New unemployment figures for August show that the number of unemployed claimants in Pendle in August 2013 was 1,791.

This represents a rate of 4.3% of the economically active population aged 16 to 64. The number of claimants is 413 lower than in August, 2012 and 61 lower than in July this year.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: “The national figures for July and August show the biggest two-month drop in unemployment since June, 1997 and it is great to see that reflected in Pendle.

“The vast majority of local companies I speak to are confident about the year ahead and are looking to expand their operations, which is very encouraging.

“The Government still needs to do more to help those who are out of work, but it is clear that the economy is picking up.”

A Pendle Leisure Trust employee has turned pounds into pounds by organising a boot camp with a difference.

Nutrition and fitness expert Ashley Alderson ran a week-long boot camp at Seedhill Athletics and Fitness Centre in Nelson.

And for every pound of weight each participant lost, he donated a pound to the Sam Shaw Appeal. 

The boot camp was for all ages, sizes and genders and included a varied programme of high-intensity training methods tailored to suit all abilities. 

Ashley said: “Not only was this a fantastic way of losing weight, it was also a great way to raise money for a very worthy cause.

”The event was a massive success with a total of 40 people taking part over the week. We set nutritional goals and every day we did one hour’s exercise, which included a variety of different sessions, as well as a fun assault course on the final day.

“Over the five days, participants lost a total of 42lbs, so I will happily donate £42 to the Sam Shaw Appeal.”

Four-year-old Sam Shaw is fighting neuroblastoma – an aggressive childhood cancer. To give him the best chance of beating the disease, he needs clinical treatment in America – at a cost of £250,000.

Staff at Pendle Leisure Trust have so far raised more than £7,000 towards the target, but they want to help with the final push.

Shoppers in Burnley town centre cannot have failed to notice that demolition work has begun to transform the shopping parade around the Market Square.

Our town centre really is the beating heart of the borough and it’s great to see the owners of Charter Walk investing millions of pounds to ensure residents get the best shopping experience possible.

The North-West was named this week as the region with the most empty shop units - one in seven in average, but Burnley is certainly bucking that trend. Bigger and better stores can only atttract more visitors to the town.

Nine football fans were arrested following the Clarets’ crunch clash with rivals Blackburn Rovers.

Police made the arrests at the hotly-contested Championship match at Turf Moor which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Two women, both 25-years-old from Blackburn, have been arrested on suspicion of theft after they attempted to leave the ground with stolen seats.

A 27-year-old man from Burnley, a 40-year-old man from Accrington and a 52-year-old man from Nelson have been arrested for using threatening words and behaviour.

A 23-year-old man from Burnley has been arrested for going onto a playing area at a football match.

A 26-year-old man from Padiham has been arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

A 29-year-old man from Bacup has been arrested for being drunk in a sports ground.

A 27-year-old man from Blackburn has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage to a seat.

All were being held in custody for questioning by police.

Hundreds of officers were involved in the huge police operation surrounding the 100th East Lancashire derby which police say passed without major incident.

Gold Commander Superintendent Terry Woods said: “I would like to thank the supporters for being patient, especially around travel arrangements.

“Our sole aim was to ensure that everyone could enjoy the game safely and that the law abiding decent supporters didn’t have their day ruined by a small minority.

“Officers will remain on duty both in Blackburn and Burnley to deal with any other issues that may occur and to provide reassurance to people who work and live in the town centres.”

A company boss is calling for tough action on rural crime gangs targeting East Lancashire.

Damien Pinder, of Farm Serve Northwest, is calling for rural communities to rise up to stop spiralling countryside crime.

The firm’s director wants to help stem the tide of crime which has seen criminals raiding machinery, animals and fuel from outlying farms.

The tractor and machinery dealer is already among the first in the county to supply Cesar Data Tag and is working with Tracker and other asset-protecting companies to help protect property.

Now the firm has teamed up with Lancashire Police for a “Protect Your Assets” event this Thursday at its Accrington base.

