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Lancashire | Archive | 1998 | November

Stories for 20 November 1998

Accrington News

Shoppers flee from fire

SHOPPERS were evacuated when fire swept through a town centre garage, destroying cars and sending a 16-year-old business up in smoke. more...

Homes scheme future secure

COUNCILLORS heaped praise upon a home improvement agency in Hyndburn and agreed to secure its future for the next three years. more...

Light night shopping

FIREWORKS, children's entertainment and late night shopping will be part of the fun when Accrington's Christmas lights are switched on by the Mayor of Hyndburn next week. more...

Green fingers grab trophy

FLORISTS in Clayton-le-Moors scooped a top prize when they came up with some original ideas for a national competition. more...

Blackburn Business

Passage to India found via Europe

A MAJOR bid to help firms win business in India is being launched. more...

Fund will help worthy causes

BOSSES have turned to their employees to help the local community. more...

Firm has towering success

STAFF working in one of the world's most famous buildings are enjoying a breath of fresh air thanks to a Burnley firm. more...

Blackburn Leisure

Ten years ago: Dogs' death inquiry

AN RSPCA inquiry was launched after Burnley Dog Rescue admitted they had two puppies put to sleep only hours after they had been handed to them as strays. more...

Five years ago: Bogus benefit probe saves £5m

SOCIAL security sleuths saved taxpayers more than £5 million in bogus East Lancashire benefit claims by investigating eight thousand cases in a year. more...

What's On Tomorrow, Saturday, November 21

"Cuppa For Cruse" Coffee Morning, Ribble Valley Mayor's Office, Church Street, Clitheroe, 10am-12.30pm. more...

Blackburn News

Firework injuries down

HEALTH bosses are celebrating a massive drop in the number of injuries caused by fireworks this year. more...

Park group aiming to light up playing field

A GROUP set up to improve the Stacksteads area of Rossendale is going from strength to strength. more...

The flying prince

Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy more...

AS a resident of Darwen and member of the Blackburn with Darwen libraries I am concerned about the apparent scaling down to the point of impoverishment of Darwen's Library's stock of books. I am not alone in this concern. more...

Hare hunts conserve

NATIONAL Beagling Day takes place tomorrow. This annual event lets people try for themselves the ancient and popular sport of hare hunting on foot, and highlights its important role in the conservation of the hare. more...

Wind power a dearer `do'

REGARDING your Opinion (LET, October 20) and the remarks of Ian Dixon about wind power (Letters, November 5), what this debate clearly demonstrates is that no method of generating electricity is free from environmental impact. more...

Cromwell misconception

AFTER reading your footnote to Councillor Dave Hollings' remarks (Letters, November 11), it would appear that you are just as ignorant on the subject of Cromwell as John Blunt. more...

Reader at loggerheads

READING the 'daft' place names cited by Valerie Cowan (LET, November 11) prompts me to tell of several I have photographed over some 35 years. more...

TV would have stopped war

AFTER watching the TV-coverage of the horrific World War One battles in which thousands of fit young soldiers were wasted in just a few weeks, I think some of the politicians and the General Staff should have been shot at dawn. more...

Where's the Bench mark?

F it is a court's duty to set an example to the wider community when it punishes individual offenders, then the lay bench of Blackburn Magistrates made a ridiculous mess of it yesterday. more...

Repairs the top priority

REGARDING your article (LET, November 16) on the county council facing a £77 million cash crisis to repair crumbling schools, libraries, etc, I think it's a disgrace. more...

One giant step

IT HAS been dubbed by critics as a multi-billion-dollar white elephant, but the successful launch today of the first part of the new international space station being built 125 miles above the Earth may mark a hugely significant step in man's destiny -- the start of our colonisation of space. more...

Fresh air blast for water pipes

A MAJOR water mains cleaning operation promises to improve the supply to 8,000 homes in Blackburn. more...

