HEALTH chiefs have defended plans to send 45,000 patients to a private firm for operations using £23million of NHS cash. Bosses from Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust told councillors last night that the move was essential to hit a key waiting
A PENSIONER has been given an ASBO which bans him from calling the police in a non- emergency. Blackburn magistrates were told that John Robert Fuller, 67, of Hayhurst Street, Clitheroe, had repeatedly phoned the force on Christmas Day because he was
A PRIMARY school has seen the number of its pupils tucking into lunch soar within a week of installing controversial finger-print technology in its dining room. St James' CE Primary School, Clitheroe, last week became the first in East Lancashire to
A MOBILE phone shop has been fined - because its staff had nowhere to wash their hands. Discount Mobiles Ltd in Blackburn, received a £200 fine and was ordered to pay £1,390 court costs after a successful prosecution by Blackburn with Darwen Borough
THE family of a former pub landlord who liked to gamble asked mourners to place bets in his memory instead of buying flowers. And, on the day of Harry Plumbley's funeral, many of the mourners won as Time To Regret romped home in the 2.30 at Wolverhampton
RAMSBOTTOM'S new library is set to open next month, more than a year later than originally intended. The £1million project has been plagued with problems since it began at the start of 2005, including repeated vandal attacks and the contracted construction
A BURNLEY shop is one of the first businesses in East Lancashire to use an ultrasonic alarm that can only be heard by youngsters, in the fight against anti-social behaviour. The Spar, Brunshaw Road, Pike Hill, is trialling the use of the "mosquito alarm
Hoghton Panto Society - HotPants - have invited recently retired Blackburn solicitor Malcolm Clay to write and direct their first production, Aladdin. It runs from January 26 to 28 and February 2 and 3. Mr Clay has a lifelong love of variety and circus
THE new owners of Darwen Football Club have pledged to invest £3million and build leisure facilities at the Anchor Ground for the community. Property developers Ellie Batiste and Ted Ward want Darwen residents to be involved in the make-over as much
HOSPITAL staff have praised a new training course aimed at taking the load off doctors and nurses. They are among the first to complete the two-year assistant practitioner foundation degree programme at the University of Central Lancashire. The course
The disgraceful antics of a manager and rowdy fans ruined what should have been a memorable occasion for a bunch of young footballers. Moston Brook from Manchester may have lifted the trophy but, ultimately, the victory was soured by the behaviour
VIGILANTES have left an assistant store manager fearing for his life after mistakenly identifying him as a child-sex offence suspect. Richard Greaves, 27, has received death threats, hate mail, had his tyres slashed and his car written off during the
AN ICE hockey team have honoured one of its young players who sadly passed away by having his named emblazoned on their shirts. Blackburn Hawks Under 14s have had a new shirt designed to remember Niall Birtwell who died suddenly last year. The youngster
AS a Royal Marine he travelled the world, but now Mick Fletcher is settling down to life as a police community support officer in Burnley. Mick, 27, has joined the neighbourhood policing team in Bank Hall, bolstering resources and increasing the high
A GROUP of residents in Padiham are calling for recycling bins to replace their "totally inadequate" boxes. The Stonemoor Bottom Residents' Group has been appealing to Burnley Council for several months to introduce blue recycling wheelie bins because
A BURNLEY GP has been chosen to lead an influential group of clinical experts who advise community health decision-makers in East Lancashire. Dr Swamy Narayana, has pledged to shape the future of community health services for the better with a hands
THESE pictures show the changing face of Towneley Hall's historic stables - as they undergo a major transformation aimed at breathing new life into the Burnley attraction. The Grade II listed building, built more than 200 years ago in 1790 as a stables
BURNLEY'S list of January signings has grown with Icelandic midfielder Joey Gudjonsson signing a three-and-a-half-year deal. The 26-year-old completed the £150,000 move from high-flying Dutch Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar to take manager Steve Cotterill's
A MILKMAN convicted of raping a woman failed to clear his name at the Court of Appeal. Adrian Gallagher, of Ballantrae Road, Blackburn, was found guilty at Preston Crown Court of one count of rape in March last year. He was told he will stay in
GANGS who stage car crashes to cash in on other motorists are not operating in Nelson, police said. Officers have moved to reassure people there was not a problem with people having accidents' in the town after Pendle councillor and peer, Lord Tony Greaves
Blackburn Rovers are speaking to Hertha Berlin centre half Chris Samba over the possibility of a move. The 22-year-old Congo international has been on trial at Ewood Park. He has played 20 Bundesliga games in total.
