CHRIS Tague is sleeping behind bars tonight in a prison cell of his own making. He has built an amazing giant steel cage in his front room and locked himself inside in a bid to avoid being forced out of the home he owns. Now he intends to live in the
A BLACKPOOL favourite is set to return to the resort in the form of top comic Michael Barrymore. The star of My Kind of People will perform at the Opera House for a week in April, much to the joy of local fans. When Barrymore was last at the venue, it
STAFF at law firm Walker Hargreaves with Whittaker Phillips are celebrating after achieving a national standard. The Blackburn practice of solicitors and notaries is the first in the town to receive the Investors in People recognition for staff training
STAFF at a DIY store did it themselves for charity! The 21-strong workforce at Do-it-All, Whitebirk, Blackburn, have now won an award for their efforts in helping local community groups. Throughout the year they have raised funds for several local charities
BLACKPOOL residents have won a seven-year fight to slow down heavy traffic on a road they describe as a death trap. Speed limits on Garstang Road West and Poulton Road are to be reduced from 40mph to 30mph ... much to the delight of local campaigners.
A MANAGEMENT and employee buy-out bid has been launched for part of British Coal Enterprise - also believed to be a target for Lancashire Enterprises plc. The announcement of an in-house bid for the business funding arm of BCE comes just 10 days before
HEART transplant success story Mick Kenlock can think of no better way to celebrate his life-saving operation than being the guest lead guitarist at a local social club. Mick, 50, of Roman Road, Darwen, takes to the stage with the resident band at the
AN Atherton mum's poem is being used to warn schoolchildren not to 'dabble with death'. Drugs awareness is part of the national curriculum in schools. And Jane Woods' verses about the misery drugs like Ecstasy can cause is being used as a focus for discussion
ANDY Longman, manager of Wall Street, in Preston, has an incentive to make him sell drinks. He has just won his second holiday, this time to New Orleans, for smashing his sales target. He sold 2,771 cases of Budweiser and Fosters Ice in 13 weeks - 730
BUDDING young actors from across the North West invaded the Charter Theatre last week - all eager to take a role as one of the 101 dalmatians. Vannessa Ford's touring play will stop at the Charter Theatre, Preston for a week on March 4 - the only venue
COMEBACK kid Gary Parkinson appears certain to reclaim the Clarets number two shirt for Saturday's testing clash against Bristol Rovers at Turf Moor. Parkinson is fighting fit again following a full 90-minute work out in the A team game at Everton on
SINGLE minded soccer men held a crisis meeting to determine the future of their fire-ravaged club. On Wednesday, heartbroken officials of Howe Bridge-based Pennington Football Club considered rebuilding their blitzed clubhouse or flattening it and starting
A BUNCH of teenage yobs are making life hell for residents of a Westleigh street. Now neighbours in Browning Street are calling on police to step-up patrols in unmarked cars to catch the teenagers in the act of destroying property and cars. According
A NEW Home Service scheme by Calor Gas will be keeping the housebound warm this winter. Elderly people will be able to avoid braving the bitter winter winds as Calor Gas now delivers new gas cylinders directly to their door and fit them for no extra charge
Southport 3 Preston Grasshoppers 14 HOPPERS struggled for long periods before edging their way to a quarter-final tie at Widnes on February 4. The match was played in an icy wind and with plenty of mistakes - never pretty to watch. Southport gained the
POLICE made the horrific discovery of a man's dismembered body at a block of flats late on Tuesday night. At the time of the Citizen going to press (Wednesday night), detectives were still questioning a 19-year-old woman about the death of Stephen Clarke
PRESTON College students can talk to their colleagues across the globe by video link-up thanks to a cash boost from British Telecom. BT has given the college's sport, leisure and tourism department £23,000 to set up hi-tec video conferencing and multi-media
LEYLAND police are urging people to keep their back doors locked even when they are at home, after a spate of sneak thefts. Gold spectacles, a cheque book, speed bank cards and a Marks and Spencers tartan purse were stolen from a house on Westgate on
EAT your hearts out Tarantino and Scorcese - a community group is about to make a film with your brand of realism. Blackburn's Roman Road Association have been handed £1,000 to produce a video about young people on their estate. And they promise it will
