BACKED by £2.5million from the EU and with the prospect of three times as much extra investment, a plan to reshape and improve Blackburn's town centre comes off the council's drawing board today -- and council bosses want to know what you think. The plan
WITH sub-post offices already closing at the rate of 350 a year, the future of thousands more -- dozens of them in East Lancashire -- was under new threat today as the Post Office announced a £264million deficit, its first loss for 23 years. Suddenly,
TEENAGE pregnancy is still on the increase and schoolgirls are more likely to get pregnant in East Lancashire than almost anywhere else in Western Europe. It's an issue highlighted by the current Coronation Street storyline involving schoolgirl mum Sarah
RECENTLY, a couple returning home through Liverpool airport, told me that Blackpool's was busier. I believe them, but much of the business at Blackpool is the choppers servicing the oil rigs. That is the reason why Squires Gate is not getting more normal
I HAVE just returned from a few days in Bruges in Belgium. What a beautiful city! There was no litter, no graffiti, no dog dirt, no chewing gum stuck all over the pavements, no vandalism, no gangs of youths gathering on corners, no tarmac covering old
I AM a working mum who has for some years had to claim Family Credit to make up my "over generous" wage of £3.80 per hour for caring throughout the night for a disabled lady (a job I enjoy despite the pay and conditions). I have to work like this in order
SEVEN-year-old Sarah Janicki found her book rather hair-raising. And it's not surprising. For she is pictured being tended by Bury College hairdressing and beauty students Sasha Campbell and Narelle Ratcliffe (right). For visitors to the usually quiet
MORE people in Bury are having to wait for NHS hospital treatment. The latest official figures show that, for Bury Health Care NHS Trust, there were 2,114 people on the waiting list in April, up from 2,103 in March. The list for North Manchester Healthcare
Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has vowed to go teetotal during the football season after being banned from international selection for three months for breaking a team curfew while on duty with the England Under-21s. Hendrie was suspended after leaving
EMPTY houses in Burnley and Padiham could soon be home to more asylum seekers as councillors seek greater influence over where they are housed. Burnley Council's policy committee is considering whether to join a local authority consortium to provide housing
AFTER another tragedy from the roof top car park in Ainsworth Street, Blackburn (LET, June 12), we have more speeches on what went wrong. All steps to protect club-goers' safety have not been taken. A five feet wall and bit of fence is clearly not sufficient
IN an effort to hammer home the dangers of smoking, the government proposes larger and more graphic health warnings on cigarette packets. I remember buying tins of 50 cigarettes years ago, but cannot recall how they could be opened. However, I do remember
EAST Lancashire had one of the highest heart death rates in the country, according to a Health Education Authority study. Local women were up to 40 per cent more likely to die from heart disease than the national average, and death rates among men were
LITTLE Sam England absolutely adores animals. But four-year-old Sam was so ill with eczema that the animals on his mum and dad's farm were absolutely out of bounds. That was until his mum Tracy discovered a newly developed cream that has transformed Sam's
THE car park stalemate in Whalley could end within a month. Ribble Valley Council is considering turning Vale Gardens and Whalley Bus Station into a 47-space car park, but the site has yet to be agreed by Whalley Parish Council. The latest meeting between
SAM Ellis will be back in place as Stan Ternent's right-hand man when the Clarets launch their First Division challenge in less than two months's time. Burnley's assistant manager has been largely out of action since the end of January when he underwent
BURY midfielder Waleed Handon, (pictued), has been given a surprise call up to join England's Euro 2000 soccer squad. The Woodbank FC player is now the envy of his friends and family after being named to lead out his Three Lions heroes , including Manchester
TORY leader William Hague flew in to Bury on Saturday (June 10) to further his party's fight to save the pound. Mr Hague pledged his party would return to power at the next election and promised that his Keep the Pound campaign would prove a crucial weapon
A BURY dad was killed when he chased a football onto a busy road during a family party. Mr Stephen Hinde (37) was at a friend's home in Lostock, Bolton, playing soccer in the back garden when the ball was kicked over a fence and into the road. Mr Hinde
TWO thieves who sneaked into a 98-year-old woman's home as she slept in a chair have been condemned as "gutless, low-lifes" by neighbours. Production worker Mr Rob Jennings and another neighbour chased the man and woman through local streets after they
