BURGLARS attacked a man who walked in on them as they searched his kitchen. Police said Jason Wildman, of Holme Street, Colne, was about to take his dog for a walk at around 2.25am on Thursday and as he opened the back door his dog began to bark. When
PLANS for the re-birth of Colne's Shackleton Hall are set to be delayed by three years after Pendle Council said it could not afford to help fund the project. Downs Court Properties wants to transform the decaying Church Street building into apartments
A BURNLEY leisure centre owner is recovering in hospital after falling from his horse at his riding stables. Andrew Brown was on a cross-country track at the Equestrian Centre at Crow Wood Leisure, Holme Road on Wednesday when he fell from the horse
HUNDREDS of people descended on Padiham as the town kicked off its Christmas celebrations in style. Last night the streets were awash with colour as the annual lantern festival and Christmas lights switch-on were held. Young and old turned out in force
EAST Lancashire's first shop dedicated wholly to selling Fair Trade goods was due to open today. Ocarina, Albert Road, Colne, was opening its doors for the first time at 10am. The shop, is the first in the area to sell only Fair Trade and eco-friendly
AN East Lancashire shopkeeper's campaign to help make the region greener has earned him a major environmental award. Darren Turner who runs Cartridge World in Rawtenstall and Accrington picked up a Business in the Community Award at the Lancashire BEA
EVERYBODY talks about how tough it is to "do" the Pennine Way and folk are very brave to walk the route in winter. Few people bother to work out just what makes up the Pennines or how the name came about. The word Pennine was first used by a chap called
THERE'S a new label - and a new name - but Cave de Turckheim in France's Alsace have been producing a soft, delicate and very drinkable Pinot Gris for a long long time. Now, presumably to get some sales from the wine bar crowd who love to drink often
THE law on proxy votes had already been tightened before two corrupt councillors were jailed for election fraud, claims the government. Liberal Democrats Manzur Hussain, 58, of Milner Street, Burnley and Mozaquir Ali, 44, of Brougham Street, Burnley
A religious education teacher who became romantically involved with a girl and met up with her in woods on "one disastrous night" has been placed on a three-year community order. A court heard married Kevin Ford had already been cautioned over his contact
AN East Lancashire woman who is aiming to set a new land speed record for a steam-powered car will be making a bid for the title early next year. And Annette Getty, the daughter of John Getty, chairman of Nelson-based PDS Engineering, pictured here in
A BARMAN responsible for cashing up at a Blackpool hotel stole the contents of the safe. Lee Booth, 28, of St Peters Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to theft. He was sentenced to 12 months supervision and ordered to pay £630 compensation by Blackpool
BLACKBURN Rovers manager Mark Hughes is considering taking a punt on Cypriot striker Yiannakis Okkas during the January transfer window. Hughes has sent his scouts to watch the Olympiakos hit-man on a number of occasions this season, and he's now offered
Robbie Savage has urged his Blackburn Rovers team-mates to start reproducing their European form in the Premiership as they switch their attention back to matters closer to home. Rovers are unbeaten in the UEFA Cup this season, but in the Premiership
A CHINESE man who had his leg broken after apparently being run over by a car has been unable to give police details of his ordeal because he can barely speak English. The man dialled 999 on Thursday night and officers believe he was trying to explain
METAL detector wands were used by pub door staff for the first time in Accrington last night in a bid to cut down on knife crime. Four pubs in the town centre were given pairs of the airport secturity-type detector wands to scan customers as they entered
DARWEN'S Christmas lights switch-on to-night will appear smaller than last year's as some Christmas trees for the front of shops have not been put up in time. And road works in the town centre have been blamed by traders whose shops will miss out on
VISIT Rossendale' is the message behind a renewed tourism promotion campaign for the borough. The six-month campaign launched this week aims to increase visitors to the Valley and boost the local economy. Rossendale Council has commissioned Brighter
THE Bishop of Blackburn has criticised British Airways for its "ridiculous" action against an employee who wore a Christian cross with her uniform. The Rt Rev Nicholas Reade said Christians may turn to other airlines to avoid such anti-Christian discrimination
THE Mayor and Mayoress of Rossendale were among those who applauded the record academic performance of pupils at Fearns Community Sport College. Councillors Peter and Hazel Steen were guests of honour at the Bacup specialist college's awards presentation
ONE of East Lancashire's most historic buildings has become an "eyesore" after years of neglect and a fire which left half of it derelict. The Four Oaks, Reedley, has a history of planning applications dating back to 1993 - most recently, in 2004, the