Barrel load of laughs

FIREFIGHTERS from Blackburn are putting their walking boots on to slog the streets to raise money for Children in Need. more...

Expulsion rates cuts plan slated

A HEADTEACHER has slammed moves to cut expulsion rates in schools and said he would vigourously resist attempts to interfere. more...

Park Rangers face axe

A RANGER service which looks after security in parks in Blackburn and Darwen is set to be abandoned as part of a £500,000 council cost-cutting exercise. more...

JPs rapped over drinks warning

ANTI-DRINK driving campaigners have slammed magistrates after a man caught over the limit for second time escaped with a fine -- the day after repeat offenders were warned they would go to prison. more...

Family's fury as dogs are shot

A FURIOUS animal lover is threatening to take a farmer to court amid claims he shot two valuable breeding dogs. more...

End to cut-off fear

A CAMPAIGNER at the forefront of the fight to end the disconnection of water to homes for non-payment of bills has welcomed a government announcement which will end the controversial practice. more...

Shorter wait in casualty

ALMOST all patients attending the casualty unit at Blackburn Infirmary are seen by a doctor within an hour of arriving. more...

Duck nearly dies in plastic 'necklace'

A DUCK nearly starved to death after a plastic four-pack holder left by careless louts became wrapped round her neck. more...

Elderly share £4m winter warmer

PENSIONERS in Lancashire will share £4 million this winter to help them afford to keep themselves warm. more...

Council scheme to put tenants on trial

A SCHEME which puts new council tenants on a 'trial period' is set to be introduced in Hyndburn. more...

Blackburn Sport

Heap gets Swiss role

GYMNAST Craig Heap is looking to follow up his exploits in the British Championships with another top display at the Swiss Grand Prix in Zurich this weekend. more...

GOLF: Ged Furey fired a one-under-par 71 to give himself a fighting chance of making the cut in the

The Pleasington ace was still 11 shots off the leaders as the third round got underway at San Roque today. more...

Bruise brothers

ROY Hodgson and David Jones might well resort to telling each other tales from the treatment room before tomorrow's basement battle between Blackburn Rovers and Southampton at Ewood. more...

Cooke bids to clean up his act

ANDY Cooke returns to front-line action at Bournemouth tomorrow bidding to clean up his act. more...

Gally set for Rovers return

KEVIN Gallacher looks set to make only his second start in more than two months as Blackburn Rovers take on Southampton at Ewood tomorrow in the basement battle neither side can afford to lose. more...

Hot-shots showdown

HOT-SHOTS Andy Payton and Mark Stein go head-to-head at Dean Court tomorrow as they battle it out at the top of the Second Division goalscoring charts. more...

Ripley baffled by struggle

STUART Ripley finds it hard to believe that his Ewood return co-incides with the season's biggest relegation battle so far. more...

Crichton breaks new ground

IN A 12 year career with 13 different clubs you would expect Burnley's new £75,000 signing Paul Crichton to have seen it all. more...

Bolton Business

Paint firm targets Arab decorating market

A WELL-known Bolton paints company is helping to bring a splash of colour to the United Arab Emirates. more...

Bolton Info

Chemists on duty in the Bolton area:

Sun Nov 22: Nash, 15 Devon Street (9am to 10pm); Landmark, 12 Chorley New Road (9am - 1pm and 2pm - 11pm); Cohens, 576 Blackburn Road (9am to 10pm); Sykes, 328 St Helens Road (11am to 1pm); Gordons, 193 Bolton Road, Kearsley (noon to 1pm); Heatons, 228 Chorley New Road, Horwich (noon to 1pm); Cohens, 1 Market Street, Little Lever (11am to 1pm); McCallister, 44 Market Street, Westhoughton (noon to 1pm) more...

Bolton Leisure

Rose & Crown, country pub/bistro/hotel, Bury Road, Edgworth.

THE ROSE & Crown came recommended -- so our expectations were high. Driving over the moors, we were looking forward to some "informal dining in pleasant surroundings", as this Edgworth establishment advertises. But first impressions were disappointing. more...

