REGARDING the caption on the photograph of me in your report (LET, November 30), I am not head of Gregson Lane Primary School, merely one of the governors. The headteacher is Viv Clark, whose outstanding leadership since the school was burned down in
I READ your paper on the Internet every evening to keep informed on events in the town where I used to earn my living. I was puzzled by the report (LET, November 3) on the allocation of £140,000 to fund a group to look after people who we are led to believe
A MAN who attacked a homeless man he had befriended with a hammer has been jailed for six months. Bolton Crown Court was told that Lee Finney smashed Kenny Hutchings over the head with a hammer after claiming that he had stolen property from him. Finney
A WOMAN driver escaped with minor injuries after a tree blew down on to her car in Walshaw, Bury, earlier today. The centre of Walshaw was closed off for two hours while the debris was removed near the junction with High Street. The accident happened
ACADEMY starlet Jay McEveley has described the events of the last seven days as a dream come true after making the breakthrough into the first team. Just three days after making his full debut in Rovers' 4-0 Worthington Cup win over Rotherham, the 17-
DAVID Dunn's mystery injury has left boss Graeme Souness scratching his head after his scan appeared to give him the all-clear. The 22-year-old midfielder pulled up with his latest hamstring injury at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday, having lasted just
YOUNGSTERS at Walshaw High School, Burnley, were involved a national attempt for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records yesterday for the biggest simultaneous sing. Year Seven girls joined 100,000 people across Great Britain in singing the song
A CHILDREN'S unit at Burnley General Hospital has scooped a major accolade and been highlighted as an example for the rest of the country to follow. The Paediatric Unit at Burnley Health Care NHS Trust was announced as the winner of the Action For Sick
BURNLEY Football Club supporters may be banned from attending Nottingham for next year's away fixture after the death of Nathan Shaw. The 17-year-old Forest fan died in hospital on Sunday after a clash between rival fans near a Burnley town centre pub
VILLAGERS in one of Burnley's smallest communities are preparing for a David and Goliath fight against a proposed wind farm. Residents of Dunnockshaw on the moors above the town say United Utilities' plan to erect 12 wind turbines on picturesque moorland
A FATHER-OF-THREE who hit a man over the head with a hammer in an armed gang attack was today starting a 15-month jail term. Burnley Crown Court heard how self employed brickie Farooq Bashir's brother had told him he had been stabbed three times. On impulse
RIVAL bids for a disused supermarket in Burnley have put businesses and politicians in two opposing camps. Peter Pike MP and council leader Coun Stuart Caddy have said they would prefer to see a new Job Centre on the site of the old Co-op superstore in
THE man who brought Shakers' financial plight to the attention of the nation will be honoured at Gigg Lane tonight. Top sports writer David Conn of 'The Independent' was the first member of the national press to highlight the cash crisis at Gigg Lane
SHAKERS are rolling their sleeves up for a real armwrestle when battlers Tranmere Rovers land at Gigg Lane tonight. The Wirral outfit may be flying high near the Division Two play-off places but Bury defender Lee Unsworth believes the LDV Vans Trophy
A WELDER has paid the price of drink-driving with a year's driving ban. Burnley Magistrates heard how John Morley, 22, was spotted driving erratically late at night in Barnoldswick town centre after four pints of lager. Morley, of Ash Grove in the town
A FORMER church, which was at the centre of controversy last year because of plans to turn it in to an Indian restaurant, could soon be given a new lease of life. Planners have given the 'yes' to councillors in Colne recommending they give the green light
LITTLE gems Jamie, Lisa and Kelly Diamond earned a top civic honour. Jamie, 11, Lisa, eight, and Kelly, six, of Trawden Close, Accrington, got the Mayor of Hyndburn's Civic Pride Award after scooping up discarded cans for a Blue Peter appeal.