EMOTIONAL but elated! That's two Bury-based trade unionists who have completed a remarkable 950-mile trek from John O'Groats to Land's End. Brian Marden and Alex Pandolfo climaxed their gruelling sponsored walk foot-weary but feeling fantastic with the
BURY-based Dr Andrew Demetriou is a specialist with a very rare boast. He is the only GP in Bury, and one of just a handful in the North-West, to practise the form of alternative treatment called homeopathy. Dating back more than 200 years, it works on
MIDDLESBROUGH boss Bryan Robson has slapped a 'not for sale' notice on Rovers transfer target Brian Deane. Robson said that the 32-year-old striker, who hit double figures for Boro last season despite missing a chunk of the season with broken ribs, is
FIRMS in East Lancashire are being warned that the taxman is getting tougher. Under new powers the Inland Revenue can now investigate firms without having to say whether it has been targeted for a specific reason or has been chosen at random. "It is going
FIRMS in Lancashire are taking longer to pay their bills, according to a survey out today. They take an average of 62 days to settle up, five days more than when the survey was carried out last year. "Small companies in the North West in particular have
BURY Football Club is up for sale -- lock, stock and barrel! The 115-year-old outfit has been put on the market by majority shareholder Hugh Eaves and an advertisement for the business appeared in the Daily Telegraph. Tottington-born stockbroker Eaves
PASSENGERS across East Lancashire were hit by industrial action again today as bus drivers went out on strike for the fifth time. The dispute, which involves drivers from Stagecoach Ribble and Stagecoach Burnley and Pendle, is over a pay claim which has
A HEADTEACHER today praised health staff after more than 200 pupils who were given an emergency meningitis jab. The youngsters at St Oswald's CE Primary School and pre-school playgroup in Knuzden were given the vaccine yesterday after two-year-old Kourtney
DILAPIDATED school buildings in Blackburn and Darwen are to be repaired at a cost of £3.75million. Blackburn with Darwen Council has agreed to spend £1million on projects which include refurbishing unhygienic toilets and replacing faulty windows at the
A MULTI-MILLION pound plan to improve Blackburn town centre has been launched -- and council bosses want to hear what people think of it. The plan aims to make the centre safer for shoppers, attract new stores, boost trade for local businesses and improve
THE thirty four years of hurt are over! Oh, happy day. Uncork that bottle of Asti Spumante hidden at the back of the pan cupboard. Cover me in fruit and call me a fool. Yep that's how I should be feeling. So why do I feel like the fatted calf when he
BARNOLDSWICK cricketer Arran Thompson has put her text books to one side to prepare for her first examination at international level after being handed her England debut today. The 18-year-old all-rounder was named in the England women's side for the
LANCASHIRE set off on their quest for another Lord's final tomorrow in the unlikely surroundings of Cleethorpes. They were expected to make an historic trip to Amsterdam in the third round of the NatWest Trophy, but Lincolnshire's shock victory over Holland
Captain's Log with David Hayes SUNSHINE at last. Good to see our new signing Darryl "Lawrence" Redhead in the runs, showing us what a quality player he is. Lawrence refers to the interior designer Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen of Changing Rooms fame. We now
ENGLAND coach Derek Fazackerley has warned that Romania pose a similar threat to Portugal as Kevin Keegan's men prepare for another make-or-break Euro 2000 clash tonight. A draw against Romania in Charleroi will take England into the quarter-finals and
WHEN William Hague attempts to gain political advantage from pensioners' dissatisfaction at the 75p increase in the basic pension, he conveniently forgets that it was his own party that uncoupled pensions from earnings in the 1980s. The fact that the
MRS Smith's letter regarding the riding of motorcycles on the Clough in Prestwich, paints a rosy picture of a group of well-dressed, organised off-road riders, who are being persecuted for participating in a harmless pursuit. The truth is vastly different
WITHOUT wishing to turn the fly tipping issue at Lower Gigg into a long running saga, I feel that I do have to correct some inaccuracies in Mrs Howcroft's letter (Your Letters, June 2). Mrs Howcroft asks why I did not contact the Redvales councillors
I ENDORSE Julie Hartley's letter regarding the value of a caring, hard-working and conscientious councillor. Andrea Hughes met this description. However, it is worth noting that it was only four years ago that she won against Barry Theckston, who equally
ON Friday, we were awakened by the sound of chain saws. We were horrified to find a team working on behalf of Bury Council carrying out a massacre of one of the most colourful mixed hedgerows in Tottington, between Bury Road and Leemans Hill estate. We