What's on in and around Bolton, Friday, 20.11.98

THEATRE,MUSIC AND DANCE WESTHOUGHTON Folk Club will be joined by Chris While and Julie Matthews at Westhoughton Golf Club, Long Island at 8.15pm. more...

Gig guide . . .

TONIGHT (Friday, November 20): Oscars, Victoria Square, Bolton (Jack Hammer). The Gypsy's Tent, Spa Road, Bolton (Wet Fish Groovers). Bulls Head, Bury Road, Bolton (Body Metal). Band on the Wall, Manchester (FunMental). Witchwood, Ashton-u-Lyne (Mook). Roadhouse, Manchester (Invincible feat Mark Burgess & Yves Atlanta). University, Manchester (Roddy Frame). more...

REV IEW: Murder at the Vicarage, Halliwell Theatre Company, Harvey Street Methodist Hall, Bolton. Ru

THESE performances of a classic Agatha Christie play are dedicated to the memory of Joan Hickson, who died recently. more...

Bolton News

A fitting memorial

ON REMEMBRANCE Sunday, I visited the war memorial at the former Horwich Loco Works, to await the wreath-laying ceremony. It looked magnificent. more...

Help elderly with banking

MANY people will be shocked at our story tonight about the 86-years-old Little Lever pensioner who was robbed of thousands of pounds. more...

From the BEN files

25 YEARS AGO more...

Christmas parade `to be the best ever'

BOLTON'S Christmas Lights Parade is set to be a seasonal sensation with a clutch of new giant figures. The Sainsbury's-sponsored event will include new features such as Santa's sled for the parade through the town centre. New characters from British Gas, Greenhalgh's Bakery and Preston's of Bolton will be joining old favourites in the Christmas showdown next Thursday. more...

Police to probe 999 tapes

POLICE are investigating allegations that control room tapes were tampered with during a high-profile probe into ambulance communications failures. The investigation within Greater Manchester Ambulance Service (GMAS) was launched when a land line failure hit Bolton's Winter Hill transmitter leading to a delay in paramedics reaching Billy Roache, 36, who died of a heart attack at his home in Wigan. But now the dead man's family claims tapes of their emergency call to the ambulance's Manchester HQ do not tally with their recollection of their conversation with a control room operator. more...

Life charity

DUE to the increasing recognition that many people are affected psychologically to a greater or lesser degree by abortion, readers may like to know that the charity, "Life", has extended its pregnancy care work to offer a free and confidential post-abortion counselling service to women, men, and families in need of this help. more...

Lollipops for grown-ups

A BOLTON highways chief today welcomed moves to give more power to lollipop people. more...

System's not sound

There is an old proverb which states -- "Speech is the picture of the mind." Without words the pictures are fleeting with no substance. Precisely the effect that the Albert Halls' sound system had on my senses while attending Bolton Premier AODS's musical -- Little Shop of Horrors. more...

Public heap praise on hospital staff

HOSPITAL staff have been "ticked off" by patients 59 times in the past three months, but the vast majority appreciate the job they do. A report presented to Bolton Hospitals Trust board revealed 59 letters of complaint were sent between July 1 and the end of September this year. In the same period however there were 1,129 letters of appreciation. more...

Gang terrorise pensioner in her home

AN 82-year-old woman was pinned down in her armchair by raiders who burst into her home last night. more...

Daily poem

What next? We had "I beg your pardon", "Eh" and "You what". more...

Royal approval for Chistie fund-raisers

A BOLTON family have received a royal thankyou for their efforts in raising cash for Christie Hospital. more...

Chris is rewarded for her kind deeds

BIG-hearted Christine Hough's kindness was rewarded when she sampled the high life at a top London hotel. more...

Rogue tattooists face the needle

ENVIRONMENTAL health chiefs in Bolton have warned they will take action against tattooists and body piercers who fail to keep to strict health guidelines. more...