Bamber Bridge 0 Leek 0 LEEK should have won this encounter at Irongate ... and Bridge lucky to get a single point. In the early stages attacking moves came from Leek and with only 15 minutes gone, Diskin headed over from close range. Bridge keeper, Steve
MORE than 4,000 residents in Leyland are cashing in on a new discount card. Thanks to the New Progress Housing Association and a helping hand from local traders, residents can now reduce their the shopping bill on items in home decor shops, dry cleaners
CRICKETING boundaries in Bury have been widened thanks to a new cash sponsorship deal. Fourways Foods, which has supermarkets in Holcombe Brook and Unsworth, have come forward with financial support which - tied in with the Government's Business Incentive
MOST people would say Edwin Chester is one of the luckiest men alive. Last week the 56-year-old retired bricklayer from Penwortham, Preston, scooped £165,765 on the National Lottery - just three years ago he netted £27,000 on the Pools! But he doesn't
AN UNUSUAL tree is causing quite a stir in a Blackburn business park. The tree made of metal and designed by Hampshire artist Peter Parkinson, was "planted" off Greenbank Road by Blackburn Council. The £1,200 construction, with steel panel leaves, is
A THREE-day battle costing thousands of pounds to rescue a cat stuck down a sewer ended with tears of joy when seven-year-old Katie Irwin was reunited with her pet. The feline adventurer became lodged in a maze of disused underground sewage pipes on Wednesday
THIEVES went on a wreckage spree with a fork lift truck and caused £70,000 worth of damage . . . for just a tenner! Bewildered staff discovered the trail of destruction at an engineering firm when they returned to work on Monday morning. Factory manager
WE HEAR so much these days about how reasonable and electable new Labour is under Tony Blair. However, in reality it is all just a charade to fool the electorate. The majority of Labour MPs are just as Left-wing as they used to be, but it is hidden from
EMERGENCY services are being delayed by narrow roads on Brookfield estate, claim residents. They say parked cars are stopping ambulances, fire engines and buses gaining access to the estate. Only this week fire fighters called to Garsdale Road were prevented
PRESTON get back to Deepdale on Saturday for a showdown with Bury that must produce three points for PNE - and a morale-boosting performance in front of goal. Last season's encounter saw North End smash five past a hapless Bury outfit. This time round
AN AMBITIOUS £2 million redevelopment programme has finally begun on a long-standing town centre eyesore. And materials used in the reconstruction of Blackburn's railway and bus stations are intended to make the area vandal-proof such as toughened glass
LOSTOCK Hall High School could soon be opting out of education authority control if parents vote for the school to go grant maintained. They have until January 29 to decide the future of the school. But getting though all the information has proved a
THE famous blue and white halves of Blackburn Rovers could soon be heading for glory in another sporting field - the world of National Hunt racing! Old Money, an ex-Irish gelding owned by a small syndicate of regulars in Uncle Jack's pub-restaurant in
A disgraced solicitor whose "worldwide" £13 million swindle was said by a judge to be partly responsible for hundreds of former Belling cooker company workers losing their jobs, was jailed for nine years today. Charles Deacon, 53, former under Sheriff
Bury 0 - Northampton 1 ONE moment of madness cost Bury the valuable three points last Saturday against close promotion contenders Northampton town, writes Dany Robson. A sloppy back pass by Ian Hughes was latched onto by eleven- goal striker, Jason White
TRADERS in Nelson town centre are the target of a council crackdown on unsightly security shutters. Four shops in pedestrianised Market Street look set to be refused planning permission for unauthorised shutters that do not meet the council's rules. All
CAUTIOUS community leaders were urging East Lancashire Muslims to act with restraint during the Gulf conflict. Religious leaders in mosques throughout the county were asking followers not to do or say anything which might cause tension in the area. Racial
MIKE Watkinson today reflected on England's sorry tour of South Africa knowing he was just a whisker away from World Cup selection. The Lancashire skipper was forced to kick his heels for much of the South African tour. His international chances were
RIBBLE Valley Conservative MP Nigel Evans has made me feel incredibly ashamed of myself. Prior to this, I had always considered him to be quite intelligent, if a little misguided in his political beliefs. However, he has now proven himself to be truly
