Archive

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Engineer collects his MBE

A FORMER aircraft engineer was on cloud nine when he was awarded his MBE from the Queen. Frederick Johnson travelled to Buckingham Palace with wife Jean and daughter Suzanne Waring to pick up the honour last month. Mr Johnson was awarded his MBE for services

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Services stories?

IAM writing a book on amusing stories, incidents, experiences, jokes and anecdotes etc, of military life in all branches of the armed forces and would be most grateful for contributions. Named credit will be given to each individual. CLIFFORD NEWTON,

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Treatment on the 'nod'

TWO thoughts on the NHS 'private' hospital. 1. Will MPs and relatives be disqualified, putting them in the same boat as those who qualify but won't be selected due to demand exceeding supply? 2. Who is going to 'nod' on the names? Whoever it is will be

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Learning from the Portuguese

IWAS most interested to read your report regarding the employment of Portuguese workmen to lay the traditional Lancashire cobble stones in the Blackburn town centre development, for I think that the Portuguese may well have something else to offer in

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Reunion planned for 1977 school leavers

A SILVER jubilee reunion is planned for ex-Leigh St Mary's RC High pupils. Six schoolmates are appealing for fellow class of 1977 members at the Astley school to contact them about a 25 years-on get-together planned for May 25 at Leigh Conservative Club

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You could keep a greyhound warm

IN the wake of the recent 'Kenyon Confronts' television programme, which exposed the ill treatment of dogs by some members of the greyhound racing fraternity, greyhound protection group Greyhound Action has launched a scheme to enable members of the public

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Library woman bit police officers

A MENTALLY ill woman walked into Leigh Library and tried to hurl herself from the stairs, a court heard. When Louise Roberts was arrested she was aggressive and struggled so violently she broke the handcuffs, Bolton Crown Court was told. She also bit

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Police raid nets haul of stolen jewellery

POLICE in Burnley have seized thousands of pounds of what they believe to be stolen jewellery, some dating back to raids four years ago. The massive haul, from just one address in the Burnley area, was recovered in a raid last month. Detectives are asking

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Dunn ready to fire at Gunners

HIGHBURY hero David Dunn has set his sights on gunning down the Gunners tonight as Rovers aim to take another step on the road to the Worthington Cup final. England Under 21 international Dunn knows exactly what it takes to breach the Arsenal defence

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European place is target for Rovers

ROVERS coach Tony Parkes has his sights set firmly on European football next season as the club prepares for tonight's Worthington Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Rovers have made solid progress in the top flight, losing only five of their 16 Barclaycard

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Quality buses benefit from CCTV

QUALITY buses launched by Burnley and Pendle Transport are also helping police to combat crime. The new service boasts an on-board CCTV system with two cameras checking the interior, a third watching all boarding and alighting movements and a fourth looking

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Santa heads for Triangle

SANTA will make a guest appearance at the Victorian Christmas celebrations at the Weavers' Triangle in Burnley on Saturday and Sunday. Owing to the closure of some canal bridges, he will not be able to make his usual entrance on a canal boat and instead

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Group set up to fight fire-raisers

A SPECIAL action group is to be set up in the battle to stop arson in Burnley. After the riots in June, the Burnley Task Force was set up to look into why the violence began and what could be done to stop future outbreaks. The group, headed by Labour

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RIOTS: Drug gangs started riot

BURNLEY'S task force today blamed white and Asian criminals for starting the disturbances which wreaked havoc in the town for three days in June. Drug dealing gangs in Daneshouse and Colne Road took advantage of mistrust and racism to fan the flames of

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Walk off festive hangover

PEOPLE in Pendle are being encouraged to walk off their New Year's Eve hangovers and make a healthy start to the year by joining a guided walk through Marsden Park on New Year's Day. Members of the public, along with their dogs, are being invited to take

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Firm's plan set to get go-ahead

CONTROVERSIAL plans to extend part of the building at Woodhead Bros Meat Co in Colne will be discussed by councillors on Thursday after the application was deferred at the last two meetings. Plans were deferred in October for details of how the odour

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Call for marathon support

AMBULANCE worker John Ward will be hoping he will not have to call on his colleagues when he takes part in his first marathon next year. The 49-year-old, who works on patient transport service, at the Accrington station, has never done a marathon before

