Archive
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Albert Bird, a man of many pursuits
THE funeral of a former Scoutmaster and member of Colne Swimming Club for 50 years will be held this week. Albert Bird, 90, of Carleton Road, Colne, was well known in the town for his association with a wide range of local groups. Mr Bird, who died on
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Police inspector demoted over pest call case
A DISGRACED policeman convicted as a phone pest is to remain in the force, it was announced today. Stephen Lawman has been demoted to the rank of sergeant following a disciplinary hearing at police HQ. The officer was found guilty by Preston magistrates
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'Spy' camera plans to curb hospital violence
MEDICS are planning to extend CCTV cameras in a casualty department in a bid to curb the growing tide of violence against front-line hospital staff. The scheme, which could include patients' cubicles being monitored, is among a series of proposed improvements
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Clarets supporters ask for CISA to be banned from board meetings
A MAJOR row has broken out between sections of Burnley fans. Seven supporters' clubs have asked for the Clarets Independent Supporters' Association to be banned from future meetings with the club's board. The seven clubs - Burnley, Colne, Accrington,
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Chapel to be homes for the elderly
A HISTORIC Ribble Valley church is to be converted into homes for the elderly, after its congregation dwindled to just four. Slaidburn Methodist Chapel will close in June after 200 years and be redeveloped into sheltered housing. Manchester Methodist
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SUPERBIKES: Foggy turns back the clock
WORLD Superbike champion Carl Fogarty has gone back to the future in his bid for an amazing fourth title. The Blackburn ace asked his Ducati Performance team to attempt to recreate the 1995 model on which he won 13 of 24 races. And early tests in Misano
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SOCCER: Chatburn move into top flight
CHATBURN have clinched promotion from the East Lancashire League Second Division of the East Lancs League following their narrow 1-0 win at Ribchester. This has been a remarkable turnaround by the village side who ended up last season next to the bottom
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ICE SKATING: N-ice starlet Jade's among gems
A YOUNG skater has set her sights on stardom after being awarded a trophy at a national competition. Jade Martin, 12, trains at Blackburn Arena and competed against more than 100 other young ice-skaters at the Bradford Opens. Judges awarded her the trophy
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SOCCER: McDonald's Hyndburn and District Boys' League
BOTH semi final ties at Under-12s level proved to be anything but foregone conclusions. Lammack Juniors were victors over Blackburn Eagles, thus reversing the two league defeats at the hands of Blackburn Eagles. In the other encounter, Oswaldtwistle eventually
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Please sir, can I have some more?
THEY'll be picking a pocket or two and asking for more at Burnley's St Hilda's High School when they present Lionel Bart's Oliver. The school is presenting the musical version of the Charles Dickens classic novel from Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm in
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Outrage at remarks about teaching
AS headteachers of Blackburn with Darwen, we are outraged at the implication in your editorial comment (LET March 11) that we would tolerate "bad teaching and mediocrity" in our schools and the suggestion that we would object to good teachers being properly
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Pals in 'changing rooms'
TEENAGERS Hannah O'Sullivan and Kirsty Smyth have taken popular TV show Changing Rooms one doorstep further - by changing houses! The school pals have decided to raise money for Comic Relief by spending the next three nights in each other's homes. The
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Bad debts to be written off
BAD debts of up to £500 may in future be written off by Burnley Council. The idea is being put to finance chiefs in a bid to keep the books in order and remove the need for officers to spend time chasing small debts they have no chance of recovering.
