-0 victory turned up the heat in the race for automatic promotion. Goals from Marcus Bent and Damien Duff -- either side of half-time -- brought
FRIEDEL: A commanding performance from the big American. His all-round handling was excellent...8 CURTIS: Another tenacious display and he wasn't afraid to get forward whenever possible...8 *BERG: Awesome at the heart of the defence as the Blues tried
BIRMINGHAM CITY 0 ROVERS 2 Bent 41, Duff 52 NEWCASTLE chief Bobby Robson could be ready to launch a new bid for Damien Duff after the Irish wing-wizard took Rovers a step nearer the Premiership. The former England boss is believed to have sent spies to
A SPECIALIST sports shoe firm is on its last legs because of the devastating knock-on effect of foot and mouth disease. David Comer, boss of the Burnley-based Fell Dancer shoe company says he has seen his entire order book wiped out since the crisis broke
SMOKERS trying to give up the dreaded weed got a little extra help in their bid -- from a hypnotist. A group of smokers turned to hypnotherapy to try and quit and turned up at a pub to all be put under the spell together. Among them was Neil Kenyon 30
THE body of accident victim Mohammed Younis is to be flown Pakistan for burial. Mr Younis, 59, was knocked down in Brierfield on Sunday by a Toyota Corolla car which was being followed by a police traffic car. At an inquest opening in Burnley yesterday
IRANIAN asylum seeker Saeid Alaei told friends he was a sinner before hanging himself at his home, an inquest heard. The hearing was told that Mr Alaei, 26, had fallen out with friends and appeared to be emotionally upset after possibly witnessing drug
POLICE in Colne have issued a warning for residents to be more vigilant following a recent spate of burglaries and car crimes in the town. Eight burglaries and thefts have been reported in just three days this week with the majority committed because
STUDENTS at Accrington and Rossendale College were devastated by the theft of £600 raised during Rag Week. The cash was taken from a padlocked cupboard in the common room on the Sandy Lane site.
COUNCILLORS at Blackburn were celebrating after Environment Secretary John Gummer confirmed the town had won its bid for unitary status after two years of consultation, but county council leader Louise Ellman pledged to keep fighting the breakaway.
A YOUTH leader today urged residents to deploy a new weapon in their crusade against troublemakers -- respect and responsibility. Barry Emmett, Lancashire County Council's chief officer for youth and community services in Hyndburn, spoke out at a meeting
ANGRY residents in a Hyndburn town have voted to axe their traditional Christmas tree -- because it attracts too many drunken teenagers. Local people attending a meeting of Rishton Area Council took the decision to lose the traditional 25ft tree in favour
YOUNGSTERS found roaming around Accrington were today due to be pulled off the streets and placed back in class as police get tough on truancy. Flanked by staff by Lancashire County Council's education department, police were out to tackle youngsters
A TINY hamlet on the outskirts of the Ribble Valley has been awarded funding for improvement work to its village green. Horton-in-Craven, near Gisburn, is run by a parish meeting, rather than a parish council and, therefore, has no authority to set precepts
A GREAT fun site is always a favourite with me. I love anything by Purple Ronnie, the wacky greeting card designer. That is why I found myself giggling at the Vimto web site that was full of silly pictures that were animated to make even the most miserable
AS we are all well aware, it's time for Comic Relief to hit our screens yet again. The greatly publicised celebrity Big Brother has already taken over our TV screens, but Friday is the really big one. There's a web site which isn't just useful, it's as
A MULTI-MILLION pound health centre which could include an operating theatre is planned for Radcliffe. New proposals being considered by health bosses could result in a state-of-the-art complex being built to give people better access to a wide-range
ON-SONG Clarets front man John Mullin is planning to take out his frustration on Sheffield Wednesday after forcing his way back into the Burnley line-up. Mullin started only his tenth game of the campaign when helping the Clarets to victory at Watford
LAMBERT Howarth, the former Burnley-based footwear company, has announced a fall in profits, following difficult trading conditions on the high street. The company, which closed down manufacturing in East Lancashire in the late 1990s with the loss of
POLICE today intensified their search for missing pensioner Jack Hawthornthwaite after searches of all his favourite places proved unsuccessful. But police said the foot and mouth outbreak was hampering the search for Jack, 70, who walked out of Highfield
POLICE are investigating a spate of heating system thefts. In the latest burglary a boiler was taken from an empty house in Bright Street, Darwen. It was only noticed when the owner visited the house for the first time in a month last week. The boiler
A SCULPTURE symbolising the modern slavery of Third World debt will be unveiled at Blackburn Cathedral tomorrow. Currently on tour round the country "The Jubilee Figure" is constructed out of 4,000 separate chain links welded together to create a human
DREAMS of bringing a multiplex cinema and leisure complex to the outskirts of Blackburn have been dealt a final blow. Planning officers at Hyndburn Council have revealed that the owners of a 35-hectare site owned by the Dunkenhalgh Trust, next to the
I THINK it was Robert De Niro in Angel Heart (or it could have been Ken Barlow in Corrie) that said 'It's always the bad apple that makes the girl's heart beat faster.' And, before you start asking 'What planet is this Garner fellow on?' I do have a point
DAVE Burgess has proved the doubters wrong! After eight months in the Shawbridge hot-seat Burgess has taken his Blues side to the FA Vase semi-final and to second place in North West Counties League Division One. And even if they lose the semi and miss
