HUNDREDS of people turned out in Accrington for the town's Christmas lights switch-on tonight. The sky was set ablaze with thousands of lights and a giant firework display above the Arndale Centre. The fun began outside the town
CHRISTMAS came early to Blackburn as the festive lights were switched on tonight. Diana Vickers returned to her home town, attracting thousands of people to the annual event. Watch video highlights from the event Excited crowds
BURNLEY FC'S plan to expand the Gawthorpe training ground was approved by borough councillors tonight. The planning committed heeded the advice of council officers who said there were 'very special circumstances' for allowing the development
NELSON town centre will be without a Christmas tree this year because there is no where to put it. The cone tree that usually stands between HSBC and Wilkinsons in Manchester Road can’t go up this year because of the work going on to reopen
A RIBBLE Valley farmer is behind plans for the UK’s largest dairy farm. David Barnes, from Withgill Farm, Mitton, and his business partner Peter Willes, first applied to set up a 8,100-cow farm in Nocton Heath, Lincolnshire, in December last year.
A FAMILY has called for landlords to take more responsibility for their customers after a ‘beloved’ town caretaker died after a fall following a night at a pub. Bernard Hayhurst’s son Ben said that his popular father was let down because he had been
A MAN was rescued after he was crushed by a cherry picker while it was 30 feet in the air. Police said the 41-year-old man had been carrying out building works at BAE Systems in Samlesbury when he became trapped between a steel beam and the machine.
* The Red Rose Cross Country League will be at Marl Pits, Rawtenstall on Saturday with a fixture hosted by Rossendale Harriers. You should keep the same individual race numbers from the last round, while runners from non-affiliated clubs can enter for
THE council which looks after the Ramsbottom area has announced 420 jobs may be lost under plans to balance its budget. Bury Council, which employs many Valley residents, has previously announced it needed to save £28million over the next four years
Lancashire Telegraph review by Jemma Humphreys from November 12, 2010 TRYING out a new takeaway can feel like a risk. There’s nothing worse than waiting for your favourite dish to accompany an evening with friends to find you could have
Clitheroe and District Motor Club chairman Daniel Harper recorded a superb fourth overall on last weekend’s Isle of Man Pokerstars Rally at the wheel of his Mini Sport of Padiham BMW Mini Cooper S. Harper and co-driver Paula Swinscoe were straight
utterlyANDY Buttery has helped the England Masters cross country team to win team gold on his international debut. Competing in the 23rd British and Irish Masters International in Dublin, the Rossendale Harrier finished sixth in the 40 to 44 age band
PLANS have been unveiled for a multi-million pound eco-friendly holiday village in rural Pendle. Bingley-based developers Halton Homes want to create the set-up on the site of the former Park Close Quarry, in Salterforth. The firm anticipates
PLANS to open a convenience store in Accrington have been refused over concerns it would cause traffic chaos. The application to build the single storey shop on the site of a garage behind 207 Whalley Road was rejected by councillors as ‘crazy’. Councillors
LOWERHOUSE Mills Club – or Lowerhouse Canteen as it is known – celebrated a landmark in 1966, when it opened a £10,000 concert room and lounge. The social centre had first been opened in 1921, in a booming area of the textile town. The men at the
A BIG Brother hopeful threw himself under a Tube train just weeks after losing out on the chance to appear in the hit Reality TV show, an inquest heard. Allister Logue, 55, from Rossendale, was among the final 80 potential contestants for the
COUNSELLING is being offered to pupils after a man was found hanged in a cemetery next to a school this morning. Luke Young, 35, was discovered at Dill Hall Lane Cemetery near St. Christopher's High School at around 7am on Thursday.
AS a boilerman at a Burnley mill, Stan Strange’s job was to keep the premises at a warm temperature for the workers. But it was at night when he really turned up the heat. For Stan set up and played in his own banjo band, which specialised in the
DURING both the First and Second World Wars, there were Army training camps based in Chipping, with a rifle range set up higher in the fells. The soldiers would travel by train into Longridge and march along the country lanes to camp. One day while
DARWEN Tower has lost its crown following strong winds, more than 60 years since the last time it was damaged in a gale. The original turret was blown off in 1947 and it was in 1971 that Darwen mayor Bill Lees, established a fund to have the tower
AMONG the many who remembered fallen comrades on Armistice Day was World War II prisoner of war Bob Hollinrake. Now 92 and virtually housebound, he is a veteran of scores of Remembrance Day parades in Blackburn over the past 65 years. Bob served
FOLLOWING the opening round at Barrow, the Mid Lancs Cross Country League made its first visit of the season to our area on Saturday for a meeting at Witton Park in Blackburn. Three local clubs took a maximum advantage by fielding winning teams – the
GRAHAM Alexander has told Burnley now is the time to stop flirting with the top six and make a concerted push for promotion. A trip to Coventry was a catalyst in the Clarets’ play-off winning campaign of 2008/09 as they came from behind to
ASTON Villa striker John Carew is being tracked by Blackburn Rovers as Sam Allardyce steps up his search for an experienced Premier League frontman. The unsettled Norwegian is being monitored by Rovers and is understood to be available for
ROSSENDALE and Darwen MP Jake Berry has been given a new role tackling the country’s housing problems. He has been confirmed as the new Parliamentary Private Secretary to Grant Shapps, Minister of State for Housing and Local Government.