A BURNLEY GP has been chosen to lead an influential group of clinical experts who advise community health decision-makers in East Lancashire. Dr Swamy Narayana, has pledged to shape the future of community health services for the better with a hands-on
THE owners of a Rossendale riding centre are set to build eight chalets for people taking part in competitions. Rossendale Council's development control committee approved the application for the chalets at Croft Top Farm, Rising Bridge. Four letters
PLAYERS, management, staff and supporters have waited for over four weeks, but Steve Cotterill hopes Burnley will finally be able to make their first Turf Moor bow of 2007 tonight. The Clarets take on Stoke City (kick-off 7.45pm) in the re-arranged game
THE only church in Darwen with a set of fully functional bells wants to hear from people wishing to train as bell ringers. St Peter's, in Church Street, has six regular Sunday morning bell ringers but new recruits are required. The church welcomes anyone
DEFENDER Stephen Warnock has admitted he is excited about joining Mark Hughes' Blackburn Rovers revolution. Warnock, who arrived at Ewood on a three-and-a-half-year deal after Rovers paid an undisclosed sum for his services last night, has been on
Somewhere this week I've read about a school not being allowed to enforce the school uniform. Now I believe in school uniforms, they are a way to resolve the problem of the dreaded designer disease' that seems to affect today's young children, not
A NEW £2.5 million community centre incorporating a theatre or cinema could be built in Nelson within two years. But Pendle Council still has to decide whether to add it to the grounds of the Liberata offices, which are being built at the former Grand
WATFORD goalkeeper Richard Lee revealed he owes a huge debt of gratitude to Blackburn Rovers. The 24-year-old spent last season on loan at Ewood Park, and although he returned to Vicarage Road to play second fiddle to Ben Foster this season, he said
A 24-year-old man has made a second appearance before the town's magistrates after a home-made flamethrower was found at his home. The court heard the device, constructed using a sealant application tool, a butane gas canister and a home made nozzle,
TWO elderly women were treated by paramedics after they were knocked down on a main road today. The two women were crossing Bacup Road in Waterfoot outside the G8 garage when they were struck by a vehicle just after 10am. The road was closed while
AFTER the decision to house Stoke City fans in the Jimmy McIlroy Stand (lower tier) for this game, the following information is issued to both sets of supporters. All Burnley supporters with either season tickets or matchday tickets for the Jimmy McIlroy
If you like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs then you'll love The Noisettes' debut album. Like their New York City counterparts The Noisettes are a three-piece which plays hard edged rock backed up by a charismatic female lead singer. From the opening thunderous
Enterprise students in Lancashire are to get advice from Apprentice' and TV celebrity Ruth Badger. Ruth, 27, who now runs a North West consultancy, was runner up on BBC's The Apprentice show. And she has been hired by the North West branch of education
A REMEMBRANCE service was held yesterday at Blackburn Cathedral to celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of one of the town's most famous sons. The service was held to commemorate the life of Alfred Wainwright, who died in 1991. As part
By Keith Sowerbutts. The vicar surveyed a group of children, Picking out Johnny just seven, Saying, "Where do you go when you pass away?" The youngster was quick to say "heaven." "Very good, full marks" said the man of the cloth, The lad waited
Hyndburn MP Greg Pope has launched a campaign to stop employers breaking minimum wage law. He said: "The majority of Hyndburn employers are fair-minded and nearly every business in Hyndburn does exactly what's required by law - but I'm determined to
A HAIRDRESSER is calling for an annual pride march through Accrington to show support for Hyndburn's gay community. A replica of Manchester's famous Canal Street is also among the ideas being touted by Paul Freely, owner of Accrington's Euro Hair and
AN 84-year-old driver died after it is believed he turned into the path of a Land Rover in an outside lane. The pensioner, from the Ribble Valley, was killed on the A56 near Huncoat yesterday in the crash in his Mazda. He was pronounced dead at the
A TENANT who had a bomb at his house is set to be evicted - despite being bedridden with a terminal illness. Landlord Hyndburn Homes is attempting to evict seriously ill tenant James Gibbons from his home in Huncoat after a string of incidents. The
BLACKBURN ROVERS boss Mark Hughes says he's determined his team won't be the fall guys for teams at the bottom of the table as he takes Blackburn to basement side Watford tonight. The Blues have already lost to West Ham and Charlton on their travels
TWO Waterfoot councillors are holding a meeting tonight to discuss how to regenerate the town. Couns Trevor Unsworth and Ruth Alcroft are inviting traders, residents, fellow councillors and anyone interested in seeing improvements for Waterfoot, to come
