Scandalous and patronising are the words that spring to mind when examining the outcry to the latest controversy to hit the world of sport.

Though I sincerely sympathise with any sportsman, or the family of an athlete, who has suffered long-term affliction or trauma from an injury sustained during their career, I found it disturbingly condescending of a predatory pack of national journalists to question the professionalism of Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas and his experienced medical team.

Highly respected experts in their respective fields, club doctor Shabaaz Mughal and physio Geoff Scott - who were instrumental in saving the life of Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch at White Hart Lane in March 2012 - were among those condemned for the saga surrounding goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and his concussed state against Everton.

While the incident has helped proliferate healthy debate and research on the subject of head injuries in British sport, the invective criticism seemed belittling, derogatory and opprobrious of AVB’s character with brain injury charity Headway claiming the Spurs boss conveyed an “irresponsible and cavalier attitude”. For what it’s worth, Villas-Boas withdrew Lloris from the starting XI for the defeat at home to Newcastle United the following week.

Instead of making the individual the latest pariah in an outlandish attempt to manufacture new stories, it’s imperative to address the protocol of FIFA and the Premier League, or absence of one, surrounding such circumstances. Until we have the exact information as to what went on you can’t cast aspersions on any individuals.

It’s clear that there’s still a grey cloud hovering over the subject of concussion, and it’s been loitering precariously for some time. On February 20th, 1993, with the Clarets competing in the old Second Division, John Pender suffered concussion following a clash of heads and swallowed his tongue in a 2-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle at Home Park. Pender provisionally went off for treatment but returned to the pitch to continue moments later.

Then there was the incident involving Glen Little on March 2nd, 2002, when a mid-air collision with Norwich City’s Darren Kenton knocked the winger unconscious and led to eight minutes of treatment on the pitch before he was hospitalised.

Little consequently missed a 1-0 defeat away to Walsall and a 2-0 win away at Stockport County in the aftermath due to a statutory ruling enforced by the Football League. He returned when replacing Paul Weller as a substitute in a 2-1 triumph over Preston North End at Turf Moor.

The Lloris incident, among others, and the inconsistency of past incidents simply epitomises the absence of a monolithic ruling; there’s a distinct lack of clarity. FA guidelines and medical regulations on head injuries states: “All clubs shall ensure that any player having left the field of play with a head injury shall not be allowed to resume playing or training without the clearance of a qualified medical practitioner.” Well the French international goalkeeper was assessed and cleared to continue, so if that causes uproar then may be those guidelines need to be analysed and reviewed. Sport needs to remove the player and coach from having to make such critical decisions.

It may be the case that Villas-Boas has become the scapegoat for his involvement in the past. While assistant coach at Stamford Bridge, in a similar incident, goalkeeper Petr Cech sustained a depressed skull fracture in a collision with Reading’s Stephen Hunt in October 2006. Cech, who missed three months as a precaution, has worn protective headgear in matches ever since.

But on this occasion he clearly backed the judgement of his player and his staff. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just as there was nothing wrong with the medical team that passed Arsenal stopper Wojciech Szczesny fit to resume after he required lengthy treatment following a clash of heads with Manchester United’s Phil Jones. On the other side of the coin, United boss David Moyes pulled his captain Nemanja Vidic off at the interval once he was caught in the head by team-mate David de Gea as he punched the ball clear. With no set protocol in place, managers have nothing to follow but their own and their staffs judgement.

The sporting world is wising up on head injuries, and football has to follow suit. Two months ago the NFL agreed a £477 million settlement with up to 4,500 former players who had accused the organisation of misleading them on the dangers of head injuries. England’s leading bodies won’t want a similar headache.

Now rugby has taken a huge step towards raising awareness. The IRB has taken concussion seriously, setting up a protocol two seasons ago which required a player who had suffered a head injury to go off the field for a five-minute assessment; not for concussion to be diagnosed, because that would require far longer, but to gauge whether it might be a possibility. Any suspicion and the player should not return to the field.

