Archive

  • Boy, 13, caught for van damage

    A 13-YEAR-OLD boy from Darwen has been handed a £40 fine after shattering the window of a VW van. On March 19 police were parked in Industry Street following a number of incidents involving damage to cars over recent months and caught the boy red-handed

  • MP slams ‘flying taxes’

    ROSSENDALE and Darwen MP Janet Anderson has criticised Conservative leader David Cameron for proposing tax hikes for frequent flyers. Labour MP Mrs Anderson said: "Slapping a tax on frequent air travellers, regardless of their personal or family circumstances

  • Mobile phone helped track down burglar

    A TEENAGER burglar was caught because of his mum's concern for him and mobile phone technology. Blackburn magistrates heard that Matthew Carrie dropped his phone on the canal bank as he fled from police. But the phone rang after the police found it

  • Man faces jail for sex assault on girl, 14

    A PERVERT who molested a Burnley schoolgirl could be facing jail after being convicted at the town's crown court. David Byrom, 30, was found guilty of five charges of sexual activity with the 14-year-old, between July and September 2004, after a four-day

  • Labour MP to retire

    THE Labour MP for the Todmorden area for the last 10 years, Chris McCafferty, has announced her intention to retire before the next General Election. She said she was confident her successor will be able to build on the work she had done for the Calder

  • Curfew for race abuse man

    A 20 year old man returned to a mobile phone shop and shouted racist abuse at the female assistant who he thought had sold him the wrong top-up card. Blackburn magistrates heard that Keiron James Brian abused the girl and threatened "to come and get

  • How long can Bentley be ignored?

    Blackburn Rovers Under 21's 3, Italy Under 21's 3 is what the scoreline should have read following Saturday's opening game at the new Wembley, as our boys did us proud, having a say in all three goals at the showpiece event. And as Steve McClaren and

  • Health hazard hunt

    MORE than 1,000 areas of land in Pendle could be contaminated with potentially hazardous substances. Now Pendle Council is to spend over £600,000 investigating whether sites are dangerous and if so what is needed to make them safe. Council bosses have

  • Bright idea earns award for chief

    A police chief been rewarded for designing a computer system which was used in the complex investigation into the Morecambe Bay disaster. Det Supt Mick Gradwell, who works at Blackburn, has been given a national award -Innovation in Technology -- for

  • Politics is ‘all spin’ says quitting Tory

    THE chairman of Rossendale's Conservatives has resigned. Tory stalwart Clive Balchin has decided to stand down as chairman of Rossendale and Darwen Conservative Association after a year in the post. He joined the association six years ago. Mr Balchin

  • Tree expert is right on Kew

    THE DARWEN-born head of the Arboretum at world famous Kew Gardens planted three commemorative trees in Whitehall Park at the weekend. Tony Kirkham - now a familiar face to TV viewers - returned to his home town to plant the trees from China which were

  • Rail link plan forges ahead

    PLANS to improve Burnley's rail links with Manchester are still on track despite Blackburn announcing a similar scheme, according to the borough's council leader. Coun Gordon Birtwistle said regeneration bosses were still forging ahead with the re-opening

  • Police find 'hit-and-run' car

    POLICE have seized a vehicle believed to have been involved in an alleged hit-and-run which left a 26-year-old man fighting for his life. Zahid Hussain suffered serious head injuries in an incident in Shearwater Drive, Blackburn, on Saturday evening

  • Futures at their feet

    PENDLE Forest Sports Club are putting on football courses during the Easter holidays for juniors. The courses aim to develop player skills and attributes and improve their confidence, teamwork and attitude. There will be skills sessions, tournaments

  • £8m train service upgrade on track

    HALF hourly trains to Manchester from Blackburn throughout the day could be running within four years, the Lancashire Telegraph can reveal. Bosses at Blackburn with Darwen Council have unveiled an £8million bid to the Department of Transport and Network

