EVERY single serious violent crime in the Ribble Valley was solved in the past year, according to police figures. The rural borough saw a 50 per cent drop, down to 11 offences, with a 100 per cent detection record, and violent crime fell by 7.5 per cent
CANNABIS and weapons have been seized in a series of police raids in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale. Search warrants have been executed in the three boroughs as part of Operation Flytrap IIII, aimed at cracking down on people who cultivate cannabis in
"HOPE" is the title of an album being released as a download CD in memory of Sophie Lancaster who tragically died in Bacup. It is available on Saturday, 22nd May to coincide with "World Goth Day". 15 bands and artists, incuding New Model Army and Wayne
RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans will run to be deputy speaker of the House of Commons, he has announced. If successful the Conservative MP would step in to chair debates when Speaker of the House John Bercow is absent, possibly even holding court during
A FORMAL investigation into magistrate Austin Molloy's 'scum' comments has been launched after an inquiry by court officials. The JP hit the headlines after he labelled two teens who desecrated Blackburn Cathedral 'absolute scum'. Following
A MOTHER of four who phoned police claiming to be a terrorist and said she was going to 'blow up Rishton' has been jailed. Victoria Hosker, 26, gave her own name and urged officers to send two vans. Her early hours hoax call meant part
EAST Lancashire produces some of the best friends in the country, according to a survey. Some 88% of Burnley and 59% of Blackburn residents said they had never fallen out with their close friends, coming seventh and eighth in a poll of towns with the
Strictly Come Dancing duo Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova are heading out on the road for their live headlining show together — Latin Fever. The dancers are now household names thanks to their sequin-spangled Latin dance routines which have scorched
Love her or hate her, there’s no denying Marina and the Diamonds create some of the most irritatingly catchy pop songs around. Hollywood, the track that brought her to the national consciousness after her bagging second place on the BBC’s Sound of
It’s not often that you say how effective a combination of martial arts and watermelons has proven to be in a game, although that would be doing a disservice to all the other fruit featured in Fruit Ninja, a frighteningly simple, yet addictive,
OK, let’s start with a quiz question. Who recorded what is generally regarded as the first “punk” single? The Sex Pistols? The Stranglers? No . . . wrong. It was a band made up of David Letts, Brian Robertson, Chris Millar and Ray Burns. OK, what
I REVIEWED this when the series started and was less than impressed. Outnumbered did not seem a particularly bad programme, it was just that its characters, especially the children, were all so middle class and smug, and the whole programme came across
EA has taken the skate-gaming world by storm with its Skate series, riding toe-to-toe with anything that Tony Hawk can turn out, and producing what is arguably a more authentic analogue experience than its competitors. For the third instalment we’re
NORTHERN Ireland’s fantastic victory over Spain 28 years ago will always be remembered as one of the greatest World Cup shocks in history. It was on June 25, 1982, on a chokingly hot Friday night in Valencia, that Billy Bingham’s plucky team etched
CHICKENSHED Theatre will return to The Met in Bury tonight with the hard-hitting dance theatre piece, Crime Of The Century. The piece was conceived after the tragic deaths of three teenagers associated with Chickenshed. Using recordings of conversations
More adventure awaits for PC gamers this week, as seven years after the original Black Mirror hit the shelves, the second suspense-filled episode arrives. Taking place 12 years after the original game, a strange turn of events soon starts central character
For a game that has been in development for such a long time, you would expect Alan Wake to be ground-breaking and innovative. But the five years of toil which has gone into the game has produced something that is flawed and narratively poor, and it’
115 mins. Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Sir Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Toby Kebbell, Richard Coyle, Ronald Pickup. Director: Mike Newell. Inspired by the best-selling video games series, Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time is a rollicking escapade
“HE was drunk and just wanted to fight anybody in sight.” So remarked an employee of Happy Haddock takeaway in Darwen Street, Blackburn, as we watched a man lying on the floor, arms across his face, curled up in pain from the PAVA spray stinging his
