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

Lancashire | Archive | 1999 | March

Stories for 4 March 1999

Accrington News

Protesters lose fight against homes plan

PLANS to build more than 100 new homes on open land in Great Harwood have been approved despite neighbours' objections. more...

Blackburn Leisure

League get shirty

FORESTERS FC will not be allowed to wear their team shirts again until the Lancashire FA decides whether the club's crest is offensive or not. more...

Cue cameras for snooker masterclass

HARRY Gillespie is screen-testing young hopefuls every week at his snooker masterclass - and next week the star of the show could be cue! more...

BURNLEY & DISTRICT SUNDAY LEAGUE DIVISION TWO:

Royal Butterfly FC 3 Whitegate FC 1 more...

Raglan tame raging Bull!

RELEGATION dog fights are never the prettiest of affairs especially when both teams admit that they are likely to go down. more...

HYNDBURN AND DISTRICT JUNIOR LEAGUE

Oswaldtwistle Juniors Under 15s 4 more...

Sparrowhawks swoop for title

BLACKBURN Sparrowhawks moved a significant step nearer winning the championship and a promotion play-off place after a thrilling 6-3 win against Solihull at the Arena. more...

A Sporting chance

DID they peak too soon or simply run out of steam? more...

You need hands

WITH more than 20,000 primary school children playing handball across the country, it underlines the fact that it is not only one of the fastest games but also one of the fastest growing. more...

FIVE YEARS AGO: Village security move

VILLAGERS were urged to hire a private security firm to patrol their streets after a wave of burglaries and car thefts in picturesque Salesbury. more...

League denies 'blackmail' claim

A LOCAL league has admitted that it is breaking the rules in an attempt to complete its league programme. more...

TEN YEARS AGO: Lager lorry mishap

A LORRY shed its load of thousands of bottles of pils lager at the Whitebirk roundabout, Blackburn, leaving broken glass scattered over the highway. more...

Goal-den girls aim for the Twin Towers

MANSFIELD High school girls football team have set their sights on Wembley after winning the area final of a top national knockout tournament. more...

Captain Lord's a Saint

DEAN Lord gave a captain's performance when he grabbed the only goal of the game to lead St Anne's Primary School to victory in the final of the annual Jim Hayhurst Trophy. more...

What's on: E Lancs events on Friday

The Nat Birchall Jazz Quartet in a Jazz FM Concert, Westholme School, Meins Road, Blackburn, 7.30pm. more...

Blackburn News

Tories duped us over pensions

MR A SEDGWICK (Letters, February 24) has toned down the bleak picture he painted earlier of pensioners' existence under the cruel heel of New Labour. more...

AT last, the national Sunday newspapers have discovered what we in East Lancashire knew all along - the Manchester to Clitheroe rail route truly is the worst service in the country and justly deserves the title "The Misery Line". more...

Stop cruel 'tradition'

ONCE again, we have seen the macabre spectacle of the Waterloo Cup - hare-coursing's most prestigious event of the year. more...

Democracy should rule

THE Prime Minister recently praised the former Conservative Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, and said what a good Tory leader he would be. more...

Euro will leave us worse off

SO Tony Blair is now our guru of the euro. Heaven help us, now that the government is hell-bent on adopting the single currency. more...

Nip problems in the bud

YEARS ago, I took my small grandchild to see a rugby game - Wigan v St Helens. more...

Crackdown mustn't hit the needy

THE staggering level of benefit fraud - £5 billion a year, equal to a "robbery" of some £90 from everyone in the country - demands a relentless crackdown, but the new approach the government is planning contains a disturbing drawback. more...

Extra aid for arthritis

BECAUSE there are more than 200 types of arthritis and rheumatic disease, diagnosis can sometimes be a problem. more...

Mercy chopper to take off soon

A NEW air ambulance which could help to save lives across East Lancashire could take to the skies next month, we can reveal today. more...