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Drivers nabbed over tyres and belts
A POLICE clampdown on motorists netted more than 40 people who were breaking the law in one street. Patrols carried out spot checks on tyres and seatbelts on vehicles in Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, over two days. Fixed penalty notices were issued
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Rovers bid for Lee ruled out
BLACKBURN Rovers will not pursue an interest in Newcastle's Robert Lee, even though they admitted today that the England midfielder had been considered as a possibile transfer target. And, while time is running out before the transfer deadline tomorrow
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Energy minister hails power plant at dump
TONY Blair's energy supremo has unveiled a scheme to supply electricity to 9,000 homes in Hyndburn by burning gas from a dump. Energy and industry minister John Battle said the new £2million landfill gas generator at Whinney Hill tip, near Accrington,
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Cash-strapped race equality group folds
A RACIAL equality group has folded with the loss of six jobs after its backers withdrew more than £90,000 in funding. Hyndburn and Rossendale Racial Equality Council voted to wind up the organisation, which has been troubled in recent years by poor financial
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Cowboy's shed bites the dust in bizarre blast
A COWBOY enthusiast's love of replica guns posed a puzzle for emergency services when they were called to an explosion which tore apart a garden shed. Country and Western fan Len South's bullet cartridges were blown across his garden by the blast which
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Buoyant orders must pick up, new boss warns
TOUGH times still lie ahead for the remaining workers at one of Pendle's biggest firms despite a buy-out that saved their jobs. Bill Carrahar, the new boss at Nelson-based furniture manufacturer Buoyant, said the 300 staff whose jobs were salvaged faced
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Challenging role for new school chief
A SENIOR teacher given the job of turning around a troubled Pendle high school and leading it out from special measures imposed by Government inspectors has taken over as its associate head. Peter Dixon, previously head at Primet High, Colne, has taken
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Sex change jail shame
IT IS sickening that six prisoners, including a double murderer, an armed robber and a kidnapper, are to have sex-change operations on the NHS. More than that, it is an outrage when the self-same NHS is rationing care and treatment to genuinely sick people
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Hello, hello - to the force of argument
APART from the prospect of a whole new slant being put on the "Hello, hello" uttered by our police officers, is not the likelihood of Lancashire Constabulary running recruitment advertisements in the gay press nothing more than a kowtow to political correctness
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Dedication bows to differential
TRADE union dedication to improving the lot of the worse off goes out the window when you show the brothers and sisters a differential. And that's why the desk-bound town hall staff at Blackburn with Darwen Council are getting hot under their white collars
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This Is The Word of TV presenter Ian
BLACKBURN-BORN journalist Ian Aspin can currently be seen presenting This is the Word, a five-part TV series he has written and produced. Screened on ITV every Thursday at 11.30pm, it takes an alternative look at religion. Ian, 31, a former pupil of Shadsworth
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Eastwood at the double
Port Vale Reserves 0 Burnley Reserves 2 BURNLEY Reserves stretched their unbeaten run to four games last night with a fine away win against a strong Port Vale line-up. The Clarets dominated the first period with Danish trialist Jon Tveen Jensen leading
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Grass is greener at Turf Moor for Milan groundsman Steve
A MASSIVE television audience will tonight have their eyes glued on a football pitch lovingly manicured by a dyed-in-the-wool Burnley fan. But despite the prestige of preparing the surface for the clash of European giants Inter Milan and Manchester United
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Tonight's the night... to make a Millennium baby!
TONIGHT'S the night if you want a baby to be born on January 1, 2000 - and that's if you're lucky! Experts are predicting that there will be a year 2000 baby-boom as thousands of couples across the world try to have babies on the historic day. And they
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Council estates face £100m crisis
HOUSING chiefs are facing a cash crisis after it was revealed that £100million is needed to repair crumbling council homes in Blackburn and Darwen. According to the latest figures, Blackburn with Darwen Council needs to raise £8.8 million a year for repairs
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Ewood bid for midfielder Lee ruled out
BLACKBURN Rovers will not pursue an interest in Newcastle's Robert Lee, even though they admitted today that the England midfielder had been considered as a possibile transfer target. And, while time is running out before the transfer deadline tomorrow
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Cost of meat inspections is 'hidden tax' on farmers
FARMERS are calling on the Government to meet the cost of the removal of potentially-lethal waste from slaughterhouses. They claim proposals to increase the cost of meat inspections at abattoirs will cause them hardship. And their calls for a delay in
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TEN YEARS AGO: Violence on the up
VIOLENCE was growing on Lancashire's streets with the county crime figures showing a staggering rise and a third of the county's crime being committed in the Blackburn and Burnley areas. While the rest Britain's crime fell by five per cent, Lancashire's
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FIVE YEARS AGO: Fascism blamed for racial unrest
A RISING tide of racial violence in the North West was blamed on an increase in fascist activity in the region. Shadow home secretary Tony Blair said Greater Manchester was the league leader for racial incidents with 577 reported, while in Lancashire,
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ICE HOCKEY: Hawks coach faces uncertain future after burglary