  • Lorry driver trial jury discharged

    THE jury in the trial of a lorry driver accused of causing death by dangerous driving has been discharged. Neil Margerison, of Ribchester Road, Clayton-le-Dale, is accused of driving dangerously when his lorry collided with a car on the A17 in Lincolnshire

  • Firms face big fines over cigarette ban

    THOUSANDS of East Lancashire businesses could be fined for not preparing for the smoking ban. From July 1 nearly all enclosed public spaces including offices, factories, pubs, bars, and even company cars, will have to become smoke-free. But a local

  • Clitheroe 3 Belper 2

    CLITHEROE chalked up their first UniBond Division One win in four attempts, coming back from behind to beat Belper with Chris Ward bagging a double. The Blues made a superb start at Shawbridge when striker Ward netted on two minutes from a left-wing

  • School campaigners' site woe

    CAMPAIGNERS fighting for a secondary school have spoken of their disappointment that the county council is now looking at a fresh site. Lancashire is to look further into Burnley Council's proposal to site the new Hameldon College in Melrose Avenue,

  • Car seized after 'hit and run'

    POLICE have seized a vehicle believed to have been involved in an alleged hit and run which left a 26-year-old man fighting for his life. Zahid Hussain suffered serious head injuries in an incident in Shearwater Drive, Blackburn, on Saturday evening

  • Clarets keeper Coyne fights on

    BURNLEY stopper Danny Coyne insists his beleaguered Wales side must show fighting spirit to rescue their Euro 2008 qualifying hopes. The 33-year-old goalkeeper earned his 13th international cap for the Welsh against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday

  • ‘Bizarre’ attack woman freed

    A WOMAN who stabbed her partner in the back after a row over cash walked free from court after a judge said the knifing was "bizarre." Burnley Crown Court heard how Lisa Marsh, 22, had grabbed victim Eric Norton by the throat and threatened to kill him

  • New spy camera to catch rowdies

    TRADERS and residents in Ramsbottom have welcomed the arrival of a new CCTV camera. The camera, funded by Ramsbottom Area Board to help tackle problems of anti-social behaviour, was activated this week and will be linked to Bury Council's CCTV monitoring

  • Atherton Colleries 1 Colne 2

    NEIL Harris was unanimously acclaimed man of the match after making an impressive first team debut for Colne. With an injury crisis, the teenage centre back was given an eleventh hour call up and fully justified the confidence shown in him by manager

  • Nelson 1 Ramsbottom United 2

    A HARSH sending off tipped the scales in Ramsbottom's favour in this full-bloodied encounter. The home side had battled well and missed a great chance to take the lead on eight minutes when Eddie Stanford saw his close range shot blocked by Rams goalkeeper

  • Trouble trio lose their liberty

    THREE men involved in two days of trouble have all paid the price with their liberty at Burnley Crown Court. Brothers Daniel and Greg Chadwick, who beat up a teenager, were later arrested after a rumpus with another man outside his home. They were joined

  • At a dead end? Try chatting with the boss

    AS a pub bouncer I was demoted to bar staff for being too soft. As a storeman I was sacked for fighting while playing five-card brag. My career as a welder lasted two days. I kept melting copper u-bends on radiators, and was thus relegated to the

  • Rivals unite in marathon run

    TWO rival football team supporters will put aside their differences and run side by side to help a leukaemia charity. Burnley Football Club fan Jason Taylor and Blackburn Rovers fan Martyn Hunter are preparing to run a 26 mile marathon on the same side

  • Pub ransacked by raiders

    THIEVES stole four bottles of champagne after ransacking a pub and damaging equipment worth thousands of pounds. Police said thieves broke in to the Kettle Drum Inn, Red Lees Road, Cliviger, in the early hours of Saturday morning and destroyed kitchen

  • Derbyshire dream goes on

    WHAT price on Matt Derbyshire scoring the winning goal in the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley on May 19? Six months ago, the bookies would have been happy to quote you generous odds on such a scenario unfolding, but now they might be a tad more

  • Square deal for the public

    THE public are being invited to have their say about what should happen in a town centre. A major consultation at the end of private meetings is to be held in Todmorden Town Hall and one of the organisers, Dr Lindsay Smales, said there was an important