Air cops swoop on 1,000 criminals

LANCASHIRE police helicopter crew has been celebrating after notching up more than 1,000 arrests. more...

Blitz on crime 'hotspot' estate

POLICE are planning a high profile campaign in a bid to cut crime on a troubled Blackburn estate. more...

Fitness frolics!

WOMEN were given a taste of different types of exercise at an event at Audley Sports and Community Centre, Blackburn. more...

Parents' fears allayed over brain bug

LETTERS have been sent to worried parents after a nursery nurse was struck down by suspected meningitis. more...

A pat on the Beck

MANCHESTER United fans should feel cheated. more...

Blackburn Sport

Robertson surgery blow for Clarets

MARK Robertson went into hospital for a hernia operation today, counting him out of Burnley boss Stan Ternent's plans for up to six weeks. more...

Dahlin set for return from Germany

MARTIN Dahlin is set to return to Ewood at the end of his loan to Hamburg, with the Bundesliga club not expected to take up their option to buy him. more...

CRICKET: Bailey must make mark

Accrington chairman Peter Barrett is hoping new professional Mark Bailey can transform the ailing Lancashire League club's fortunes. more...

CRICKET: Premier cloud over LCB squad

The Lancashire Cricket Board's long-standing feud with the Lancashire League could be a factor behind the small number of the league's players named in the LCB 1999 training squad. more...

Dahlin set for return from Germany

MARTIN Dahlin is set to return to Ewood at the end of his loan to Hamburg, with the Bundesliga club not expected to take up their option to buy him. more...

Hoyland hope of glory

JAMIE Hoyland is no stranger to relegation battles. more...

Carew cut

TEENAGE Norwegian star John Carew aims to introduce himself to English football tonight by helping Valerenga give Chelsea a king-size headache in their European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final clash. more...

Robertson surgery blow for Clarets

MARK Robertson went into hospital for a hernia operation today, counting him out of Burnley boss Stan Ternent's plans for up to six weeks. more...

Bolton Business

Investors makr for happy workers

A UK workers' study shows that the happiest staff work for Investors in People organisations. more...

Royal tribute to Paul's giving tree

FORMER Bolton man Paul Briggs was recently a guest of the Princess Royal at St James' Palace. Mr Briggs, whose parents still live in Barrow Bridge, runs the Broad Street Mall Shopping Centre in Reading. His efforts with a "Christmas Giving Tree" led to a reception and presentation organised by the Save the Children Charity. more...

Barry joins the elite

BOLTON-based Barry Leedham has become one of an elite group of independents to achieve Fellowship of the Society of Financial Advisers. Mr Leedham, senior partner at Barry Leedham Financial Services in Chorley Old Road, has become one of only 29 people in the UK to attain the award by examination. more...

Bolton Leisure

What's onm in and around Bolton, Friday, 5/3/99

THEATRE, MUSIC AND DANCE THE Phoenix Theatre Company present Hindle Wakes at Chorley Old Road United Reformed Church Hall at 7.30pm. For further information tel: 840448. more...

REVIEW: Jesus Christ Superstar, Opera House, Manchester. Runs until March 27.

WHEN this show was first penned, Jesus in a pair of combat trousers just wouldn't have washed. more...

REVIEW: Hindle Wakes,.The Phoenix Theatre Company, Chorley Old Road United Reformed Church Hall. Run

STANLEY Houghton's Lancashire comedy never loses its appeal. The Phoenix Theatre Company do it full justice in a swift-moving production directed with a fine feel for the play's period charm by Edwina Freeman. Although the production got off to a slightly shaky start - literally - when the scenery in the Hawthorns' humble home was somewhat unsteady, this was a very minor hiccup. And the audience was more than compensated by a stunning set for the Jeffcote mansion. The attention to detail in this was exceptionally good. more...

Bolton News

OPINION: Support this reading plan

THE revelation that one in three children in Bolton cannot read properly for their age is a shocking one. more...