IT’S great to be back, after a necessary absence during which my employers – the electors of Blackburn – decided whether or not they wanted to re-employ me as their representative. And I’m truly grateful that I was endorsed by such a margin. This was
FINALLY race day arrived and we set off to Manchester for the Great Run last Sunday. I should have known things were unlikely to go my way when I was denied access to the elite athletes’ car park. Undeterred I paid a quid to park on the old Boddingtons
A MAN who smuggled millions of cigarettes from China to Bacup has told a court he has no assets. Craig Waterhouse, 47, of Hammond Avenue, Stacksteads, was jailed for 30 months last year for his part in the operation. During a Proceeds of Crime hearing
POLICE in Rossendale are investigating a distraction burglary which took place in Stacksteads. An elderly woman was targeted by two conmen who claimed there was an electrical emergency in her house. Despite the homeowner asking for ID, the men entered
Join The Knicker Lady Rosemary Hawthorne for a romp through the history of the humble knicker on May 20 at Thwaites Empire Theatre. Rosemary’s fascination in fashion history led to her becoming a leading authority on the history of undergarments
TWO Nelson men appeared in court in Scotland after almost 10,000 diazepam tablets were found in their car. Police found the haul in a routine check on a motorway in Scotland last October. Danny Knight, 31, of Halifax Road, admitted being concerned in
A CRACKDOWN has been ordered on off-road bikers and arsonists who are targeting a Colne beauty spot. Land near Knotts Drive has been plagued by mini-moto riders after they managed to bypass security gates at either end of the nature haven. Coun
KART star Wesley Robinson blew away all competition at Daytona Manchester for the Vauxhall VXR Challenge. The race, which pitted teams of four against each other in a Le Mans style team endurance format, challenged drivers to complete as many laps as
BURNLEY’S new mayor, Coun Tony Lambert, has spoken of his pride as he begins his civic year at the town hall. Retired policeman Tony, who represents Trinity ward, will serve with wife, Brenda, as his mayoress for 2010-11. Coun Lambert, who has battled
A MOTHER of five lied her way to almost £6,000 in benefits from Burnley Council, a court was told. Vicky Hodgson, 36, got housing and council tax benefits without declaring she was receiving child tax credits. Hodgson clajmed she knew nothing about
CYCLISTS are being told to get off their bikes and walk through pedestrianised areas in Burnley town centre. The warning comes after traders in the town expressed concerns about people cycling through the centre and putting shoppers on foot in danger
BURNLEY FC director Brendan Flood is set for a £250million High Court showdown next month with a bank that helped finance part of his property empire. The Clarets mogul, along with former business partner Mike Riddell, will face up against barristers
BURNLEY Reserves will split their home fixtures between Turf Moor and Accrington Stanley next season. Stanley’s Crown Ground has been the home of the Clarets’ second string for the last four years. But Burnley are looking to make more use of their new
Jonathan Trott made a timely return to form with an unbeaten century which frustrated Lancashire’s push for victory in their County Championship match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Trott’s 102 was his first since he made a century in his Test debut
GEE, it’s great to be back, lad! That was the US-Lancastrian mix heard at Ringway Airport in 1962 as a party of emigrants came back to East Lancashire for a five-week holiday. For many of the 100-strong group, it was the first time back on home soil
BLACKBURN Rovers captain Ryan Nelsen has tipped England to reach the World Cup final next month. The New Zealand skipper reckons conditions will be perfect for Fabio Capello’s men to make a major impact in South Africa. England should cruise through
Burnley have been linked with midfielder Gavin McCann, who is a free agent following his release from Bolton Wanderers. Charlton Athletic winger Lloyd Sam, who has missed out on a return to the Championship with the Addicks following their play-off
CLARKE Carlisle does not believe Burnley need to be too busy in the transfer market this summer, because the current crop is good enough to fashion an immediate Premier League return. However, with Wolves said to be chasing record signing Steven
HUNDREDS of women will take to the streets of Blackburn to complete a 10-mile ‘starlight walk’ this weekend. The event, at 10pm on Saturday, May 22, will raise funds for East Lancashire Hospice and residents along the way are being urged to come out
WHALLEY is already flying the flags for the World Cup. The village has started the football fever by decorating all its high street shops with the flags of teams competing in the football competition, as well as bunting.