AS USUAL, a poll run on the supporters' internet site before Saturday's game attempted to predict the correct score. Not surprisingly, there were not too many takers for a 1-1 draw with that renowned goalmouth predator Craig Short scoring the equaliser
TRAIN bosses are set to back down over a ban on disabled scooters after a meeting with an East Lancashire access group. Patricia Day, a spokesman for Hyndburn Access Group, has met the commercial director of First North Western to discuss policies on
A SCHOOLBOY has been given a musical break after he was drafted in to cover for a singer who had a break of his own -- in his vocal cords. Phillip Rowbottom won the part in Turn of the Screw at the last minute after the original actor's voice broke. The
WHEN Tom Hanks starred in Cast Away, it brought back childhood memories of Robinson Crusoe. But most people don't realise that he had fantastic time-management skills. After all, apart from Robinson Crusoe, who else do you know who gets all his work done
A STREET drinking ban in the centres of Clitheroe, Longridge and Whalley comes into force today. Ribble Valley councillors gave the ban the go-ahead earlier this year after hearing drunken youths were making a nuisance of themselves. Shopkeepers had complained
THOUSANDS of sticky buns and bread loaves went up in smoke following a fire in the back room of a Chatburn bakery. Baker Nick Rumboll was left counting the cost of the pre-Christmas blaze, which is thought to have been caused by an electrical fault. Fire
A RIBBLE Valley farmer has been fined more than £2,000 for polluting a brook with slurry and killing around 5,000 fish. Michael Makinson, of Cross Lane, Waddington, was given a 12-month conditional discharge by Blackburn magistrates and ordered to pay
BURNLEY schoolchildren set up stalls to sell their own products in the town centre. Groups from high schools in the town who are taking part in the Young Enterprise scheme took part in a Christmas trade fair in the Charter Walk shopping centre. Each year
A NINE-year-old boy was taken to hospital after a road accident during a trip to the shops. Leon Pickles, of Downham Grove, Burnley, suffered serious head and leg injuries in the accident in Brunshaw Avenue, Burnley, at 3.50pm yesterday. Police said Leon
NELSON town centre will be transformed into a traditional Christmas market this coming weekend. The event provides charities, voluntary and community groups with the opportunity to sell festive wares and seasonal gifts to raise funds. Organisations taking
A 42-YEAR-OLD woman has been sexually assaulted by a bogus taxi driver after a night out in Prestwich. She had been to some pubs in the area and got into the car in Bury New Road. As she was driven towards Blackley, the driver carried out the assault,
LEIGH Rotary Club is appealing for extra wheels to help with this year's Christmas float collection. Safety and insurance requirements ban collectors from travelling in float-towing vehicles so charity fund-raisers need a minibus. Venues are: December
TEACHERS have accused Bury Council of rushing to mortgage off local schools. The Bury branch of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) says there has not been enough consultation over plans to use the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) to pay
TWO pupils were honoured for their courage at Woodhey High School's annual presentation. Rick Panter was awarded the Paul Cunningham Memorial Cup for Courage and Jason Blackledge received the Unsung Hero Shield. Both pupils gave first-aid treatment to
THE Clarets have been handed a cash boost of £664,000 as part of a £20million package designed to help ailing Nationwide League clubs. With first division clubs hardest hit by the collapse of ITV Digital, the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, has agreed
DAVID Dunn's mystery injury has left boss Graeme Souness scratching his head after his scan appeared to give him the all-clear. The 22-year-old midfielder pulled up with his latest hamstring injury at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday, having lasted just
THE saga over the future of Darwen's former Belgrave Chapel could be resolved early next year. Planning permission to turn the 155-year-old listed building into flats was given eight years ago but English Heritage approval is still required. The plan
A FATHER has escaped a custodial sentence for punching a bus driver after an incident in which his partner fell from a bus and landed on the pram containing their eight-month-old child. Blackburn magistrates heard that John Mark Clark lost his temper
BROTHERS of the Royal Anti-Diluvian of the Buffalo today threw open the doors of their secretive world to save it from dying out. Its Darwen lodge desperately need new members after the number of brothers plummeted from 30 to six in the last 10 years.
