Archive

  • Sports centre takes shape

    A NEW sports centre geared for top class football coaching is taking shape on a Yeadon industrial estate. A disused warehouse at the Moorfield estate is being converted by former Guiseley AFC captain Joe McPhee into a state-of-the-art centre equipped

  • Coo, what a scorcher

    A bird is believed to have caused a house blaze in Lawkholme by taking a lighted cigarette stub back to its nest. Baffled firemen came up with the theory following the fire in the gable of a house in Victoria Park View. They were called out early on Saturday

  • Caretaker cleared of ramming boy

    A school caretaker has been cleared by a jury of knocking a young cyclist off his bike. John Passman had been accused of deliberately ramming the 12-year-old boy with a car after he became angry about him trespassing on the grounds at Thornton Grammar

  • Film crew snaps show

    Pauline Mays Supplies, which recently featured on Yorkshire Television's Enterprize competition, is to be featured again on the YTV Tonight programme's fashion slot. Television cameras will be filming on Wednesday when the Mantra House-based company holds

  • Dales left out of ISDN revolution

    POTENTIAL internet users in parts of the Dales are being warned they may not be able to hook up to certain communication lines. Barry Peters says his company, YorkshireNet, cannot access ISDN, the new high-speed communication system, because the local

  • Project wins top award

    A PIONEERING project which provides access to the Yorkshire Dales for disabled visitors was presented with a major award this week. The Beamsley Project has received the BT Countryside for All Yorkshire and Humber award, which recognises its efforts to

  • Inquiry opens into supermarket plan

    EH BOOTH and Co would abandon its compromise scheme for a supermarket in Settle if it won its appeal to build a school and food store on Bond Lane field, a public inquiry was told this week. Inspector John MacBryde opened the inquiry into Craven District

  • Railtrack announces £1m investment

    RAIL giant Railtrack has announced plans to spend more than £1 million on improvements to stations in Craven. The package is part of a major regeneration programme with facelifts planned for 2,500 stations across the country. The programme includes repair

  • Supermarket sign prompts action

    MEMBERS of a group promoting the interests of Otley say they have taken 'great exception' to a supermarket sign on the edge of town. As the Wharfedale Observer reported last week, the Booths Supermarket advertising hoarding at Piper Lane declares 'Best

  • Civic silver on show

    A gilded silver mace is the centrepiece of a new exhibition of Keighley's civic treasures at Cliffe Castle Museum. Former attendant John Ellis is pictured on the right with the regalia which is on public display for the first time in several years. The

  • Families promised action

    Families who have been waiting nearly two years for repairs to their houses have criticised Bradford council for its lack of action. Nine tenants living in Elmwood Road, on the Bracken Bank estate, say they have been forgotten by Bradford council because

  • Effort needed so spruce up town

    HUGE efforts from the whole community are needed if Otley is to bounce back from a dismal result in a regional horticultural competition. That is the message from judges and residents involved in Yorkshire in Bloom which last week announced that Otley

  • Win a signed 'Goldfinder'

    Undersea treasure hunter Keith Jessop is planning one last spectacular dive before he retires, he has revealed. The man dubbed the 'Steptoe of the world's oceans' is aiming to hit the headlines once more by salvaging goods from a 'wreck of antiquity'.

  • Otley councillor launches his Lord Mayor's Appeal

    A REVOLUTIONARY new guidance system for partially-sighted and blind people is part of the Lord Mayor of Leeds' Key to the City Appeal. The new Lord Mayor, Otley resident Councillor Graham Kirkland, and the Royal National Institute for the Blind, are working

  • Village grab sevens title

    WORTH VILLAGE won the Blackpool Sevens on Sunday with probably the youngest team in the tournament. On the way to the final they beat Rose Bridge from Wigan, who had just beaten Shaw Rhinos with player-coach Yestin Harris, who only the previous day had

  • Last ball thriller

    The batsmen were again in the ascendancy in the Craven Cricket League on Saturday and there were some close finishes. And none more so than in the top of the table clash in the First Division at Cure Hill where Embsay were the visitors. Oakworth batted