The firm’s focus is on bolstering security on plant machinery including tractors and ATVs but police will also be on hand to provide advice on theft from property, animal theft, fuel theft and other rural crime.

Mr Pinder believes the event with help rural communities to get tough to protect their property from opportunistic criminals and organised gangs.

He said: “Let us all be 10 steps in front of the criminal fraternity and start to get the message across that they are not welcome in Lancashire.

“If everyone makes their property more difficult to steal, this type of crime will start to diminish.

“I’m sure everyone will agree that all rural crime is linked together and all needs to be at the forefront of everyone’s everyday activities making our rural communities safer places to live.”

A free hog roast supper will be provided with tea and coffee.

The event will be held at Willows Lane Garage, Willows Lane, Green Haworth, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 3SS on Thursday, September 19th from 5-30pm.

For further information contact Farm Serve Northwest on 01254 391999 / 07502 227112 or Tony Ford, Lancashire Police, Rural Watch Liaison Officer for Eastern Division, on 01254 353238.

A paedophile who had a hoard of 5,000 child porn images, has been jailed.

Andrew Spencer (50) was found in possession of scores of indecent images of children on his laptop and mobile phone, a court heard.

The defendant, of Colne Road, Brierfield, had child porn images ranged from level one to five. Level five is the most serious type of indecent image.

The court was told that the defendant made and distributed the indecent images which were discovered on his laptop, two hard drives and his phone by police.

He had pleaded guilty to four counts of distributing indecent photographs of children, nine counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possession of prohibited images.

Spencer was sentenced to two years in prison at Burnley Crown Court.

Speaking after sentencing, DC Melissa Kelly said: “I am pleased with the sentence given to Spencer given the severity of the images that were found in his possession.

“This sentence reflects just how serious we and the courts view these types of offences so to those who partake in the viewing, sharing and making of indecent images of children, we will find you and put you before the courts.”

Spencer was also given a 10-year sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) and was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

Yet another period of consultation! Or is it just a box ticking exercise? Of course it is – just examine previous attempts at consultation conducted by RVBC.

I am referring to the second Core Strategy consultation, which ends on September 20th. The first document attracted hundreds of objections from Ribble Valley residents. These were totally ignored by RVBC prior to the first Core Strategy being rejected by a government inspector. Perhaps listening to the public is not a bad idea after all!

Now, after thousands of pounds have been spent on further specialist reports, we are asked to forward our views again! Let’s be clear about one thing, RVBC are not asking our opinion in order that they might change anything. They have already made up their minds and are asking you because they are required to.

Residents objected to the original Core Strategy because they did not consider our infrastructure would accommodate another 4,000 houses, 9,600 people and 6,000 cars.

So why would anyone think a plan containing 5,000 houses, 12,000 people and 7,500 cars solves the problem? And whose problem are we trying to solve?

Regular reviews over the next 15 years means 5,000 new homes is just the starting point – it will increase.

The first Core Strategy provided enough land to build 10,000 new properties. This revised planning document has increased that and includes enough land to build more than 14,500 new homes in the Ribble Valley by 2028.

Clitheroe Residents Action Group collected more than 2,000 signatures opposing the plan to build 1,700 new houses in the town. This Core Strategy sees RVBC increase that figure to 2,065, with a potential increase to over 6,000 by 2028 a real possibility.

The following are proposed Clitheroe sites and property totals contained in the revised plan: Standen Estates 1,940; land between Waddington Road and Low Moor 1,860; Hawthorne Farm 548; areas along Pendle Road 456; Henthorn Road 343; Chatburn Road 140; plus other smaller sites.

These increases in the new document are best described as a slap in the face to those who objected 12 months ago. It appears our council’s consultation process involves increasing anything the public want to decrease.

CRAG are not encouraging residents to waste their time on this consultation fiasco. It will not change anything, except possibly push the figures up again!

