The Bury Times - Keeping you up-to-date with the latest news, sport and video reports

Stories for 4 February 1999

Accrington News

Anger as Lottery snubs area's sport bids

LEISURE chiefs are preparing to take Lottery bosses to task about alleged unfair treatment of Hyndburn.  more...

More urged to join clean-up campaign

A CLEAN-UP of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the creation of a picnic area will be under discussion when Church Prospects Panel meets on Tuesday, February 9.  more...

Homeowners get wise

A HOUSING improvement agency has launched a council-backed scheme offering free surveys to all homeowners in the borough.  more...

Ex-cop's drive to oust leader

FORMER Lancashire Constabulary driving instructor Adrian Shurmer is set to battle for a place on Hyndburn Council at the local elections in May.  more...

Blackburn Leisure

Old folk are victims

POLICE believed an organised gang of cruel tricksters were preying on old folk in the Blackburn area by pretending to be water board officials.  more...

Winds hit homes

MORE than 500 homes were without power for hours after high winds ravaged electricity supplies in Gisburn, Rawtenstall and Abbey Village.  more...

Events in East Lancs and the North West tomorrow (Thursday, February 4th)

Grand Charity Dance in aid of Nazareth House Special Care, St Pauls WMC, Montague Street, Blackburn, 8pm.  more...

Blackburn News

Nurse sexually abused patients

A FORMER Blackburn psychiatric nurse was jailed for eight years for a series of sex offences against teenage boys spanning 30 years.  more...

Romance on the menu

Food News with Ray Peake  more...

Support expected

YOU report (LET, January 29), that Councillor Kath Reade accused me of identifying her as the person who was trying to get herself appointed as the next chairman of the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale NHS Trust.  more...

Beatings: No way out

IN the House of Commons, the Prime Minister resisted Opposition demands that prisoner releases in Northern Ireland should be halted until the punishment beatings that are taking place daily are halted.  more...

Award, mark of quality

I WAS delighted to read (LET, January 26) that Blackburn with Darwen Council's Housing and Neighbourhood Services Department has been awarded the Charter Mark for a second successive time.  more...

Don't blame the animals

THERE have been countless complaints about dogs fouling the pavements and other public areas. All of these could be well founded.  more...

Dismay over stray

I RECENTLY took in a stray kitten, but after a couple of days, it was obvious it was not going to get on with my other three cats.  more...

Charges drive out public

AS a member of the council-run Regency Fitness Centre in Blackburn, I was outraged to find that the charges had been increased by 28 per cent, at a time when inflation stands at only 2.6 per cent.  more...

This scandal must never happen again

THAT career paedophile John Kyle was able to prey on teenage boys in East Lancashire for 30 years is appalling enough.  more...

Portico problem

REGARDING my recent remarks (Letters, January 25) on the restoration of the former Labour Exchange in King Street, Blackburn, and the artist's sketch of the revamp, I am concerned whether the reinstatement of the portico which originally complemented the main front entrance of the former grand 'hotel' will be included in the intended restoration.  more...

Men of violence are still in minority

THE ever-vulnerable peace process in Northern Ireland was being shaken from all sides today - as the IRA admitted breakaway republicans had stolen weapons from its stockpiles, loyalist paramilitaries said they were rearming and "punishment" beatings and shootings soared to their highest for a decade.  more...

Easy-speak tax guide

POSSIBLY because they are not able to understand the jargonese therein, many people are facing fines for not returning their self-assessment tax returns on time.  more...

Raise morale, says soccer boss

FOOTBALLERS' union chief Gordon Taylor has been elected chairman of the Blackburn Citizens Advice Bureau.  more...

Dale dusts himself down to meet the whirlwind

PLUNGING 15ft through the Perspex roof of a conservatory window is not the ideal preparation for the biggest frame of your snooker career.  more...

Battered region begs for millions

A DELEGATION from East Lancashire is heading for the House of Commons next week to call for millions of pounds to help local industry battered by heavy job losses.  more...