  • Skipton get winning draw

    Buoyed up by their fighting performance in the Abbott Ale Cup the day before - see Page 28 - Skipton had a winning draw at home to Steeton in the Aire-Wharfe Cricket League on Monday. After being asked to bat they set about compiling a decent total, the

  • Fear of crime often outweights reality

    INVESTIGATIONS into the fear of crime often reveal that is way out of proportion to the actual level of offences in a particular area. Rampaging, drunken mobs may not be descending on Ilkley every week, but as the recent survey has shown, this is the

  • British Lion provides the laughs at dinner

    WEST Park Bramhope held their annual dinner at the Post House Hotel in the village last Friday. There were a number of awards handed out and the guest speaker was John Bentley, the British Lion who is now back at Halifax Blue Sox playing rugby league.

  • Hospital's future on agenda

    THE future of Wharfedale General Hospital will be thrashed out at a public meeting at Otley's Wesley Hall on Monday. People at the meeting will hear separate plans to change medical services at the Otley hospital and also to build a new hospital - either

  • Tribute to lovely Joanne

    Brave Joanne Duckworth, who underwent a liver transplant in January, has died aged 39. Doctors at St James' Hosp-ital, Leeds, on Monday swit-ched off the ventilator which had been keeping Joanne alive. Joanne, a secretary before her illness became severe

  • Family pays tribute to rescuers

    The family of a workman buried alive in a trench today paid tribute to the marathon efforts of his rescuers. It took 12 hours to free Jed Christie, 18, of Quakers Lane, Rawdon, after he was covered by tons of earth at the bottom of a 25ft-deep trench

  • Counselling service for children launched

    LILLY dreads Friday nights. Every week it's the same - dad goes to the pub, comes home drunk and beats mum up. Lilly feels helpless, frightened and even thinks she may be to blame for her dad's behaviour. Her schoolwork suffers, she begins to lose interest

  • Counselling service for children launched

    LILLY dreads Friday nights. Every week it's the same - dad goes to the pub, comes home drunk and beats mum up. Lilly feels helpless, frightened and even thinks she may be to blame for her dad's behaviour. Her schoolwork suffers, she begins to lose interest

  • Big Ron takes on the Silsden Belles

    OUT-OF-WORK football manager Ron Atkinson gets his big chance on Sunday - when he manages the Silsden Ladies football team. The former Sheffield Wednesday manager, who lost his job at the end of the season is to spend an afternoon coaching the go-ahead

  • Baby plea to the stars

    Bradford's Lord Mayor is appealing to local celebrities to help endorse his appeal to help premature babies. Councillor Tony Miller, who lost his own twins after they were born prematurely 38 years ago, is wanting to hear from well-known figures in the

  • Fears revealed over violence levels

    A SHOCKING level of fear from drunken violence in the Ilkley area has been revealed in a major new survey. More people in the Ilkley area worry about alcohol-related rowdiness than in the rest of Bradford, the survey has shown. Around 30 per cent of people

  • DIY Residents get the hump

    Campaigners angry at motorists speeding past their doorsteps decided enough was enough. Home-made asphalt traffic-calming humps, together with painted warnings, appeared overnight in the Silsden street. Within a day of police officers visiting the scene

  • PoW calls for compensation

    Former Japanese prisoners and Eastburn author Douglas Firth says British Second World War widows should be paid compensation by the Japanese government. Mr Firth, 76, of Grange View, Eastburn, made the statement after the royal visit of Japan's Emperor

  • Cricket: Bradford Central League

    THORNTON'S Ashley Hutchinson produced the top score of the day with 126 as batsmen began to take advantage of dry wickets. David Spragg of Crossflatts also got in on the act with 95. Inb Division One, leaders Harden ran away with a five wicket win over

  • Rugby league star talks cricket

    MATTHEW Elliott first made a name for himself in the rugby league world as a youngster with both Eastern Suburbs and then St George, in Sydney, where he played in the Winfield Cup competition. Since his move to Bradford Bulls in July 1995, first as assistant

  • Crooks on the inside

    THE boys are certainly keeping things exciting for the fans - but I for one would prefer a little less excitement in my life. After a scrappy start we defended well and played quite well in the first 25 minutes of the second half , but for the third week