IN PROPOSING a new elected forum in Northern Ireland, John Major may have steered the bogged-down peace process down a propitious new path. On the other hand he may have driven into a dark cul-de-sac. It is too early to judge. But what is certain is that
BLACKBURN Council is celebrating scooping four contracts to safeguard around 220 jobs. The housing section and operations department have both won contracts against tough outside competition under compulsory competitive tendering laws. In its first venture
SOCCER-MAD Christopher Thomason is a dedicated youngster. And in the past 12 months he has worked hard to become one of the most successful cub scouts in the North West. That has earned him the prize of a lifetime. The nine-year-old led out his favourite
IT'S all hands on deck as Leigh step up a gear for Sunday's Challenge Cup tie at Hull KR. Around 250 fans will be travelling to the match - for FREE. Another six fans have weighed in with cash to give players an overnight stay on Humberside in preparation
SIXTEEN female patients and 13 new-born babies had to be evacuated from two of Whiston Hospital's maternity wards on Sunday evening after a suspected fumes leak. Earlier, staff had complained of sore throats and stinging eyes and when a patient reported
POLICE are seeking a man who attacked a bus driver with a knife before snatching takings amounting to £12. The attack took place on the No. 248 service - which takes a circular route from Huyton through Whiston and Prescot and back - between 7.50 and
A FRANTIC couple today appealed for their schoolgirl daughter and the friend who lives with them to return home. Fiona Bland and Tracey McGlynn, both 15, were last seen taking a bus into Blackburn town centre on Monday morning wearing their Queen's Park
DENTISTS in East Lancashire could receive the ultimate kick in the teeth from further Government proposals, it was claimed today. Practitioners have expressed strong fears that Whitehall is planning to further limit the availability of NHS dental treatment
THERE is one thing in life guaranteed to get up my nose - someone, anyone, giving the world the benefit of their profound opinion on a subject, any subject, about which they can have absolutely no knowledge whatever. None. Zilch. Nothing. Zero. We too
CASH cuts in the forestry industry could hit Ribble Valley woodland beauty spots, it is claimed. The Country Landowners Association is worried that a large fall in employment in private forestry estates all over the country will lead to a winding down
ALTHOUGH American John Rockett is a fan of British food, he'll be diving into some good old US fare during Superbowl weekend. So it's out with the Lancashire hotpot and black pudding for John - who originally hails from near Boston, Massachusetts - and
YOUNGSTERS with Pendle Youth Orchestra now have an international accompanist to help them rehearse. Oxana Wilde came to live in the area from Russia - with love. Aged 25, she left behind a flourishing musical career to marry Michael Wilde and make her
A LANCASHIRE Evening Telegraph investigation into The Hash House Harriers has unmasked one of the biggest fishes in the organisation. We can reveal that Capt Rabbi Haddock has been doing The Hash Run under an assumed name. We tracked down this slippery
A PLAN to protect Towneley Park's status as the jewel in Burnley's crown goes before councillors tonight (Thursday). Burnley council wants to safeguard the park's future by bringing in a set of guidelines to prevent unsightly developments and ease traffic
DAVID Batty's future seems certain to be sorted out, one way or another, before Blackburn Rovers return to Premiership action. Neither the club, nor player, are talking openly about the situation which developed on the eve of last Saturday's win over
Emley 3 Morecambe 1 UNIBOND Premier Division side Emley dumped under par Morecambe out of the FA Trophy on Tuesday night. Two first half goals left Morecambe a mountain they couldn't climb and it's now Emley who go on to meet either Gateshead or Kidderminster
DELIGHTED councillor Eddie Collett will not have to use his sledgehammer after all! Last July ,we reported how Eddie was prepared to take a sledgehammer to the derelict Coliseum coach station on the corner of Lytham Road and Tyldsley Road if it helped
MUSIC-making in the Fylde is reaching new heights thanks to Blackpool mayor's charity, Overture. The scheme will provide musical instruments for schoolchildren whose parents cannot afford to buy their own and many concerts have been arranged to raise
THE most complete joy of a mother is being able to hold her new baby ... but for Shirley Brown it has been sheer agony. Even the simple task of changing a nappy caused her to cry out in pain - and keeping up with the growing infant is proving difficult