THE future of Blackburn Hawks coach Bobby Haig is in doubt after the ice hockey star admitted burglary. Arena management are refusing to discuss the position of their player-boss after the Scot pleaded guilty to stealing £52 from a vets surgery at Blackburn
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NETBALL: Grammar school girls clinch national crown
BACUP and Rawtenstall Grammar School's Under-14 netball team are the new national schools champions after clinching the title at the finals in Brighton. The schools' Under-14 and Under-16 teams both competed in the finals at Roedean. And while the senior
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Burying head in sand is no longer an option
ONCE again, the enormity of the financial millstone that council housing has become for East Lancashire local authorities is made plain. Just two weeks after Burnley's level of empty and unwanted houses became the highest in the country, Blackburn with
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Give criminals some pain
IN 'Bring back the birch' (Letters, March 2), I agree entirely with Mrs H Hamer - Jack Straw has really shown how ignorant he is when he asks the public to do what is a job for the police. Has he no idea what the repercussions could be for anyone who
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NON LEAGUE SOCCER: Bacup Borough 3 Blackpool Mechanics 1
NEW signing Jason Rogers struck twice as Bacup over-powered their lowly opposition. Borough defended and attacked well against a spirited Mechanics. Rogers and another new signing Paul Thomas performed well and, with Colin Lambert making a welcome return
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Getting a buzz from bike trips
REGARDING the comments in Soap Box (LET, March 11), about drug abuse, we seem to have come quite a long way since the 1930s. Now, youngsters take drugs to get a buzz, whereas in my youth these were not necessary. In my teenage years, with the aid of a
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NON LEAGUE SOCCER: Connolly joins the Bacup revolution
BUSINESSMAN Andrew Connolly has joined forces with Brent Peters at the helm of Bacup Borough. And Peters believes that the new partnership, which will enable him to concentrate on football matters at West View, signals a bright future for the club. It
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This socialist is voting 'no'
I REALLY must disagree with the comments of Duncan McVee in his reply (Letters, March 10) to Councillor David Pearson. He appears to take the rather naive view that the debate on whether Britain joins the single currency will be fought on party lines
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RUGBY LEAGUE: Tamati tester for Lynx
LANCASHIRE Lynx face former boss Kevin Tamati in a rearranged fixture with Whithaven Warriors tonight. Victory at the Recreation Ground in the Northern Ford Premiership would move Steve Hampson's men up into fifth place in the table. But so far, despite
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Confront the tippers
I READ with interest your 'Grime Watch' report (LET, March 4) of the petition organised by residents of Ribblesdale Place, Blackburn, regarding unsightly tipping on land adjacent to their homes. It was stated that they had actually seen tipping of items
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Currency a common moan
I GET the impression that Mr D Lowe (Letters, March 9) does not have a very high opinion of the intellect of the British people. He seems to think that they will slavishly follow their politicians without pausing to think for themselves about the common
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Choirs line up for a major concert
A MAJOR musical event will take place in Burnley on Sunday with a performance of Verdi's Requiem Mass by Burnley Municipal Choir and Nelson and Colne College Choir, accompanied by Burnley Municipal Orchestra. Four top soloists will add to the combined
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Bride's heroin charge ordeal
A BRIDE appeared before Burnley magistrates in her wedding outfit, hot-foot from the register office. Claire Alison Hayat, 20, nee Sorbie, formerly of Kendal Street, Nelson, now of Basil Street, Colne, was due to face the bench for sentence on Monday,
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Children in red faces puzzle
AT least 30 children at a Burnley primary school have been affected by a rare infectious condition which leaves them with red faces. Many other youngsters across the town are understood to be suffering from the illness which has been dubbed "slap-face
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Clarets fans in civil war
A MAJOR row has broken out between sections of Burnley fans. Seven supporters' clubs have asked for the Clarets Independent Supporters' Association to be banned from future meetings with the club's board. The seven clubs - Burnley, Colne, Accrington,
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English reserve: Taxpayers' money spent
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy WHEN we speak of conservation these days we tend to think that "the Government," whatever its colour, has nothing to do with it. Actually the reverse is true, because lots of taxpayers' money is being channelled into the
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On red alert for border bandits in Northern Ireland
THE peace process in Northern Ireland is on a knife-edge, with terrorists refusing to give up their weapons and the decision to create a political assembly postponed. The threat in much of the province has subsided, allowing the police to go about their
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School reunion
A reunion for people who attended Nelson Grammar School 50 years ago is being planned for later in the year. Anyone interested should contact Mrs Jean Collinge (nee Brown) on 01282 424578, Brian Clay on 01282 601450 or Roger Dearden on 01282 864207. Converted
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Police death drive figures shock
ALARMING statistics showing that 15 people a year are killed by police cars answering 999 calls or in pursuits have been unearthed by Pendle MP Gordon Prentice. Last month Channel 4 news reader Sheena MacDonald was badly injured by a police vehicle when
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Brown's stealth tax bomber!
The opinions of John Blunt are not necessarily those of this newspaper THE Budget, at first widely hailed as the highest example yet of Chancellor Gordon Brown's brilliance, has turned out to be like the fairy story about the emperor praised by fools
