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Lancashire | Archive | 1999 | February

Stories for 16 February 1999

Accrington News

Sex assault story of tipsy girl, 13

A SHOPKEEPER allegedly twice sexually assaulted a girl of 13 after taking her to a flat above the shop. more...

Blackburn Business

Fear over spray jobs recedes

A MOVE to ban the use of PVC in car production which would have threatened hundreds of Lancashire jobs has been blocked. more...

Fabrics firm seals Malta contract

A CONTRACT worth more than £150,000 for a new hotel complex has been won by a Burnley fabrics firm. more...

Top Tory sees Typhoon work

SHADOW Defence Secretary John Maples toured BAe at Samlesbury and saw the £3 million assembly engineering building where 300 employees are working on the Eurofighter Typhoon programme. more...

Blackburn Leisure

FIVE YEARS AGO: Disasters centre

A HIGH tech command centre costing £376,000 was set up to help emergency services cope with major disasters. Nuclear Electric, which ran the Heysham power plant, funded the new centre at Lancashire police's Hutton headquarters. Nuclear Electric staff were also housed there to help cope in the event of a nuclear disaster. more...

TEN YEARS AGO: Jobless total up

UNEMPLOYMENT fell below two million nationwide for the first time in eight years, but East Lancashire's figures went against the trend with a slight increase. In Blackburn and Darwen, 5,831 people, around nine per cent, were unemployed, while 6,137 people were out of work in Accrington, Hydburn and Rossendale. more...

What's on: Events in East Lancs tomorrow

Organ Recital, Blackburn Cathedral, 1pm-1.30pm. more...

Blackburn News

Kidnap teacher happy to be alive

A TEACHER who was taken hostage at gunpoint and bundled into a speedboat by kidnappers in Nigeria today told his East Lancashire-based sister: "I am so happy to be alive." more...

Jobs cut pay fear

HUNDREDS of Lancashire Royal Ordnance workers have been warned that they could face pay cuts this year because of falling orders. more...

Every word a winner

THE half term holiday could be just the right time for a trip to the cinema and if you are wondering which movie to go for, read on to get the views of three young people whose entries were judged the winners in our film review competition. more...

Paper in the picture

TWO tours of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph please, and make it snappy! more...

Difficulty of deadlines

YOUNGSTERS in Accrington kept one eye on the clock as they worked flat out to complete our Deadline activity. more...

Life sentence for Aids chimps

IT was announced this month that an almost-extinct sub-species of chimpanzee - pan troglodytes troglodytes - had been identified as the original source of the HIV virus which causes Aids. more...

Abuse of free speech

REGARDING Glenn Hoddle's sacking, both Kim Keogh and TJ Longstaff (Letters, February 10) give a variously confused and illogical interpretation of the affair. more...

Town driving out punters

IT is bad enough when people are trying to make a living and Burnley Council is trying and winning with charging for parking all over the town. more...

Lesson in geography

THE reporters of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph continue to show their ignorance of the geography of Blackburn. more...

Nuisance parkers

THERE has been a lot of controversy in Blackburn about A-boards and shops' displays on the pavements. more...

Disgraceful conduct

AS I predicted, (Letters, February 4) Brian Foster, has now had his reappointment as chairman of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale NHS Trust confirmed. more...

Blair should beware doing a Gummer

FOR all we know, genetically-modified food may well be as safe as Tony Blair seeks to assure us it is by saying he eats it himself. But, the trouble is, we don't know. more...

Fashion has deserted fur

MANY top fashion designers are still using fur. Fashion is about moving with the times as well as evolving moral and ethical perceptions. Only 13 designers out of 120 have made a commitment not to use fur, including Stella McCartney. more...

Bad planning - rotten caring

JUST days after this newspaper revealed how pettifogging planners' refusal of an access ramp forced a disabled Blackburn pensioner to do her banking in the street, we find a wheelchair-bound Ribble Valley mother having to do the same at Whalley. more...

Challenge an experience

FOR readers who relish a challenge, the British Heart Foundation World Experiences have two superb events this year - a 300km bike ride in Vietnam (May 16-25) and a 110km walk along the Great Wall of China (October 17-26). To join, participants must raise sponorship money for the Foundation. more...

