Archive

  • Nelson man who groomed schoolgirl for sex jailed for 12 years

    A GARAGE worker who groomed a schoolgirl and repeatedly had sex with her has been jailed for 12 years. Burnley Crown Court heard how married Timothy Pennington, 37, had intercourse with the 12-year-old child at his house when his wife was at work. The

  • Colne community park trashed by vandals

    A FRIENDS group has hit out at vandals who trashed a community' park. Damage totalling £1,500 was caused at Ballgrove Park, in Colne, some time between 10pm on Friday April 25 and the following morning. Vandals pulled out the mats underneath the play

  • £3million Blackburn housing estate fails to sell

    A NEW housing estate in Blackburn worth almost £3million has been fenced off with barbed wire after none of the homes sold in two years. Residents said the 20 house-block has become an eyesore and a magnet for vandals. A six-foot high fence topped with

  • MEP in running to keep north west seat in 2009

    A FORMER Pendle councillor, who controversially switched sides from the Liberal Democrats to become a Conservative MEP, is in the running to remain in Brussels next year. Ex-lawyer Sajjad Karim is the Tories' third-choice candidate for the 2009 European

  • Burnley boy returns home after fracturing skull

    A TEENAGER has been allowed home from hospital days after sustaining a fractured skull in an attack. But it is uncertain whether Jon-Paul Room, 15, of Turton Grove, Burnley. will be able to sit his GCSEs in nine days time after he was attacked in Mitella

  • Burnley teen burglar who stole to buy drink and drugs jailed

    A TEEN burglar who struck three times on a Burnley street - targeting one property twice - has been detained for two years five months. Burnley Crown Court heard how Stephen Whittle, 18, committed his first raid when he was just 15- and a judge said

  • Discover Pendle Centre opening

    PENDLE'S mayor Coun Allan Buck will be on hand to officially open a tourism centre along with youngsters from a youth theatre. The new Discover Pendle Centre, on the site of the Boundary Mills store, in Colne, will be officially opened on Saturday, May

  • Clitheroe attacker has jail term reduced

    A TEENAGE thug who was locked up for 18 months for two drunken and seemingly random early hours attacks on men in Clitheroe has won a six-month reduction in his sentence at the Court of Appeal. The 17-year-old, who lives in the town but cannot be named

  • Burnley man died from drugs overdose

    A MAN was found dead after taking a heroin overdose, prompting the arrest of three people, an inquest heard. Burnley Coroner's Court heard that Sean Finch, 35, had been released from prison weeks earlier and his tolerance levels for the drug would have

  • Don't waste your vote

    ROSSENDALE residents are being reminded to use their vote in this year's local election. The poll taken place on Thursday with people being able to vote between 7am and 10pm. Rossendale Council have been running an advertising campaign to encourage

  • Annual market fund-raiser in Darwen

    AN annual market fund-raiser takes place next month. Darwen Rotary Club is organising this year's Petticoat Lane market in Darwen Market Square. It runs on May 5 from 9.30am to 4.30pm, depending on the weather. And stalls are still available for anyone

  • My lord! Four East Lancashire titles up for sale

    ANYONE with visions of grandeur is being given the perfect chance to bid their way into high society - by buying a lordship. Decendants of the Towneley family have put up for sale 29 prestigious titles, including four in East Lancashire. For around

  • Elderly woman dies after Clayton-le-Moors lorry accident

    A PENSIONER has died after she was knocked down by a 32 ton truck. Jenny Clarkson, 80, of Canal Street,Clayton-le-Moors, was crossing at traffic lights on the A680 Whalley Road junction near the Hare and Hounds pub, when she was struck by the tipper

  • Church postmaster denies groping pregnant woman

    A CHURCH postmaster said to have groped a pregnant customer in his shop told police he did not do it - and was at a loss to explain why she would accuse him, a jury heard. Alan Holden, 60, is also alleged to have groomed a schoolgirl for his sexual gratification

  • Emma in new X-Factor assault

    POP wannabe Emma Chawner is considering making another assault on Simon Cowell and his fellow X Factor judges. Hairdressing student Emma, from Lancaster Road, Ramsbottom, was savaged by Cowell after appearing on the ITV primetime talent show last year

  • Anderson set to face Durham

    Burnley's James Anderson is included in the Lancashire side to play Durham University at the Racecourse starting tomorrow. Mal Loye will deputise as skipper with Stuart Law rested after having a cortisone injection in his left wrist. This strong Lancashire

  • Darwen Live line-up announced

    PROGRAMMES for this year's Darwen Live event will go on sale next month. Full details of all the performers will be included in the booklet, which will be promoted by some of the artistes at Darwen Library Theatre tomorrowy. Organised by Blackburn with