A SUPPLY teaching agency has won a prestigious award. Jane Scott, managing director of Key Stage Teacher Supply Ltd, which has bases in Blackburn, Chorley and Lancaster, won the 2010 Lancashire Director of the Year Award last month. Key Stage Teacher
A MAN who walked out of court before a planned sentencing hearing took place has finally received his punishment — eight years later. Preston Crown Court was told that was how long it took for a bench warrant to be executed on Craig Hollings. The
MORE than £100,000 was paid to a public relations giant as part of a campaign to improve the health of East Lancashire residents. The campaign to Save a Million Years of Life (SMYL) was run by NHS East Lancashire. Last month the trust
A NEW gastro pub is set to open in Blackburn – but it has triggered a furious planning row. The former Hordens pub, Livesey Branch Road, closed earlier this year. Now Thwaites brewery wants to reopen the former live music hotspot as a food-based
A LOUT just out of jail challenged a father-of-two to a fight at a supermarket in front of his children, a court heard. Francesco Ligreci, 31, had been upset because he believed the victim’s partner had said something about him to his girlfriend.
PUPILS at Darwen Vale High School have been rewarded for their efforts at a special awards night. Professor Haifa Takruri, who was awarded an MBE for inspiring women and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) people to take careers in science, engineering
FORMER Rovers star Robbie Savage will be in Blackburn today as he promotes his new book. He will be at One Rovers store, Church Street, between 5pm and 7pm, with last entry at 6.30pm. The book is titled ‘Savage! The Robbie Savage Autobiography
PLANS have been unveiled for a massive expansion of Accrington shopping centre. But Arndale Centre bosses said their proposals had already been undermined by councillors yesterday allowing the town's new Tesco to expand. Arndale Centre
CLITHEROE’S big Christmas lights switch-on event has been cancelled after celebrity guest Carl Fogarty pulled out. The superbike legend has instead been invited to Portugal to collect a lifetime achievement award on the same night. Fogarty said
A WEBSITE set up in memory of murdered Sophie Lancaster received more than 90,000 hits after her mum appeared on a national radio show. Sylvia Lancaster spoke movingly about the death of her daughter on BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show.
THE first baby has been born in Burnley’s new £32million Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre. Parents Imran and Sonia Ali said they were delighted by the arrival of their son Zamin, who was born around 5.30pm on Monday weighing 8.5lbs. Midwife Karen
MORE people will die in Lancashire fires because of a 25 per cent cutback to the budget by the Government, according to the Fire Brigades’ Union. Lancashire Fire and Rescue is looking to cut up to £9million from its budget of £61.5million as part of
A £1.4million extension to a hospice used by poorly Lancashire children has opened. But the new Derian Lodge, at Derian House in Chorley, is aimed at adults aged 18 to 25 rather than youngsters. The £1.4million cost of the purpose-built
DETECTIVES believe a man wanted in connection with a serious assault in Clitheroe could be in hiding in the Preston area. Leanne Smalley, was attacked after an intruder forced his way into her home in Highfield Road last month. During
THE University of Central Lancashire’s chamber choir was crowned the best adult choir in the UK. Under the leadership of Mark Goggins, the group of 28 music theatre students won the BBC Choir Of The Year adult category at Birmingham Symphony Hall. The
AN ‘aggressive and obnoxious’ beggar has been banned from Blackburn town centre after he moved from another city to avoid an ASBO. Thomas McPhee, 46, of Union House, St Peter’s Street, has now had his order extended by Preston magistrates after
I HAVE discovered an unfair aspect of more than two million being unemployed. If you look around, you see plenty of highly-paid people with two or three jobs. Some of them seem to be in selling, broadcasting and other semi-professional jobs.
