The chief steward on the Pakistan International Airlines flight diverted to Stansted under fighter escort after an alleged bomb threat has been recalled to the witness box at Chelmsford Crown Court and quizzed again about his evidence there last week.

Ghulam Shabir Mahar was recalled after claims he told an earlier internal PIA inquiry he only heard an reference to a bomb when the captain made an announcement after the landing at Stansted.

Mr Mahar was cross-examined on the alleged differences between his evidence at the inquiry and his evidence during the court hearing. He said at the court hearing he had heard threats to “blow up” the plane at 30,000ft prior to it being diverted from Manchester to Stansted under escort from two RAF fighters.

He was giving evidence in the second week of the trial of Tayyab Subhani (30) of Townley Street, Brierfield, and Mohammed Safdar (42), of Hallam Street, Nelson, deny on May 24th endangering the safety of the plane by communicating intentionally that some passengers and crew would be killed and the aircraft blown up.

During his earlier evidence Mr Mahar told the court, referring to Safdar: “He became very angry and kept on that he would blow up everyone and told them no-one should go near him.”

However, questioned about new evidence disclosed last Friday about the internal inquiry, he was asked by one of the defence lawyers, Simon Mayo QC: “One question you were asked was ‘had these passengers at any time threatened to blow up the plane?’ and you’re answer was ‘no.’

Mr Mahar replied: “He was shouting and threatening other passengers. He was extremely unruly.”

Asked: “If what you told this hearing was true, why did you not tell the inquiry?” He replied: “He did threaten. The plane landed at another airport because of this threat. It was not my decision, it was the passengers and somebody else’s decision.”

In answer to further question about his evidence, he told the jury: “Whatever I’ve told the court on oath is based on truth and what I’ve told the police is also true. The plane didn’t land on my decision. The plane was landed as an emergency because of this threat.”

Asked: “Is the truth of the matter, the first time you heard anything about a bomb threat was after the plane landed and the captain made an announcement?” He replied: “It was before that.”

During interviews with the police, Safdar, a restaurant worker, said after being told about the allegation of blowing up the plane: “It’s all lies. The steward was encouraging passengers to make up lies.”

He denied making any bomb threat and claimed he had taken nothing on board that could cause harm and had no intention of causing harm.”

The court was told Subhani, a supermarket worker and taxi driver, described the allegations as “bullshit and a load of lies” and said Safdar had told the steward he had “no manners” and “didn’t know how to speak to passengers.”

The hearing continues on Thursday.

A chimney blaze at a house in Brierfield sent clouds of smoke into the sky which could be seen for miles.

Fire-fighters were called to the incident in Hardy Street in Victoria Gardens, Brierfield, at 3-20pm.

A large amount of smoke could be seen on the street and also coming from the chimney stack and roof

slates of a terraced property.

It was initially thought the roof was on fire nut, on further inspection, fire-fighters found the chimney was in poor condition, and smoke had been entering the rooms of the house.

The fire crews used hose reels and thermal imaging cameras to extinguish the fire.

Crew Manager Lee Garnett said: “As the winter months approach, please ensure all wood burners and open fires are fully inspected by a qualified person prior to use. Poorly maintained chimneys could lead to house fires.”

A major application has been submitted to Pendle Council that could see a vacant Colne site transformed into 22 new apartments.

The plans for land at Ivegate have been submitted by Grays Inn Development Limited, and propose to build the two-bedroom apartments in a single two to three storey block. If given the green light, the development would also include 33 car parking spaces.

In the Design and Access Statement, prepared and submitted on the applicant’s behalf by Didsbury-based Ludlam Associates, it states the proposals will “compliment and enhance the character of the local area”.

It states: “The application site is a steeply sloping area of scrubland located within the settlement boundary of Colne.

“The applicants intend the development to be appropriate to its context and see the proposals as an opportunity to improve the character and quality of the area.”

The apartments would be available for private purchase. and would be accessed from Ivegate Mews.

Tributes have been paid to a teenage Burnley Football Club season ticket holder who was found hanged.

Henry Tattersall, from Rossendale, was discovered in his bedroom around 5-20pm on Monday.

He was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after 6-30pm.

Police attended the scene and have established there are no suspicious circumstances. A file will be prepared and passed to HM Coroner.

His family is being supported by specially trained police officers and tributes have flooded in on social networking sites.

Henry’s mother Eve and stepfather Lee paid the following tribute to their son on behalf of the family. They said: “Henry was a fearless, adventurous child who loved his sport, especially football and golf. Burnley FC was his passion and he was a season ticket holder.