And in the “Live Room” at Twickenham Stadium on Thursday, doctors and neurosurgeons led a forum to further educate and manage concussions in professional rugby in England. On the day that Barry O’Driscoll addressed the Professional Rugby Concussion forum, Labour MP Chris Bryant, a rugby player himself, called for an urgent debate in parliament on concussion in sport. Things are moving and football needs to follow a similar directive.

Like its more aggressive and combative sibling, football could look towards introducing mandatory five minute PSCAs as well as blood replacements to take those players with potential head injuries or concussion out of the firing line to be examined, while the team in question won’t have to suffer the disadvantage of being a man light.

Concussion is a serious issue, and one not to be taken lightly. But let’s not over hype the recent occurrence in a bid to alienate and venomously attack an individual. After all, boxers only have 10 seconds to get back to their feet after taking numerous head shots and I don’t hear anybody vociferously criticising the medical and coaching teams in the corners or the officials for allowing the continuation of those bouts. The furore requires a dash of perspective.

The concerns in rugby are understandable due to its more physical nature and the fact it’s a contact sport. But why the sudden opposition to the Lloris saga? While I agree the topic and the guidelines need addressing, he’s certainly not the first professional to suffer a knock to the head and play on, and he won’t be the last. As it was, Lloris was pushed back in to action by French coach Didier Deschamp’s for his nation’s World Cup play-off first leg clash in the Ukraine last week. Crisis over!

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An airline flight steward told a hushed court today of mid air threats to blow up an airliner at 30,000ft and of personal death threats to him.

Senior flight steward Ghulam Shabir Mahar was giving evidence at the trial of two men from Nelson accused of threatening to blow up a Boeing 777 with 308 passengers and 14 crew on board.

He was so scared by the threats made to him personally during the incident in which the Lahore to Manchester bound aircraft was diverted to Stansted Airport and given a fighter escort that he asked the court to order the airline to provide him with protection.

He said that one of the two accused, Tayyab Subhani (30) threatened him saying: “We will see to you, fix you anywhere - anywhere in Pakistan - or we’ll find you.”

And he said the other accused, Mohammed Safdar (42) – who he claimed made a threat to blow up the plane – was angry, made a sign of the cross and told him “you’re finished”.

“I understood he could harm me any time on the spot. That’s why I didn’t go near him any time after that. I spoke to him from a distance,” he told the jury.

He said that since the incident he and his family had been very worried about what happened and he was concerned that the accused could have “some connection to an organisation or Islamic terrorist organisation”.

The two men on trial are Subhani, of Brierfield, Townley Street, and Safdar, of Hallam Street, both Nelson, near Burnley. Both deny that on May 24th they endangered the safety of the plane by communicating intentionally that some passengers and some crew would be killed and the aircraft blown up.

Mr Mahar said Safdar “became very angry and kept on that he would blow up everyone and told them no-one should go near him”.

He continued: “Speaking in Urdu, he said ‘All of you sit down. Stay away from me. No one should come near me otherwise I’ll blow up everyone’.”

He said that passengers had told Safdar not to create problems for them or the crew.

But he said : “He tried to touch the passengers and there was an argument between him and other passengers because he was creating problems.

“He made gestures with his arms telling them to move away from him. He was waving them away from him and saying ‘don’t try to speak to me.’

“Passengers were trying to calm him down because there were children and families with them. We made the maximum effort to make him sit down so we could have the remaining journey peacefully.”

The hearing continues.

Former Claret and Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan has been appointed to the board of UCFB WEMBLEY and Burnley.

The UCFB University College of Football Business, based at Turf Moor and Wembley Stadium, the first dedicated to the business side of football and the sport industry, has appointed Nelson-born Phelan alongside Kelly Simmons MBE, to its board.

Phelan, who previously played for Burnley and Norwich City, has a career spanning 30 years in professional football.

He joined Manchester United as assistant manager in 2008 and worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson to secure six Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, a World Club Challenge and the Champions League title in 2008.

Simmons, who has worked for The FA for more than 20 years, was appointed to oversee the National Game in January.

They join the board at UCFB, chaired by former chief executive of the FA, Brian Barwick, to provide direction to the higher education institution’s academic structure.