COUNCILLORS are ready to fight to keep a village surgery. Local members of Rossendale Borough Council are concerned that if Stacksteads loses its only GP's surgery, the chemist will also be under threat. Coun Micheal McShea said he and Coun Dale Connearn
HIGH quality crafts will be on sale at Rossendale's Tourist Information Centre in the run-up to Christmas, thanks to a new collaboration with Clitheroe's award-winning Platform Gallery Craft Centre. The newly-refurbished Information Centre on Kay Street
UniBond Division One: Radcliffe Boro...7 Spennymoor...4 By Steve Bott QUITE simply, the most amazing match I have ever witnessed which had the statisticians feverishly scouring through their record books. The action started as early as the fourth minute
DEFENCE Minister Lewis Mooney has promised the government will honour its pledge to buy 232 Eurofighters and will keep a close eye on the restructuring of British Aerospace. North West MPs raised the issues with him in the Commons yesterday. Blackpool
BLACKBURN'S Quakers voiced their opposition to any war with Iraq in the quietest way possible. They congregated outside Foreign Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw's constituency surgery at Bangor Street Community Centre. They didn't say a word but
PARENTS buying their children bicycles for Christmas are being urged to buy them helmets in an attempt to increase safety. Lancashire County Council's Road Safety group has given the advice after the Government's Think! campaign revealed only one in four
A PRIEST has renewed an appeal for bottles of home brew whisky -- given out by mistake as prizes at a church tombola -- to be returned or disposed of. The Canada Dry and Spar-own label bottles were given out at St Anne's Church Christmas Fair at the church
A GALA buffet and dance at Radcliffe Civic Suite will see in the New Year and raise funds for cancer research. The event is being organised by the Willing Hands Whitefield Local Committee and tickets, priced £35, are available by phoning 0161 280 2960
PREMIER Division leaders Accrington Stanley look to get back winning ways in the UniBond League's President's Cup tonight. They take on Ashton United away from home just six days after beating their league rivals 4-1 at the Crown Ground - goals coming
CLITHEROE face a tricky trip to Ryman League side Ware in the fourth round of the FA Vase. The Blues beat Midland Alliance side Studley in the last round on Saturday, 4-1. And they now must to travel to Wodson Park in East Hertfordshire to challenge for
PRESTON striker Ricardo Fuller will have to wait until next year before having corrective surgery on his injured knee. The Jamaica international was ruled out for the season last week after damaging his cruciate in the win at Coventry. An exploratory
NORTH End were dumped North End out of the Worthington Cup last night with fine strikes in each half from Darius Vassell which left keeper David Lucas with no chance. Dion Dublin scored the third with a towering header and a spectacular scissor-kick goal
IMPRESSIVE performances against West Bromwich Albion and Plymouth Argyle have brought confidence surging back into the Gigg Lane camp and two points tomorrow against Oxford United, to make it three wins in a row, will go a long way towards confirming
TWO pupils were honoured for their courage at Woodhey High School's annual presentation. Rick Panter was awarded the Paul Cunningham Memorial Cup for Courage and Jason Blackledge received the Unsung Hero Shield. Both pupils gave first-aid treatment to
SAY local and it evokes a lot of images in your mind. The local shop, old Mr Chadwick at Feniscowles, Arnold who had the toffee shop next to the Jubilee -- he's been there since I was at the 'tec 'doing art' and sneaking in to buy two Woodbines. Not that
LEE Jonathon Hartley, 30, of Neath Close, Blackburn, was jailed for seven months by Blackburn magistrates after pleading guilty to burglary at St Mary's College and theft of a video recorder and burglary with intent to steal at Blackburn Northern sports
THE BNP have done more for Blackburn than years of complaints have managed and the council has been shocked to the core. We will now find a listening council, a caring council, a can't-do-enough-for-you council. Next year's local taxes will be kept to
AS A veteran of the late-1980s 'Independence for Darwen' campaign I have been watching the latest one with interest. I have no wish to pour cold water on the efforts of the campaign's supporters, but in order to succeed any such campaign must be achievable
STAFF at a Whitefield post office were threatened by armed raiders during a robbery. Three men wearing balaclavas, one brandishing a large spanner, burst into the Park Lane Post Office at 5.25pm on Thursday (Dec 5) and threatened two female counter staff
THE first nine of 50 new mini-recycling sites around the borough are up and running. Another three could be open by Christmas, with the rest installed by next April. Town hall bosses hope that the bins will lead to a much higher recycling rate: Bury,
FUSILIER Michael Walsh has been recruited to help recruit more Fusiliers from Bury. The former Tottington High School pupil has become a member of the five strong Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Recruiting Team based at Bury's Wellington Barracks. The 26-
BURNLEY supporters may be banned from attending Nottingham for next year's away fixture after the killing of Nathan Shaw. The potential move was revealed as police today sought an extension from magistrates to continue questioning a 19-year-old local
A GROUND-breaking taxi marshal scheme is to help late-night revellers get home safely and prevent the threat of sex attacks. The high-profile staff will use mobile phones to book cabs and ease the queues of people waiting for a black Hackney carriage.