“The picture of Henry was taken in May this year just after he had been zorbing. He loved this experience and was at his happiest when he was outside.

“Henry attended Holy Trinity School, Stackheads before going to Fearns, Oswaldtwistle School and most recently Brambles East in Darwen. Henry struggled to fit in at school but had been loving life at Brambles East and was settled.

“A typical Henry story is that of him having a bet with his Uncle Neil that he could eat 20 Brussel sprouts on Christmas day two years ago for £20. Henry managed it and was banging on his Uncle’s front door at 8am the next morning wanting payment.

“Henry was a cheeky, funny and impulsive child who has left a massive hole in the family that cannot be filled.”

John Rider Head Teacher at Brambles East School, Darwen, said: “Henry started at Brambles East School in September 2013 and had been with us for seven weeks. He settled in very quickly and had become a very popular pupil with both staff and his peers. He joined in fully in school life and was making excellent progress with his work and his behaviour. Staff and pupils alike will miss his quiet smile and calm manner.”

Two men on trial for threatening to blow up an airliner with 308 passengers on board at 30,000 feet were dramatically cleared by a court in Essex today.

After the alleged bomb threat the Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777 which was en-route from Lahore to Manchester was diverted to Stansted Airport in Essex. Two RAF fighter jets were also scrambled to escort it.

At a trial which began at Chelmsford Crown Court two-and-a-half weeks ago Tayyab Subhani (30) and Mohammed Safdar (42) both of Nelson near Burnley pleaded not guilty to endangering the safety of the airliner by communicating intentionally that some passengers and some crew would be killed and the aircraft blown up.

Today though the case collapsed and Subhani, of Townley Street, Brierfield, and Safdar, of Hallam Street, both Nelson, were formally cleared by Judge Charles Gratwicke.

Neither man showed any sign of emotion as they were acquitted and as they heard the judge describe the prosecution evidence as “weak, tenuous and peppered with inconsistencies.”

The abrupt end to the case came in the wake of evidence from the chief steward on the aircraft, Ghulam Shabir Mahar, who had told the court Mr Safdar had threatened to “blow up everyone” during an argument on the plane.

However, passengers failed to back up Mr Mahar’s claims about what he said he had heard. And the court was told that at an internal airline inquiry in Pakistan he had made no mention of any bomb threats.

Lancashire Constabulary’s Christmas drink and drug driving campaign gets under way today.

The festive crackdown will see high profile enforcement activity taking place across the county throughout December, including checkpoints at key locations where officers will administer drink and drugs tests.

Last year more than 280 people were caught drink driving in Lancashire during the police’s Christmas drink drive campaign.

A total of 18,964 tests were administered throughout the month of December with 274 people, or 1.4 per cent, failing the test and seven people, or 0.04 per cent, refusing to provide a specimen. This means the total number of people who failed or refused the test was 281 or 1.5 per cent.

Chief Insp. Debbie Howard said: “We want people to have fun this Christmas but to remember the consequences of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“If you drive at twice the legal alcohol limit you are at least 30 times more likely to cause a road crash than a driver who hasn’t been drinking, potentially resulting in serious injury or death. A conviction could also mean that you lose your job, home, family and friends. The consequences can be absolutely devastating.

“We will be working throughout the festive period to keep the public safe and we want people to enjoy the festive season but to remember the consequences of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Our message is simple – do not drink and drive and do not take drugs and drive.”

Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “The message to Lancashire’s residents this Christmas is clear – do not drink and drive.

“Christmas is a time to have fun and socialise with family and friends, but the consequences of getting behind the wheel after drinking or taking drugs could be absolutely devastating.

“I am fully supportive of the Constabulary’s campaign to target those people who risk both their own lives and the lives of those around them this Christmas.”

County Coun. John Fillis, Lancashire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, added: “It has taken decades of hard work to change attitudes to drink driving and we’re working this Christmas to make sure the message is not lost on a new generation of drivers.

“The statistics tell their own story, driving while under the influence of drink or drugs is a risk simply not worth taking.

“I’d ask people to remember that many people fail breath tests between 6am and 11am after drinking the night before, and you could still be risking lives if you drive the next morning.”

Firefighters were called out to a Barrowford residential block today when two people became trapped in a lift.

Two fire engines from Nelson Fire Station attended St Clements Court in Pendle Street at around 12-25pm.

