Archive
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Anti-drugs drive pays off
CAMPAIGNS to stop pointless use of antibiotics have already led to a 15 per cent cut in the number of prescriptions issued in East Lancashire over the last 12 months. And many local doctors are also prescribing shorter courses of the drugs. Patients suffering
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Leap year love match goes out live on air
BRIDE-TO-BE Michelle Hodgson was sparkling with excitement after winning a diamond ring and the chance to propose to her boyfriend on live radio. The 33-year-old secretary, of Greenside Avenue, Blackburn, won a Century 105 competition to make a leap year
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Young 'cigs spies' out to trap traders
YOUNGSTERS will go undercover as part of a council crackdown to ensure retailers are abiding by the law on selling cigarettes to under 16s. Lancashire County Council's trading standard department is carrying out the latest round of test purchase visits
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American style meets the Lancashire life
COLLECTIONS from local artists feature in the latest exhibition at Whitaker Park Museum, in Rawtenstall, which runs until Sunday. Lancashire artists Alice Thorpe and Angela Holt are displaying a selection of wildlife, flowers and landscape pictures, while
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Let's take a lead from league
WITH the present-day game of football to a great extent being controlled more and more by money and survival of the fittest, with each game and each point fought for tooth and nail, it is important that the referees controlling the matches are up to the
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Millennium Green site spring clean
THE site of a Millennium Green in Colne will be spring cleaned by local people. Land between Shaw Street and Colne Water, Waterside, will become a major landmark in the area with an open-air stage and landscaped areas. The clean-up will take place on
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Sex abuse trial told of 'monsters' threat
A MAN allegedly sexually abused two little girls, warning one to keep quiet or monsters would come and get her, a jury was told. John Gregory, now 51, was said to have placed plasters over one alleged victim's eyes and performed a sex act. The other girl
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Pair shapes
ONE of the most interesting facets of Blackburn Rovers league play this season has been the various pairings of the strike force used by both Brian Kidd and Tony Parkes. Excluding combinations involving Kevin Davies and Kevin Gallacher, there have been
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TV licence policy is age discrimination, says MP
AN East Lancashire MP is calling on the government to provide free television licences for all pensioners. Pendle's Gordon Prentice told Culture Secretary Chris Smith that waiving the annual fee at 75 was a "hugely popular policy" benefiting 6,500 of
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Gifted young musicians' future assured
YOUNG musicians from Blackburn and Darwen have been assured they will not be "thrown out" of their ensembles despite changes in the way music services are organised by local authorities in Lancashire. Chairman of the Friends of Lancashire Student Symphony
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Shearer supporter
ALAN Shearer was right to leave the Rovers when he did, although his manner of leaving left a lot to be desired. He had established himself as a goalscorer at international level at the same time that the Rovers were causing some people to question the
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Leaping with joy: February 29th babies
PROUD parents across East Lancashire jumped for joy yesterday as their newborn babies arrived into the world on Leap Year Day. Alison Hartland, 32, of Haworth Street, Rishton, had her first child, Eleanor Clara, at 6.25am, and she weighed in at nine pounds
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Perishing Rovers
HAVING followed Blackburn Rovers for more than 50 years, my heart tells me that they will reach the play-offs. However, my brain informs me otherwise and that we are doomed to spend at least one more season languishing in the First Division and, as the
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Star striker wants an apology after Colchester chants
A COLCHESTER United official has refused to condemn the abusive chanting aimed towards Ian Wright's wife at Layer Road on Saturday and warned the Burnley star to expect worse before the end of the season. The Clarets striker wants an apology from Colchester's
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Events in East/Central Lancashire on Thursday, March 2nd
Blackburn Artists' Society meet St Gabriel's Church Hall, Brownhill Drive, Brownhill, Blackburn, 7pm. Royal British Legion, Catholic Club, Wellington Fold, Darwen, 7.30pm. Burnley Camcorder Club, Central Methodist Church, Burnley, 7.30pm. Cloverhill Residents
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Remember the Falklands?