Chris is rewarded for her kind deeds

BIG-hearted Christine Hough's kindness was rewarded when she sampled the high life at a top London hotel. more...

Moran appeal in the balance

BOLTON'S race against time to "Bring the Moran Home" hangs in the balance today -- but with only £32,500 to find, the painting is now within the town's grasp. Following a high-profile campaign, eleventh-hour donations from a wide variety of sources have flooded in during the last few days. These have included donations from the public from as little as 50p and including personal gifts of up to £1,000. more...

Still a future for axed Terriers, says Army

MOST of Bolton's part-time soldiers will be able to keep posts within the forces, Army bosses have pledged. more...

Duchess award for brave Andrew

ANDREW Jackson, a Year 8 pupil at Harper Green School, Farnworth, will attend a special ceremony in Westminster Abbey next month, where he will receive a Child of Courage award from the Duchess of Kent. more...

Wonderful treatment

MAY I draw your attention to how well our elderly people are treated in Millview Nursing Home in Bolton (Victoria House). more...

Moran coming home!

BOLTON has won the race to buy the town's most famous painting, the BEN can exclusively reveal today. more...

Poorly pupils exams battle

THE case of two Bolton schoolchildren who fell sick during their GCSE exams has provoked a campaign to change the rules in time for next year's entrants. Under the current system, a candidate must complete at least 35 per cent of the examination to be given a mark in some key subjects. But, as reported in the BEN, Canon Slade pupils Philip Gibson and Ainsley Kenyon fell seriously ill before they could sit most of their their exams. more...

Pub couple furious over Big Nick's ashes

A PUB landlady says she was devastated when Bolton Council disposed of the ashes of a man she considered to be "family". more...

OAPs using barricades to keep out tricksters

RESIDENTS of a Bolton sheltered housing scheme say they have been left so scared after a spate of break-ins, they are barricading themselves in their flats with their own furniture. more...

Tea for a year

A very big thank you for the prize which arrived the other day. Teabags for a year, and I never expected so many! more...

£1.5M council homes revamp gets go ahead

COUNCILLORS have given the green light to a £1.5m package of improvements on council housing estates in the Leigh area. At a meeting of the Wigan Housing Committee, spending plans for carrying out major environmental schemes, improving several hundred homes and replacing a number of warden call alarms were agreed. Five schemes aimed at making residents feel safer by enclosing open areas round blocks of flats and bungalows are to be drawn up -- at Blakeborough House, Atherton; Lever Close, Tyldesley; Millervale House, Platt Bridge; The Lawns, Hindley and Regency Court, Wigan. more...

Edward again?

WHAT on earth are the managers of Crompton Place thinking about, displaying (yet again) Edward the Elephant? more...

Salute to the `dream team'

A HEADTEACHER has described his staff as his "dream team" for helping to advance a Bolton school. more...

OAP robbed of £20,000

AN elderly Little Lever man who has never trusted banks has been robbed of more than £20,000 life savings he stored away in his bedroom. Three thugs stole the hidden haul of cash after attacking the 86-year-old pensioner in his hallway. The money was pension cash he had stored in bags in his bedrooms, believing it to be safer in his own home. more...

Blowing the whistle on Penny

PENNY Junor's controversial book may well be revealing about Prince Charles, but a Bolton teacher is able to turn the tables on her to disclose her "pet" secrets. In fact, thanks to the growing reputation of Deane School Farm, teacher Fred Tyldesley has a wealth of information on how the rich and famous enjoy their "creature comforts". For example, Penny Junor enjoys a "flutter" . . . but not of the gambling kind! more...

A real Andy man in the garden

ANDY Greaves, senior sales assistant at Barton Grange Garden Centre, Bolton, has been short-listed for the 1998 Nurseryman & Garden Centre Awards to be presented at an Oscar-like gala dinner in London on December 1. more...

