THERE is only one logical choice for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. But he needs a helping hand. For the only way that Carl Fogarty will lift that prestigious trophy night is for East Lancashire to jam the revolutionary phone lines on Sunday night
BLACKBURN Rovers star Billy McKinlay has escaped a driving ban despite admitting being behind the wheel of his Jaguar XJ8 while over the limit. The Scotland international successfully pleaded special reasons why he should not be disqualified after Blackburn
DR DAVID Iven is to be the first president of Burnley Football Club to mark his half-century of service at Turf Moor. After starting his working relationship with the Clarets as the club doctor, Dr Iven later joined the board and was a director for over
KEVIN Gallacher is a major doubt for the visit of Ruud Gullit's Newcastle United on Saturday. The Scotland striker limped off against Charlton in the first half with a hamstring injury. And he has been training on his own during Brian Kidd's first week
TODAY East Lancashire was playing its strongest hand -- the bond which has grown between private and public sectors in the area. Major manufacturers were meeting to support a bid by local councils to win assisted area status, which would result in massive
DO you want to be in the running for the 1999 London Marathon? Then why not think about making your training pay, by supporting The National Deaf Children's Society. We have a limited number of guaranteed places available, so whether you're a seasoned
QUEEN'S Park High School, Blackburn, is a consistently improving school that governors, staff and pupils alike are working hard to achieve. Your contribution, the banner headline: 'Must Do Better!' (LET, December 1), serves only to demoralise teachers
THE decision as to whether Castle Cement has fulfilled its legal obligations in curtailing pollution from its Clitheroe premises surely rests in the Environment Agency? I could not find any mention of this regulatory body in your article 'Scrubber' success
A BUILDER out on the town got into a car and drove after finding his bride-to-be in a "compromising" situation in a nightclub, a court was told. Site foreman Paul O'Riley was so upset at seeing the woman he intended to marry in January in someone else's
A DRIVER who clocked up about 100mph on the motorway told magistrates he had been in a hurry to get to the toilet. Saeed Ahmed, 28, who was seen by police swerving across a lane, said he had stomach problems and needed to go to the loo every two hours
AN alleged arsonist twice torched a shop wall in four days -- both times standing back to 'admire his handywork,' Burnley Crown Court heard. The day after the second blaze, said to have been started by David Quinn, he threatened a nearby chip shop owner
A SCHOOL which had its weaknesses highlighted by government inspectors is now doing better, according to the latest Ofsted report. St Leonard's CE Primary School, Padiham, gets high marks for addressing most of the problems identified in the previous
A FORMER Japanese prisoner of war has died at an Accrington nursing home aged 87. Wilfred Pendergast was captured by Japanese soldiers in Singapore while serving as a gunner in the Second World War. He spent two years in the infamous Changi camp and worked
A TELEPHONE firm has dialled up a quality award. Independent Telephone Services of Tontine Street, Blackburn, has been accredited with the ISO9002 quality award. "We had a lot of things already in place but it helped us get our paperwork in order," said
Food News, with Christine Rutter ORGANIC food is at the top of the shopping list for four in 10 shoppers in the county. Demand for organic food is at an all-time high following a succession of high-profile health scares. And supermarkets are heading for
A NEW distribution deal has been struck to sell a specialist firm's products. Blackburn-based Ralspeed, which makes starters and controls for electric motors, has reached an agreement with Parmley Graham, a firm which represents the world's leading names
MORE than 1,400 people were remembered in a dazzling display of lights that stretched for a third of a mile. An audience of over 400 gathered at Pendleside Hospice, Reedley, last night for the "Light Up A Life" switch-on service. The lights, which stretch
A DOG left homeless and distraught after her elderly owner collapsed and died during a late night walk has found the love of a new family. Honey, a greyhound cross, was the constant companion of Alice Doody, 73, of Ribble Avenue, Darwen. Mrs Doody, who
