Archive

  • Marathon fabric

    FABRIC from an East Lancashire factory will play an important part in this Sunday's London marathon. Exeat made by Coating Applications of Accrington, has been used for more than 1,400 jackets for race marshalls. The jackets have been made by Asics of

  • John rules Britannia!

    MANY savers rub their hands with glee at the prospect of a free cash boost if their building society is taken over or converts to a bank. Others view such changes sweeping the industry with alarm - stating that short-term profit will lead to loss in the

  • Protest puts brake on apartment block

    A CONTROVERSIAL scheme to build a mock tudor apartment block on the site of a former school has been put on ice. Planning chiefs last night deferred a decision on Crowther Homes' bid to develop the former Heathfield School site in Blackburn. They want

  • Bomb squad called to tackle 'grenades'

    BOMB squad officers sealed off a town centre street after a container marked "explosive grenades" was found in a skip. Experts from Liverpool rushed to Burnley police station after the grim discovery. The road outside the station was cordoned off while

  • 5 YEARS AGO: Ordnance jobs to go

    WORKERS at an arms plant were reeling today after being told a third of them were to lose their jobs. Blackburn's Royal Ordnance Factory had to lose 390 of its 1,150 employees as soon as possible. Employees had feared redundancies at the struggling fuse

  • 10 YEARS AGO: Robbers hunt steps up

    DETECTIVES were stepping up their hunt for an armed gang after a spate of robberies at building societies. Detective Superintendent John Boyd, of Lancashire Police, said: "We are liaising with two other police forces and collating all our information

  • CRICKET: Lee's man with mission

    BRILLIANT young talent Lee Trundle is convinced Chorley will keep their Wembley crusade alive at Victory Park tomorrow. "I think we'll do it," said the 19-year-old who has attracted scouts from several Premiership clubs this season, including Wimbledon

  • CRICKET: Jamaican Joe guns for Great Harwood

    JAMAICAN opening bowler Joe Grant is ready to blitz Great Harwood at The Arbories tomorrow as Padiham begin their defence of the Vaux Ribblesdale League. The 26-year-old pace man has just finished a successful season in the Red Stripe and Shell Sunday

  • CRICKET: Skuse set to make debut at the double

    1DARWEN'S new Australian professional Peter Skuse makes his Northern Cricket League bow for the club at Birch Hall tomorrow in the first stage of a weekend double-header against Blackpool. For The Seasiders are due back in Darwen again on Sunday for a

  • Carve-up!

    WALK on to a car park, stand in front of a vehicle with bullbars and imagine being struck at speed by it. It would carve you up into several slices. KEITH ELLEL (Mr), Westwood Avenue, Rishton. Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images

  • CRICKET: Ribblesdale League pros

    BARNOLDSWICK welcome back classy South African James Peterson who smashed a massive 1216 runs at an average of 52.87 with a top score of 154 not out. BAXENDEN have Andrew Payne as professional, a former amateur at Rawtenstall before moving to Whalley,

  • Smoking ban overcome

    CONFRONTED by a hospital smoking ban, Oldham pensioner James Parkinson, who refused a prostate operation because he could not face four days without a cigarette, hit the nation's headlines. There is an alternative treatment which only takes one hour and

  • Back from the dead!

    GRATEFUL grandad Charles Walkden today said a heartfelt thank-you to the medics who helped to bring him back from the dead. The 76-year-old had stopped breathing for more than two minutes after he collapsed in the street within yards of Blackburn Royal

  • MP in 'bogus' invoice alert

    AN MP has warned East Lancashire businesses to be on their guard after his local Labour Party office received a bogus invoice. Last month the Chamber of Commerce and Blackburn & District Chamber of Trade issued warnings over invoices from a company

  • Top marks for new classrooms

    PUPILS enjoyed an extra Easter holiday while a major extension to their school was completed. Youngsters at Higham Primary School arrived back from their break yesterday to find their school had been transformed. Most other youngsters had to go back to

  • Duke drops in to praise a super effort

    ONE of the wealthiest men in the country, The Duke of Westminster, made a whirlwind visit to Blackburn and applauded efforts to pump new life into one of the poorest areas in Lancashire. He spoke of the "tremendous improvements" which have been made to

  • RAMSBOTTOM 2 CHEADLE TOWN 1: Ram-tastic win

    RAMSBOTTOM crowned their first season in the North West Counties' League with a tremendous victory over Cheadle Town to win the Second Division Cup at The Anchor. Though both sides began nervously, Ramsbottom steadied themselves to dominate the second

  • Local firms on the climb

    CONFIDENCE is on the way back for local firms, according to the latest North West Chambers of Commerce survey. The first quarter's results show particular upturns in the service and retail sectors. And the slowdown in the growth of export orders appears

  • Triple jobs whammy

    A TRIPLE whammy of jobs are expected if ambitious plans in Pendle get the go-ahead. The largest is a major scheme to transform the former Smith & Nephew Hollin Bank Mill site in Brierfield into a shopping complex, creating up to 200 jobs. The complex

  • Fleming returns

    DEFENDER Paul Fleming returns for Chorley tomorrow, boosting their chances of overhauling a two-goal deficit in the FA Trophy semi-final second leg against Macclesfield at Victory Park. Manager Dave Sutton rates Fleming the best full back in non-league

  • Animals in medical research

    THE use of animals in medical research is an emotive subject, but while the campaigns of the animal rights movement show more concern for the rights and welfare of animals than people, the hope offered to people with serious illnesses hangs in the balance

  • Staying put

    MAN for all seasons David Eyres wants to end his career at Turf Moor. But he could have finished his season locking horns with Glasgow Rangers in the Scottish FA Cup final at Hampden Park! Eyres revealed he was the subject of a player/swap deal with Scottish

  • CRICKET: One El of a test for steve

    NEW Lancashire overseas star Steve Elworthy is primed for the biggest challenge of his cricketing career. The 31-year-old former Rishton professional, born in Zimbabwe, arrived at Old Trafford in time for the first friendly of the season - a three day

  • A career move?