From the BEN files

25 YEARS AGO more...

MPs urge quick decision on vital swap

BOLTON'S MPs have told Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott he must make a speedy decision on the Fort James/Tesco land swap plans - and come down in favour of the scheme. Ruth Kelly, David Crausby and Brian Iddon all submitted evidence to the public inquiry in January and in a letter to Mr Prescott, who will decide on whether to act on the inspectors recommendations, have repeated their view that the move is vital to secure jobs in Horwich. more...

Floods of complaint

A GROUP of elderly Farnworth neighbours say wellies and waterproof trousers are becoming the normal dress - because their street keeps flooding. more...

Painter Paul is all set to toy with art

A FORMER Bolton toy shop is to be turned into an art gallery to help struggling North-west artists. more...

Trek for UFOs

I WRITE after reading the BEN article: Can anybody out there solve this UFO riddle? more...

Choral cracker raises the roof

THE Horwich Festival wowed crowds with a host of harmonies and scores of singers. more...

The Daily Poem: War and Peace

The whistles blown, over the top lads, more...

Gallery is a showcase for homeless

HOMELESS people have been given jobs as curators at Bolton art gallery. more...

Teacher plus camera equals maths video

ROOKIE teacher Clare Halsall is becoming a small screen star in a bid to sum up what makes a good maths class. more...

Assessment unit plan to catch problem pupils

EXPELLED children could be sent to a special centre to pave their way back into Bolton classrooms. Education chiefs are looking into the possibility of setting up a pupil referral unit for permanently excluded pupils. Youngsters who attend would be assessed and counselled to prepare them for slotting back into classes at another school. more...

Bolton top of the vaccines

BOLTON continues to top the table for immunisation, despite claims linking vaccination with serious medical conditions. more...

MP Terry's blast for 'arrogant' Blair

MP Terry Lewis has launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Tony Blair accusing him of "arrogance" and being "plain wrong." more...

Bring in OAP care quickly

LABOUR MP Terry Lewis has called on Health Secretary Frank Dobson to implement recent recommendations of the Royal Commission on the care of the elderly in full and quickly. more...

End of the road for reject traffic ban?

A CONTROVERSIAL road closure scheme in Horwich is set to be officially scrapped later today. more...

Tables' disgust

I WISH to express the disgust and anger I feel each year when I read your publication of the Schools League Tables. more...

Sowing the seeds for more success

ANGELA WARHURST meets a team of award-winning workers A BEHIND the scenes hospital team which has won accolades from the experts is taking its expertise out to the wider community and sowing the seeds for future success. more...

Tory attacks 4.7pc rise in council tax

BOLTON Council came under fierce attack last night from a leading Tory for setting a council tax rise of 4.7 pc. From April 1, people will be making payments ranging from £590.33 in the lowest band A to £1770.98 in the top band H. In Horwich, Westhoughton and Blackrod, the payments are higher to meet parish council precepts. more...

Octagon jobs axe shock

ALMOST a third of Bolton's Octagon Theatre employees are to lose their jobs in a huge cost-cutting drive. Eighteen people working at the Howell Croft South building will be given their cards as part of a life-saving business plan. The news comes just weeks after the BEN exclusively revealed the Octagon's artistic director Lawrence Till is to be made redundant. more...

Jubilee Centre to call time on the day job . . .

BOLTON'S Jubilee Day Centre has shed the 'day' from its title to become a fully-fledged Community Care Centre. more...

Teachers on the trail of the model student

BOLTON teachers are drawing up a profile of the perfect pupil as part of a government experiment. more...

They think it's over the line . . . and now they know

SIR Geoff Hurst and Nicolas Anelka could be two soccer heroes with more than a passing interest in a Bolton company's invention. more...

Clean-up pledge to end dirty river era

POLLUTED rivers in Bolton, Bury and Leigh are set for a major clean up in the next five years. more...