THE family of a teenager who drowned in a river is calling for his death to be re-investigated by police. Oliver Hefford’s relatives spoke out after an inquest into the 19-year-old’s death ended with coroner Richard Taylor unable to say how
MR Yates (Letters, November 10), has been treated badly by the council over his stolen wheelie bin. Only two days before the letter appeared, I rang the council and asked what I should do if my bin was stolen. I was told to inform the police. Have
I WOULD like to comment on the fiasco which the council at Blackburn with Darwen are making of the new three-day market. Instead of trying to claw as much money back from the traders as they can with extortionate rents – which many can not afford,
THERE has been nothing but good news in our town centres in recent months. A new £66million extension opened in Blackburn’s Mall and work is set to start on Burnley’s £40million Oval shopping centre in the new year. But a dark cloud
A TRIO of super-fit ex-servicemen from Pendle are to take on feats of physical endurance to raise money for charity. This Saturday, former soldiers Joe Miller and Archie Vance will strap rucksacks weighing 35lbs to their backs and attempt to run 30
VIDEO clips of a baby being tormented by a Pendle man have been played to a murder trial jury. In one piece of footage Darren Newton, 32, is seen repeatedly hitting Charlie Hunt around the head, jamming his finger in his ear and kicking him
MALE, 45. No claims for 10 years. Car insurance premium last year, £400. This year £955. Female, 62. No claims for 10 years. Car insurance premium last year £550. Initial quotation for this year £1660. These are just two examples of many I have
EAST Lancashire is set to go Harry Potter crazy with cinemas expecting their busiest period since the 1997 Titanic film. Watch the trailer But children are being warned against playing truant to watch the film with many screenings
Self-taught guitarist and songwriter Denis Jones, from Lancashire, plays The Met in Bury on November 26. Having begun his musical life as a singer-songwriter in the classic UK mould of the likes of John Martyn, over the last three years he has developed
Three-times BBC Folk Award nominee Bella Hardy plays Bury Met on November 26. With special guests Anna Massie and Chris Sherburn, Bella Hardy’s brilliant Bright Morning Star tour features a repertoire of seasonal treats, from her local Castleton carols
IS there a better writer of TV drama than Jimmy McGovern? The answer, quite clearly, is no. Some may argue that whoever writes Coronation Street these days is doing a good job, but, to be honest, it’s pretty simplistic, uncomplicated stuff. Alan Bleasdale
IT was no coincidence that the winners of this year’s Tour of Pendle were both in their forties, with experience proving to be the all important ingredient as temperatures plunged and the heavens opened. It was only two or three degrees
Ex-Stanley striker Bobby Grant has joined Rochdale on loan from Scunthorpe. Grant has made one start for the Iron since moving from Accrington. “It’s a progression for him to go up a division from where he was last season and find his feet at that level
WHILE Sebastian Loeb capped off his seventh world championship winning season by taking a third consecutive victory on Wales Rally GB, things didn’t go so well for Barrowford’s Daniel Barritt. Barritt’s season of highs and lows took another
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (12A, 146 mins) Action/Drama/Romance. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, Tom Felton, Julie Walters, Mark Williams, Rhys Ifans, Evanna Lynch
THERE aren’t many rock stars like Gruff Rhys, and his decision to play an intimate gig at an art gallery in Manchester on November 22 is testament to that statement. The head honcho of Welsh heroes the Super Furry Animals is not afraid to dabble in
PADIHAM’S scheduled Vodkat League Premier Division clash at Silsden was postponed last night after the pitch failed an inspection. Heavy rain had left it waterlogged.
ACCRINGTON Stanley’s FA Cup second round match at Port Vale will take place on Friday, November 26 at 7.45pm because of a clash with Stoke City’s Premier League fixture with Manchester City. Stanley will face fellow League Two side Vale after the Staffordshire
Blackburn striker Nikola Kalinic scored the final goal as Croatia beat Malta 3-0 yesterday. It was his first international strike.
DETECTIVES have launched an investigation after a mum died from injuries suffered in a baseball bat attack nine years ago. Coroner Michael Singleton asked police to re-open their inquiry into the asault on Marie Holmes after a post-mortem examination
SO the England fans booed at half-time and full-time; they let Capello and company know just what they thought of them in the Wembley loss to France. To paraphrase Catherine Tate, Fabio and friends will be “bovvered”. The people who booed, you see,
* Outrage at the hamstring injury suffered by Steven Gerrard took a new dimension on Wednesday night as England woefully crashed to France. As Gerrard limped out of the action, LIVERPOOL’S head of fitness and conditioning Darren Burgess, groaned: “Completely
COUNCIL chiefs have announced plans to slash £10m of funding from key services, including road maintenance and safety, transport and the arts. North Yorkshire County Council’s business and environmental services (Bes) directorate has drawn
Diana Vickers, Same Difference and Dora The Explorer are among the big-name acts appearing in East Lancashire to switch-on the Christmas lights. Thousands of people will gather to see their towns' Christmas displays lit up. See below
A SENIOR county council boss has been promoted to the role of chief executive - with a £65,000 pay rise. Phil Halsall’s £195,000 wage is the same level as outgoing boss Ged Fitzgerald, who is moving to Liverpool City Council. The appointment,