I READ the letter (June 2) from Mr and Mrs Bullock about high school places with growing concern. As a parent governor in Ramsbottom, I am able to see both sides of this argument and I agree entirely that it should not have happened. But has anyone seriously
I READ with interest the letter from Mr and Mrs Gehlhaar (May 26) concerning the inspection of St Paul's Primary School in Ramsbottom. I am a head teacher in a Bury primary school. My school was last inspected in January 1998 and received a good inspection
BURY'S Barracks Lodge has been designated a Grade A Site of Biological Importance by the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit. The declaration, on Friday, was welcomed by objectors to Stately Developments Ltd's plan to create 16 homes on the lodge at the rear
Blackburn Rambling Association, Oddfellows Hall, Regent Street, Blackburn, 8pm. Cards, skittles and dominoes. Friends in Bereavement, St John's Methodist Church lounge, Albert Road, Colne, 7pm. "Trawden -- Past and Present." Beer Festival, Accrington
I AGREE entirely with Jean Lewis (Letters, June 7) about inconsiderate people who park in orange badge holders' bays and have no right to. But I think her comments about supermarkets are a bit unfair. I work at one and I have made inquiries about clamping
I AGREE entirely with Jean Lewis (Letters, June 7) about inconsiderate people who park in orange badge holders' bays and have no right to. But I think her comments about supermarkets are a bit unfair. I work at one and I have made inquiries about clamping
RECENTLY, a couple returning home through Liverpool airport, told me that Blackpool's was busier. I believe them, but much of the business at Blackpool is the choppers servicing the oil rigs. That is the reason why Squires Gate is not getting more normal
I HAVE just returned from a few days in Bruges in Belgium. What a beautiful city! There was no litter, no graffiti, no dog dirt, no chewing gum stuck all over the pavements, no vandalism, no gangs of youths gathering on corners, no tarmac covering old
REGARDING John Farrer's rather blinkered view of the Hyndburn Circular Quality Bus scheme (Letters, June 14), I am rather disappointed that he believes the Lancashire County Council does not listen to the public. This could not be further from the truth
REGARDING John Farrer's rather blinkered view of the Hyndburn Circular Quality Bus scheme (Letters, June 14), I am rather disappointed that he believes the Lancashire County Council does not listen to the public. This could not be further from the truth
I AM a working mum who has for some years had to claim Family Credit to make up my "over generous" wage of £3.80 per hour for caring throughout the night for a disabled lady (a job I enjoy despite the pay and conditions). I have to work like this in order
DILAPIDATED school buildings in Blackburn and Darwen are to be repaired at a cost of £3.75million. Blackburn with Darwen Council has agreed to spend £1million on projects which include refurbishing unhygienic toilets and replacing faulty windows at the
THE REJECTION of a rival road scheme today gave a new kickstart to the campaign to build the Pendle A56 by-pass and end chaos at East Lancashire's biggest traffic bottleneck. Now councillors are to demand a top level meeting in London with deputy Prime
A PIONEERING health scheme has celebrated its first birthday. Health care professionals across the borough along with representatives from voluntary groups were on hand to celebrate Bury and Rochdale Health Action Zone's (HAZ) first anniversary. HAZ status
HUNDREDS of hanging baskets will soon be adding a splash of colour to local streets. For Bury Council staff have swung into action once again to display the 500 bloom-filled baskets around the borough. Over the coming weeks ,12,000 summer bedding plants
ANTHONY Williams, released by Rovers at the end of last season, was today set to sign for Third Division Hartlepool United. The Welsh under-21 international goalkeeper was also wanted by Dundee United and Macclesfield Town, where he spent a period on
THE REJECTION of a rival road scheme today gave a new kickstart to the campaign to build the Pendle A56 by-pass and end chaos at East Lancashire's biggest traffic bottleneck. Now councillors are to demand a top level meeting in London with deputy Prime
AFTER another tragedy from the roof top car park in Ainsworth Street, Blackburn (LET, June 12), we have more speeches on what went wrong. All steps to protect club-goers' safety have not been taken. A 5ft wall and bit of fence is clearly not sufficient
on smoking IN an effort to hammer home the dangers of smoking, the government proposes larger and more graphic health warnings on cigarette packets. I remember buying tins of 50 cigarettes years ago, but cannot recall how they could be opened. However
HUNDREDS of aerospace workers are being balloted on strike action this week in a dispute over job cuts. More than 600 employees at aero engine firm Rolls-Royce's Barnoldswick site will receive ballot papers asking whether they are prepared to take industrial
RESIDENTS of a troubled council estate condemned a vandal attack which left unsightly messages scrawled across roads and walls. The messages, which contained a distasteful four letter tirade, were sprayed in massive letters in Belfield Road and Rimington