A CAMPAIGN will be launched this week in Blackburn and Darwen targeting men aged between 17 and 24 -- who are the worst drinking and driving offenders. Blackburn with Darwen Council is behind the campaign, part of the Government's national 'Don't drink
A PROJECT for a big leisure development including a multiplex cinema off Burnley Road, Blackburn, looks set to be knocked back by councillors. Planners are urging councillors to reject the scheme because it would not be easily accessible by public transport
by latest blow POLITICIANS and stunned workers at Blackburn's Royal Ordnance plant today reacted with sadness at the news of job-losses. Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Malcolm Doherty described the decision as "very disappointing" "It is a blow
AN MP has slammed a firm's decision to pull out of an East Lancashire town with the loss of 300 jobs. Pendle MP Gordon Prentice has accused Lear Corporation of not being open, honest and frank with its workers or the local community over its decision
AIRCRAFT orders worth billions of pounds and helping to secure East Lancashire jobs into the next century have been announced. Airbus beat arch rival Boeing over a multi-billion pound contract to make aircraft for Trans World Airlines of the US. And in
KEVIN Henderson could be in line to partner Andy Payton up front at Fulham -- if Andy Cooke is ruled out of the trip to Craven Cottage through injury. Burnley boss Stan Ternent withdrew Cooke at half time in Tuesday night's Auto Windscreens Shield defeat
A FIGHT to save Royal Ordnance's Blackburn site was underway today as up to 160 jobs cuts were announced. Union leaders were meeting management in a bid to try reduce the toll which will see almost half the 350 strong workforce at the factory go. And
A NEW set of school league tables paints a different picture of East Lancashire schools to the government's official statistics. The Observer newspaper has published its own set of league tables which rate schools once factors such as the proportion of
"Beauty and the Beast" pantomime, Civic Theatre, Union Road, Oswaldtwistle, 7pm. Christmas Fair, Dame Evelyn Fox School, Roman Road, Blackburn, 10am-11.30am. Blackburn Arts Club presents "Love's A Luxury," at the Club Theatre, Gibraltar Street, 7.30pm
EAST Lancashire MP Nigel Evans is losing weight -- to run in the London Marathon as part of a double bid to raise cash for charity. The Ribble Valley Tory has already lost a stone as part of a sponsored weight-watch at the Commons to raise cash for good
HOODED robbers held three terrified store workers at gunpoint in a raid on Kwik Save, Bolton Road, Blackburn, after ordering them to lie on the floor. The two raiders, armed with a sawn-off shotgun, a handgun and a crowbar, fled when they realised the
A FAGIN-type gang used a small boy to con their way into pensioners' homes before attacking their victims. The two men and a boy claimed to be collecting magazines for Children in Need and struck twice in 30 minutes in Accrington and Padiham, hitting
WHAT is the real meaning of Christmas? A spending spree gluttony. If we applied the real teachings of Jesus to our lives and allowed the spirit into our minds, then our changed attitudes would upset the world of commerce; the three days of Christmas good
I AM delighted to support the Variety Club's Christmas Tree campaign. The campaign revolves around real British Christmas trees, which are part of a promotion organised by the Variety Club and the British Christmas Tree Growers' Association. When your
I AM a pensioner who still works and use Blackburn Transport daily. On November 23 I waited for a bus in Hamilton Street, Blackburn, from before 4.10pm and none came until 4.55pm -- that was one bus missing and one 10 minutes late. All that time I was
MAY I amplify my comments (LET, December 2) about charges for waste paper collection? I remain critical of Smurfits for imposing a charge for collecting waste paper from voluntary groups. They are already getting this raw material free, apart from relatively
STAY-AWAY shoppers have sparked fears of a bleak Christmas for traders in Burnley. Retailers are reporting a slow start to festive sales, despite the town's biggest ever late-night shopping campaign. The absence of jingling tills has sent alarm bells
LANCASHIRE firms need to buck up their ideas to bridge the North-South divide. Firms from the South are outstripping Northern companies for the number of entries made for the latest round of millennium product awards. The Design Council scheme, launched
A FIGHT to save Royal Ordnance's Blackburn site was underway today as up to 160 jobs cuts were announced. Union leaders were meeting management in a bid to try reduce the toll which will see almost half the 350 strong workforce at the factory go. And