  • Woman rescued from Blackburn home fire

    A WOMAN was rescued from her home after a second fire in two months. The 34-year-old woman was found lying unconscious inside the smoke-filled bedroom in Beaumaris Avenue, Mill Hill, Blackburn, at 7.20am today. Police said the fire is not believed

  • Songs to pay tribute to Darwen music director

    A SPECIAL service is taking place to remember one of Darwen's longest standing music directors who died last month. Bob McVean, 71, will be remembered during a service at St Peter's Church, Darwen, on Thursday. The church choir and the Darwen Ladies'

  • Headless killing murderer loses appeal

    A MURDERER who beheaded his teenage victim has lost an appeal against his conviction. Stewart Michael Diamond, 30, had been out of prison for just three months in 1997, when he brutally strangled Christopher Hartley in a bedsit and hacked him to pieces

  • First of East Lancashire's doomed post office shuts in Burnley

    THE first post office has closed as part of cutbacks that will see a further 23 axed across East Lancashire. Customers at the Cheapside outlet in Padiham Road, Burnley, ceased its postal services at 1pm today as radical closure plans from the Post Office

  • Wind turbines plan for Samlesbury

    PLANS to build 18 wind turbines at proposed new £8million wildlife reserve could be scrapped if they prove extremely unpopular, it has been revealed. Lancashire Wildlife Trust is hoping to convert a former quarry near Samlesbury into a 112-hectare site

  • Accrington homeless charity's appeal for Polish speakers

    A HOMELESS charity is appealing for "urgent help" for more volunteer interpretors after an influx of immigrant workers to the area. Bosses at Maundy Relief, a based in Abbey Street, Accrington, said immediate help was needed, particularly from Polish

  • Accrington Stanley boss looks to cure home blues

    JOHN Coleman believes Accrington Stanley will ditch their poor home record in readiness for next season. The Reds have endured a miserable campaign at the Fraser Eagle Stadium this term, crashing to 14 League Two defeats. And while a win over Bury in

  • Nelson betting shop thief faces jail sentence

    A BETTING shop raider who fled with a cash haul in Nelson has been told he faces the prospect of a substantial jail term. Mohammed Maroof, 30, of Lime Street, has confessed to robbing Deborah Yarwood of a substantial amount of money, at the Betfred shop

  • Sophie's family and friends vow to carry on campaign

    FRIENDS and family of a student kicked to death because of her Goth looks have vowed to carry on campaigning for official recognition of subculture-based hate crime. Sophie Lancaster, 20, and her boyfriend Robert Maltby, 21, were attacked in Stubbylee

  • Clitheroe butcher praised for sausages

    A SAUSAGE-making supremo from Clitheroe has been commended for the standard of his pork products. Cliff Cowburn, of Cowman's Famous Sausage Shop, Castle Street, scooped a gold award for pork sausages at the National Supreme Product Championships. Mr

  • Burnley road sign mistake spells red faces

    ENGINEERS have been left red-faced after installing a new road sign featuring a spelling mistake. The new sign was put in place to notify residents of a change in the speed limit as part of a new traffic- calming system in Burnley. But, instead of

  • Water clean-up in Colne

    A CLEAN-up campaign by environmental crusaders has made a real difference to a green haven in Colne. Armed with litter pickers and gloves, volunteers led by Colne Water Angling Club spruced up Waterside Millennium Green on Sunday. The club was joined

  • Big turnout for Fell race

    There was a magnificent turnout of more than 30 from East Lancashire when the English Junior Fell Championship Series got underway at Newlands in the Lake District. The event was the Anniversary Wa!, the name given to the junior leg of the Anniversary

  • Orienteers are on the lookout

    If you have a free Saturday, there are still three more chances to try the sport of orienteering with our local club Pendle Forest Orienteers. Every spring, the club organises a series of events across our area which are ideal as a taster for the uninitiated

  • Neil Hodgson settles for fourth spot

    Neil Hodgson scored two fourth places in round three of the AMA Superbike Championship, held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The Burnley bullet was involved in a race-long scrap for third in race one. Early podium contenders Aaron

  • Money needed to finish Clitheroe mosque

    ONE of the men behind Clitheroe's mosque has revealed that more fundraising needs to be done before the building is ready for use. Farouk Hussain, who, along with Sheraz Arshad, campaigned to get a Muslim place of worship in the town, said that they

  • Young in second at Formby Hare

    Clitheroe's Mark Young and Pleasington member Michael Hunt got their Mitsushiba Order of Merit campaign off to a solid start after finishing second and third respectively at the Formby Hare. Southport teenager James Robinson won the event, with defending