  • Success of anti-racialist project

    A scheme to combat racial harassment is set to expand across Bradford after more than a hundred incidents were reported on one estate alone. The Bradford Alliance Against Racial Harassment (BAARH) began a pilot project on the Canterbury estate, Little

  • Tragic pastor's fund creates hope

    A living tribute to the memory of Baildon pastor Michael Pollard is being created with donations which came flooding in from wellwishers after his death. Mr Pollard's widow, Jo, has donated £4,000 to help a pair of theology students from eastern Europe

  • No gold, but plenty of chimneys

    Half a century ago, Commonwealth citizens from the West Indies arrived in England on board a ship. Many settled in Bradford and reporter Olufunmi Majekodunmi talked to them about their lives in the City and how they now consider themselves to be true

  • Christian Viewpoint

    Methodist Local Circuit Preacher. The disciples Jesus gathered were 'the allsorts it takes to make a world of' and differed in personality and intellect. It's clear they argued and quarrelled and all of them misunderstood their mentor's mission and the

  • Letters to the editor

    SIR - Seldom have I heard of anything quite as mystifying as the decision by North Yorkshire County Council Highways Committee to allow the installation of a mini roundabout on Broughton Road at the entrance to Morrisons. This will have the ridiculous

  • Fogerty joins the Cougars

    FORMER boxer, movie star and TV soap actor, Adam Fogerty has joined the Cougars - for the second time. Fogerty had a blistering Super League career with St Helens, but walked away from Warrington Wolves earlier this season because he'd had enough of full-time

  • Battling Bulls claw out valuable win

    Coach Matthew Elliott today praised the Bulls heroic defence as they held off a determined late London Broncos challenge at Odsal last night to keep the pressure on Super League pacesetters Leeds and Wigan. The champions were below par going forward and

  • Evicted caravan family told they can stay

    A gipsy family has won the right to stay on a caravan pitch after twice being evicted by Bradford Council and police. Margaret and Joe Connors and their four children arrived at Mary Street Caravan Site in Bowling Back Lane on Wednesday. They were on

  • Railway stations set for upgrades

    Commuters in Cross Hills could have a new rail station for the new millennium if rail companies show interest in the project. North Yorkshire county council is investigating the feasibility of re-opening the station at Cross Hills in the winter of 2000

  • Challenge goes out to young

    A rallying call has gone out to residents of Woodhouse and Spring Bank from the estate's new youth and community worker. Paul Lowndes wants people living in the area to put forward ideas for activities and volunteer their time to help organise them. He

  • Lion in Australia

    A Lions member has visited Australia to see disabled children helped by Keighley inventor David Hart. Cyril Isherwood spent time at the Spastics Centre in Sydney watching how four youngsters are benefiting from Mr Hart's revolutionary walking frames.

  • School Review: teachers plead for fairer transition

    Teachers at Keighley's Calversyke Middle School are fighting to keep their jobs which could be lost under Bradford council's schools review. They say the review will result in unfair and unequal treatment of staff in middle schools which is having a knock-on

  • School Review: parents join demo

    Keighley parents and pupils flocked to Bradford's City Hall last weekend to protest against two proposed school closures. Oldfield residents Chris and Kath Clegg and their three sons - Sam, 12, Charles, nine, and Michael, six - were among the 400 demonstrators

  • School clean-up planned

    People in Cullingworth are being encouraged to pick up their paint brush to brighten up the village for local children. Action for Cullingworth's Environment (ACE) is organising the painting of the village's first school, and it is asking for volunteers

  • Accidental-death verdict

    An unemployed Keighley woman was found dead only hours after she was seen in a confused state on a roundabout, an inquest heard last Friday. Delores Haigh, 59, was lying face down three months ago on a grass verge near her home in Braithwaite Avenue three

  • Warning over sneak thieves

    Sneak thieves are preying on Keighley people who leave their front doors unlocked while they are in their back garden. Warm summer evenings are offering burglars a chance to nip into houses for just a few seconds to steal TVs and video recorders. Insp