"UNNECESSARY war, Mr Campbell? (Letters, February 14). I seem to recall an even more unnecessary war some years out in the South Atlantic. Or is it different when the Tories do it? M LEE (Mrs), Wellfield Drive, Burnley. Converted for the new archive on
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Grandad, are you reading?
TWO grandsons living in Australia would love to write to their grandad or hear from him. He is Andrew 'Bryan' Gregg, who was born in North Road, Preston, and whose last known address was Oswaldtwistle. If he sees this, I hope he will reply. E PARKINSON
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A run from the heart
RICHARD Hosey from Blackburn will be running in the London Marathon on April 16, to raise money for the British Heart Foundation as part of their Heart Runners team. A wallpaper printer, aged 39, he is hoping to raise £1,000 for the UK's biggest killer
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No conscience in coursing
ONCE again, we have the barbaric sport of hare coursing with us, but don't worry hare lovers we won't have it for much longer because the beautiful hare is fast becoming extinct. We used to have cock fighting, dog fighting and badger hunting, all of which
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Blue heaven
I LEAVE Ewood Park every other Saturday a sad man, having watched my favourite team play rather badly. Then, as usual, on arrival at Darwen Street traffic lights, I see WPC Whatever Her Name Is in all her regalia. She always manages to summon a lovely
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Store's mystery pictures puzzle
STAFF at Asda, Burnley, are intrigued by two large rolls of photographs found on the car park of the superstore. One roll contains about 100 photographs and the other about 50. All the pictures are black and white and cover a whole range of subjects including
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Nursery rethink to begin after parent power wins
A TASK group including nursery staff and parents is to look at alternative plans for a shake-up of Lancashire nursery schools after parent power forced councillors to think again. County councillors yesterday backed down from plans to do away with stand-alone
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10p parking rise for crime-spy TV
CAR parking fees in Burnley look set to rise to pay for a new engineering supremo to oversee the council's crime-watch camera schemes. An across-the-board increase of 10p from July would raise the £20,000 needed to pay for the post of engineering services
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Driver tried to ram police car
A DRIVER police suspected to be high on drugs tried to ram a police car, hit a vehicle and then "flatly refused" to give a blood sample, a court was told. Burnley magistrates heard how Gary Wilkinson, 33, told police he would not give a specimen unless
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Clarets star wants apology after Colchester chants
A COLCHESTER United official has refused to condemn the abusive chanting aimed towards Ian Wright's wife at Layer Road on Saturday and warned the Burnley star to expect worse before the end of the season. The Clarets striker wants an apology from Colchester's
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'Come and see' plea to minister over Turf Moor blueprint
BURNLEY Football Club's community project should be replicated nationwide, Sports Minister Kate Hoey has been told. The town's MP Peter Pike hailed the Turf Moor scheme as a blueprint for the rest of the country in the Commons. And now he wants Ms Hoey
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'Scuse me -- your lorry's on fire!