AT THE family service on Sunday at St John's, Cliviger Guides handed £207 which had been made from the sale of 'holly knockers' made by the guides and leaders. This represented two hard evenings' work, and the Guides would like to thank all those who
MARK Robinson and Ian Taylor are determined to make their houses the Santa of attention - by spending more than £2,000 on Christmas decorations. Their adjoining homes in Chingford Bank, Burnley, are going head to head to be the brightest and best. The
POLICE in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale have given their full backing to a hard-hitting advertising campaign encouraging people to report drink-drivers. The campaign, to be launched this week will also highlight the consequences of drinking and driving
BURNLEY supporters may be banned from attending Nottingham for next year's away fixture after the killing of Nathan Shaw. The potential move was revealed as police today sought an extension from magistrates to continue questioning a 19-year-old local
A FORK lift truck driver stopped from fighting by officers said the police were useless and ended up getting arrested. Burnley Magistrates heard Michael James Butson, 23, swore, was warned about his conduct but carried on being abusive. Butson, of Bradshaw
TWO of Radcliffe's three council wards could be re-named. Members of Radcliffe Area Board voted to change the names of Radcliffe South and Radcliffe Central wards. They voted to re-name Radcliffe South, which covers Outwood, Cams Lane and Allen's Green
THE nursery at the centre of an E.coli outbreak was reopened today. Two children from Pendle were among those affected by the bug which struck 13 children, aged between one and four and one parent. All 23 staff at the Busy Bears Nursery in Skipton were
THE intention was to write about Burnley's excellent win over Nottingham Forest. The intention was to wax lyrical about Glen Little, possibly playing the best football of his life at the moment. The intention went out the window around 10.30am on Sunday
THE owners of the Toby Jug Tea Shop, in King Street, Whalley, were flushed with pride after their toilets were highly commended in the national Loo of the Year awards, organised by the national Tourist Boards.