  • Ladies team wins day of coaching with Ron Atkinson

    TOP football manager Ron Atkinson has finally decided his next job after leaving Sheffield Wednesday - he'll be coaching a ladies' team in Silsden. The amateur team, made up of soccer-mad women from Skipton and Silsden, will take to the pitch for a training

  • Plans for coffee bar move on

    A NEW meeting place for young people in Addingham will soon be up and running. For several months the parish council has been planning to open a coffee bar at the football pavilion, off Stockinger Lane, and now it looks set to get off the ground. The

  • Mother hits out at 'dangerous eyesore'

    AN angry mother hit out this week after finding large pieces of broken glass hanging off the window ledges of a derelict building - just metres away from where her five-year-old son plays. Andrea Whitaker, 31, of Cumberland Street, told the Herald: "It

  • Biker rides high in British championship

    SKIPTON motorcyclist David Castle will ride into next month's TT races with high hopes. For, the 37-year-old motorcycle engineer is currently lying about fifth in the British Production Championships following a successful day at Cadwell Park on Monday

  • Sadness as brave officer dies

    A PROUD moment was tinged with sadness when bravery awards were presented to ambulance crews. For Grassington station officer David Rhodes died suddenly just days before he was due to pick up his award from West Yorkshire Ambulance head-quarters in Bradford

  • Truck hit power line, court told

    AN accident which could have led to the death of a truck driver and caused power cuts in parts of Settle has landed a construction company with a £3,000 fine. The court heard how a driver attempting to tip 20 tonnes of stone in a quiet cul-de-sac accidentally

  • Craven businesses scoop tourism awards

    SEVERAL local ventures are celebrating after scooping the Yorkshire Tourist Board's White Rose Awards. The Yorkshire Dales Joint Promotions Initiative - a unique marketing project - won the tourist destination of the year award. Spearheaded by Craven

  • Appeal boosted by anonymous donor

    THE Gazette's appeal to raise cash for an autistic Ilkley boy has reached the £1,000 mark. We launched Robert's Ray of Hope Campaign two months ago to ensure crucial treatment for three-year-old Robert Sime continues - and this week the fund was given

  • Joyrider killed as car hits lamppost

    A teenage joyrider was killed last night and two others seriously injured when a stolen car shunted a taxi and careered into a lamppost in Bradford. And in a separate incident today, a suspected stolen car crashed and overturned in Leeds Road, Thornbury

  • the rise of Sir james

    The life of 54-year-old industrialist Sir James Hill reads more like a roll of honours than a biography of a Keighley capitalist. Born in Bradford in December 1943, the 6ft 4in textile giant spent his early years in Yorkshire before going on to Wrekin

  • New future for Trico

    Trico, one of Europe's leading exponents of vitreous enamelling, has successfully completed the 'light-up' of its furnaces following the move from Keighley to its new 6,000 sq metre site at Castlefields Mill, Crossflatts. The efficient and environmentally

  • Soaraway pound causes problems

    The soaring value of the pound is making life tough for engineering companies like Airedale Springs Ltd. The company manufactures high quality springs to order for companies across the country. The soaring value of Sterling means British producers are

  • Why quality counts

    One of the UK's most go-ahead label printers has demonstrated its will to excel by winning accreditation as an Investor in People. SA Labels Ltd, of Oakworth, which employs 55 people, gained the distinction after more than two years of work in close collaboration

  • New post for Timothy

    Timothy Nigel Firth has been appointed managing director of Scotts Motor Services (Keighley) Ltd, succeeding his father John Firth, who has become chairman. The move follows the death last year of Sidney Harold Granger, aged 91. He was one of the founders

  • Threading oil profits

    A 'thread pick-up' facility developed by Keighley-based DSG Lathes is bringing the company a boom in business from the world's oil industry. Orders for the new DSG 25P and 30P hollow-spindle centre lathes from domestic and export oil markets are expected

  • Keeping shop crimes at bay

    Keighley-based Keybury Security Systems has clinched a £200,000 plus contract to provide its Shop Alert early warning system for The Trafford Centre - a £600 million shopping, restaurant and entertainment complex being built on the outskirts of Manchester

  • Rugby League player heads Down Under

    A WOMEN'S Rugby League player from Addingham is celebrating being chosen to represent her country again. Twenty-five year old Joanna Will, of Old Station Way, will tour with the Great Britain team leaving for New Zealand in August this year. The loose