A LORRY driver escaped a blaze which wrecked his cab -- after a passing ambulance crew flagged him down on a busy dual carriageway to tell him his vehicle was on fire. The driver was travelling northbound on the A56 Accrington by-pass around noon yesterday
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Rap for Fergie
SO, what happens when Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson decides to have a pop at Alan Shearer, as follows? "What sort of image is he (Shearer) sending out to young kids?" Do the words pot, kettle and black come to mind . . ? Converted for the new archive
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Police thank Mr X for toxic tip-off
AN anonymous caller who alerted the authorities to toxic waste buried at a factory has been praised by police. The move came as the leader of Hyndburn Council last night ordered a investigation into how 26 drums of flammable and toxic waste came to be
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Law firms announce merger
TWO East Lancashire law firms have merged.. Nolan Pickles & Smith of Colne and Grice & Ireland of Burnley have joined forces as consolidation in the legal sector continues. "The merger will enable us to improve the quality of the service we offer
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Puzzle solved
NORTH Queensland Cowboys are likely to be stripped of two National Rugby League competition points for having an extra player on the field during their 26-18 win over Parramatta. The Cowboys were warned that their points will be forfeited after video
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Laser tracks new components deal
ANOTHER major investment has been made by an East Lancashire factory for Eurofighter Typhoon production. Brookhouse Holdings of Darwen has bought a state-of-the-art 3D laser tracking machine to help the firm produce components for Eurofighter Typhoon
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Truth call over Tory NHS plans
THE Tories should come clean on their plans for the NHS says Pendle Labour MP Gordon Prentice. His call follows an article in a Sunday newspaper in which Conservative MP Liam Fox said conditions such as hip and knee replacements and hernia and cataract
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DIY job led to fall and death
A SIMPLE task of clearing out a troughing led to a fall and the eventual death of a 76-year-old man from Higham. Gerald Mather, of Leet Road, died on February 10 in the Royal Preston Hospital after suffering a head injury, an inquest heard. On February
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Burial cost to rise 25 per cent
A ROW has broken out over the cost of dying in Burnley after it was revealed that fees in the town were so high that 99 per cent of the ethnic community chose to be buried in Blackburn. The claim was made as councillors were told that interment fees at
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Blunt's bullets
ONE reason the Northern Ireland peace process is supposed to have gone pear-shaped is because the Army would not agree to decommissioning its arms at the same time as the IRA gave up its weapons. But, hang on, our boys' guns ARE out of action. What else
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Punishment a sick joke
LYING Darwen doctor Ahmed Zaman must be really smarting after the flaying he got from the General Medical Council's professional conduct committee - with the disciplinary equivalent of a feather duster. The committee heard that this man told not only
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Cadets recruiting
RECRUITS are needed for the Royal Marine Cadets, part of the Sea Cadet Unit at TS Mohawk, Glenfield Park Estate, Philips Road, Blackburn. They will receive military and naval training in leadership, field craft, map reading, weapon training, boat work
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Bradford queries
CAN readers help me remember two matches that took place at Turf Moor? The first one was years ago, against Bradford Park Avenue who are now out of the Football League. They played in hooped shirts, similar to rugby jerseys. I remember standing behind
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We're not that stupid
THE signing of Colin Hendry by Coventry City finally completes an interesting period of time for Blackburn Rovers supporters. We can now pick a team of current Premiership players who were once Rovers players - Flowers, Berg, Henchoz, Hendry, Le Saux,
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Memories of Stan
I WAS sad to hear of the death of Sir Stanley Matthews. It brought back memories of the summer of 1958. I was stationed with my regiment the East Lancashire's, in Gun Club Barracks in Kowloon, in Hong Kong's New Territories, when I read in the local paper
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Biker opera buffs? Just call us Bizet riders!