Child sex pest 'will do it again'

THE row over the future of a notorious child sex offender due to be released from prison soon escalated today when a former neighbour warned: "He will do it again".  more...

Vicar's model parish

A VICAR will be flying to Chicago after winning a £1,500 award for his theological work which has changed the way his parish is run.  more...

Make way for the son of Hod

Bramwell Speaks Out ONE of the four 'noble truths' of Buddhism is that the cause of suffering is desire.  more...

Blackburn Sport

Ternent praisesm Cooke clean-up

ANDY Cooke has been praised by Clarets' boss Stan Ternent for leading a clean-up of the disciplinary record at Turf Moor.  more...

ATHLETICS: Keys shows class in Splash

MERVYN Keys of Rossendale Harriers and Andy Wrench from Todmorden Harriers had their own private battle to be the best of our local runners in the 16th Soreen Stanbury Splash Fell Race.  more...

Fogarty is first fastest

SUPERBIKES: Carl Fogarty recorded the fastest lap at Kyalami in South Africa during the opening tests for the 1999 World Superbike championship yesterday.  more...

Double injury

Hawks doubt ICE HOCKEY: Blackburn Hawks are a player down for their showdown against Invicta at the Arena on Saturday - and their injury woes could be set to double.  more...

Sherwood Spurs deal hits late snag

TIM Sherwood was attempting to overcome a late snag this morning in his bid to complete a £4 million move to Tottenham Hotspur.  more...

Ternent praises Cooke clean-up

ANDY Cooke has been praised by Clarets' boss Stan Ternent for leading a clean-up of the disciplinary record at Turf Moor.  more...

Bolton Business

Reebok join in the big debate

BOLTON'S Reebok Stadium is one of more than 50 UK venues for a massive satellite debate involving 8,000 business people.  more...

Researchers earn reward

TWO PhD researchers at Bolton Institute have each won bursaries of £1,500 and awards of £500 from a City of London Livery Company.  more...

Last Drop clean up

THE Last Drop Village at Bromley Cross has won an award for maintaining its decor and carpets to a high standard of cleanliness.  more...

Bolton Leisure

What's on in and around Bolton, Friday,5.2.99

THEATRE, MUSIC AND DANCE KEN Dodd will be bringing his Happiness Show to the Albert Halls at 7.30pm. Tickets are £12.50 or £11. For further information contact the box office on 364333.  more...

Bolton News

I missed the bus

PLEASE could something be done urgently regarding the bus service number 25 - Manchester to Bolton.  more...

OPINION: Bed pressures will be eased

IT is excellent news that hospital bosses have been given £400,000 to secure the long-term future of a sixth intensive care bed in Bolton.  more...

From the BEN files

25 YEARS AGO  more...

Reign of terror by thugs on estate

A PENSIONER claims vulnerable elderly people on a Breightmet estate have been terrorised for more than a decade by gangs of destructive and foul-mouthed youths.  more...

Drink, and lose your car

A LEADING Bolton magistrate has called for drink drivers to have their cars permanently confiscated in a radical new plan to stop the menace of over-the-limit motorists.  more...

Town fear over empty classrooms

EDUCATION chiefs have pledged to consider the likely social problems caused by possible school closures when they address an empty desks crisis in Bolton primaries. They have promised that "social exclusion" will be one of the key factors they will look at when they examine the best ways of removing thousands of surplus places. As reported in the BEN, school closures or mergers could be the possible outcome of a six month review by a special working party set up by the council this month.  more...

Use money for them

THE MILLIONS of pounds of unclaimed Lottery money should be used to help old age pensioners and hospitals. It's about time the public's mind was put at ease and something was done about the unsatisfactory use of this money  more...

Millennium first citizen finds out news while on holiday

BOLTON'S next Mayor heard that he was going to be the first citizen for the Millennium . . . by fax in Tenerife. Cllr John Monaghan was holidaying in Playa de las Americas while his town hall colleagues decided at a Bolton Council meeting last night make him Mayor-elect.  more...