Jobs cut pay fear

HUNDREDS of Lancashire Royal Ordnance workers have been warned that they could face pay cuts this year because of falling orders. more...

Rovers fan 'kicked unconscious'

A FOOTBALL fan has told how he was set upon and kicked unconscious after Blackburn Rovers' crunch cup tie against Newcastle. more...

Standing risk at Ewood Park worries authorities

COUNCIL chiefs have urged soccer supremos to crack down on away fans standing up at Ewood Park after claiming they were causing a serious safety risk. more...

Dementia victims to get more help

HEALTH chiefs and council leaders are to put together a plan to give more help to elderly people suffering from mental illness. more...

Party time for Muslims

THE Muslim festival of Eid was celebrated with a party at Bangor Street Community Centre, Blackburn, for more than 500 people. more...

Ian lights way to greener future

HOUSEHOLDER Ian Mack has literally seen the light since deciding to go green. more...

Health talks

A DIABETES awareness scheme aimed at Asian women will be launched at St John's Centre, Victoria Street, Blackburn. more...

Blackburn Sport

Clarets hope for end to Howey transfer

LEE Howey's protracted move to Northampton Town should go ahead this week - and for Burnley it won't come soon enough. more...

NON-LEAGUE: Broom: Clubs must plan for future or go under

A FORMER club chairman has called for a more positive, planned and dedicated approach from directors to take local non-League football into the millennium. more...

SOCCER: Blackburn Combination

EWOOD Amateurs and Griffin Celtic continue their unrelenting chase for the title of the Colborne Trophies Premier Division, with neither willing to give ground to the other. more...

SOCCER: Hyndburn and District Boys' League

BLACKBURN Eagles maintained their 100 per cent record in the Under-13s section when they narrowly defeated title rivals Langho Juniors by the odd-goal-in-three. more...

SOCCER: Burnley Sunday League

THE Hodgson brothers of Cakeboards shot their side into an eight-point lead in Division Three of the Burnley Sunday League. more...

NON-LEAGUE: It's not right to blame White

FORMER Colne Dynamoes skipper Simon Westwell has slammed suggestions his old club are to blame for the current crisis in non-League football in East Lancashire. more...

Cummings and Goings with Stephen Cummings

ANOTHER poor result, another chorus of boos and another sea of saddened souls traipsing disconsolately down Brunshaw Road - probably to drown their sorrows. Alas and alack! Suffering and woe! Will the Clarets ever rediscover the form that moved the pundits to re-christen the ground, "Fortress Turf Moor?" more...

Down by the Riverside with Phil lloyd

THE ceasefire, when it came, was something of a relief. Yet another patched-up detachment of blue and white troops had barricaded themselves in, this time at the New Castle, and repelled the attacks of those loyal to The Dreadlocked One. more...

CRICKET: Gloucestershire track Rammy pro Harvey

RAMSBOTTOM fear they could lose professional Ian Harvey to Gloucestershire. more...

Unhappy Valentine date for Crook

BOXING: Rossendale's Chris Crook lost his lightweight ABA Senior Championship contest against Altrincham's Lee Valentine by an 11-3 points decision in the North West Counties Finals at Preston last night. more...

Is game up for paying public?

HAVING read the recent articles and letters concerning the situation at the Blackburn Arena, there still appears to be many questions unanswered. more...

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Graham Hawkins

BEEN there, done it, watched the video, bought the T-shirt . . . Graham Hawkins is your man. more...

Schools soccer needs organising

REGARDING your report 'Kidd must take lead' (LET, February 5), I delayed responding until reading 'Solutions'. more...

Clarets hope for end to Howey transfer

LEE Howey's protracted move to Northampton Town should go ahead this week - and for Burnley it won't come soon enough. more...

Rangers fuming after Bo-Bo swoop

RANGERS boss Dick Advocaat has read the riot act to his scouting staff after being beaten by Blackburn Rovers in the chase for St Mirren's teenage starlets Burton O'Brien and David McNamee. more...

Purple patches don't last forever

MR EDDIE Brandon (Sports Letters, February 9), the fantastically funny man whose sarcasm often appears on this page, really cracks me up -unfortunately, not because it is funny and entertaining, but because of his fickle and misinformed opinion. more...