LOVE of opera brought fellow bikers Philip Shuker and Pam Newham together on centre stage. The image of leather-clad bikers on their mean machines and the rarefied atmosphere of opera music do not fit easily together but the two revved up to star in Pendle
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Care homes crisis talks
A DELEGATION of worried businessmen and women have held crisis talks with a government minister over the financial plight affecting homes for the elderly in Lancashire. In recent months, homes for the elderly in Blackburn and Rossendale have been forced
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Flats tenants on fact-finding trip
RESIDENTS of Larkhill tower blocks in Blackburn were today due to meet bosses of a company which is spearheading a £2million redevelopment of their area. More than 20 residents from the three blocks were visiting the Space housing company's managers in
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Rioch fumes over five-minute mystery
NORWICH boss Bruce Rioch was stunned by the award of five minutes of stoppage time at Ewood last night - and bitterly disappointed when it cost them Per Frandsen's dramatic equaliser for Blackburn Rovers. To most of the crowd, it seemed that Norwich,
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Shearer nonsense
NEIL Bramwell (LET, February 10) went to great lengths on why Blackburn supporters should barrack Alan Shearer at every opportunity. Would he now give his considered opinion as to how we should receive Colin Hendry if he ever plays against us at Ewood
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Licensees' anger at karaoke crackdown
PUB licensees from all over Blackburn and Darwen have accused council chiefs of being "stubborn" over a clampdown on karaoke and discos. More than 20 landlords attended an hour-long town hall meeting after Blackburn with Darwen Council said it would be
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Pressure on away form says Parkes
TONY Parkes admitted the pressure was back on Blackburn Rovers' erratic away form after last night's 1-1 draw with Norwich City at Ewood. And they could hardly face a bigger test than Saturday's trip to Worthington Cup runners-up Tranmere, followed by
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The underachievers
AFTER Saturday's usual woeful performance, why are people still tagging Rovers as underachievers? They are achieving a position in the league higher than performances would suggest. Rovers now have a team full of mediocre First Division players on good
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Per keeps Rovers off the boos!
Division One: Blackburn Rovers 1 Norwich City 1 - Peter White's match verdict THE 'boos ban' suggested by Jack Walker in the long-term interests of Blackburn Rovers was successfully self-imposed by the hard-core Ewood faithful last night. And, fortunately
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Helmet madness
RECENTLY I was reading your report on the Lancashire Cricket League's AGM. I think the decision by the Lancashire League that all players under the age of 18 must wear helmets when batting is ridiculous. As a junior player myself, and have been for the
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Rival MPs want to protect ancient stones
TWO rival MPs have joined across the political divide to protect rural churches from thieves and vandals. Gordon Prentice and Nigel Evans are concerned that valuable and irreplaceable stones are being taken from Christian buildings in their countryside
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Tory rapped over use of stationery
RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans is to be reported to the House of Commons by Clitheroe Town Council amid claims that he used parliamentary stationery to send out incorrect information and publicising the Conservative Party. Coun Pat Rawson slammed Mr Evans's
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Stop 'writing off' elderly
I READ with interest your article 'My mum was treated worse than an animal' (LET, February 17), this lack of concern for the care and well-being of the elderly seems to be prevalent. We will all eventually need care in old age and unless society and the
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Dogs treated better
I WOULD like to thank the Lancashire Evening Telegraph for the excellent coverage given to the very serious problem of nursing home closures. I would hate to think this could happen to anyone else's loved ones, but it's happened before and it will happen
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Reporting 'flawed'
I TAKE issue with the report and Comment on the closure of nursing homes (LET, February 17). Much of what you said was not only inaccurate, but also irresponsible and likely to lead to a great deal of upset and confusion for many people. You implied that
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COUNTY CRICKET: Trio earn contracts
PETER Sleep today urged the England selectors to build their team around Chris Schofield and Andy Flintoff this summer. Both players were given central contracts at Lord's today and Sleep, the former Aussie Test leg spinner who coached both players at
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LOCAL CRICKET: Nelson target Cairns
NEW Zealand Test star Chris Cairns is being targeted by Nelson as a possible replacement for professional Roger Harper. But the Lancashire League champions' attempts to lure him to Seedhill seem set to end in failure and they may now switch their attentions
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Blunkett right to demand top teachers for all
IN delivering judgment on the country's poorest performing secondary schools, Education Secretary David Blunkett is not content with a 'can do better' summary, but today employs the injunction 'must' and announces a new scheme that threatens thousands