A MAN has been fined after rubbish from his workplace was found tipped on the street. Talat Mahmood, 25, of Blackburn Road, Accrington, was found guilty by Hyndburn magistrates and fined £200 and ordered to pay £250 clean up costs. He was caught after
A drunken man got both his knees stuck in metal railings after falling over in Blackburn. Firefighters were called to help free the trapped 47-year-old on Saturday night after a concerned passer-by found him stuck in Penny Street around 10.30pm. Blackburn
MOTORISTS were left traumatised after armed robbers tried to steal three cars in a terrifying hour-long car-jacking rampage in Pendle. But police revealed they are baffled over the motive for the crime - which detectives said could easily have left somebody
A LONG time ago the NHS was created. The service was the envy of most of the world because it gave support and care to us all at that time finance, and the general overall structure of the scheme was equal to demand made on it. But the population has
UNITED Utilities said the last of the customers affected by last week's storms have had their supplies reconnected. Engineers have been working round the clock to repair the damage caused by the storm, which saw winds of up to 92mph leaving a trail
THE world's largest monkey breeding factory is in Vietnam. It exists to supply the escalating demand for live animal experiments in the UK research industry and elsewhere. The Government is turning a blind eye to an appallingly cruel and inhuman trade
TWO East Lancashire boroughs have been given £125,000 each to tackle anti-social behaviour. Blackburn with Darwen and Burnley are two of 40 "Respect" areas revealed by the Government yesterday. The cash will be used to target nuisance behaviour and
I AM 84 years old and have lived on the smallholdings in Knuzden for 83 years. The idea of a roundabout will not solve the danger there. I think the best thing is traffic lights. TOM CARR, Haslingden Road, Knuzden.
Author Simon Entwistle tells the story of James Pitts, Blackburn's first winner of the Victoria Cross, in our new Audio section. Simon, who is famous for his spooky ghost walks, will be telling a different tale of East Lancashire's past each week on
WHY can speed cameras or a speed limit sign not be installed in Hollins Grove Street, Darwen? People use this road as a race track. I am surprised nobody has been killed or badly hurt. Mothers are frightened of letting their children play out because
I WRITE to ask if there are any relatives of the grandchildren of Renton and Emma Wright, of Accrington. They had eight children, Ann, Bertha, Robert, Oliver, John, Fred, Harry and Ellen, the latter being my mother. Ellen was born in 1895 at 78 Sultan
I WRITE in response to the article on rubbish collection and agree that it causes street litter. Every fortnight I ring about all the rubbish in the back streets and the boxes blowing down the road. My local councillor knows about it and sends messages
GOALKEEPER Brian Jensen may have played his last game for Burnley after having a transfer request accepted. The 6ft 1ins stopper voiced his displeasure at being left out of the squad to face Southampton, with on-loan Wigan goalkeeper Mike Pollitt preferred
A SOLDIER has been cleared of assaulting an Iraqi detainee. Sergeant Kelvin Stacey, 30, one of seven Queen's Lancashire Regiment soldiers on trial for allegedly ill treating suspected insurgents, was found not guilty by a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire
BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Robbie Savage revealed it was an "honour" to wear the captain's armband. But the Welshman admitted he would have no trouble handing it over to Ryan Nelsen when the defender returns from injury. Savage, who is expected to
BURNLEY manager Steve Cotterill hopes new signing Joey Gudjonsson can stun defences with his firepower. The Clarets boss doesn't believe his side have scored enough goals from midfield this season. But that all looks set to change thanks to his latest
ACCRINGTON STANLEY boss John Coleman believes the club's warm-weather training break to Spain is a "blessing in disguise" despite the Reds return to form. Coleman's side have picked up four points from their last two games, with a win against Mansfield
Blackburn Rovers will find out tonight who they face this weekend in the fourth round of the FA Cup when QPR face Luton at Kenilworth Road in the re-arranged replay. Rangers only claimed a 2-2 draw in the original Luton fixture thanks to Shabazz Baidoo's
THE video has been set for 6pm in the Anson household for the foreseeable future. Yes, Masterchef Goes Large is back. I honestly couldn't tell you why but this is one of the most compelling programmes on TV. Watch it once and you'll be hooked as amateur
A WHALLEY-based mental health authority has welcomed a new board member. John Cowdall has been appointed a non-executive director of Calderstones NHS Trust. Mr Cowdall, from Chorley, runs his own management and development company and has served as
WORKMEN scaled one of Blackburn's tallest buildings to put up a banner celebrating Thwaites' 200th anniversary. Abseilers were forced to wait until the weather calmed before they could erect the banner on the side of the brewery.
A PUB which has been closed for ten years is to re-open next month - and the new owner wants people to help him with a display of the building's history. Jim Barnes, 56, has spent the last three years single-handedly restoring the Queen's Hotel, Church