Mum's the best

I refer to the childcare/stay-at-home debate. I am a 37-year-old divorced mum of three. Over the years I've juggled childcare with my twins of nearly 12 years and my son now 17. I studied. I'm in business and also worked very hard.  more...

North-west beaches are getting better

THE North-west's beaches are improving quicker than anywhere else in Britain - but they are still second worst region in the whole country, new figures show. Statistics released by the Tidy Britain Group show that North-west beaches are among the most improved in the country. An independent survey, which investigated 153 resort beaches in England, Wales and Scotland last summer, considered issues including beach cleanliness and water safety , and it was found that the region's beaches have shown an overall four per cent improvement in the last two years.  more...

Daily poem

Forgiving To forgive may not be so easy,  more...

Millennium Jobs Challenge

Child's play for trio THREE playworkers have found a job at the Bolton Lads and Girls Club with help from Bolton Metro's Wage Subsidy scheme.  more...

OPINION: Keep them clean

NORTH-west beaches may be among the most improved in the country but they still have a long way to go before many parents will feel easy about their children playing on them.  more...

Strimmer king plans to be a rocket man

A FEARLESS inventor is set to forsake his garden strimmer-powered pushbike - for a rocket machine.  more...

Courses may be putting off would-be nurses: MP

BOLTON MP Brian Iddon has won agreement from Health Secretary Frank Dobson that the current academic emphasis on nursing courses may be putting people off taking jobs on the wards.  more...

Dobson lays foundation for hospital of tomorrow

HEALTH Secretary Frank Dobson is in the North-west tomorrow to lay the foundation stone on a huge, multi-million pound development plan.  more...

Car parking ceasefire

A CAR park extension could mean a halt to "warfare" in a quiet cul-de-sac, it is claimed.  more...

Disabled couple driven off the road

A DISABLED couple are so fed up with vandals they are handing back the keys to their "lifeline" car. Joe Hilton, 74, of Newton Walk, Halliwell, and his wife Dorothy are both housebound but have had their car vandalised ELEVEN times in two years, costing them £645. The couple have relied on their Motability Vauxhall Corsa for going to the doctors, shops and visiting relatives.  more...

'Veto Reds takeover to protect soccer'

LOCAL MPs have urged The Monopolies and Merger Commission to block BSkyB's television bid to buy Manchester United.  more...

Inquiry call is turned

down AN angry councillor has made an official protest to Bolton Council's planning department over its handling of an application.  more...

Schools winning war on bullying

BOLTON schools should be among the safest in the country as a project to outlaw bullies celebrates its third birthday.  more...

Cash crisis threat to town's vital projects

DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott will be urged to ensure a cash crisis does not threaten projects in Bolton's "3Ds" regeneration area. Fears are growing that a block which has been put on the English Partnership funding agency's spending could put schemes planned for the Deane, Derby and Daubhill areas in jeopardy.  more...

Council to 'pay' for teachers' wage rise

EXTRA pay for teachers and headteachers will force education chiefs to more than halve an expected cash windfall for schools, it has been claimed.  more...

Super estate crisis talks date fixed

A CONTROVERSIAL 1,100 home "super estate" plan will go before Westhoughton town councillors on Monday.  more...

Stay away!

I LOVE the countryside and enjoy walking along Georges Lane in Horwich, towards the 'pike' and beyond. Sunday guarantees extra foot traffic along these precious few trails and bridleways.  more...

PC hurt in high speed chase drama

A BOLTON traffic police officer was injured following a high speed pursuit last night.  more...

Man in court after bomb scare

A MAN was due to appear in court today in connection with an explosives scare in Bolton.  more...

This Is Your Life surprise for changing room family

TWO Bolton couples got more surprises than they brgained for when they invited the hit TV show "Changing Rooms" to makeover their homes.  more...

Drink, and lose your car

A LEADING Bolton magistrate has called for drink drivers to have their cars permanently confiscated in a radical new plan to stop the menace of over-the-limit motorists.  more...