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Piling on pressure for class go-ahead

THE chairman of governors at a Whalley private school has urged parents to lobby councillors over their decision to reject plans for a new classroom block for the second time. Tony Baron told pupils, parents and guests at Oakhill College's annual prizegiving

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Leigh and District League: Smith is hat-trick hero

KERSAL Vale's John Smith took his season's goal tally to a mightily impressive 25 with yet another hat-trick in his Division One team's Redwaters Coronation Cup 8-1 home win over Division Two Atherton Royals. Steve Fagan also bagged three, Mike Phillips

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Classes point way to revamping your home

NEW classes at Earcroft Community Base start after the new year - and courses for 2002 include top tips on revamping your home economically. Changing Rooms (on a budget) For Women starts on January 14. The course is provided by the Women's Centre and

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Database to find homes for pets

A DATABASE of pet lovers willing to give animals a temporary home is to be set up by Rossendale's Dog Warden David East. He said: "Often when people go into hospital they struggle to find someone to look after their pet, so I would like to compile a list

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New group aims to monitor council actions

CITIZENS of Rossendale are invited to join a new organisation to try to get the council to adopt good practice. Brenda Wilkinson, of St James Street, Rawtenstall, has worked for local government since 1964 and recently held the post of European officer

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Ex-mayor loses cancer battle

A FORMER Rossendale Council leader and ex-Mayor Alan Fishwick has lost his battle with cancer. The grandfather, who was 61 and lived in Burnley Road, Rawtenstall, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 1998 and in 1999 bravely told his story to

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Family learning scheme set for a repeat

A SCHEME designed to promote family learning has been hailed a massive success -- and is set to be repeated next year. Lancashire County Council's Family Passport initiative provided families across the county with discounted entry to hundreds of attractions

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Fringe hedge finishes Green scheme

RESIDENTS in Bank Top will be out in force this weekend as they join Groundwork staff to plant a boundary hedge in their newly landscaped green, attracting wildlife to the local urban area. The community space, known as Arthur Street Green, was recently

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Police seek man after child snatch bid

POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a middle-aged man tried to entice into an 11-year-old boy into his car outside a Blackburn burger restaurant. The boy escaped uninjured after the man tried to grab him and he was able to run off to safety. Police

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County scheme shows how to be a sport

BACK gardens and parks were alive with the sound of football as the town's dads played sport with their sons following the latest six-week Dads and Lads scheme organised by Lancashire County Council. County Councillor Alan Whittaker, Cabinet Member for

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Verdict expected in sex assault case

THE jury in the case of a man accused of abducting and indecently assaulting two young girls in Blackburn will return to court this morning after retiring last night to consider their verdict. They were sent home yesterday evening by trial judge Edward

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Council pension fund hit by crisis

MORE than £500,000 has been wiped off the value of the pension fund for council employees in Lancashire after money was invested in the now defunct Railtrack. Today, Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans urged the government to remember that it wasn't just the

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Diplomatic step-up for Straw man

BLACKBURN man Toafiq Wahab was given the ideal send-off to his latest Foreign Office job when his boss, Blackburn MP and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, wished him good luck. Toafiq, known as Toff, has been regularly attending Mr Straw's constituency meetings

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Aerospace firms launch rescue bid

A NEW package to help boost the aerospace industry has been launched by the North West Aerospace Alliance following the announcements of huge job losses across East Lancashire Initial funding of more than £20 million has already been pledged by the North

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Raider puts gun to shop man's face

ARMED raiders placed a gun to a shop assistant's cheek before fleeing with £550. The two robbers also took an audio visual mobile phone worth £500 during the raid at the Elton Wine Shop in Walshaw Road, Bury, at 5.45pm last night. One robber vaulted over

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Harry Potter website boost for steam railway

A NEW fascination with steam trains created by the Harry Potter film looks set to provide a boost for Bury's East Lancashire Railway. The attraction, which already brings thousands of visitors to the town every year, is to be included in an Internet campaign

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Cash disaster for Railtrack victims

THOUSANDS of local government employees in Lancashire -- of the County Council and the six town halls in East Lancashire -- today find their pension fund is more than £500,000 worse off because it bought shares in collapsed Railtrack. But they are hardly