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Bank closure blow to town
AN announcement that Barclays Bank in Todmorden is to close has been received with dismay. Local councillor Clarence Brown said: "It is a blow and anything like this that goes in Todmorden had to be very much regretted." Coun Brown, vice-chairman of the
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Thief took booze from store to sell for drugs
A THIEF who helped himself to spirits to raise drugs cash, gave two bottles back to a store manager and then walked off. Burnley magistrates heard how Timothy Hanna, 30, had been chased by the boss of KwikSave, after he had been alerted to the defendant
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Knifeman in raid on chemist's
A FEMALE shop assistant was threatened in a knifepoint robbery on a pharmacy in Burnley. Police said the woman was terrified when the raider pushed a penknife into her back during the raid at Cohens Pharmacy, Padiham Road, at 4.40pm yesterday. She was
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Ex-wife's terror after vicious attack
A MAN launched a "severe and unprovoked" attack on his ex-wife and one of her friends during a night out in Accrington, a court heard. Joseph Houston, 35, of Dall Street, Burnley, admitted assaulting former wife Sandra Ann Houston and her friend Janice
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Pressure on away form says Rovers boss
TONY Parkes admitted the pressure was back on Blackburn Rovers' erratic away form after last night's 1-1 draw with Norwich City at Ewood. And they could hardly face a bigger test than Saturday's trip to Worthington Cup runners-up Tranmere, followed by
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Wonder of woodland
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy 'When I see birches bend to left and right Across the lines of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy's been swinging them, But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay As ice storms do. Often you must have seen
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Wife's threat to kill hubby
A MOTHER with drink problems refused to calm down when police were called to intervene in an argument she was having with her husband, Hyndburn magistrates heard. Mandy Elizabeth Burton, 27, of Hermitage Street, Rishton, agreed to be bound over in the
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Pure genius
FORMER BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme said of Sir Stanley Matthews, who died last week: "He was George Best and David Beckham rolled into one." And there I was thinking that Sir Stan didn't drink, stayed away from pop stars and always kept to the
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Foggy wavers
WAS Carl Fogarty trying to tell us something when he appeared on BBC TV's 'Question of Sport' this week? You see alleged Manchester United fan Foggy, looking at the picture board, thought Neil Ruddock was Old Trafford star Roy Keane. Oops! He even managed
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Oakwell choker
FOOTBALL is really a simple game, far removed from such complicated scenarios as tactics, teamwork, skills and scoring ability. In fact, it all comes down to - superstititions. Remember when Rovers started that rocky run at Barnsley recently? Well, the
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Baggies burden
HARD-UP West Bromwich Albion have clearly fallen on hard times. In fact, it seems as though they have had to scrap their scouting system. The Midlands club might call it something else but they have written to all Conference, Second and Third Division
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Splashing way to keep back and joint problems at bay
PEOPLE are being encouraged to "splash out" in healthy living by taking part in a new Fitness for Life initiative at a Pendle pool. The scheme at Pendle Wavelengths, Nelson, is aimed at anyone who wants to get and stay healthy, particularly people with
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Ground force go into the woods
A GROUND force style team of volunteers turned out to work on a woodland trail project in Padiham. The Environment Agency has joined forces with Gawthorpe Environment Movement, Burnley Council and the National Trust to develop a new footpath to be called
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Feng shui -- secret of a happy office?
WORKERS on a business park have a definite spring in their step - thanks to the ancient art of feng shui! Since a catering firm decided to use the mystic practice to try to improve the working environment for its staff, the idea is catching on with neighbouring
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£1m appeal for school
A SCHOOL is planning to launch a £1million charity appeal as part of a fresh bid to rebuild its crumbling buildings. Bosses at Blackburn's St Wilfrid's Church of England High School have spent more than six years trying to solve the problem of replacing
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£2 bid rescues Billy the kid
BILLY the kid faced certain death before he was rescued from a cattle auction. The baby goat, called Billy G, was sold for £2 to Tracey Patterson when she realised his plight. He is now the prized pet of Tracey's five-year-old daughter Chloe (pictured
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Angry teen girl's attack on PC
A TEENAGE girl kicked a policeman on the shin and then punched him on the jaw as the two of them fell to the floor in a taxi office. Blackburn magistrates heard that police, called to a disturbance outside the Millstone pub in Darwen in the early hours