Firefighters manually released a man and a woman who were visiting the block using a lift key after the car stopped 3ft. short of the ground floor. The pair were trapped for around 15 minutes.

The family of a fun-loving and devoted Burnley dad, who lived for his wife, children and his business, has paid an emotional tribute to him after he died suddenly last weekend.

Financial adviser Craig Reaney (44) complained of feeling unwell at home in Worsthorne on Sunday evening. Paramedics were called to the house but were unable to save the dad-of-three.

His devastated family said his death had been a terrible shock and has left a huge hole in their lives.

They said Mr Reaney, who co-owned Indigo Financial Advice in Colne, was a selfless man who would always go the extra mile for his family and customers, most of whom became his friends.

His wife Andrea (48), who he married in the Dominican Republic 20 years ago, said: “It was just a total shock. We’d had a lovely day on Sunday. Craig was an endearing, generous and kind-hearted man and he was an amazing rock of support.

“He was a loving, giving and honourable husband.

“People used to stick to him like glue. He worked very hard. He loved his job and he always said he wanted to live his life helping people. Through his career he absolutely fulfilled that.”

His daughter Laura (18) said Mr Reaney, who was heavily involved with the Life Church and often volunteered as a street pastor in Burnley town centre, always had a smile on his face and was immensely proud of his children.

“He always taught us to be the best at whatever we were doing. I’ve recently gone to university and he was always ringing me, telling me how proud he was of me,” she said.

Son Daniel (22) said Mr Reaney was: “A charismatic, fun-loving and fantastic dad.”

Mr Reaney’s business partner, Mr Darren Turner, with whom he was a co-owner of P & A Financial Services, said: “He was extremely selfless. His aim in life was to pretty much help everybody and so he always went the extra mile to look after his customers. Many of his customers became his friends. He will be missed.”

Mr Reaney leaves wife Andrea, son Daniel, daughters Laura and Abigail (12) and his mother, Marie Pounder.

His funeral will take place at Life Church in Burnley next Thursday, December 5th, at 12-30pm, followed by cremation at 1-40pm.

A Barnoldswick boy has been hailed a “little hero” after hearing screams for help from a badly bleeding woman.

Fourteen-year-old Dean Swarbrick, of Darnbrook Road, was on his way to a friend’s house when he heard cries coming from a remote stable block.

Dean, who goes to Park High School, Colne, was running late to meet his friend Sam Horrocks at his home in Priory Way and was using a shortcut he is not supposed to when he heard Carol Lewis’s “horrible screams”.

Dean, who was not sure whether a prank was being played on him at first, was worried and insistent enough to get Sam’s dad to take a look.

When they reached the stables at the end of Priory Way, in complete darkness and freezing temperatures, they found Carol motionless and a pool of blood on the floor.

She had fallen 12ft off a ladder on to a concrete floor from the upper part of the barn.

A grateful Carol (50), who had been unconscious and has had 10 staples in her head for the injury, said she was “extremely lucky”.

Carol said: “I don’t really remember anything of it but I do know I had a team of helpers.

“I remember going into the high loft for hay and putting the ladders up in daylight. Next I was coming around in the pitch black and shouting for help.

“I was really dizzy and had knocked myself out. Luckily I was heard. Apparently I had lost lots of blood but somehow I had managed to clamber on to the ladders from where I had fallen.

“I was absolutely freezing but was not lying directly on the concrete floor. The fleece I was wearing stopped the bleeding.

“It was really nice of Dean. He’s such a lovely lad. I’m forever grateful to him. He used his head and did well for a young lad on his own.”

Dean’s proud dad Andrew said: “Dean thought there was something really wrong and said please come and have a look.

“Dean was in shock. There was a big pool of blood and he couldn’t get the image out of his head. He did everything correctly. We are calling him the little hero at the moment.”

Clarets fans are being asked to join in a tribute to a tragic 13-year-old found dead this week.

Burnley FC supporters attending the away match at Huddersfield tomorrow hope everyone will join in a minute’s applause for season ticket holder and devoted Clarets fans Henry Tattersall in the 13th minute of the game.

Henry, from Rossendale, was discovered in his bedroom around 5-20pm on Monday. He was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after 6-30pm.

There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Henry’s mother Eve and stepfather Lee paid tribute to henry, saying he was “fearless, adventurous child who loved his sport, especially football and golf. Burnley FC was his passion and he was a season ticket holder”.