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after an 87-year-old woman's home was burgled while she was watching television. The pensioner was at her home in Rugby Avenue, Accrington, at 7.30pm on Sunday, when a man forced a ground floor window. He confronted
A MAN has been charged with causing the death of a woman by dangerous driving after a road accident in Oswaldtwistle. Azhar Mahmood, 21, of Burnley, was charged with the offence and a number of other motoring offences and will appear before Hyndburn Magistrates
A LEARNER driver was stopped by police after driving at high speed following a row with his girlfriend and found to be almost twice over the limit. Mark Scott, a jobless 26-year-old, of Worcester Avenue, Accrington, pleaded guilty to driving with excess
INDUSTRIAL buildings in Oswaldtwistle could be converted to form a place of worship if a planning application goes through tomorrow. Oswaldtwistle Community Church, currently based in York Street, Church, and Harvey Street Community Centre, has applied
PERSONAL finance specialist Nick Thompson, of Bury-based DTE Financial Services, says parents should begin saving £100 a month from each child's birth towards the spiralling cost of university fees. He fears couples may have to delay starting a family
A DRUG-addicted father-of-three who threatened his estranged wife and took family possessions to sell for heroin has five months to prove he is reformed. Abuzahan Jalil, 31, who has been in custody for four months was given his freedom by a judge and
BLACKPOOL FC has been drawn against First Division Crystal Palace in the third round of this year's FA Cup. The game will take place at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool on Saturday, January 4 with a 3pm kick-off. A Blackpool FC spokesman said season ticket
THE Clarets have been handed a cash boost of £664,000 as part of a £20million package designed to help ailing Nationwide League clubs. With first division clubs hardest hit by the collapse of ITV Digital, the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, has agreed
POLICE are still appealing for help in trying to trace the whereabouts of a Prestwich woman, missing from home for more than a month Miss Olapeg Ajike Ladipo (22) from Brookfield was last seen on November 4 when she set off to visit relatives in London
A YEAR-LONG fight to save a village school from closing reaches the High Court in London tomorrow (Wed Dec 10). A judge will rule on the proposed closure of Affetside Primary School after campaigners won the right for a judicial review. Also, campaigners
FORMER head teacher and college principal David Hudson is the new chairman of the bench at Bury Magistrates Court. Currently deputy chairman, he takes over the top spot in the New Year from Mr Leslie Berkeley. Mr Hudson joined the bench in 1986 and has
A GALA buffet and dance at Radcliffe Civic Suite will see in the New Year and raise funds for cancer research. The event is being organised by the Willing Hands Whitefield Local Committee and tickets, priced £35, are available by phoning 0161 280 2960
A RETIRED policeman living in America has launched an investigation - to trace his Darwen relatives. Charles Shropshire's mother, Clara Moore, was born in Darwen on January 11, 1892, and lived there until 1911 before emigrating to America to start a new
EMERGENCY crews today called for a bridge to be strengthened and repaired after it emerged it was too weak to cope with vehicles such as fire engines or ambulances. Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue has been called out to help fire and ambulance crew
A PENSIONER who indecently assaulted a Leigh teenager on a bus is being hunted by detectives. The 17-year-old girl, who has not been named, boarded the number 19 bus heading towards Warrington at Leigh bus station at 3pm on Friday. She sat at the back
A SECONDARY school teacher has been further remanded on bail on charges of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old pupil. Alan Dawson, 37, a maths teacher at Pleckgate High School, Blackburn, is charged with two offences of having sexual
AS political party names go, it makes the Monster Raving Looney Party sound straight forward! But the next time Lancashire County Council meet in full, it will have a new group among its councillors. County Councillor Tom Sharratt will be representing
A MAN was so savagely beaten his features were unrecognisable, a court heard. Preston Crown Court was told that when paramedics arrived at the blood-stained scene, they found Gary Buckley, of Blackburn in the lowest possible level of consciousness. His
TRADING Standards chiefs today warned householders about damp proofers conning people into spending hundreds of pounds on home improvements they don't need. Blackburn with Darwen's Trading Standards department said people should be on the lookout for
EAST Lancashire landlords have been warned to get an entertainment licence ahead of a spate of inspections to be carried out before Christmas. Pubs could face fines of thousands of pounds from Blackburn with Darwen Council if they are found to be without
A BT engineer is believed to have jumped to his death from close to his workplace on the fourth floor of a town centre building. Stephen Ainslie, 44, of Darwen, had worked at the Jubilee Street BT site in Blackburn for 20 years. His body was found on
A GROUND-breaking taxi marshal scheme is to help late-night revellers get home safely and prevent the threat of sex attacks. The high-profile staff will use mobile phones to book cabs and ease the queues of people waiting for a black Hackney carriage.
LAST week I spoke about Stanley's best ever season when they were in the Football League in 1954-55. This season we have also broke a record when we won nine consecutive games at the start of the campaign which is a Northern Premier League best. Let's
A PUBLICAN has revealed how he battled for his life when he tackled a burglar who stabbed him five times in the head with a screwdriver. Brave Mike Shepherd, landlord of the George and Dragon in Bury, suffered a further three stab wounds to his chest