Philip Wilson, provost and chief executive, said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming such influential and leading figures from British sport to our team of advisors.

“We’re incredibly lucky to have an existing repertoire of forward-thinking advisors supporting us, including Alastair Campbell, Neil Doncaster and Martin Prothero, each of whom brings with them valuable knowledge from all areas of football and sport industries.

“UCFB is now in a stronger position to offer something unique to our current and prospective students – an environment which enables our undergraduates to build knowledge and career prospects, with rare access to industry experts.”

UCFB enables undergraduates to study a traditional academic subject within the context of an industry for which they have a genuine interest. UCFB Burnley launched in 2011 at Turf Moor. UCFB Wembley’s first student intake arrives in September 2014.

Gritters will be treating routes across Lancashire this evening as wintry showers have been forecast, and drivers are being warned to watch out for black ice.

Changeable conditions are predicted over the coming days and could include snow, sleet and rain in some areas which, combined with freezing temperatures, increases the risk of black ice forming.

Routes across the county were treated on Monday evening but heavy showers followed in the early hours which lead to black ice in some areas as rain fell on freezing surfaces.

County Councillor John Fillis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “The difficult conditions experienced by drivers in some areas first thing this morning show why we a! lways advise people to take extra care and drive to the road conditions, as just because a road has been gritted it may not be clear of ice.

“The forecast for this evening is for some possible sleet and snow in the late evening, most likely affecting higher ground. Tomorrow should start fine, but further wintry showers could occur later in the morning.

“Our gritters will be treating most of our priority gritting routes this evening with drivers being retained to patrol and salt as necessary because of the changeable conditions.

“Some routes will not be treated to start with as the risk of ice is lower in some areas and the routes already have salt left on them from being treated at around 7am this morning, but we’ll continue to monitor and treat them again if we need to.

“In changeable conditions like this there’s an increased risk of black ice so we’re asking drivers to be extra careful.”

Lancashire County Council has a fleet of 49 frontline gritters which can treat the 1, 500 miles of the county council’s priority road network within around four hours, but may take longer in severe conditions.

You can find information and advice on winter weather, including real-time gritting updates on Lancashire County Council’s website which has links to forecasts and the council’s Twitter and Facebook feeds which are updated every time the gritters go out.

For more information about travelling this winter visit {http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/winter|www.lancashire.gov.uk/winter}, follow the {http://www.twitter.com/#lancswinter|#lancswinter} hashtag for news and updates on Twitter {http://www.twitter.com/lancashirecc|www.twitter.com/lancashirecc} or Facebook {http://www.facebook.com/lancashirecc|www.facebook.com/lancashirecc}

The heart-wrenching story of seven RAF heroes whose lives were cut short in the Second World War has been told by a British Airways pilot.

“Seven Short Lives: Pro Libertate” has been penned by Steve Potter, and includes a touching and informative account of navigator William Wilkinson, from Colne.

Mr Wilkinson was killed with all six of his fellow crew members when their plane came down in France on July 8th 1944.

The aircraft crashed on a wooded hill top on the land of Mr Jean Have, near the village of Bures-en-Brey.

Now, after a 10-year project of research and discovery, his bravery and strength can continue to live on - in a book that combines personal testimonies with official and archive sources.

In the foreword, Mr Potter, a relative of Flt Sgt Des Potter who died in the crash, said: “This is not a detailed analysis of the battle in which the young men died - that has been done already, by others more able than me to explain the depths of immortality to which men can sink when he embarks upon the pointless destruction and savage killing of warfare.

“This is an account of the strength and courage which can be summoned from ordinary men, plucked from the street and placed in a relentless fight for life or death almost beyond human imagination.”

Among those who helped collate information for the new book is William’s brother Jack, of Coniston Grove, Colne.

He also makes an appearance in “Seven Short Lives”, giving details of his brother’s family background, and showing the author various photo albums. He tells how his younger brother was born in 1921, went to the local grammar school and excelled at sport. He very nearly did not make it into the RAF, after being graded level four, unfit for aircraft duties, following an injury on Pendle Hill. But his determination saw him apply for another interview and medical examination, and after being made grade one, he joined the RAF in 1942. Talking of the book, Jack, whose older brother Frank has now also died, said: “The author visited me with his wife back in 2006.