PLAYWRIGHT Mel Shepherd is on a mission...he wants to merge art with sport. His dream is a four-day Summer Festival, bringing together theatre, rock music, brass bands, poetry and an arts workshop. And it will be centred on Leigh Rugby League Club's Hilton
A YOUTH alleged to be on the run from a young offenders' institution has been remanded in custody following an incident in which an Atherton licensee was badly injured. Jamie Lee Benson, 19, of Freshfield Avenue, Atherton was in Leigh Court with Michael
BUS giant Stagecoach has been given the green light to buy half of Burnley and Pendle Transport after a stormy four-hour marathon debate. But the move was slammed by Councillor Kath Reade, leader of Burnley Council, who blasted Pendle Liberals as irresponsible
CHAINSAW death victim Stephen Clarke's home was burgled while his grieving widow was talking to police investigating the killing, it was revealed today. And the dead man's wife, who has been left to look after his three-month-old son, claims callous thieves
AN ANONYMOUS message attached to a knife handed in during a nationwide month-long knife amnesty struck a poignant note with police officers. The note from a pensioner was tied to a large knife in the collection bin at Accrington Police Station. Addressed
TINY Elinor Susan Prescott is a proper Scouser - and her Lowton parents are as pleased as punch! And Steven and Janet Prescott are overjoyed that she won't be "a pie eater with Wigan on her birth certificate!" The Hollybush Square residents are this week
MEMBERS of Culcheth and Glazebury Action Group are gearing themselves up for the fight of their lives as a Public Inquiry opened this week to discuss the future of the villages. The Inquiry, which is expected to last until July, will discuss the Warrington
A 43-YEAR-OLD man was blown of his motorbike by high winds as he crossed the Guild Way, Preston town centre, fly-over. Peter Addison, of Fell View, Grimsargh, was driving his Honda 125 over the Ribble towards Penwortham at 5.05am on Tuesday when his bike
WHEN instructor Nick Smart gave a martial arts lesson at Preston's Age Concern Centre, he found the spectators were just as keen as the students. Nick was teaching a class of young students the ancient art of Wingtchun at the centre in Lancaster Road,
COUNCIL tax payers in Preston should be in for a reduction of around £4.50 to this year's bills - bringing the average Band D tax down to £144.85. The move comes after the council managed to collect more from tax payers than expected last year. Its success
LANCASHIRE Police collected more than 1,000 dangerous knives from the public in a month-long amnesty in a bid to wipe out street violence. The weapons were anonymously delivered to police stations across the county and included 51 machetes, 34 bayonets
A PRESTON man whose grandmother died of Parkinson's Disease and who's mother is battling the illness is running the London Marathon to raise money for research into the disease. Adrian Webb, 27, of Todd Lane North, Lostock Hall, Preston, is the first
IT started out as just a goodwill visit to a local primary school, but then the Mayor of Bury, Councillor Neville Singer, found himself the victim of a cunning kidnap gang! They seized him from Holcombe Brook Primary School and incarcerated him in the
ALAN Shearer was rewarded for his outstanding contribution to the Premiership prior to the Saturday January 20 clash against Sheffield Wednesday. And less than 30 minutes into the game he proved how invaluable he is to Rovers when he notched goal number
I am the Honorary President and founder of Pennington Football Club. The club was started in 1970 and, in the early Eighties, after much voluntary effort by members we were able to open a clubhouse and provide excellent facilities for playing members,
KNIVES from Bury were among the 1,400 haul handed in during the amnesty that followed the murder of London headmaster Philip Lawrence, whose memorial service took place in Westminster Cathedral on Monday. The drive took potentially lethal weapons out
IT was the operation that touched the heart of the Penwortham community - the search for Snowball the kitten. Clockwise from top: FRIDAY morning: Council engineers, workers from the drainage department, the fire brigade, and camera crew from the General
CONDEMNATION of Bury Council's cuts consultation programme has come from Liberal Democrat councillors who as a group have slammed it as "a sham and a Labour PR exercise." They say also that the published list of possible cuts is Labour's list of options
A SLEEPY Preston village is going bananas about bunching together for a business venture - a fruit and vegetable co-operative. Clayton Brook residents sowed the seeds last year - gathering support and planning strategies - and it mushroomed from there