Instead, Ribble Valley residents might be better served turning out to greet Planning Minister Nick Boles when he arrives for a meeting in Clitheroe on September 25th. He is one of the main architects of the situation we find ourselves in and is here for discussions with RVBC and local housing action groups.

Quite what this meeting is expected to achieve is anyone’s guess as Nick Boles is a staunch advocate of flooding rural towns and villages with more housing!

For further information, contact me on 07730 411556 or email: srush@tiscali.co.uk

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Why do so many people refuse to believe things that have happened in the past even when the truth is staring them in the face?

There are those who refuse to believe the horrors of the Holocaust in the concentration camps in Germany in the Second World War which saw six million Jews murdered took place.

There are those who refuse to believe the Apollo Moon landings really happened.

And now, according to recent figures, four per cent of people believe Elvis Presley is still alive, 36 years after his drug-riddled body finally gave up on him.

In all three cases – and there are no doubt others which readers will be able to bring to mind – there is not a shred of evidence to support their claims.

But they nevertheless make enough of a fuss for them to be picked up by some cranks who jump on their bandwagon and haul it to the front of a media campaign.

Let’s shoot down the nay sayers.

The Holocaust horrors are well documented with photographic evidence it would be impossible to fabricate.

Similarly, there is enough film footage of the Apollo moon landings – as well as the classic Apollo 13 film – as proof.

And as for Elvis, if he had still been alive today he would be some kind of superman – although to be absolutely sure he is dead, Mr Pendle will check he is not working at his favourite chippy when he calls in for his tea tonight.

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A Colne-based construction company has begun an exciting £3 million project on a burnt-down Blackpool“eyesore”.

RECO Build has set to work on transforming the former Yates’s Wine Lodge, on the edge of Talbot Square, into a thriving 26,000sq. ft. leisure and retail centre.

Located across from the popular promenade, the new site will create scores of temporary and permanent jobs, and should be ready in time for next year’s world-famous illuminations.

RECO Build’s managing director Nick Richardson said: “This is an exciting job for RECO Build as the history behind the landmark and the prominence of the site boosts our profile and takes us closer to our goal of becoming a major player in the national construction industry.”

The Yates’s Wine Lodge was severely damaged by fire in February 2009, and the conservation area site has been considered a blight ever since.

The new three-storey building will be of modern art-deco style, and will include an ornate white-stone tower and feature an iron balcony.

Pan Asian banquet chain Cosmo has already signed a lease for the entire first floor and supermarket giant Tesco is lined up to let the retail space for one of its Express stores.

New York-style restaurant-bar TGI Friday’s has also shown interest.

Deputy Blackpool Council leader Coun. Fred Jackson said: “The site will bring more people into town while works take place and, once completed, will revitalise the town centre.”

Improvements are set to be made to pavements near to sheltered housing in Colne.

Lancashire County Council has agreed to relay the uneven flagstones close to Turney Crook Mews, on Ivegate, while Pendle Council is looking into fitting a hand rail on the adjacent car park.

Concerns had been raised with Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson after residents “had for years struggled with the simple and short walk into town because of the steep and uneven nature of the access to their property”.

Following a recent resident’s meeting, Mr Stephenson and County Coun. Paul White walked to town from Turney Crook Mews to experience for themselves the difficulties of walking frame wheels getting stuck in cobbles.

Mr Stephenson said: “I’m happy that at last we’ve been able to get something agreed here.

“It’s been a long running issue for residents, and it is important that they are able to get out and about rather than being stuck at home.

“I will be keeping up the pressure on both councils to ensure the improvements are made as soon as possibl

Shisha bars that flout smokefree laws in Lancashire should be dealt with more severely according to Lancashire County Council.

Smoking shisha tobacco is growing in popularity across the country and there has been a massive 210% increase in the number of bars across the UK in the last five years.

It is estimated that the amount of nicotine inhaled from a half-hour shisha session is equivalent to five cigarettes.

There have been some issues with shisha bars ignoring smokefree legislation in Lancashire and the county council wants to help stop this from becoming a bigger problem in the future.