“I had all the details of how my brother was when he was younger.

“The book has come to fruition now, and it is very interesting.”

For more information visit www.sevenshortlives.com

A dog owner wept tears of joy when his beloved Jack Russell was found, five days after it ran away following an attack by another dog.

Mr Gary Frayling, a Burnley borough councillor, said the feeling was “better than winning the Lottery” when his friend John Eastham discovered four-year-old Alfie cowering in a bush near Rowley Lake.

But it was a real community effort with scores of Burnley folk and other people from around the country posting appeals on the internet and in their windows.

Alfie ran away after being attacked by a bull mastiff dog in Colne Road on Wednesday, near to his home in Heath Street.

His disappearance prompted Mr Frayling, wife Julie and son Bradley to set up a Facebook group to help find the family pet.

He said: “The group had 163 members within 24 hours. The response was overwhelming with people from all over joining.

“Our house is for sale and we were having a viewing at the time so were unable to take Alfie for a walk.

“My friend Frank Smith kindly volunteered, and I think he saved Alfie’s life – when he was attacked Frank put his hand in the other dog’s mouth and suffered a broken finger for his troubles.

“We were all devastated and set up this Facebook page to appeal. It seemed like half of Burnley was out looking for him.

“I was near to John when he found Alfie in the bush. I don’t mind admitting I had a good cry and so did everyone else. He is like a member of the family. He’s now back home where he belongs.”

Oakmount Veterinary Practice, where Alfie is a patient, also helped out by funding an appeal.

Sonia Billington, head nurse, said: “Alfie was brought to us after his discovery. We gave him a through check-up, but thankfully he was quite well considering what he had been though.

“We prescribed him pain-killers and antibiotics, but I’m sure with plenty of TLC at home he will make a full recovery.”

Mr Frayling added: “On behalf of our family I would like to say a huge thank-you to everyone, local and from around the country, who helped to find Alfie.”

Whalley villagers have began counting down to the now famous annual Pickwick Night festivities.

This year the three-hour extravaganza celebrates 25 years of the famous Dickensian-themed event.

And once again the village will be transported back to the 19th Century for the evening, which will feature sights and sounds of a Victorian Christmas along the main street and surrounding roads.

To mark the occasion, special guest Malcolm Hebden, aka “Coronation Street” busybody Norris Cole, will officially open the festival at 6 pm on Thursday, December 5th.

Joining Malcolm will be Dave Moretta, a former soldier who ran 18 marathons in 18 days to raise money for the Royal British Legion.

Both Malcolm and Dave will be in the company of other VIP guests and dignitaries.

Plans are well under way to reflect and celebrate the 25 years of the annual festival, which began in 1988.

The event in recent years has attracted thousands of visitors – both young and old – from far and wide and a range of activities are planned to ensure the crowds come back again this year.

Attractions include live festive music, acts and entertainment (including some for children), Dickensian street theatre and more than 35 stalls ranging from ones selling gifts, cards, Christmas fare, festive and hot foods plus games and tombola.

As usual, stallholders and traders will don Dickensian outfits and shops will remain open on the night selling Yuletide gifts and treats.

Mr Neil Martin, co-chairman of Whalley Pickwick Night Committee, said: “We are delighted to celebrate this annual event.

“The focus will be the community spirit, raising funds for many local good causes and charities. Many local groups are supporting the celebrations including Blackburn Lions, Whalley in Bloom and the local churches.

“Bell ringing, singing, good food and mulled wine are being planned by these groups to bring a festive atmosphere to Whalley.”

The Whalley Pickwick Committee is a voluntary run organisation which arranges and hosts the Pickwick Night festivities.

Any profit made on the night is put back into the local community through supporting good causes and local good needs.

The Pickwick Festival will begin at 6 pm until 9 pm. For more details log onto www.whalleypickwick.org.uk

Work will soon start in Walverden Park to remove 25 trees that are coming to the end of their lives – or are diseased.