Hoddle's Sutton rethink - Kidd

BRIAN KIDD believes that Glenn Hoddle could well have given Chris Sutton an England recall if he had still been the national coach. more...

Fan base moves deserve applause

IT IS about time that season ticket holders of Blackburn Rovers realised that the club is not a Manchester United or Arsenal, with people applying for season tickets and having to wait for years before they stand a small chance of succeeding. more...

Fans must show their loyalty, too!

WE ARE writing in response to the letter from Eddie Brandon (February 9) regarding the transfer request from Tim Flowers more...

Super tour trouper Neil has the lot

DURING this current triangular series in which England are competing, one of the outstanding successes of the tour has been the performances of Neil Fairbrother. He has shown calm, foresight and resilience in sometimes tense situations. more...

Reporters should stick to facts

IS PETER White upset because Neil Yates (Sports Letters, February 9) suggests that he is biased in favour of Blackburn Rovers? more...

Mind that language

IN RESPONSE to Andy Neild's report on the crisis in non-League football (LET, February 11), apart from the money involved, one of the main reasons for the big decline below Conference level is the bad language and discipline of both the players and the people in the dug-outs. more...

Bolton Business

Bolmoor bytes back

BOLMOOR Industries - the Bolton factory which employs people with disabilities - is diversifying into computers. New and recycled computers assembled at Bolmoor have been under trial within Bolton Council's Commercial Services department for almost a year. More than 60 PCs will have been delivered by the time the trial is completed in April. more...

Take a tip from Tom

BUSINESS trainer Tom Edge is to share his advice on surviving and thriving through tough times at a half day seminar in Bury Town Hall. more...

Bolton Leisure

What's on in and around Bolton, Wednesday, 17.2.99

THEATRE, MUSIC & DANCE JOE Brown and special guests The Bruvvers will be appearing at The Albert Halls at 7.30pm. Tickets £9.50/£8.50 (concessions), tel: 364333. more...

Bolton News

Nasty habits

YOUR Letters Page recently had a letter about cats not dogs fouling. What about the people who ride horses on the pavements and roads? The horses leave their calling card on the pavement. Also young men ride mountain bikes on the pavement, nearly knocking you down. Men spit on the pavement too more...

From the BEN files:

25 YEARS AGO more...

Protesters vow to stop super estate

PROTESTERS last night vowed to fight plans to build a massive new housing estate at Westhoughton. more...

Machete gang rob pub

A GANG of youths armed with machetes burst into a Little Hulton pub yesterday lunchtime demanding cash. more...

Home town

WILL I ever come back to Bolton? This question haunted me just a week ago as, together with my wife, I stood on Platform Three at Trinity Street Station waiting for a train to Manchester Airport. We had been in Bolton to say goodbye to my Mum who had died peacefully in her 98th year. more...

HEALTH MATTERS: Putting all that pain behind me

YVONNE Howard has turned to an alternative source of medicine to ease the chronic pain she's been in for the past 10 years. more...

STAGE: '90s move for Sweet Charity

IT'S countdown time for St Philip's AODS, who stage the musical Sweet Charity from March 1 to 6. more...

STAGE: Celebrating in style

THE TOP Smithills School and Sixth Form College Bands, conducted by Christopher Wormald, are in concert at the Victoria Hall on Saturday, March 6, to celebrate the 175th birthday of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Featured will be the world and national champion Senior Brass Band, the Senior Concert Band and the award-winning Senior Big Band, which are sponsored by Fort James UK Limited and Keogh Ritson Solicitors. more...

OPINION: Unravel the red tape

THE BEN today highlights two instances which illustrate how red tape can get in the way of common sense. more...

THE DAILY POEM: Choices

Life is full of choices, more...

STAGE: Wizard ways and days

BURY Parish Church Players present their annual pantomime from this Thursday until Saturday. John Sutton has written The Wizard That Was!, which is loosely based on The Wizard of Oz, but, I'm told, "With a few bits of, and a few characters from other pantomimes." more...

STAGE: Family fun

CAROLE Butler and Andrew Close are directed by Jim and Audrey Lias in Bolton Little Theatre's production of Bernard Slade's Same Time, Next Year from February 20 to 27. more...

THE DAILY POEM: Pride goes before a squall

The poet ascended the podium more...