  • Porn pervert sex order

    A PERVERT who downloaded a haul of the most serious child porn has been spared jail - and won't be getting any sex offender treatment either. Burnley Crown Court heard how Ian Cogle, 48, who has served time for indecently assaulting a 10 year old girl

  • Teen’s tablets were not ecstasy

    A TEENAGER caught selling what he thought was ecstasy in a Burnley street has kept his freedom. Apprentice joiner Adam Veitch, 19, was wanting to sell what he thought was the designer drug - but in fact the tablets were a substance called CPP, which

  • Old pupils back to school - 50 years on

    FORMER pupils at an East Lancashire school took a trip down memory lane when they met for a reunion on Saturday. Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, welcomed more than 100 former pupils who attended the school in the 1950s to meet up with classmates

  • £650 raised by washing cars

    FIREFIGHTERS in Burnley rolled up their sleeves to raise more than £600 for the Fire Services National Benevolent Fund. Crew members at the Belvedere Road station spent five hours washing cars on Saturday, as part of a fund-raising event held by fire

  • Is there a future for me in politics?

    There are a handful of vacancies on our local parish council at the moment. A couple of people have asked me if I'm interested. Whether that's because I'm always brimming over with rants and gripes about all-and-sundry and would get less chance to air

  • Biology pupils star for school

    FIVE students have demonstrated their brilliance at biology to help their school win a national science contest. The pupils from Blackburn's Westholme School triumphed at the British Biology Olympiad which saw 1,500 students across the UK tested on their

  • Warning on 'rings without bling'

    TRADING standards chiefs are warning about gangs selling "rings with no bling" in Blackburn. One jewellery store boss said her shop had been targeted at least half a dozen times in the past two weeks. The latest incident happened on Friday when two

  • Stanley to appeal Brown red card

    ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman has vowed to appeal against David Brown's controversial sending off. The Reds were forced to finish Saturday's game against Hereford United with 10 men when the striker was shown a shock red card for his trip on

  • All pulling together for Harrison

    Click here to see our photo gallery from the event. A TEAM of children beat teams of adults in a sponsored wagon-pull in memory of a teenager who died in a motorway accident. Organisers of the pull, at the Red Rose Hotel, Rosegrove, Burnley, hope

  • Fire crews busy at moor blazes

    Firefighters were called out to a moorland fire in Prickshaw Village near Whitworth at midday yesterday. It took an hour to put out the fire, which firefighters believe was started by farmers to encourage fresh grass growth. Crews were also called to

  • Takeaway shut by 'arson attack'

    A TAKEAWAY has been forced to close after fire ravaged through the building in a suspected arson attack. Fire crews and police were called to the blaze at the Sanam Grill in Colne Road, Burnley, at 1.30am on Saturday. The fire, which caused widespread

  • Fire at BAE unit

    Firefighters were called to a fire in Samlesbury sparked by an electrical fault in an air conditioning unit at BAE Systems in Longsight Road. Crews extinguished the flames at 6am today. The building was empty at the time.

  • Accrington Stanley 2 Hereford United 0

    DAVID Brown should have been celebrating his fourth goal of the season. Instead he was bemoaning his first sending off. It was with a heavy heart that the striker greeted his former Hereford colleagues, just over an hour after he had set up current club

  • Award for optician

    A BLACKBURN optician has landed a national title for his skills at photographing eyes. Philip Jones, of Revidge, Blackburn, has run Philip Jones Opticians, in Carnforth, for five years. In 2004 the independent practice scooped the title of "New Optician

  • Assault man spared prison

    A MAN attacked his then girlfriend after he claimed he found her naked and being fondled by another man, Burnley Crown Court was told. Mark Donlan, 45, hit Anne Johnson repeatedly in the face then kicked her in the head while she was on the floor. Donlan

  • Top mark for quality

    AN Earby firm has been recognised for its "green" practices with a top quality mark. Cosmetic manufacturers Dermasolutions, based in the West Craven Business Park, is one of just a handful of firms to get an organic accreditation from trade body the