Pendle Council’s own gardeners will carry out the tree felling work in this popular Nelson park during December.

The trees – which include sycamore and copper beech – have been identified as unsafe and ageing through a tree survey paid for by the Friends of Walverden Park as part of the park’s management plan.

Coun. Nadeem Ahmed, who represents parks in Pendle, said: “The specialist surveyors have identified that some ageing and diseased trees need to be removed, as part of the on-going maintenance of the park.

“These poor-quality trees have been selected because they have a limited future or are in decline and replacing them now will ensure that the tree cover in Walverden Park continues for many more years. By removing some non-native species of trees from the park – such as laurel and rhododendron – we hope to encourage a greater diversity of wildlife within Walverden.”

The tree works include the planting of some new trees within the park to vary the age of the park’s trees.

Keith Chadwick, chairman of the Friends, explained: “Trees that were planted over 100 years ago are all ageing at the same time. Some 30% of them are diseased, meaning that over 20 trees will have to be cut down.”

The tree felling work in the park will start in early December. Following that, around 120 new trees will be planted over the winter. Pendle park-keeper Lee Johnson said: “We have plans to plant oak, willow and alder trees, which are in harmony with existing species and will enhance the ecological value of the park.” For more information contact Lee on 661588 or lee.johnson@pendle.gov.uk

A Nelson man assaulted three women in a takeaway after a night out, Pennine magistrates were told.

Lee Anthony Nolan (25), of Branch Street, had been out in Nelson and had seen the women, who he knew, in the takeaway in August.

He threw Coke over one of them, pushed another against a window and spat at a third, Mrs Alex Mann (prosecuting) told the court.

Mr Nick Cassidy (defending) said Nolan accepted his behaviour had not been appropriate and wanted to apologise to the women as soon as he could.

Nolan admitted all three assaults and the theft of a mobile phone from an office on Nelson Bus Station at the weekend while he was on licence from prison.

He was given three eight-week jail sentences for the assaults, to be served concurrently, and a separate four-week concurrent sentence for the mobile phone theft.

A Home Office Immigration Enforcement team carried out an investigation in Nelson on Monday but the Home Office not revealed what it was actually about.

Early on Monday morning, at least three Immigration Enforcement vehicles were spotted parked around the junction of Hey Street and Bankhouse Road.

It is understood that they made an immigration investigation at a residential property on Bankhouse Road rather than a business location. But the Home Office said it didn’t want to reveal any details about the incident which took place.

A Barnoldswick road has been blocked following a road traffic collision involving a car and a motorbike.

The “minor injury” incident, involving a Alfa Romeo Giulietta and a Honda CB250, happened outside Cross Keys Hotel, in Church Street, at approximately 10-53am.

Emergency services were called to the scene.

A mysterious clown spotted roaming Burnley’s parks and streets has become the talk of the town.

The sinister-looking joker, dressed in full clown garb complete with painted face and wig, was seen terrorising residents in Rosehill and Rosegrove on Tuesday evening.

A Facebook page dedicated to the comic character, entitled “Spot The Clown”, has now had more than 4,000 likes.

On the page, the mystery man apologises for scaring people in Rosehill and Rosegrove and says he will be sticking to parks from now on.

Earlier posts show he has been appearing at Towneley and Gawthorpe parks in recent weeks where he has, in his own words, been trying to meet people.

Reactions to Burnley’s very own Coco have been mixed with some seeing the funny side but others saying he has been scaring children and elderly and should give it up immediately.

One angry poster said: “He’s one sad person who needs to grow up.” Another replied though saying: “Keep up the good work clown. If I see you about I’ll get you a custard pie.”

Burnley is not the first place to be terrorised by man dressed up as a clown. In September, a clown in Northampton grabbed national headlines when he began popping up in their town centre. He was later unmasked as 22-year-old student Alex Powell. Since then there have been sightings of clowns in Chesterfield, Mansfield and Doncaster.

Police in Burnley said they had not received any complaints as of yet.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a 17-year-old girl was subjected to a serious sexual assault in Colne town centre on Sunday, November 3rd.