THE MOTHER of a seven-year-old boy said that his life would be transformed after the Lancashire Telegraph helped them to win a long-running battle with the council over parking. Sarah Green, 25, applied for the bay in Hereford Road, Whitebirk, Blackburn
Blackburn with Darwen Council is working to organise free buses from Darwen Vale High School when students temporarily relocate to the Holden Fold site from September. The Blackburn Road school is undergoing a major revamp under the Building Schools
A STRIKING white mare and her newborn foal are causing a stir in cyberspace. Trixie, a Welsh section A pony, shocked her owners when she gave birth earlier this month – to a little brown mule with donkey markings. It is thought that
COUNCILLOR Mulla (Letters, May 14) must be in a different universe. He seems to have forgotten we have just had an election and all politicians, whether they like it or not, have to live with the outcome of that election. The electors rejected Labour
R BRACEWELL hit the nail on the head when writing that child allowance should be limited to the first two of a partnership (Letters, May 5). It is costing this country millions to look after all these children that are being born, a lot to single parents
The proposal by the coalition government that would need 55% of MPs to vote in favour of a dissolution of parliament is an affront to democracy. A government either enjoys the confidence of the House of Commons or it does not. If it does not, there should
TRAFFIC is flowing again after an overturned vehicle caused tailbacks between the M66 and M65 this morning. All lanes have re-opened following the incident on the A56 northbound carriageway near the Rising Bridge roundabout. The vehicle
THE Blackburn and District CTC hold their popular two-up Team Time Trial on the A6 Barton-based 10 mile course today, starting at 7pm. Event secretary Dave Collinge, of Twiston near Clitheroe, has assembled a very interesting field of 33 teams for
A SPEEDING ticket ‘fixer’ facing jail for helping scores of drivers avoid prosecution has claimed his crimes were ‘acts of kindness’. But former security guard Wajif Rafique has been slammed by police who said his actions were illegal and a ‘kick in
RESIDENTS have been evacuated from their homes this morning after a fire broke out at allotments in Oswaldtwistle. Firefighters were called out to Stanhill Lane at around 2am. Crews tackled the blaze, which wrecked six sheds and two
A MOTORIST who knocked down a Rossendale pensioner on a busy main road told an inquest: “I just didn’t see her”. And collision victim Doris Kendrick, 87, informed onlookers she had not seen Thomas Ellison’s silver Vauxhall Corsa while trying
Dale and Wayne Thomas made a prize winning return to rallying when they collected the class five award on Wigan and District Motor Club’s Adgespeed Stages. After a two-year lay-off from the sport, the East Lancashire-based brothers made their debut in
MORTEN Gamst Pedersen is confident Blackburn Rovers can qualify for the Europa League under Sam Allardyce after yesterday signing a new four-year deal at Ewood Park. The 28-year-old winger ended intense speculation over his Rovers future
THERE are still 227 possible winners after the first three races in the Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix. But Gary Shaw and Molly Ralphson continue to set a hot pace. The two have led from the start, having been first home in the Great Hameldon Hill race
Burnley have made enquiries about taking young Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey on a season-long loan. The 23-year-old Wales international has built a good reputation in his fledgling career, breaking a 119-year-old Football League
TWO support workers will plunge 14,000ft in memory of an ‘inspirational’ Clarets fan who lost his battle against an incurable muscle-wasting disease. Karen Rowley, 29, and Jenny Sedgwick, 34, who helped Burnley fanatic Ashley Kirkham, 27, cope with the
SEVEN children's department workers who circulated an email containing a shocking image of a naked child have kept their jobs. Critics said the staff should have been sacked and accused Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council of a 'weak' response
BURNLEY'S goalscorer Steven Fletcher remains a target for Premier League survivors Wolves, but reports of an official £5million offer are premature. The Clarets are believed to have put a £7m pricetag on record signing Fletcher, which would amount
SO there we go, we are now the best thing since the last best thing since sliced bread was invented and we will rule the world for ever and ever...or so you would be forgiven for thinking given the coverage of England, Wales, Ireland and the Rest of the
MONEYBAGS Manchester City are ready to sign James Milner froes Milner from Manchester City - and have already tabled a £25m bid for the 24-year-old. City will also offer £35m for Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. WIGAN’S Tomasz Cywka is set to
OUSTED MP Gordon Prentice has described the moment he was confronted by a hammer-wielding man at his Barnoldswick home. The former Pendle MP said he had been compelled to describe the incident in his blog after a 21-year-old woman, of East
FORMER Labour MP Gordon Prentice has ruled out any possibility of standing for election in Pendle in the near future. He said: “So far as the future is concerned, I have told the Pendle Labour Party I shall not be a candidate for the next election
MAGISTRATE Austin Molloy is set for a face to face showdown with court officials to discuss his future today. The JP, who was 'relieved of his duties' as chairman of the bench after he branded two teens who desecrated Blackburn Cathedral 'absolute