    IT seems incredible that spoon-bender, Uri Geller (Letters, April 16) can have published, letters in newspapers up and down the country, with the sole purpose of flogging a book endorsing vegan produce, allegedly! Although I, too, endorse the many benefits

  • Textbook for Nimbies

    ROUND one to the residents, as planning chiefs at Blackburn defer a decision on a controversial bid to build a mock-Tudor apartment block on the former Heathfield School site. For the battle put up by the Blackburn Meins Road Area Residents' Association

  • No sympathy here

    ESCAPED British convict John Martin Scripps earned himself a grim paragraph in history today when he became the first westerner to be executed in Singapore for murder. But it is far from likely that his fate will have earned him much sympathy back home

  • Why not grasp the costly child benefit nettle?

    LABOUR'S readiness to scrap child benefit for a million youngsters, aged 16 to 18, is being presented as a sign of the party's readiness to make "hard choices" on spending when in government. But, perhaps, this particular step is less than that. For this

  • MP Pike slams the sale of Railtrack

    AN East Lancashire MP claimed he had better chances of winning the National Lottery jackpot than the government had of winning the next election or the privatisation of railways did of improving services. Peter Pike said government claims that there were

  • Heath wants a repeat display

    BURNLEY'S march towards Second Division sanctuary can move a step closer tomorrow. And after the Clarets put Swindon's promotion knees-up on hold, Burnley will be searching for more priceless safety points at Notts County. "We've got a big game against

  • Archbishop in town

    THE Archbishop of York will visit the Diocese of Blackburn next month. The Most Rev David Hope will spend a weekend in the area and will preach at a Blackburn Cathedral service on Friday, May 10, at 7.30pm. On Saturday, May 11, he will visit Pendle Heritage

  • Closed doors at museum

    BLACKBURN Museum is known throughout the international musical world as housing the Kathleen Ferrier Archive. As late as 1993, Winifred Ferrier decided to donate the memorabilia of her renowned sister remaining in her possession. Her decision was influenced

  • 30 jobs to be axed in cut-back

    INSURANCE giant, Endsleigh, is to axe 30 jobs at its regional headquarters in Burnley, it was announced today. The Burnley FC and English football league sponsor says the move is part of a 60 job cut-back at Burnley and its Cheltenham HQ, brought about

  • Imran Khan set to visit town

    CRICKETING legend Imran Khan is set to visit Nelson this summer. The internationally-renowned former Pakistan captain has been invited to the town by a group of local organisers who are aiming to raise thousands of pounds for Imran's cancer research appeal

  • Clubs in opening night clashes

    TWO new East Lancashire night spots are holding VIP launches on the same night. But today, staff at XPO in Burnley and Utopia, Blackburn, said the May 2 clash was more down to coincidence than competition. XPO, based in Burnley's Aenon Chapel, will be

  • Advice on the rights of lone parents

    A CAMPAIGN will run in the Accrington area next week to ensure lone parents bringing up children do not miss out on cash benefits they are entitled to claim. A special exhibition by Lancashire County Council's welfare rights service will be staged in

  • Anna, 11, joins the working jet-setters

    SCHOOLGIRL 'commuter' Anna Brazier is swapping her daily school run for a 500-mile return air trip. Instead of the short journey to West Craven High School, Barnoldswick, and a seven-hour day at her desk, 11-year-old Anna will be flying to Heathrow and

  • Most happy with council

    IN reply to Walt Meadows (Letters, April 10), it also 'beggars belief' that he thinks that the electorate can be hoodwinked into believing that Blackburn Council is some sort of Left-wing tribe - worse than Liverpool's - which has deliberately hiked the

  • NEWCASTLE TOWN 3 CLITHEROE 1: Eight game run grinds to halt

    CLITHEROE's eight match unbeaten run came to an end at Newcastle when two goals in the last 15 minutes gave Newcastle the points. On a sticky pitch and against the run of play Newcastle took the lead on 38 minutes when Mark Massey from close range beat

  • Car park crackdown row

    COLLEGE staff used a town centre car park for the first time...and became victims of a clampdown by attendants. And even a council boss was booked in the blitz on four Burnley car parks. Burnley College has arranged with the council to use St Peter's

  • Leisure parks to create 300 jobs

    FRESH proposals for a multi-million pound leisure scheme which would bring more than 300 new jobs to East Lancashire were revealed today. Plans include a "centre-piece" 10-screen multiplex cinema, restaurants, drive-in fast food bars, family entertainment

  • Garry's season is in FA hands

    GARRY Flitcroft faced a date with destiny at FA headquarters in London today, waiting anxiously to see if his season is already over. Blackburn Rovers' £3 million signing from Manchester City was due to appear in front of a Football Association disciplinary