THREE Bury volunteers were among those who carried out a "Groundforce-style" transformation of a Manchester community centre. They were part of a team which rolled up their sleeves to give a much needed facelift to the Copperdale Trust centre at Wythenshawe
DAVID Chaytor's challenger at the next General Election has made his pitch to Bury Industrial Society. John Walsh, the Conservative's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bury North, was guest speaker at the society's most recent dinner meeting at
A FITNESS club just keeps going from strength to strength. Bury LA Fitness Club. presently undergoing a major expansion programme, was recently presented with an Investors In People (IIP) award. The club, previously the Louise Brooks Health Studio, is
GROUND staff at Stand Cricket Club didn't let the grass grow under their feet when a wheel came off their mower. They showed their true metal by appealing over the radio for help in recovering the missing wheel bolt. And "Rod from Radcliffe" rode to the
BABY of the Year Coral Mackie had her long awaited big day ruined by the rain. For 18-month-old Coral, of Belgrave Street, Radcliffe, should have been presented with her trophy at the Court of Queens on Red bank Playing Field on carnival day. But a downpour
LEADERS of unruly mobs of youngsters should be arrested and hauled before the courts in a bid to discourage anti-social behaviour. Councillor Roy Walker was speaking at Thursday's (June 8) Bury West Area Board meeting in Brandlesholme, Bury. His call
TV vet Steve Leonard swapped his rubber gloves for a crash helmet when he joined Bury high school pupils who were "messin' about on the river." Steve, who is well-known for his appearances on "Vets In Practice" and "Vets in the Wild", took to the water
ANOTHER director has quit the board of Business Link East Lancashire. Terry Thompson, the trade union representative, has become the eighth member of the board to resign in recent days. The other directors, who include bosses of some of the area's biggest
FIREFIGHTERS struck up a furry friendship after they found a HAMSTER in the middle of the road! White watch from Darwen Fire Station turned into Pet Rescue when they saved the rodent in the Reservoir Street area Firefighter Andy Pennington, pictured,
A HUSBAND was remanded in custody, along with two other men, for allegedly kidnapping his estranged wife. Mohammed Sadiq, 34, formerly of Darwen but now living in London, and brothers Tasawar, 29, and Monowar Hussain, 27, of Birmingham, are accused of
MYSTERY surrounds the death of a 46-year-old after the Ford Sierra he was driving veered off the busy A56 Edenfield bypass and crashed into the back of a parked van. Steven Dawber, of Sherwood Close, Tottington, near Bury, died of multiple injuries. The
A MONSTER spud measuring 9in by 6in and weighing in at more than 3lb has been discovered in Waterfoot. Greengrocer Steve Taylor sold a bag of Ormskirk potatoes to Cordey's Bakery for use in their home-made pies and owner Tony Cordey found that the huge
A YOUNG dad who dragged a terrified former school enemy alongside a moving car has paid the price with his freedom -- and a judge told him he was lucky he was not facing murder or manslaughter charges. Steel erector Craig Sharkey, 19, whose victim, Joseph
THE families of two young men who died suddenly from previously undiagnosed heart conditions have finally seen their dream to prevent further tragedy become a reality. Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) held their first screening session in East Lancashire
REGARDING the comments of Lewis Billington (Sports Letters, June 13) about the merits of the youth team management set-up at Blackburn Rovers. It is indeed Jim Furnell who is responsible for most of the homegrown talent which remains in the first team
PRO Bono Publico (June 2) should read the Letters column carefully before putting pen to paper. The letter by Jim Homewood about pensions (May 19) makes the point quite specifically that "it was pointed out that what we are asking for was not a handout
I AM extremely concerned that representatives of Bury's Labour council have agreed to 78 houses being built on the former Morada factory in Hope Street, Ramsbottom. I am particularly concerned that one Labour member of the planning committee should feel
MY heart goes out to Mrs Pat Pilling and her family following the death of her husband Milton, who was reported to have had a "Do Not Resuscitate" (DNR) order placed upon him (Bury Times, May 26). As a nurse involved in the care of critically-ill patients
PUPILS, parents and teachers are working together, using our NIE Super Story Search literacy resource at a school in Blackburn, where an end of term news-sheet is also planned. All pupils in year six at Daisyfield primary school are taking home their
By THOMAS HAYES , yr5, Our Lady and St Hubert's RC Primary, Great Harwood MY LEGS were shaking as I stood up in front of fourteen thousand people to tell them about my hopes and dreams for the future. The place was a football stadium, but this wasn't