  • In search of the Bannisters

    MY grandfather, Henry Bannister, came to Canada with his wife, Ellen and family from Blackburn about 1910. We have lost contact with the sister's side of the family. Her name was Jane E Bannister (born 1875, parents Hannah and John). Jane married Reuben

  • This collection service is rubbish

    MY wife has finally got me to splash out on a new suite. After what seemed like months traipsing round stores within a radius of 20 miles, she finally found one. It was delivered on March 20, a full two weeks before the promised date. All we had to

  • Come on Rovers - fair play for all!

    IS it fair that Blackburn Rovers should raise the price of tickets for pensioners in the Jack Walker stand lower tier when those for ordinary members in the same area and pensioners elsewhere are getting a reduction? Last year we paid a minimum of £225

  • Adult cautions are no deterrent

    I AM glad to see the police taking fraudulent insurance claims in relation to car accidents seriously. An example of this is an adult caution: This of course is very frightening to those prepared to go to the trouble of setting up accidents and claiming

  • Council discriminates on bus fares

    IF Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council goes ahead with the proposed plans to axe free bus fares for children who attend faith schools, it will be guilty of discrimination on two counts. To discriminate on grounds of religion is illegal and to discriminate

  • Man attacked with golf club

    A MAN left with a fractured skull after being assaulted outside his home was hit with a golf club, police have revealed. Detectives in Burnley today appealed for information after the 35-year-old man was attacked in Caernarvon Avenue, Burnley. Police

  • A chippy off the old block

    AN East Lancashire fish and chip shop manager who serves up portions in New York City is leading a major campaign to create a little part of Britain stateside. Matt Arnfield, originally from Billington, in the Ribble Valley, wants part of Manhattan's

  • Wembley is a true wonder

    IF Mark Hughes and his Blackburn players require any further incentive in their quest to reach the FA Cup final then they need spend only five minutes in the company of David Bentley and Matt Derbyshire this week. When the Rovers squad reassembles at

  • Bentley pride at making history

    HISTORY maker David Bentley today spoke of his pride at becoming the first Englishman to score at the new Wembley. The Blackburn midfielder etched his name in football folklore when he stepped up to curl an exquisite 25-yard free kick past Gianluca Curci

  • Darwen 2 Winsford United 2

    DARWEN produced one of their best displays of the season against the league leaders in North West Counties Division Two. But it was the visitors who took the lead on 35 minutes, Gerrard McAllister looping a header over Darwen goalkeeper Danny Holland

  • Abbey Hey 1 Bacup Borough 1

    SIMON Heaton was on the mark for Bacup Borough as they came from behind to pick up a point at Abbey Hey. The hosts took the lead on 55 minutes through James Greenhalgh before Heaton responded.

  • Rossendale United 1 Eastwood Town 2

    ROSSENDALE fell another place in UniBond Division One after slipping to high-flying Eastwood at Dark Lane. The Stags made the worst possible start as they fell behind to almost Eastwood's first attack of the game, with Deon Meikle scoring the opener

  • Celebrating 200 years without slave trade

    Click here to see our gallery of photos from the commemoration. SLAVERY in East Lancashire was the focus at a special cathedral service celebrating the 200th anniversary of the trade's abolition. Blackburn Cathedral yesterday was attended by hundreds

  • Blackpool Mechanics 1 Padiham 3

    TWO goals by Padiham's in-form striker Michael Morrison helped the Storks to a fine away win over Blackpool Mechanics. However, it was Paul Fildes who put Padiham ahead on 25 minutes, when he converted a penalty after Andy Haworth had been fouled. Blackpool

  • Straw backs Brown for leader

    Jack Straw has declined to run for Labour's deputy leadership in order to focus on heading Gordon Brown's campaign for the premiership. It had been rumoured that Mr Straw had cut a deal for the job of Chancellor or another top cabinet post in a Brown-led