HUNDREDS of new jobs are on the cards with the news that developers Seddon Waterfold plan to build a major packaging and distribution warehouse. The 32-acre site is at Waterfold, Heap Bridge, on the border between Bury and Rochdale and adjacent to Junction
GOT A SPARE FIVER? Then slap it on King Kenny for the England job! But you'll have to hurry to grab the 7-1 on offer in midweek. Dalglish, Rovers' Director of Football, was out with the washing at 100-1 for the national manager's job only a couple of
Lincoln City 0 PNE 0 NORTH End lost two priceless points on Saturday as John Beck's boys made life difficult for Gary Peters' promotion-chasers. While Gillingham and Chester were losing ground, Preston had the ideal opportunity to snatch back three points
IT'S the big game for Bury this Saturday when they travel to Preston North End for a derby promotion battle. Bury's games at Deepdale have always been entertaining encounters over the past few seasons - even if the results have not always gone Bury's
WARRIORS under-8s were beaten 46-36 at Ince St Williams in a close end-to-end game of rugby. Austin Christy played well in his first match. Tries were by William Key, Daniel Armstrong and Chris Tuson. Conversions were scored by Ben Balch, William Key,
EVENTS that will put Bury 'Streets Ahead' are likely to be seen on May 6 when organisers expect thousands of people will be drawn to the town. Working together on this major promotion are Bury Chamber of trade, the local authority, and The Met Arts Centre
FROM April this year charges for Bury's all-embracing leisure services could rise by more than the standard inflation figure of three per cent in a bid to help the Borough reach its £4.8 million cuts programme. In a report to the Leisure Services Committee
TEACHERS today blasted a peace formula as a "sell-out" and betrayal which guaranteed that disruption would continue to hit schools. Lancashire press officer for the National Union of Teachers pledged the fight would go on and the NUT would try to block
I WOULD have thought that one of the most insensitive comments any adult person could make is one that threatens the elderly, but clearly from his recent press release about the Government-imposed £4.8 million cuts it seems John Byrne, the Leader of Bury
THANK you, Rev Kevin Logan (Letters, January 18) - I can continue to believe that Satan is not as lenient as our earthly judges. So many evil people get away with little or no punishment in this life. At least, let us hope that one day they will burn
IN REPLY to his criticism of the libraries in Blackburn I am disgusted by the comments of J R Uttley regarding how the staff dress, and their holidays at Christmas (Letters, January 8). Everyone is entitled to bank holidays and how the staff dress is
CLITHEROE Cricket Club has re-signed Jonathon Fielding as professional for the 1996 Ribblesdale League senior league campaign which will begin with a trip to runners-up Great Harwood. In his debut season at Chatburn Road last year, the former Lancashire
IN RESPONSE to the remarks by M Westhead ("Smashing Tree" - Letters, January 16), I think I speak for a lot of Darweners when I say that I agree wholeheartedly with everything said. But may I remind everyone that the Christmas tree was the second effort
THIS deceitful government pretends to offer us a choice in education between centres of excellence (grant-maintained) and underfunded sink schools for druggies, drop outs and drongos. Harriet Harman is just a sensible mum doing the best she can for her
THE pay-off to sacked Burnley Health Trust boss Maggie Aikman is costing 31 vital hospital beds at Rossendale General, it was claimed in the Commons last night. Labour MP Janet Anderson blamed the amazing bust-up between Mrs Aikman and then Trust chairman
JASON Wilcox believes he is only a couple of games away from being ready to challenge for a return to Premiership action with Blackburn Rovers. The left winger completed another 90 minutes with the reserve team last night and gave the thumbs up. "I felt
A FATHER-and-son have been banned from being company directors for seven years after their building firm was wound up owing more than £400,000. Blackburn County Court banned George Pearce, of Pleasington, and his son, Francis Damian, after hearing of
THE mother of murder victim Helen McCourt will make an emotional plea to the man convicted of killing Helen when she appears on a popular daytime TV programme today (Thursday, January 25). Next month sees the eighth anniversary of 22-year-old Helen's
A MAN whose wife died from cancer because hospital staff failed to diagnose and treat her early enough, has been awarded agreed damages of £80,000 by St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority. But Mr John Menarry said that no amount of cash could make up