John Rider, headteacher at Brambles East School, Darwen, which Henry attended, said: “Henry started at Brambles East School in September and had been with us for seven weeks. He settled in very quickly and had become a very popular pupil with staff and his peers.

“He joined in fully in school life and was making excellent progress with his work and behaviour. Staff and pupils alike will miss his quiet smile and calm manner.”

A group of Foulridge residents have banded together in a bid to block the A56 bypass.

The group met for the first time at the New Inn and organisers Rachel Wilson and Julie Ashton said the size of the turnout was “unexpected but welcome”.

A small group of Foulridge locals who attended the Colne-Foulridge Bypass consultation event in Colne Library had planned an “informal chat” about the creation of an anti-bypass group.

However, with anti-bypass feeling said to be running high in the village, the pub was packed with residents eager to oppose the bypass plans.

Another meeting will be held at 8pm in Foulridge Village Hall on Wednesday.

After the first meeting, Rachel said: “We only expected a handful of people to come along.

“Our aim was to gauge general feeling in the village regarding the proposed bypass. But we were overwhelmed by the numbers of passionate local residents who came along to voice their opposition and offer their support.”

The Foulridge Anti-Bypass Campaign urges anyone opposed to the plans to make their opinions known at Lancashire County Council’s website – East Lancashire Master Plan Consultation, {http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/haveyoursay|www.lancashire.gov.uk/haveyoursay}– before the end of the consultation on Friday.

Contact foulridgeabc@outlook.com for further inquiries.

WHEN television’s “Queen of Shops” Mary Portas made her first visit to Nelson on Tuesday, she was impressed by the town – and Nelsoners were very pleased with her, too.

Around 30 years ago, Nelson was a highly-active shopping centre, but things have gone down over the decades.

Miss Portas had awarded Nelson Town Team a £100,000 Portas Pilot prize to help bring the centre back to more active life.

She met the team and council officials, and then went round the heart of town to see how things were.

At the ACE Centre, she got together with Pendle Council officers, councillors and the Town Team.

She was told about things happening as a result of her award, including a series of activities for students in the town centre, several Vintage Art and Crafts Markets and other ideas.

Nelson and Colne College has been very much involved and the plan is to encourage more of its students to spend time in the town centre.

Miss Portas was given a great welcome by chief executive of the council Mr Stephen Barnes and had a great debate with the team.

She also chatted with students from the college who have been looking at creating student facilities in the town centre.

Among them was Ameena Bibi (18), who has won a national honour – BBC Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones’s “Tycoon in Schools” initiative – and is going to Buckingham Palace next week to collect her prize.

Afterwards, Miss Portas said: “The future of our high streets will be very difficult.”

But she did believe things could be done to make centres more successful and, after her arrival in Nelson, said: “There’s just everyone here saying ‘We care’. This is a very lovely place.”

Despite the wind and rain, she had a walk round the town centre.

Miss Portas was accompanied by the team, including Pendle Council’s Executive Director (Regeneration) Brian Cookson, Executive member responsible for regeneration Coun. Paul White and Pendle business star Azhar Siddique, who appeared on BBC TV’s “The Apprentice”.

From the ACE, they went along Scotland Road and through the Victory Centre’s arcade to Leeds Road.

She then saw The Shuttle and the new small amphitheatre in the centre. Miss Portas and her hosts went along Manchester Road and took her to the old Nelson Library, which is currently being given a new lease of life.

Then they went back to the ACE Centre.

Miss Portas said: “This is the first time I’ve been to Nelson - it’s beautiful! It’s gorgeous even on a grey, rainy Tuesday.” She loved the Victorian complexes still in the town.

She suggested we can re-do the town centre and said: “What are the needs of the community? People need a local economy.”

She felt it was good to bring teenagers into town.

And she gave the impression local people needed to come up with ideas for projects which would help improve the high street.

“We need to build on what people do locally and find out what people want in their town centre.

“We need a mix of leisure, social, inter-action shopping, health and learning. There has to be something for everyone – the younger and the older residents.”

And she said: “If you bring young people into the town centre they will bring life with them.”

She made it clear the town centre improvement was a key social initiative.

Coun. Paul White revealed he and Miss Portas had got together and come up with an idea for Nelson – a Curry Mile.

The thought was to bring people into Nelson by having things like a night club, curry house and an art gallery.

He added: “She had some super ideas. I really like the idea of the Curry Mile. It would bring young people and people from outside the area into town.

“She was very clear we need to avoid harking back to yesteryear!”