Police are warning people to be on their guard in the run-up to Christmas following the theft of a purse from a shopping trolley in Asda. The theft happened at the Princess Way store between 11-11.30am on Wednesday. Insp Vicki Haworth, of Burnley
CORBIERES is probably the best bit of wine country in the Languedoc region of southern France close to where the hills of the Pyrenees meet the Med between Marseilles and the Spanish border. This one is a juicy, smooth mix of earthy Carignan, muscly
A TAXI driver who spoke to a distressed teenager after she claimed to have been raped is being sought by police in the hope he may be able to provide vital information about the attack. A passing police car picked up the 16-year-old at around 2.10am
EAST Lancashire celebrity Ted Robbins made an emotional plea after his teenage daughter was pelted with eggs and said: Please stop attacking my children.' The radio and TV star vowed to take a stand against yobs following an unprovoked attack on his
BLACKBURN midfielder Robbie Savage has called on UEFA to take strong action against Feyenoord after Morten Gamst Pedersen was struck in the face with a plastic glass during Thursday night's feisty encounter in Rotterdam. Pedersen got showered in beer
STEVE Cotterill admits the huge turnover of managers in the Championship does not surprise him. Barnsley became the 17th Championship club to change their manager in the calendar year after sacking Andy Ritchie earlier this week. The former Oldham boss
FORMER Burnley assistant manager Mark Yates has admitted he owes his new-found career at the helm of Kidderminster Harriers to the man he still refers to as "the gaffer". And he revealed he has already called his old mentor Steve Cotterill this week
ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman has admitted the past seven days have been the toughest week of his managerial career. But he rubbished rumours of a dressing room split after watching star players Ian Craney, Sean Doherty, Francois Dubordeaux and
THE Play Development group of volunteers in Burnley, has been given £5,640 from Grants for Growth. The group has been running just over a year and is supported by Burnley Council's sport and play development team. The grant will enable volunteers and
A ROSSENDALE pensioner has made a DVD to help other elderly people enjoy a safe and happy retirement. Roy Bamber, of Roundhill Lane, Haslingden, decided to make Retire to a Good Life' to prevent pensioners from having accidents in the home. The 75-year-old
A group of enterprising students from the Ribble Valley led the way in a county-wide competition aimed at unearthing the business stars of the future. More than 50 schools signed up to Lancashire Education Business Partnership Enterprise Challenge which
AN elderly' lorry driver has been cleared of dangerous drivng and assault after an off-duty policeman claimed he had tried to "squash" him with his lorry. Henry Taylor, 67, was found not guilty of the allegations after a two-day trial at Burnley Crown
PRESSURE from residents could still save East Lancashire fire engines on a hit list of priority stations chosen to have pumps axed under service reviews. Lancashire's chief fire officer Peter Holland has suggested the county should only lose three engines
TRAFFIC delays in Blackburn centre in the run-up to Christmas are no worse or better than in previous years, despite the redesign of the town's traffic grid, a leading transport chief has said. But Tory opposition leader Coun Colin Rigby, said the statement
Blackburn Hawks are desperate to chalk up a much-needed victory this weekend as they face Paisley Pirates in a Northern League Cup fixture. The ice hockey aces have been boosted by the return to fitness of several key players ahead of tomorrow's home
I WOULD like to thank Councillor Karimeh Foster for her sterling work in arguing for a fair deal for the people of Darwen and active Darwen Leisure Centre users since the nonsense of a split-site facility was announced by the council. Other councillors
FRANK Crompton has got it wrong. He asks "so what's new?" about the proposed Darwen Academy. For a start, it will have a sixth form - something we have not had in Darwen for many years. As a result, Darwen has the highest number of 16-18 year olds not
DARWEN has a population of approximately 30,000. We need a new health and leisure centre. Councillor Colin Rigby said we could have this at a cost of 75 per cent. 75 per cent of what? If we replace the current one there will be 25 per cent left to upgrade
SOME people seem to have misunderstood the plans to redevelop Darwen Leisure Centre. After extensive consultation with users and the public, and the production of a report by independent experts, the three most requested items were a larger pool, gym
ONCE you hit your mid twenties drinking copious amounts of vodka in front of X Factor no longer seems an appropriate warm-up to a good night out (well, not every weekend anyway). What you need is a grown-up meal at a nice restaurant and a few glasses
This rare appearance from legendary Dogs D'Amour frontman Tyla demonstrated that, in his own words - record sales and chart positions don't matter ****'. Retaining a small but fanatical following, he's found a niche as a wandering minstrel - part lovelorn
A BLACKBURN independent school has reassured parents it is still operating after it was placed in administration. Windsmoor House School, which takes in boy pupils with emotional problems, called in administrators from Manchester-based Grant Thornton
