WITH all the problems that confront our local members of Parliament, i.e. housing, health, law and order, pensions, to mention but a few, it must be gratifying for the people of Burnley that their elected representative Mr Peter Pike MP has solved all
I HAVE already answered the questions from Val Cowell of the UK Independence Party about the current appointed North West Regional Assembly yet he claims to be still confused. I suspect he hopes to spread the confusion to your readers while I intend this
CHILDREN were evacuated from a school in Tyldesley on Friday after high winds damaged a roof on the building. Fire crews were called to St George's Primary School, Darlington Street, at 10am when strips of aluminium cladding from the roof were spotted
RED-FACED Royal Mail bosses apologised today after wrongly telling 15 postal workers they were being made redundant. Many of the staff went straight home when they were told - before managers realised the embarrassing gaffe had been made. They had to
BOLTON, Salford and Trafford Mental Health NHS Trust -- which includes Prestwich Hospital -- has appointed a new member to the board. Professor Karen Luker has been appointed for a four-year term as the university nominated non-executive director to the
SOCCER mascot Chaddy Owl helped a Whitefield pensioner and his grandson celebrate their birthdays on the same day. For a little birdie told Chaddy, alias Kevin Williams, that both were holding a joint party to mark William Wright's 81st birthday and Callum
LANCASHIRE'S first Volunteer Police Cadets will begin their training later this month. The 28 recruits, all aged 16 to 19, will be welcomed into the police family at their inaugural meeting on March 23 at Baxi Potterton, Wyre Street, Padiham. The youths
A FORMER British National Party councillor has become the only person in Burnley to be banned by law from a town centre pub. Gas engineer Luke Smith, 22, faces jail if he goes into Yates Wine Lodge in the next nine months. He was made subject of a rarely-used
THERE are no immediate plans to appoint a new chairman of Bury Football Club. Since the departure of Albert Doweck in December the six-man board have been operating without a figurehead and that situation will continue for the foreseeable future. Director
A NELSON schoolgirl has made a real splash for charity by raising the most money in a national sponsored swimming event. Sammy-Jo Woolfenden, 10, raised £1,392 for spinal cord injury charity Aspire by swimming the distance of the channel at Pendle Wavelengths
POLICE have issued householders with a set of warnings after a spate of crime in Oswaldtwistle. The incidents, which have been happening over the last two weeks, have seen everything from damage to cars, garden statues stolen and daytime burglaries. Now
A BLACKBURN woman and her three-year-old daughter were turned out on the street in the early hours of the morning at the end of a 'domestic' spanning three days. Blackburn magistrates heard that Erica Delooze was thrown out half-naked by her partner Dougie
A GROUP of East Lancashire cement workers are in their final week of training for a 365-mile charity walk. Pete Fielding will be joined by colleagues from Castle Cement and its sister companies in Kent and North Wales for the fundraising trail, starting
AT LEAST a few building blocks for the future emerged from the rubble of the Coventry debacle. Celebrating City fans were probably non-plussed by the late substitution that brought Paul Scott into the fray. But the significance was not lost on a hardy
A DEMONSTRATION of landscape painting was given to Prestwich and Whitefield Probus Club on February 26 by Colin Reeve. A resident of Rochdale, Colin became a professional artist after redundancy from his previous occupation. Now semi-retired, he still
MOVING is going to be a leap in the dark for the Prestwich Co-op Camera Club. A move to new premises has not happened for nearly 30 years and nobody can predict how it is going to affect the future of the club. A lot of questions will be answered over
A WOMAN has been ordered to carry out a 200-hour community punishment order after stealing more than £11,000. Emma Louise Swales (25), of Leach Street, Prestwich, was sentenced on Wednesday in Bolton after admitting falsifying accounts and committing
TRAFFIC calming measures are set to be introduced to a Ramsbottom street after residents raised safety concerns. Bury Council is to carry out the work in Kay Brow and Railway Street in a bid to help cut accidents. The scheme will include: Give way carriageway
A MAN who attacked a Blackburn student in the street has been jailed for five years. Christopher Dickinson punched and kicked his victim to such an extent that when forced to hand over bank notes, they were soaked in blood, Preston Crown Court heard.