They're having a hi-tech time down at the Dog and Partridge

A BOLTON pub has gone hi-tech in a bid to find out more about its past. The Dog and Partridge has gone on-line and hooked up to the internet to spread the word to computer users. more...

Some silences

I LIVE rather more than three streets away from "the Drop In Centre" at Hunger Hill, their words, not mine, and have been following this saga with great interest. more...

Arrogant attitude

THE ALMOST unbelievable arrogance of Cllr Peter Johnston, and the dismissive, superior attitude he displays to the residents he purports to represent is unfortunately only too common among his political cronies. Many would not agree that the money wasted on pedestrianisation actually upgrades Farnworth's facilities.We are bored with listening to your endless tirade of eco babble, your pose as holder of the moral high ground by bashing the motorist. Firstly what right have you to tell us what is in our town's best interest? You don't even live in Farnworth. As for consultation or listening to the residents, your attitude clearly mirrors the French, who do not consult the tadpoles when draining the village pond. What gives you the gall to think that you know better than the retail workforce? Your political posturing is risking their jobs. more...

The band plays on

THE Nick Jackson Band are continuing their regular performances at the Farmer's Arms, despite the recent departure of mandolin man Graham Clarke and backing singer Andrea Glass. more...

Daily poem

The angel A blinding light shone from above more...

Special party to mark Wigan Casino opening

TO celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Tamla Motown record label and the 25th anniversary of the opening of the famous Wigan Casino Soul Club there's a special event taking place tonight in Radcliffe Civic Suite. more...

I know the law

It may surprise Mr Devlin, (Your views, November 11), to learn that I do understand the law concerning more...

Bolton Sport

Newsome issues a rallying call!

JON Newsome has told his new team-mates to stay together, stay confident and look for a helping hand from Lady Luck at Ipswich tomorrow. more...

SOCCER: Dean is man for Reds - Warnock

NEIL Warnock has thrown Dean Kiely's cap into the ring as a possible replacement for Peter Schmeichel at Manchester United. more...

Mean machine

WHEN you are as desperate for a win as Wanderers are at the moment, you could do without having to beat the meanest defence in Division One and the rising star of English goalkeeping. more...

Newsome issues a rallying call!

JON Newsome has told his new team-mates to stay together, stay confident and look for a helping hand from Lady Luck at Ipswich tomorrow. more...

Potter in plaster

LEE Potter is in plaster after a bitter-sweet appearance in Wanderers Reserves' 5-1 defeat by Port Vale last night. The young striker scored in the first minute but went off before half-time with a leg injury, which proved to be a cracked fibula. more...

Soccer: RMI Cup ticket sell-out

LEIGH is in the grip of FA Cup fever as fans swamped Hilton Park when tickets for the Cup replay against Fulham went on sale. more...

Burnley News

New life for estates

COUNCIL bosses have come up with a £1 million plan to knock down nearly 300 homes and breathe new life into rundown housing estates. more...

Health chiefs told to discuss compromise

HEALTH chiefs who clashed over plans to close a hospital ward for elderly mentally ill patients have been told to try again to reach agreement. more...

Fresh bid for race harmony

BURNLEY and Pendle councillors are to meet in a new bid to get racial harmony back on track in the two boroughs. more...

Ternent lights up the town

CLARETS manager Stan Ternent emerged from the Turf Moor gloom to light up the town. more...

Clitheroe News

Pupils a sporting success

A HEADTEACHER revealed the outstanding sport success of his school at the annual prize night. more...

Darwen News

Nit-pickers get lice on the run

A SCHOOL which introduced its own head lice hunters after health chiefs abandoned routine checks by nurses is claiming the move has drastically cut the number of cases among pupils. more...

Nelson News

MP bids to end Kashmir crisis

THE father of Blackburn hostage Paul Wells could join an East Lancashire delegation to the Foreign Office to try to step up moves to resolve the Kashmir conflict. more...

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