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No sett-layers? that's cobblers

I FEEL I must put pen to paper after reading your story about the Portugese sett layers who are working on Church Street -- and doing a fine job. I know it's a fine job as I have laid setts all over the country over the last 18 years and have met many

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Charity night raised £6,000

COULD I thank everyone who helped our fundraising effort 'A Night For Michelle,' to be such a success? We raised £6,000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Special thanks to WH Smith, Perrys, The Nail Room, PC World, Debenhams, The Blind Centre, Clares Interiors

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Parking costs in town put off motorists

ILIVE in Hapton and I travel all over the country and I think Burnley is one of the most anti-motorist towns in the North West, with no free parking areas. All the land that becomes empty, even within 5-10 minutes walk of the centre, ends up with meters

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Thief strikes again

THREE days after being charged with theft and being released on bail, David Kelly was arrested again. Bury magistrates heard that Kelly, aged 20, who is in jail for robbery, was caught on camera at the Mill Gate shopping centre with some youths. They

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RIOTS: Drug gangs started riot

BURNLEY'S task force today blamed white and Asian criminals for starting the disturbances which wreaked havoc in the town for three days in June. Drug dealing gangs in Daneshouse and Colne Road took advantage of mistrust and racism to fan the flames of

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KEITH GILLESPIE V ROBERT PIRES

SUCH is the French influence at Highbury, it is surely only a matter of time before they take to the field to the sound of the Marseillaise. And while manager Wenger, hit-man Henry and the mighty Vieira might be grabbing most of the headlines, winger

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Kelly's men march on

ROB Kelly's Under 17s completed an excellent week for Rovers Academy with a thumping 5-0 win over Coventry at the weekend. Earlier in the week, some of Kelly's side had played a leading role in Rovers' 4-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup. And they

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Loyal servant Parlour still fighting

IT only seems five minutes since Ray Parlour first burst onto the scene as a tousle-haired teenager. But, incredibly, the 28-year-old England midfielder is due a testimonial later this season in recognition of 11 years' service at Highbury. However, happily

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Driver charged over hit and run

A MAN arrested after a 13-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Burnley at the weekend will appear before Burnley magistrates on Thursday. Nigel Patrick Canning, 32, of Manchester Road, Burnley, was last night charged with failing to stop

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RIOTS: Timetable of trouble

THE run-up to the disturbances in Burnley began on Easter Sunday in April, when tensions between whites and Asians in Bradford exploded into violence. The most serious outbreak came in late May, as some of the worst racial violence in 15 years tore through

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Police raid nets haul of stolen jewellery

POLICE in Burnley have seized thousands of pounds of what they believe to be stolen jewellery, some dating back to raids four years ago. The massive haul, from just one address in the Burnley area, was recovered in a raid last month. Detectives are asking

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Killer in flat attack given life sentence

A PARANOID schizophrenic who savagely kicked and punched a man to death following a drinking session in a Bacup pub has been jailed for life. Philip Rhodes, 35, of Cog Lane, Burnley killed Gary Fletcher after accusing the 41-year-old of giving evidence

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RIOTS: Probe deals blow to faith schools

THE Government's plan to establish more single-faith schools suffered a major setback today as a report into this summer's terrifying race riots said the education policy could increase ethnic tensions. The comments came in a Home Office-sponsored investigation

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Lighting up a Life success

PENDLESIDE Hospice was lit up as 2,200 bulbs were switched on for their annual Light up a Life Campaign. The campaign allows people who have lost a loved one to sponsor a bulb to raise money for the Colne Road hospice. Everyone who sponsors a bulb is

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Public invited to spend parks cash

ADULTS and children in Brierfield are invited to have their say on how £56,000 should be spent to improve Heyhead and Benthead Parks. A large proportion of the money, which has come from a variety of sources including the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Brierfield

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Torture threat if we return home

ASYLUM seekers in Pendle attended a special ceremony yesterday where they lit candles and remembered loved ones. A small group of the hundreds of asylum seekers in the borough met at the Every Street drop-in centre to mark World Human Rights Day and the

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Plane spotters await decision

THE 12 British plane-spotters jailed in Greece were due to find out today if they would face espionage charges after prosecutors called for them to face trial. Three judges were to examine the evidence against the plane spotters and then decide how the