Write on! Firms asked to back literacy classes

BOLTON bosses are being urged to sponsor local children to help them with their reading and writing. One thousand local firms will be asked to support the National Year of Reading by paying for a child to go to special English classes over the summer holidays. For every £250 donated, an 11-year-old child who is struggling in class will get three weeks intensive literacy coaching at their local secondary school. more...

60 new teachers for Bolton schools

BOLTON schools are celebrating a double boost today after hearing they will get an army of extra teachers to cut infant class sizes and more money for older pupils. more...

Widow's tribute to tragic crash PC

A LOCAL policeman who died in a horrific accident in Manchester at the weekend had undergone three operations on his heart. more...

Theatre's a victim of its own success

I HAVE recently played Margaret in Victoria Wood's Pat and Margaret at the Octagon Theatre Bolton. more...

Take the blame

IT'S heartening to see that our Council leaders do such sterling work, despite the previous Government. more...

Bolton Sport

SOCCER: Daniel's big night

THORNLEIGH School defender Daniel Dawson has kept his place in England Under 18s squad for their Goodyear Centenary Shield International against Wales at Molineux tonight. The local youngster who has represented Greater Manchester throughout the season, was part of the England Under 18s squad which drew 1-1 against Northern Ireland in their opening Centenary Shield match at Darlington last month. more...

WANDERERS: Eidur double spoils party

Wolves Res 1 Wanderers Res 3 A CROWD of over 8,000 saw Bolton spoil Steve Bull's return to action after a five month injury lay off with a well deserved 3-1 victory at Molineux last night. On a heavy pitch, that was only passed playable late in the day, it was Bolton who got off to the better start. Ricardo Gardner almost caught out keeper Matt Murray with a 30 yard angled cross and Eidur Gudjohnsen headed against the bar. more...

Double strike

STRIKE partners Dean Holdsworth and Bob Taylor are coming under pressure as Wanderers feel the heat in the race for the Premiership. more...

Burnley News

'Pathetic response' to call for penicillin alert

A HEALTH boss has been criticised for "an ineffectual and pathetic response" to demands for all GPs to carry penicillin for immediate treatment of meningitis - as four new suspected cases were revealed in East Lancashire. more...

Vicki is sum teacher

WHEN Burnley teacher Vicki Foy's number came up, chance was not a factor. more...

School's high note

THE presentation of a new school piano was the highlight of an awards evening for pupils of Ivy Bank High School, Burnley. more...

£2.5m hotel plans

A MAJOR hotel development is expected to create more than 140 jobs in Pendle if it is given the go-ahead by planners. more...

Clitheroe News

Big fight to save tiny school

AN angry dad whose children attend a closure-threatened rural school has vowed to fight the plans tooth and nail. more...

Homes evacuated as landslide threatens

RESIDENTS were evacuated from their homes when the car park behind their houses started collapsing into a river. more...

Make parents pay

AN angry mayor wants parents whose children vandalise public property made to cough up the cash for repairs. more...

Colne News

Blessing for chapel plan

ONE of the only three remaining Inghamite chapels in the world will be converted into houses if plans get the go-ahead. more...

Agency chief to visit Pendle firms

RECENT job losses in Pendle will be high on the agenda during a visit on Wednesday by Mike Shields, chief executive of the North West Regional Development Agency. more...

Darwen News

Seven arrested

SEVEN men were arrested after detectives swooped on a car dismantlers yard in Darwen. more...

Nelson News

Buoyant buy-out saves 300 jobs

FURNITURE maker Buoyant is being bought out of receivership saving 300 jobs. more...

Council promises five-year efficiency shake-up

A FUNDAMENTAL review of Pendle Council will be carried out over the next five years to ensure local people get efficient, relevant and affordable services. more...

Profits boost for Rolls Royce

AERO engine giant Rolls-Royce today bucked the gloom among British manufacturers by unveiling record orders and its biggest ever profits. more...

Local advertisers

Local Information

Enter your postcode, town or place name

House prices » Schools » Crime » Hospitals »