These concerns have led Lancashire County Council to write to Anna Soubry MP, Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, asking the Government to consider introducing tougher measures.

County Coun. Azhar Ali, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “The smokefree legislation was introduced in 2007 and has been a real success, resulting in fewer people being admitted to hospital with smoking-related illnesses.

“However, shisha bars present a new challenge. Many shisha bars seem undeterred by the current legislation and we think that by introducing compulsory licensing for places selling tobacco, giving more controls to issue higher fines, and making it easier to tackle under-aged tobacco sales, the Government could make it easier for councils to clamp down on shisha bar owners who deliberately ignore the smokefree law.

There has been much correspondence in our columns in recent weeks about the twinning arrangements between Pendle and the Palestian West Bank settlement of Beit Leed.

Views have been exchanged between supporters and opponents of the agreement – but both sides represent a tiny minority of the populace.

Indeed, until the name of Beit Leed cropped up when the proposal to twin us with the settlement was first announced, Mr Pendle had never heard of the place. He thinks the same could be said for 99% of people in Pendle.

Similarly, he would guess a fair proportion of local people neither know nor care that we have been twinned with the French town of Creil and the German town of Marl for many years – and that is Mr Pendle’s argument.

Twinning is of a limited minority interest – and it gives a few people an excuse to jet off to foreign parts claiming they “represent” Pendle.

But they certainly are not representing Mr Pendle.

He was not consulted on the twinning arrangements being made.

Nor was he consulted on whether he wanted a delegation to visit these foreign parts on his behalf.

As far as Mr Pendle is concerned, he cannot think of a single way in which he has personally benefited from the twinning links which have supposedly been forged on his behalf – either with our Continental cousins or new found “friends” from further afield.

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Dateline: Summer 1951; Venue: Nelson fairground. Who is that swinging the hammer to ring the bell? Why none other than Nelson Cricket Club’s legendary professional Dattu Phadkar.

Dattu, back in 1951, had a superb season for Nelson; the talented, Indian all-rounder hit boundaries galore to finish with a notable batting average of 53.61.

And his bowling of out-swingers, in-swingers and off-spinners saw him take a magnificent 100 wickets at only 9.93 runs each.

Nelson finished runners-up in the league, second only to East Lancs, with the renowned Bruce Dooland.

The Lancashire League pros for 1951 were a stunning array of world-class cricketers: alongside Test match heroes for the West Indies in England in 1950, Everton Weekes (Bacup) and Clyde Walcott (Enfield) were the mighty Australians Bill Alley (Colne), Cec Pepper (Burnley), George Tribe (Rawtenstall) and of course Bruce Dooland (East Lancashire). Not forgetting our very own Dattu Phadkar (Nelson) from India and his fellow countryman Gul Mohamed (Ramsbottom). What a line-up!

I never ever saw Dattu refuse to sign his autograph. He was a true gent, but best of all, he was down at Seedhill when the then young Noel Wild, who was the Leader-Times sports reporter being asked over and over for his signature, as he looked so like Dattu.

This earned the future, notable editor the office nickname of “Nelson Pro”.

The 24th Rhythm and Blues Festival was held here, in our ancient market town of bonnie Colne, just a few weeks ago.

Founded by “Mr Cool” Gary Hood in 1990 and organised now by “Miss Smooth” Alison Goode, once again big names are heading here, including one of my heroes, the 76-year-old Bill Wyman and his Rhythm Kings.

But, wait, today’s annual event could have had much earlier origins, for back in the spring of 1956 our local svengali Lew Askew mooted the idea of a summer “music jamboree” being held in the town.

Sadly, the brainwave of Lew’s never happened. However, my grey cells are going into overdrive, so let’s go back to June 1956 as we entertain conjecture of a time!

Venue, The Sefton Club on Shed Street, Colne: the stage is decked out in royal blue silk drapes (no strippers appearing tonight!) when suddenly on stage in front of a huge crowd is the sartorial and splendid Lew Askew.