Around 3am the victim was outside the Union Exchange pub when she was approached by a man who engaged her in conversation before leading her to Skelton Street and down a secluded alleyway where she was subjected to a violent sexual assault.

The man is described as white, 5ft. 6in. tall, of medium build with short dark hair. He was wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.

Det. Insp. Stephen Holgate said: “The incident took place a short distance from the Union Exchange pub and although it happened in the early hours, the locality was still busy with people enjoying a Saturday night out in Colne.

“It is likely the offender was present in Colne town centre for a number of hours before the incident and may have approached other women. I urge anybody who was approached by a lone man fitting this description to contact Lancashire Police on 01706 237394 or 101.

“Witnesses may have information vital to this inquiry so if you were in the locality and have information that may assist the inquiry team I would urge you to come forward.”

Two countries united in their grief for murdered Coventry schoolboy Daniel Pelka have been able to pay their respects thanks to a Facebook page launched by a Nelson woman.

Campaigner Nicci Astin (37), of Hawarden Street, set up the “Justice For Daniel Pelka” site, after it was revealed that child protection workers failed to intervene in the four year old’s case.

Daniel died in March, 2012, after being brutally starved and beaten by his mother and her partner.

Since seeking justice for the youngster, Nicci has received overwhelming support, with the page gaining over 8,000 likes, and Facebook users writing on it on a daily basis.

Through money raised on the site, a headstone worth over £1,600 has been able to be put in Lodz, Poland, where Daniel is buried.

And on the same day a memorial, inscribed with the same words, was installed at St Paul’s Cemetery, in Coventry – after two generous companies offered their services free of charge.

The memorial was created by Odlings and was installed by JE Hackett and Sons funeral directors.

Mrs Astin, who has been campaigning against child abuse for the past five years, said: “I’m so proud that this has happened.

“It is fitting that they happened at the same time, as it gives people in both Poland and Coventry somewhere to grieve and pay their respects, and it will also make sure Daniel is not invisible and is never forgotten.”

Many people also posted their thoughts on the new tributes to Daniel on Facebook, with one writing: “Beautiful angel child .. Now stay forever young in God’s loving arms ... Wish I could have kept you safe Daniel. This is a touching memorial for him xxx”.

Another said: “So, so beautiful, just like Daniel. God bless you little man xxx”.

Mrs Astin is also backing a petition calling for new legislation requiring the mandatory reporting of child abuse.

To sign the petition visit www.change.org/danielslaw and for more information go to www.facebook.com/Justice ForDanielPelka

A Nelson infant school and nursery unit has maintained the outstanding grading it was given in 2008 by Ofsted inspectors.

Whitefield Infant School and Nursery Unit was said to provide “inspiring leadership” and had “established a happy, vibrant learning community.”

The three inspectors who visited the Norfolk Street school over two days last month and observed 19 lessons said that pupil achievement, quality of teaching, pupil behaviour and leadership and management were all of the highest quality.

They said in their report: “Achievement is outstanding and standards are well above average.

“Pupils, including those with special educational needs and those supported by the pupil premium, make at least good progress.”

“Outstanding teaching provides imaginative and challenging activities that really capture pupils’ interest so they are very keen to learn and work hard,” said the inspectors’ report.

“Staff successfully develop and extend pupils’ knowledge of language. Reading is taught well so pupils gain the skills they need for their work in all subjects.

“Excellent behaviour was seen throughout the inspection. Parents who spoke to inspectors were very supportive.”

One went so far as to tell inspectors that their child would never take a day off school, even if they felt ill.

The report went on: “The outstanding curriculum provides exciting, enriching learning opportunities and experiences. Spiritual, moral social and cultural development is excellent.

“Rigorous checks on teaching and well-planned professional development underpin a shared ambition to make the school even more successful.

“The proportion of outstanding teaching has increased and standards have been well above average over time, so there is very strong capacity for yet more improvement.”

The Ofsted report says the school caters for 343 pupils, the vast majority of them of Asian heritage.

The inspectors said the school could improve still further by building abd extending the existing very good relations with parents so they are all able to support learning at home and can participate more fully in the life of the school.