They both felt it was sad a lot of people were going off to Bradford or Manchester for curries and felt a Curry Mile in town would bring different communities together in Nelson.

Controversial plans to build 17 houses on land off Red Lane, Colne, adjacent to Sacred Heart RC Primary School have been withdrawn.

The news comes in the light of widespread objections that the development would be built on a wildlife area and prayer garden which the school has developed in recent years.

And while the school’s headteacher, Mr John Robertshaw, said he was pleased the application had been withdrawn, he added the school would be keeping a careful eye on developments in case a new plan was submitted when the school was on holiday.

“There have been a lot objections and while it may seem like a good thing, we will wait and see what happens next,” he said.

Confirming the withdrawal of the application, Pendle Council leader Joe Cooney, in whose Vivary Bridge ward the site stands, said: “The council had listened to the concerns expressed by local people and was now looking to find a sensible solution to the issue.

“There are also rumours an application for housing on land on the other side of the school is going to be submitted so we have decided to withdraw our plans.”

Coun. Cooney’s ward colleague, Coun. David Clegg, and fellow Liberal Democrat Coun. Tony Greaves had written to Pendle Council chief executive Stephen Barnes calling for the plans to be withdrawn pending negotiations with the school.

The land was one of six council-owned sites in Pendle declared suitable for housing development earlier this year by the council’s Executive.

But the withdrawal of land at Gib Hill on the Nelson-Colne boundary and Aspen Grove, Earby, from the list focused attention on the Red Lane site.

Coun. Greaves has written, on behalf of Coun. Clegg and himself, to Pendle’s Chief Executive Stephen Barnes to ask for the application to be “withdrawn pending formal discussions between councillors and Sacred Heart School with the intention of negotiating a compromise in the interests of both the council and children at the school”.

Coun. Clegg said: “There is a lot of history to this matter which is more complicated than has been made public. But the bottom line is that we do not want the school to lose its access, and we do not want the children not to have the benefit of the garden.”

Coun. Greaves said: “I don’t think there is any need for a quick decision, and that a reasonable compromise can be reached. But everyone should be aware that, in present circumstances, the council has to dispose of some of its assets for the benefit of Colne or Pendle as a whole, and this particular land is likely to be worth millions of pounds.”

A former Barnoldswick man was given a chance to sort himself out after being brought back before a crown court judge.

Petty criminal Samuel Simmonite was in breach of a suspended jail sentence when he went shoplifting, but Judge Beverly Lunt said it would be unjust to send him to prison for taking six cans of alcohol from Morrisons.

In April, he was given 10 months, suspended for two years, for attempting to con two elderly people out of money by claiming he had done building work on their homes.

Simmonite, now making a new life for himself with his mother in Ambleside, was said to be making good progress on a drink and drugs rehabilitation order associated with the sentence.

He was given a 12 month community order with a continuing rehabilitation order.

Judge Lunt told him: “You are very lucky having your mum.”

We British are a nation of dog lovers, aren’t we? Sure, they smell a bit, they slobber over you, they have a somewhat vulgar way of greeting each other and they produce a disagreeable waste product. But we love them just the same.

You can’t help chuckling over dogs’ crazy antics on the O2 “Be More Dog” trailers on telly.

And many a spouse has declared: “Either that dog goes or I go”, only to get an answer they didn’t like.

So it was hardly surprising the area’s dog owners have been getting hot under the collar – forgive the pun – over rumours that Ribble Valley Council was about to impose designated dog enclosures in many public park areas and to insist dogs must be kept on a lead at all times.

The council’s Environmental Health chief, Mr James Russell, has had to issue a statement for the Clitheroe Advertiser to allay their fears.

As a former dog owner – I didn’t have the heart to replace my lovely old rough-coated lurcher Kiri after she was put to sleep – I have a lot of sympathy with the dog people.

Increasingly they are seen as pariahs the moment they step on to a piece of grassland and the dog begins to squat. It doesn’t matter if the owner already has a plastic glove on one hand and a poop bag in the other, someone is bound to give them a disdainful glare.

I remember the late 1970s when Burnley Council imposed a total ban on all dogs in all public parks after a series of heated debates.

The pro and anti lobbies became increasingly shrill, there were protest walkies, and two dog owners were even sent to jail for defying the new by-law. That’s what happens when opposing sides become entrenched.

In Ribble Valley, where folk probably have more sense, the dog issue will surely never come to those extremes.

The council aims to compel owners to keep dogs under control in public places and clean up their dog’s muck from designated public land and playing fields. Fail to comply, and it’ll cost up to £1,000. It’s as simple as that.