Lew’s voice booms out: “Ladies and gentlemen, direct from the US of A, Big Joe Turner and his Blues Kings”.

As the man himself enters the spotlight, singing his signature song “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, the packed-to-the-rafters audience go berserk. Act upon act follows.

Why here’s Lavern Baker and The Gliders singing “Tweedle-dee”, followed by Little Junior Parker and The Blue Flames singing “Mystery Train”.

Then it’s Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton singing her huge hit “Hound Dog”.

Now Lew’s back on stage and with a beaming smile says: “Now dear friends, our surprise guest to end our marvellous show, please welcome Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup. Arthur hits the stage and as “That’s All Right Mama” rings out the whole place erupts.

A newly wed farmer who lost his wedding ring while haymaking has been reunited with it ... 41 years later!

Jim Gardner had only been married to his wife, Janet, for a year when he lost the gold band at their farm in Fence.

The couple gave up hope of ever finding it, until last weekend that is, when metal detecting expert Mark Pollard asked for permission to hunt for treasure and found it!

Mark, who lives in Barrowford, said: “I took the ring home, gave it a clean and polish and presented it to Jim. He just mentioned it in passing, I don’t think he ever believed I would find it.”

It was Mark’s high spec metal detector, a CTX 3030, that helped him to find the ring that had sunk nine inches into the ground in the field at Higher Fence Gate Farm in Croft Top Lane.

Mark said: “The detector is so advanced it has a sat nav system on it that tells you where to look and even gives you the depth the item is at.”

Mark has been searching fields and land across Lancashire and beyond. He has unearthed coins, jewellery and other items dating back centuries.

The finds help to build up a picture of the area and its history and Mark, an aerospace engineer, is hooked.

The CTX detector even works in water and Mark has used it on holiday abroad.

He is now preparing to find another wedding ring lost by a friend six years ago close to Towneley Golf course.

If anyone has lost anything precious and they think Mark could help to locate it he can be contacted on mpconnect@sky.com.

We will now have to wait until next March before we get another chance to end our long wait to beat the old enemy down the M65.

Now I know I am bound to be biased, but surely it is time to look at the laws surrounding the professional foul on a player who is through on goal.

Danny Ings was cynically denied a goal-scoring opportunity in injury time on Saturday. The offender was rightly sent off but all Burnley got for their troubles was a free kick 40 yards from goal which came to nothing.

Surely the law should be changed and a penalty awarded.

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Clarets supporters have reacted angrily to an official Blackburn Rovers tweet they claim has mocked the club in the wake of the East Lancashire derby.

Fans were furious when the apparent taunt “35 years” was posted in a message on the OneRovers Twitter account following the 1-1 draw in the Championship clash at Turf Moor.

The tweet appeared to be a dig at Burnley’s miserable run which has not seen them taste victory against arch rivals Rovers since 1979.

The tweet from the official Blackburn Rovers account said: “1-1: Substitute Stanislas (76) fired Burnley in front, Rhodes (84) rescued a point for Rovers who had Williamson sent off late on. 35 Years!”

The message sparked fury among Clarets fans on the social media site who called it a “cheap” shot and claimed it would fan the flames of the age-old rivalry.

Burnley’s official Twitter account called the comment “unnecessary”.

One tweet from the @BurnleyOfficial Twitter account to a fan read: “Shame they feel they have to stoop to that. But we will retain our dignity on that front.”

Another message posted to a Rovers fan from the account, which has 18,000 followers, read: “No biggie. Just a little unnecessary and a tad unprofessional from an official club channel, in our opinion.”

Clarets fan Kieran Greenwood posted: “No class or professionalism at all from the official account. Sad its all they cling to now.”

But Blackburn Rovers fans hit back on Twitter calling the spat “bitter”, a bit of “banter” and said the original tweet had merely “summarised the game and a historical fact”.