They had found that some parents were less confident than others in fulfilling this role.

As we reported last week, a new school is currently under construction on Portland Street, Nelson and is due to open in September next year.

Since the last inspection five years ago, the school has grown considerably with three extra classes and temporary classrooms sited in the playground.

The school holds a number of awards and has Healthy Schools status.

A Nelson man who brandished a knife in the street when drunk has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

Burnley Crown Court heard Paul Greaves (23), of Brunswick Street, had the knife in his hand when he was shouting “I’m going to knife him” around 6am on June 8th.

Miss Emma Kehoe (prosecuting) said Greaves was stopped by police in Marsden Hall Road and arrested after shouting and swearing. He did not have a knife on him at that point and said he had been assaulted earlier in the night.

Greaves said he could not remember having the knife. It was only when two eyewitness accounts were read to him that he confessed he must have had possession of what was described as a 7in. blade.

In a search of Greaves’s home, police also discovered 10 snap bags of cannabis. Greaves had pleaded guilty to the offences at a hearing in October.

Mr William Staunton (defending) said Greaves is in work and has a supportive family. He said Greaves had “not touched a drop” of alcohol since the offences and his family “had seen a great change in him”.

Mr Staunton added the proceedings had caught him “staring into the headlights”.

Recorder Andrew Long said the offence would normally have meant a custodial sentence but this had been “out of character” adding that although the threats were to “persons’ unknown” they had alarmed people in the area.

Recorder Long gave Greaves a 26-week sentence, suspended for 12 months and also ordered Greaves to complete 180 hours unpaid work, pay £450 costs and an £80 surcharge.

Recorder Long told Greaves: “This is an opportunity for you. Please take it.”

This coming Wednesday, the Colne and Nelson Fundraisers for Pendleside Hospice are again holding their popular Christmas Cracker between 10am and 2pm.

It is taking place at Colne Golf Club in Skipton Old Road, Colne, not Colne Cricket Club as stated in our What’s On Society Notices lisings in Friday’s paper.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson has presented a petition to Parliament signed by more than 100 Barrowford residents calling for a zebra crossing on the A682 near to Barrowford Primary School.

Worried parents and residents joined together to express their view that the road-crossing is a danger to children at the school, especially when the road gets busy during pick-up and drop-off times.

After passing the petition on to Mr Stephenson, the MP has taken up the issue with Lancashire County Council as well as putting the petition “in the bag”.

Speaking from Westminster, Mr Stephenson said: “I was pleased to be able to present the petition to the House of Commons as many people have expressed their concerns through the petition.

“The matter will now be looked into by the Government and by the local transport authority.

“Often, petitions are the work of a dedicated individual who wants to see change.

“I want to pay tribute to those who organised the petition, collecting signatures and making sure road safety near schools is taken seriously.”

Police have moved to reassure residents over sightings of a clown in Burnley.

The Express revealed how the mystery figure has become a talking point across town after it was spotted in Rosehill and Rosegrove earlier this week.

Police said they had received a number of calls about the clown from concerned residents but urged people not to take rumours circulating on social networking sights too seriously.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Constabulary said: “Over the last couple days, police have received a number of calls from concerned members of the public in Burnley and the surrounding areas with regards to a man dressed as a clown reportedly in possession of a baseball bat.

“The calls have come as a result of various postings on Facebook as well as a dedicated page ‘Spot the ‘‘Burnley Clown’, with comments becoming more and more exaggerated.

“We would like to reassure people that there is no foundation for any of these reports and we have had no first hand reports of any incidents of violence or intimidation.

“We would urge people to only report first hand instances of suspicious behaviour and try to avoid repeating gossip and third hand information. When people start to talk about incidents like this on social media, without any malicious intent, stories can become confused and sometimes exaggerated and people should bear this in mind.

“If you wish to report a crime please call police on 101. Always ring 999 in an emergency.”

In today’s video from our archives we take a look back to Burnley in 2009.

Here’s the town’s ever-popular May Day parade, with music and marchers making their way through the streets of Burnley, making their way to Towneley Park for a day of fun and speeches.