Some may scream “Red tape!” but one man’s red tape is someone else’s protection. Nobody wants a child to lose their sight to toxocara.

Dog owners are, on the whole, fair-minded and responsible, but are let down by a tiny dimwitted minority.

Mr Russell has said: “The message is simple: The days of allowing dogs to foul in public are over.”

Do I agree with him? Not arf!

I was priviliged to be shown around Burnley Food Bank as a potential volunteer.

I came away humbled and more than a little saddened that our country is having to give food handouts in this day and age.

Sceptics who feel the facility is supporting scroungers should spend five minutes at the site and their minds would soon be changed.

The work carried out by staff and volunteers is mindblowing and the scale of the problem even more so. As we hurtle towards Christmas the food crisis worsens and even more pressure is placed on the charity who have to find all their own funds.

And thanks to ASDA for dropping the 6p per carrier bag they were charging the Food Bank .

Police are appealing for information after two attempted break-ins in Colne in a week where offenders targeted keys for high-value vehicles.

On both occasions, three male offenders attempted to break into homes in Colne while a fourth sat in a waiting car.

The first incident occurred around 3-50am on Sunday, November 10th, when three male offenders were disturbed by the owners of a house in Castle Road, Colne, trying to force open a lock.

The trio ran off and were driven away in a blue or black old style Volvo in the direction of Venables Avenue.

In the second incident, around 2-05am on Monday, November 11th, the owners of a house in Noyna View, Colne, were awoken as three male offenders tried to force open patio doors.

They fled the scene and were witnessed driving off in a grey four wheel drive vehicle. Police believe it is the same gang.

Police are also investigating the theft of bikes with a total value of £7,000.

They were stolen from secure metal containers within a business premises in Bridge Street, Colne, between 12-30am and 1am last Sunday.

A Beta trials bike worth £3,000 was stolen along with a child’s GasGas bike valued at £1,000, four children’s mountain bikes worth £2,000 in total and an adults silver Marin mountain bike valued at £1,000.

Plans to built more than 200 homes on countryside land on the border of Colne and Nelson have been turned down by the Government.

Persimmon Homes Lancashire made the application to Pendle Council who refused it.

Persimmon then appealed to the Department of Communities and Local Government and in July there was a public local inquiry led by planning inspector Mike Robins.

The plan initially involved the erection of 212 homes – later reduced to 203 – and associated highway, engineering and landscaping work and public open space on the land off Knotts Lane, Colne, and above the railway.

Many people had expressed their concern that the countryside was going to be built on.

And this week it was announced that Secretary of State Eric Pickles agreed with the Inspector’s recommendation for refusal of the plan.

A letter to representatives of Persimmon on behalf of Mr Pickles said: “He hereby dismisses your client’s appeal and refuses planning permission for the erection of 203 dwellings at Knotts Lane, Colne.”

It was made clear, however, that they could challenge the decision by applying to the High Court.

Welcoming the refusal, Pendle Council leader Joe Cooney said: “This is great news for local residents who campaigned against this totally inappropriate development.

“The developer took no notice of concerns raised by residents and councillors.

“We aren’t against development but this simply was the wrong development for that area.”

And Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson commented: “I am delighted to hear this news. I wrote to the Secretary of State earlier this month reiterating my opposition to this development and am delighted that he has agreed with what I said. The proposed development was poorly designed and not sustainable for the area.”

County Coun. Azhar Ali said: “I think this is brilliant news for local people and all the residents involved in the Get Knotted group who worked tirelessly to preserve the fields off Knotts Lane. But the battle goes on to ensure these green fields are protected.” He also wants to protect the nearby Gib Hill area.

So England lost the first Ashes test in Australia.

But what rankles more than the result is the pathetic comments made by Aussie captain Michael Clarke who allegedly told our very own Jimmy Anderson to “get ready for a F*****g broken arm” when he went into bat.

Now Jimmy is unlikely to have paid much attention to the moronic comment as he is made of sterner stuff than that.

Let’s see what Clarke is made out of when the ‘Burnley Express’ roars in to bowl against him in the next test. I think Jimmy might just be fired up a bit.

A two car crash on the M65 in Burnley has caused traffic chaos for motorists tonight.

The vehicles collided on the eastbound carriageway shortly after 5-30pm with tailbacks reported between junction 10 at Gannow Top and Brierfield. Police, fire and ambulance crews are on the scene.