Superb teacher

I AM a member of the Smithills School Brass Band, and I would on behalf of every member of the band like to say thank- you to our excellent musical director, Mr Wormald. Not only is he a superb teacher, but his knowledge and leadership abilities have taken the band beyond everyone's imagination. We would like him to know that we do appreciate his hard work and endless fund-raising efforts. We know that the band means as much to him as he does to us, even though we may not always show it, but we do appreciate the time and effort that he gives to us. more...

Housing boss accused in rent arrears row

HOUSING boss Noel Spencer has been accused of failing to take seriously the £1.5m rent arrears owed to Bolton Council. more...

Diners anger at Valentine's night meal

A ROMANTIC night out at a Bolton hotel was wrecked for furious diners who were served under-cooked chicken. Many customers who paid £18 per head left the Moat House Hotel's Cloister Restaurant having eaten just a starter, sorbet and dessert. more...

Alarm bells ring as town is told its number is up

BOLTON is due to run out of telephone numbers in the year 2012, MPs have revealed. But there are currently no proposals as to how to tackle the problem. more...

Green man sees red over £30 copy fee

AN outraged Green Party worker saw red when Bolton Council tried to charge him £30 - for photocopying a single A4 sheet of a planning document. more...

Octagon director to lose job

BOLTON Octagon's artistic director Lawrence Till is to lose his job as the crisis-hit theatre battles to stay open. more...

Anyone for tennis?

WORK has finally started on a £10 million David Lloyd tennis and fitness centre on the former Bolton Royal Infirmary site. more...

Staff lottery is instant hit

HOSPITAL bosses have taken their first steps to swell the pockets of their staff. more...

Charity to recycle fake jeans

COUNTERFEIT jeans seized in Bolton are to be recycled for charity. more...

Caretaker crossings rejected

SCHOOL caretakers will not be allowed to "double up" as lollipop patrols in Bolton. more...

Hayley's a little treasure

HAYLEY Sophia Button, the BEN'S Child of the Year for 1998, had another big date to keep - to collect her prizes. more...

Run for charity

SOME of your lucky readers will have been allocated places in this year's Flora London Marathon on April 18. I want to ask those runners who have not yet decided which charity they wish to run for, to consider running for the British Diabetic Association (BDA). more...

Make jobs a priority

I REFER to the the recent headline in the BEN: Boom time for Bolton's leisure trade. It is annoying that manufacturing jobs are still going and, I assume, that the shortfall will be taken up by leisure jobs, according to the article. more...

Bolton Sport

Blues' double blow

BIRMINGHAM boss Trevor Francis is preparing to face Wanderers with a makeshift centre-back pairing. The Blues, who have already ruled out skipper Gary Ablett until December, have their other regular centre-back, Michael Johnson, suspended for Sunday's showdown at St Andrew's. more...

BOXING: Gloves are off in ring row

LOCAL amateur boxing officials have hit back at plans to ban boxing in Bolton. Fight nights will no longer be allowed to take place on local authority property if councillors follow the lead of neighbouring towns Bury and Oldham. more...

Burnley News

Snub thumping!

AN anarchist pop group who caused a Brit Awards storm by tipping water over Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott have been snubbed by organisers of this year's event. more...

Star treatment

SUPERSTARS David Bowie and Placido Domingo will have a touch of Northern hospitality at tonight's Brit Awards - from Burnley girl Justine Russell. more...

Broken gas main hits businesses

FORTY businesses in Burnley were left without gas heating yesterday after contractors working on a water main ruptured an eight-inch main. more...

Councillor's apology for absence . . . it's a girl!

LIBERAL Democrat Mozaquir Ali had to miss Burnley Council's development control committee to take care of a little development of his own - his wife was having a baby. more...

Clitheroe News

Sons' appeal after mum, 78, attacked

THE sons of a woman who was viciously assaulted at home have pleaded with the public: "Turn these thugs in." more...

Colne News

Tragedy of death crash bike dad

A MOTORCYCLIST who died instantly in a smash with a milk truck lived for his love of bikes, his wife revealed today. more...

Darwen News

Call for pay-out in A666 misery

A CALL has been made for residents along the A666 to be compensated for the months of road works misery they have had to suffer. more...

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