THE Government is set to give ferrets pet passports enabling East Lancashire owners to take their pets abroad or move them across European Union borders for breeding purposes. Already many cats and dogs have been given the special dispensation to avoid
A JUDGE sentencing a woman who intended to kill herself and her young daughter by jumping in to a canal has said she should be given sympathy not condemnation. Judge Peter Openshaw QC said Ruksana Hashim, 35, of Alexandra Road, Blackburn - who pleaded
CLASSIC World of Fitness member Karen Openshaw paid £249 for just one hour at the Bury gym. "It must be the most expensive gym session anyone has ever had," said an angry Karen, of Ridge Crescent, Whitefield. Karen (37) was one of hundreds of members
With the Rev. Kevin Logan, Vicar of Christ Church, Accrington MINORITIES? I love 'em. I'm one myself. There aren't many of us 6ft-ish vicars with balding patches who juggle and unicycle. A minority of one, I wouldn't be surprised. God took one look at
Yuey on lookout for new feline friend HE'S a lovely, long-haired black-and-white boy who's desperately on the look out for a new home. Three-year-old Yuey has been living at Moggies Cat Rescue, a charity in Darwen, since his owner moved to London. Yuey
IF killing a fox or a stag or a hare gives pleasure why not give up hunting and coursing and arrange 'meets' at abattoirs, you would be ecstatic. Oh, it's the 'chase.' So putting the fear of death into an animal gives you pleasure. Isn't that sadistic
REGARDING your recent coverage of the "Back Off Blackburn" campaign led by Emma Dickinson and her merry band of outraged semi-rural Mellor based green belt activists, and the subsequent comments in these pages of Mr Phil Riley (Secretary, Blackburn Labour
AN upholsterer who stopped at a young mother's home on Christmas Eve returned the next month to raid her children's Playstation 2. Michael McNulty, 20, had been a guest at the woman's home and knew the £180 games console belonged to her youngsters. He
THE controversial Circulation Club was set to reopen its doors in Burnley today - as its new owner vowed the fight was still on to win a public entertainment licence. The venue, once said to be the best club in town, has been closed for six years but
PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice has called on the government to bring back the Hunting Bill to ban the hunting of foxes, hares and other mammals with hounds. He asked Leader of the Commons Peter Hain for a date to bring back the controversial legislation to
A NEW centre for families with young children could be built on the site of a Colne town centre car park. Pendle Council's executive committee has agreed to lease the Walton Street car park, opposite St Bartholomew's Church, to SureStart Waterbridge for
A 10-YEAR-OLD girl wanted in connection with two arson attacks in Accrington has still not been found by police. The girl, who cannot be named due to her age, failed to turn up to a court hearing at Hyndburn Youth Court on Tuesday. A warrant without bail
POLICE today vowed to crack down on Accrington Stanley fans who park inconsiderately on match days following complaints from angry residents. Now supporters of the club face being greeted with fixed penalty notices when they return to their cars, police
CAMPAIGNING councillors opposed to the 'privatisation' of two key council buildings will take to the streets today to drum up support for their fight. Members of Hyndburn Council's opposition Labour group will be collecting signatures outside Accrington
AN ANTI-RACISM group set up to combat racist behaviour in Hyndburn has received the support of the Borough's football team. Accrington Stanley are the latest club to stand up and add their name to the growing number of organisations supporting Hyndburn
AN EXCITING new college project has been launched in the idyllic setting of Dam House at Astley aimed at benefiting employers, staff and the local economy. On Friday an impressive guest list of VIPs helped Wigan & Leigh College management centre staff
RIBBLE Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans has called for more consultation on the referendum for the North West's proposed elected regional assembly in October. He said he had received more letters on the issue than any other topic, adding there has been opposition
THE hand of friendship was extended across the red rose border into Yorkshire when Bowland Transit bosses invited civic dignitaries to pay a visit. Specially printed Lancashire passports sealed an invite to cross from the Settle area of North Yorkshire
A FRIENDSHIP is set to blossom between local residents and Prestwich Community High School. Pupils at the Heys Road School left their classrooms for the day to plant a collection of bulbs in flower beds at Sherbourne Court. The task was part of a project
A SPECIAL "Don't drink and drive" message is to be issued to motorists clogging up Simister village with their cars. Residents claim that customers of the Farmer's Arms pub are causing havoc and congestion by parking their cars outside their homes and
A GROUP of mothers in Sunnybank are to get tough on trouble-makers. And they are urging the community to join them in their fight against crime by reporting incidents to the police. Mums Gina Holt, Jane Cameron and Donna McNicholas say residents are too
GRAHAM Branch is backing Burnley's "brilliant" fans to roar them on to safety in their remaining games of the season. The Clarets skipper is calling on supporters to carry the great backing they showed at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday into the final
BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness today called on his players to pull together and concentrate on the task of keeping Rovers in the Premiership. Souness is aiming to restore calm in the dressing room following a turbulent week of revelations involving Andy
A DARWEN woman who was at the centre of her community has lost her battle against cancer. Maureen Holden lived in Darwen all her life, and over the years became involved in everything from fundraising to organising street parties for Royal jubilees. But
UNDER fire councillors in Rawtenstall have come face to face with traders opposed to plans to introduce a town centre parking scheme. Council members and officers were quizzed on plans for the second time in 24 hours. On Wednesday night, residents rounded
AN East Lancashire soldier who has clocked up almost four decades in the Army has received an award for his loyal and professional service. Warrant Officer (Class 2) Bob Pollitt, from Helmshore, joined the Royal Corps of Signals in 1965 as a radio operator
POLICE from the Eastern Division covering Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley, are not running mobile speed camera sites in the coming weeks as they are concentrating on other road safety initiatives. In the Pennine Division covering Burnley
LANCASHIRE County Council have revealed that spending for nursery education in the North West will increase by over £1 million in the coming academic year. Funding will increase by 2.5 per cent on last year's levels to £1,278 per child per annum or £426
CHRISTIAN relief charity Samaritan's Purse International Relief (SPIR) is launching a major public appeal throughout Lancashire for World Water Day on Monday. The group wants to raise funds to provide safe drinking water, on a permanent basis, for thousands
MOTORISTS are set to face commuter chaos on one of the main routes into Blackburn as a number of roads are closed for a major overhaul of the town's sewers. And one trader fears the works will effect trade and bring misery to residents in the Accrington
WORKERS at BAE Systems at Samlesbury have started work on the $35 billion Joint Strike Fighter - the world's biggest ever defence contract. A team of 400 engineers is manufacturing the first components for the next generation of stealth fighter planes
RED-FACED Royal Mail bosses apologised today after wrongly telling 15 postal workers they were being made redundant. Many of the staff went straight home when they were told - before managers realised the embarrassing gaffe had been made. They had to