  • Burglar raided neighbour's home

    A BURGLAR who raided a house around the corner from his own home was caught red-handed. And he lied about what he had been up to, Burnley Crown Court heard. Christopher Moore, 34, was found crouching down next to the television when the victim

  • Lancashire soldiers raid militia base

    SOLDIERS from the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, have taken part in a dawn raid to arrest members of rogue militia in Iraq. In the early hours of Friday, around 450 British and Danish troops took part in a search and arrest operation

  • Official opening for children's centre

    A NEW £1.6million children's centre is to provide support services to families is officially opened today. The opening of the Little Harwood centre, in Robinson Street is being dedicated to Coun Frank Gorton, who died recently aged 81 who had represented

  • Fan loses twice in one night

    DEFEAT for Blackburn Rovers against West Ham brought a Clitheroe driver a three-year ban and £860 in fines and costs. Magistrates heard that Karl Yeoman watched the match in the pub and left immediately after to drive the short distance home, only to

  • Album: Julie Fowlis - Cuilidh

    SINGING everything in her native Gaelic, Julie Fowlis has created a beautiful and haunting album which will enchant folk fans and, hopefully, win over those with a broad mind. The fact that you don't understand the lyrics matter little. Such is

  • Single: Love Is All - Nothing To Be Done

    Our favourite Swedish punk funksters return with a double A-side featuring a cover of The Pastels' Nothing To Be Done alongside album track Ageing Had Never Been His Friend. A squalling, brilliant mess of a band, Love Is All show once again why Sweden

  • Album: Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers

    THE album proves she's a cut above the current crowd of quirky singer-songwriter types with this assured collection of country-tinged marine-themed tunes. She might look like she'd lose a fist-fight with Amy Winehouse but don't be fooled, this girl's

  • Album: David Gray - Shine

    PULLING together tracks from David Gray's first three albums this is a reminder that he didn't just appear out of nowhere. Live favourites including Late Night Radio and Shine do stand out and all hint at the promise which was to come. Listen to

  • Single: The Answer - Be What You Want

    Do you constantly mourn the demise of your air guitar? Want to dust it off, but can't find the right band? Be What You Want, new single from (wannabe) rock behemoths The Answer should be right up your street, then. They've included a cover of Aerosmith's

  • Single: Mel C - I Want Candy

    Please scratch out our ears now. Apparently Sporty is one of the UK's "most dynamic and successful singer-songwriters". If it's true, then there is something very, very wrong with our music industry. But then, the song wasn't that great the first

  • Album: Kate Walsh - Tims House

    HOW much emotion and beauty can you fit on to one CD? Indeed the album's one failing is that it's all a little too much to take in at one sitting. With sparse backing and a fabulous voice, remember the name Kate Walsh. She is surely destined

  • Album: Matthew Herbert – Score (!K7)

    Acclaimed house and electronica producer Matthew Herbert has been moonlighting as a soundtrack composer. Score is a varied collection of 17 tracks from a variety of (mostly obscure) films of the last ten years. The compositions are much more straightforward

  • Church sale day success

    CELEBRATIONS to mark the 150th anniversary of Haslingden Methodist Church continued with a grand sale. The Manchester Road church welcomed more than 100 people to the event which was opened by Valley-born Methodist minister the Rev Terrence Isherwood

  • Drinker 'may have avoided action'

    A MAN who narrowly failed a breath test declined the offer of a blood sample, telling police: "There's no point - I've committed a crime." But Blackburn magistrates heard that if Robert Anthony Early had taken advantage of the offer, he may well have

  • Chief blasts young fire hoaxers

    TEENAGE hoaxers have been blasted for wasting "vital resources" after they claimed a house was on fire. Two fire engines went to Blackburn Road, Accrington after youngsters dialled 999 on Saturday afternoon. Emergency services could not find a blaze

  • Flood street ‘like earthquake zone’

    A Great Harwood street looked like a "mini earthquake" had struck when a water pipe burst yesterday. Police said gallons of water were flowing down Water Street after the pipe burst - sending water gushing into the air. Officers sealed off the road