Blackburn Rovers officials declined to comment.

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The North-West’s top six fish and chip shops – including one from Pendle – are in the race to be crowned regional Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year at the 2014 National Fish and Chip Awards.

They are organised by Seafish, the authority on seafood. And the six include Holts Fish and Chips in Scotland Road, Nelson, plus others from Fleetwood; Garstang; Wilmslow, Cheshire; Warrington and Liverpool.

The six shortlisted shops will now compete against each other to become the regional winner, which will put them in contention to bag the ultimate title.

The overall winner will be announced at the prestigious awards ceremony to be held at the Lancaster London Hotel on the January 22nd, hosted by Michelin-starred chef and TV personality Jean Christophe Novelli.

To reach this stage of the competition the businesses have had to fry at the top of their game to secure their place in the next stage of the competition. They have now been judged on their initial entries by industry experts and subjected to mystery shop visits to secretly rate their businesses, including food quality and customer service.

These shops will now be further appraised to establish a UK Top 20 that will compete for prestigious regional titles. In October, Seafish will announce the top shop in each of the 10 UK regions for the flagship award. Paul Williams, CEO of Seafish, said: “Every year we see the standard of shops getting higher and higher and this year will be no exception.”

She witnessed the devastating aftermath of the Boston Marathon explosions in April, and underwent an operation the following month to remove a prolapsed disc.

But runner Nicola Nuttall, of Park Street, in Barrowford, is determined to put her year so far behind her, as she prepares to take part in the Berlin Marathon on September 29th.

As well as trying to overcome her own obstacles, the captain of Trawden Athletics Club’s ladies team will also be raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of her granddad Ron Greaves. She hopes to get round the 26-mile course with her sister-in-law Leo Anson.

Nicola (43), who owns Nelson’s children’s play centre Giddy Kippers, said: “In March I thought I had a trapped nerve in my leg, by April I was in absolute agony and was diagnosed with a prolapsed disc in my lower back. I was devastated not to be able to run the Boston Marathon despite completing all the gruelling training through the winter.

“We still travelled out to Boston and I limped around the 5K course in 56 minutes and crossed the finish line in tears. The next day that same finish line became a murder scene and my own personal misery paled in to insignificance. I know that I’m nowhere near the runner I was 12 months ago but I am determined to make it across the finish and I’m really hoping it’s going to be happy tears this time round.”

As well as taking on her biggest challenge to date, Nicola has also vowed to overcome her fears by signing up to next year’s Boston Marathon. The athlete, who has already run five marathons, was at this year’s tragic event with Leo and her daughter Laura.

The mother-of-two added: “It will be really emotional, and a very strange experience, but I am determined to go back.”

To make a donation visit http://www.justgiving.com/nic-nut

Mr Pendle’s colleague, Edward Lee, told in his “Straight Talking” column in this newspaper of the “idiot” drivers who he sees exceed the speed limit in Barden Lane on the Fence-Burnley boundary.

Now without wishing to trump Edward’s hand, Mr Pendle believes he has witnessed a worse case scenario – one which left him shaken but, unlike James Bond’s martini, stirred as well.

As he drove home along Leeds Road, Nelson, from a council meeting the other evening, Mr Pendle slowed down as he approached the mini-roundabout at the top of Reedyford Road.

As he did so, he was overtaken by a car which did not bother to slow down but drove straight over the top of the mini-roundabout.

Mr Pendle would estimate the driver’s speed to be in excess of 50mph.

He had not fully recovered from the shock when he was overtaken again by not one, but two more cars again travelling at well over the speed limit chasing their leader.

As they sped off, Mr Pendle noticed they did the same thing at the two mini-roundabouts at the bottom of Walton Lane.

The speeds they were travelling at meant that if they had collided with anything or anyone, the results would have been catastrophic.

Edward might consider Barden Lane’s drivers idiots, but after what Mr Pendle witnessed, he believes that describing the drivers he encountered in the same way would be paying them a compliment.

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