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'The Dingles' can go all the way

BEFORE kick off the Preston fans had it all to say. "Townful of Dingles" chorused three sides of Deepdale, wall to wall smugness and ear to ear grins, "you're just a town full of Dingles." Come full time, they weren't singing quite so loud. In fact, the

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DAVID Mellor, then Chief Secretary of the Treasury, paid a visit to Hyndburn. He called to meet with

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A TEENAGER who suffered a fractured skull after roller blading into the path of a car regained consc

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Rovers need to strike - and soon

MUCH better performance, shame about the result. I came off the ground on Sunday feeling far less downcast than after the Middlesbrough game. In places that was our best performance for some time. But, as in Brucie's game show points make prizes and for

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Youth, 17, handed anti-social order

A TEENAGER has been served with an Anti-Social Behaviour Order, which police said would protect the public from 'violent attacks.' Rocky Johnstone, 17, was handed the order by Hyndburn Magistrates after a catalogue of incidents, which led police to call

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Lights tragedy safety warning

PARENTS have been given a Christmas safety warning after after it was revealed festive tree lights are likely to have caused a house fire which killed a 45-year-old mum of five. Clitheroe firefighters believe lights, which were hung around the net curtains

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Study time for Clarets kids

THE youth team players at Turf Moor swapped the training pitch for the classroom last week as they took part in an exercise introduced by the Football Association and the Football League. Youth boss Terry Pashley explained: "In service training has been

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History on Clarets side

RECENT history suggests that Clarets fans are more than entitled to start dreaming about a return to the top flight. In four of the last five seasons, the side that has led the first division at the halfway stage has gone up, three times as champions.

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Tyldesley edge home

TYLDESLEY RU showed great determination and discipline to record a narrow 7-5 victory at Salford based side De La Salle. Whilst the home side complained about everything, Tyldesley concentrated on keeping the ball and using it well when they had to. First

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Dunn ready to fire at Gunners

HIGHBURY hero David Dunn has set his sights on gunning down the Gunners tonight as Rovers aim to take another step on the road to the Worthington Cup final. England Under 21 international Dunn knows exactly what it takes to breach the Arsenal defence

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History on Clarets side

RECENT history suggests that Clarets fans are more than entitled to start dreaming about a return to the top flight. In four of the last five seasons, the side that has led the first division at the halfway stage has gone up, three times as champions.

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Cups of cheer

A CHRISTMAS coffee morning held by the Darwen committee of the Cancer Research Campaign raised £371. The event was held at the secretary and treasurer's home in Roman Road. Linda Chatburn, of the committee, said the event had been 'super' and was very

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Head's fury over school damage frenzy

SECURITY patrols at Darwen Vale High School are to be stepped up and CCTV network increased after vandals caused £2,000 of damage to the school over the weekend. The school on Blackburn Road was repairing 27 windows which were smashed by the vandals overnight

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Young dancers compete at hall

CHILDREN from all over the North West of England travelled to Haslingden to compete in the 18th Rossendale Dance Festival. Young dancers spent Saturday and Sunday tapping and pirouetting at the Public Hall, in Regent Street. Categories for the competitions

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Fire wrecks kitchen

A CHIP pan fire gutted a kitchen in Wigan Road, Leigh, last night. A woman and two children, aged three and six, had to leave the house when the fire spread to the rest of the kitchen. They were not injured and had been alerted to the fire when their

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Mother's anger at grave flowers thieves

A WOMAN has spoken of her disgust for thieves who stole flowers from her son's grave. Pauline Catterall has been going to the town's cemetery in Southport Road, Chorley, every day for three years since her son died at the age of 29. A few weeks ago, she

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County's all-out war on traffic in fakes

LANCASHIRE County Council Trading Standards Officers are mounting an anti-counterfeiting campaign on the run-up to Christmas in support of a national initiative launched recently by Consumer Minister Melanie Johnson. In their latest activities teams of

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Stanley waiting to hear from McEvilly

LEE McEvilly is not on his way to Accrington Stanley despite recent reports. The 19-year-old Burscough striker was the subject of a £10,000 bid from Stanley but the club want more for the young Liverpudlian star who came through their youth system. Burscough