  • Age checks on the cards in Lancashire

    A PAYMENT card which allows retailers to verify the age of a shopper has been launched in Lancashire. The UreLife card is the first in the UK to incorporate a colour photograph and a hologram, as well as a printed date of birth to help shopkeepers when

  • Horsing around on the way to school in Belthorn

    Children from Belthorn Primary School take part in a walking bus to school with their teachers Sarah Allan and Helen Rowan. They join the walking bus every Friday and have been doing it since October, when the scheme started thanks to the chairman

  • Britain's Youngest Grannies, BBC3

    THERE'S somehow something wrong about a woman out on the pull with the chat-up line "I'm a grandma, you know." But with more and more girls giving birth in their teens, Britain is witnessing the emergence of a new kind of grandma: sexy, glamorous and

  • Berisha: I'll be like a new signing for Burnley

    BESART Berisha believes his return from a season-long injury nightmare will represent a new signing for Burnley. The Albanian winger has yet to make his Clarets debut after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury while on international duty back in

  • Stop getting involved in our everyday lives

    IT started after the war. Whatever party has been in power it has systematically and intentionally taken away the need for the ordinary population to think, plan or have any responsibility for themselves. It's been a case of so you don't feel like work

  • Inspectors find every child at Blackburn school is valued

    GOVERNMENT inspectors have praised a primary school where "every pupil is valued and respected". Feniscowles Primary, Blackburn, has been rated as good with outstanding features by Ofsted. Inspectors praise the dedication of headteacher Elizabeth Hargreaves

  • Helmshore school's aid for Africa

    PUPILS and families at St Veronica's Primary, Helmshore, helped raise more than £1,000 to enable the school to sponsor a child in Africa for a further year with the balance being donated to Cameo Aid. A representative from the charity, which aims to

  • Understanding why Sophie Lancaster died

    AS Judge Anthony Russell said yesterday, the "feral thuggery" which brutally stamped out Sophie Lancaster's young life raises "serious questions about the sort of society which exists in this country at the start of a new millennium." They were killed

  • Upset at hostel

    Who on the council decided it would be a good idea to open a Nightsafe homeless hostel on Industry Street, Darwen, in a residential area? Thanks to their ineptitude the residents of Newton/Perry Streets and Marsh Terrace are now on a more or less nightly

  • Council must act over bus routes

    I RECEIVED a letter from Transdev buses dated April 8. It said reasons for with-drawing the Greenhead Avenue bus stop were, parking issues on Greenhead Avenue, Blackburn. The letter said that at times bus drivers have had to knock on doors and ask people

  • Dodgy scrap dealers a menace

    THE huge rise in scrap metal prices has led to a major increase in the number of unlicensed operators and the flouting of environmental laws on the disposal of old cars across the UK. The legal requirement is that end-of-life vehicles must be collected

  • Put a statue to Tommy Ball in market hall

    I AGREE with people who are requesting a memorial for Tommy Ball. What better place than in the new market as it was on the old open market that it all started for him. The trade he brought to the town was enormous. People came from out of town and

  • David Lloyd set for Lancashire League return with Accrington

    FORMER England cricketer and coach David Lloyd is in line to make a sensational return to the sport for his hometown club Accrington. But the 61-year-old all-rounder will have a fight on his hands to get into the Thorneyholme Road side, who are unbeaten

  • Dougherty mourns mother Ennis

    NICK Dougherty's mother Ennis has died at the age of 61 following the heart attack she suffered over a week ago. The 25-year-old Shaw Hill professional, watched by both his parents when he made his Masters debut earlier this month, was lying 10th with

  • New Exhibition

    The Rainhall Centre on Rainhall Road, Barnoldswick is hosting a brand new exhibition which begins this Friday May 2. It runs until Tuesday June 10 so you have plenty of time to go down and catch it before the paintings are packed away again. There

  • Roque Santa Cruz: I'm very happy at Blackburn Rovers

    ROQUE Santa Cruz has moved to quell speculation concerning his future by insisting he has no desire to leave Blackburn Rovers this summer. The Paraguay international is inevitably attracting attention following a brilliant debut season in the Premier

  • Torch spark fire prompts Darwen welders' yard evacuation

    A SPARK from an oxypropane torch, used to heat metal, set fire to a canister of gas at a welders' yard in Darwen. The blaze started in Springvale Road at 9.30pm yesterday. All the workers were evacuated and two fire crews from Darwen waited until

  • Singing section but no drum for Turf Moor, say Burnley fans

    CLARET fans are happy to bang the drum for their Turf Moor heroes - they just don't want an official tubthumper in the stands. Club bosses at Burnley FC have been kicking around a number of ideas to further improve the support for the Championship outfit