'New head will help school get back on track'

A CRISIS hit primary could get back on track with the appointment of a new headteacher say school inspectors. Inspectors say a series of staff absences and a rapid growth of pupil numbers which doubled the size of the school, knocked Egerton Primary off course. But they believe the appointment of headteacher Anne Quigley and other new teachers could turn the school around and said there is "renewed optimism" about the future.  more...

No mistake over captain's house

HISTORY buffs deny there is any confusion over the siting of a commemorative plaque honouring an heroic Bolton mariner.  more...

Millennium Jobs Challenge: Our crusade finds eight more jobs

THE Millennium Jobs Challenge aims to find at least 365 jobs until 2000.  more...

Anger at street car parking ban

FURIOUS residents are up in arms after council officials stopped them using a piece of spare land for parking.  more...

Mum slams police over birthday boy attack

AN angry Bolton mum claims police failed to investigate quickly enough after her son was mugged on his 13th birthday. The mother, who would not be named because she fears reprisals against her son, says police asked her to wait three hours to give a statement about the mugging because they were too busy. She says she was so disgusted by their attitude, she left Bolton Central police station with her son.  more...

Go-ahead for new college

BURY has been given the green light for a new £7.2 million Millennium College in the heart of the town.  more...

Teachers fume at `super pay' plans

BOLTON teachers have accused the Government of creating a pressure cooker environment in schools with plans to create a superteacher pay band.  more...

Sunday soccer lads cut up over muddy pitch

AN amateur soccer club boss claims his side is paying the penalty for a lack of protection around the boundaries of the team's council-owned ground.  more...

Pensioners need cash

I hear that the Government are to give £180m to schools for pupils to be taught to play musical instruments! How many will continue learning music after they leave school?  more...

This foul problem

FOR as long as I remember the BEN has been printing letters from readers who are sickened by dog sewage on our streets and in our parks. Such letters do little more than re-state the problem and generate short-lived, righteous indignation.  more...

Price to pay

IN themselves Glenn Hoddle's beliefs would have hurt no one.  more...

No peace here now

AFTER visiting my family's and several of my old friends' last resting place in Westhoughton Cemetery at the weekend, I was appalled at the state of this once peaceful and serene haven, in the days when it was in control of the local council. Now it resembles a cross between a building site and a tank training area.  more...

Bolton Sport

Grimsby go to town

GRIMSBY have installed 1,000 extra seats at their Blundell Park ground because the big fish are coming to town.  more...

BADMINTON: Chris in final title hunt

CHRIS Hunt, who tomorrow starts his bid for a seventh national men's doubles title, has not given up hope of winning a first mixed crown before his glittering badminton career comes to an end. The 30-year-old Bolton player, who last April won the European title with national partner Simon Archer, is favourite to make it six titles with the Worcestershire player when the Liverpool Victoria National Championships start at Haywards Heath in Sussex tomorrow (Friday).  more...

Grimsby go to town

GRIMSBY have installed 1,000 extra seats at their Blundell Park ground because the big fish are coming to town.  more...

RUGBY LEAGUE: Leigh new boy wings in

By Mike Hulme JUST two days ago Jamie Kennedy was sunning himself on a Sydney beach but he's happily swapped all that for a midwinter in Leigh.  more...

Burnley News

Big plug for a top plumber

HANDYMAN Alan Duckworth has been named Lancashire's favourite plumber after satisfied customers sang his praises in a nationwide competition.  more...

'No callers' order to cut benefit backlog

A BACKLOG of council tax and housing benefit claims has built up in Burnley, with nearly 1,200 requests outstanding, councillors were told.  more...

Colne News

Boot out the Lords, says MP

MP Gordon Prentice has called on the government to replace the House of Lords with a small, directly-elected second chamber.  more...

Darwen News

Action vote

SHOP-FLOOR workers at Azko Nobel Decorative Coatings in Darwen have voted 94 per cent in favour of industrial action.  more...

Nelson News

Council tax up and arts are cut

COUNCIL tax bills in Pendle look set to rise by around 7.8 per cent this year based on figures put forward by the county and local councils.  more...

Rawtenstall News

Paedophile case: Recrimination and background

Victim says bosses failed to act  more...

  
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