DOCTORS were today fighting to save the sight of a lorry driver's eye. Gary Postle, 38, of Arthur Street, Clayton-le-Moors, is "critical but stable" in Manchester's Hope Hospital with head and chest injuries, broken ribs and badly cut arm and leg. He
BREWERY bosses who axed Matthew Brown will come under bitter attack tomorrow for repeating the same "callous asset stripping" in Nottingham and Halifax. Labour MP John Heppell will claim that the latest closures are a re-run of the broken promises and
A TOURING 'health check' bus has steered almost 1,500 members of the public on the road to better health in Hyndburn. "It may well have saved quite a few lives," Councillor Bill Pinder told Hyndurn environmental health committee. The mobile health exhibition
INSPECTORS who visited Fairfield County Primary School in Bury awarded it top marks for progress. They found high standards across the board in leadership and stability in the face of staff changes, including the recent departure of the head and deputy
CHANGES in the Bury's nursery school admission policy are to be updated - but education chiefs say they will still ensure that the needs of youngsters are met. Bury Metro's education committee chairman Paul Ainscough explained that in making the changes
PRESTON-based Eric Wright Construction has been awarded a contract in excess of £ million by Milliken Industrials Limited to provide approximately 18,215 sq. ft. of new warehouse accommodation at their Wellington Plant in Bury. The project follows a previous
SAINTS' new coach Shaun McRae jetted into Knowsley Road on Wednesday from Australia, described the job as daunting - but a fresh challenge to relish! Sydney-born, 36-year-old highly-articulate Shaun told a packed press conference: 'I was flattered when
Saints Chief David Howes talks to Denis Whittle on the departure of coach Eric Hughes. THE departure of Saints coach Eric Hughes and the arrival of his successor Shaun McRae brought many unanswered questions. I found myself bombarded with queries from
IN REGARD to Ribble Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans' remarks about Emma Nicholson's defection to the Lib-Dems, as the saying goes, he would say that, wouldn't he? Emma Nicholson was a Tory with a humane and understanding outlook. Her help for the Marsh Arabs
TEDDY bears are flocking to the Fylde en-route to Bosnia thanks to the work of a St Annes man. Geoffrey Keyte, 48, has become the UK co-ordinator for To Bosnia With Love, a scheme to collect teddy bears to send to the war-torn country with the aim of
A CLASSY chassis is the icing on any wedding cake. And Gerard Pilkington has a star-spangled set of wheels to get the bride to the church on time. His latest - and longest - acquisition is a stretched Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine. The white limo, favoured
GRIEVING friends came together to say a final goodbye to a lady whose family could not attend her funeral because they live abroad. Popular Dora Hargreaves died last week at the Fir Grove home for the elderly, Todmorden Road, Burnley, aged 85. Her only
IS the truth out there? This question and others will be addressed at the North Lancashire UFO Investigation Group's Planetary Connections Conference next month. A series of talks on subjects including time travel, crop circles and living with extraterrestrials
TURF MOOR will pay its respects to former manager Harry Potts on Saturday. A minute's silence will be observed before the start of the game, and players will be wearing black armbands, as Burnley remembers the man who brought footballing glory to the
HOW often do we read newspaper stories with people asking thieves to return stolen property which has purely sentimental value with no questions asked? When we open those papers the next day or the next week it is very rare that a follow-up story appears
A £5.7 million deal is being dangled in the battle for the sale of Burnley and Pendle's buses. Pendle council, in the form of the controlling Liberal group, says it will sell its half share in the company to bus operators Stagecoach for £2 million. The
Lancaster City 2 Harrogate Town 1 LANCASTER extended their lead at the top of the Unibond First Division to six points after a bizarre game at Giant Axe on Saturday. City eventually went on to record their fifth consecutive league victory but they had
So what is happening this week to take our breath away? Well for starters there's our wonderful Royal Family adding yet another ludicrous passage to the book that will one day surely be titled This is Your Strife. The Duchess of York it appears, is broke
MORE knives were turned over to police in Lancaster than to any other division in the county during an amnesty which ended this week. A staggering 156 weapons, ranging from penknives to machetes, were dumped in Lancaster's four collection bins, compared