  • Take your time getting to work

    Thousands of workers have permission to be late for work next week - providing they leave their cars behind. Bradford Council has told its 23,000 staff that bosses will turn a blind eye if they are late if they use public transport, walk, or use bicycles

  • Kevin lives the Highlands life

    Former maths teacher Kevin Booth who swapped the classroom for the horse racing circuit is living a millionaire lifestyle. Mr Booth, 34, who set up and runs the tipping service Isiris Racing, based in Devonshire Street, Keighley, says he has made part

  • Otley councillor launches his Lord Mayor's Appeal

    A REVOLUTIONARY new guidance system for partially-sighted and blind people is part of the Lord Mayor of Leeds' Key to the City Appeal. The new Lord Mayor, Otley resident Councillor Graham Kirkland, and the Royal National Institute for the Blind, are working

  • Opinion

    It is becoming more and more clear as the days go by that the way the review of schools is being carried out could lead to a Titanic sized disaster in the field of local education. A working document obviously had to be produced to form the basis for

  • Alfie goes for No5

    Record-holder Alfie Atkinson goes for an incredible fifth successive win in next Wednesday's White Lion fell race from Kildwick. Atkinson's domination goes back to 1994 when the course included a riverside finish by the bridge. Organisers Keighley and

  • Bowls: Valley challenge bites the dust

    THE Valley's challenge in the annual Inter-City event ended in disappointment. They beat the home side, Leeds, at New Wortley and followed up with victory over Harrogate, but were defeated by the eventual group winners Shipley. Skipper Mick Walsh kept

  • World trials style

    DOUGIE LAMPKIN heads for Germany this weekend for round five of the World Trials Championship - and already leads the title race by a massive 52 points ahead of his nearest rival. Spaniard Marc Colomer suffered a nightmare in the Czech Republic, crashing

  • Rhieves strike at tournament

    THIEVES struck as young table tennis star Dale Green was taking part in a top tournament - but couldn't stop him taking the title. Dale, 13, from Cowling, bought a new bat to take part in the Blackpool Grand Prix last weekend, but shortly after the competition

  • Kellett smiling after Irish road race

    LLoyd Kellett returned after nine days racing in Ireland where he finished 71st out of 165 riders. Competitors from nine nations, including Estonia and South Africa took part in the 781-mile FDB Milk Race and Lloyd, who was riding for the British fire

  • Pickles hits century

    Earby had an five-wicket home victory over Settle in a high-scoring match in the Ribblesdale Cricket League which saw opener Stephen Pickles carry his bat for 106 not out as the home side won with 227-5 in 44.2 overs in reply to the visitors' 224-2, pro

  • Abbey memorial for Bront's

    The three Bront' sisters are set to be remembered at a service in London's Westminster Abbey next year. The event will mark the 150th anniversary of Anne's death, the author of Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). The Bront' Society

  • Stay-away councillors letting down schools

    Startling figures have revealed that ten Labour councillors in Bradford and 36 party activists have been disqualified as school governors over the past 18 months. All the Labour Party members were disqualified for failing to turn up to governors' meetings

  • Group's Lottery grant saved

    ILKLEY Up-Stagers Theatre Group has won the battle to prevent its Lottery funding being snatched away. The group received a National Lottery grant of £194,252 in July last year. The money will enable the group to establish its first permanent base in

  • Eric is bowled over

    Traffic came to a stop at East Riddlesden Hall on Wednesday as hordes of visitors crammed into the barn bearing pots, porcelain and paintings. Around 500 people flocked to the hall to look around the grounds and participate in The National Trust's fourth

  • Hospital debate continues

    THE people of Otley and Wharfedale are being asked to comment on the future of Wharfedale General Hospital. At a series of meetings, people are being asked for their views on future services at the hospital - and more importantly perhaps - where the now

  • Readers' Letters

    SIR - I am writing to thank you and your staff for your coverage of the death, and celebration of the life, of my wife Jo Hatton. As most of the readership must know by now, Jo was one of the longest surviving heart and lung transplants in the world.

  • Triple jumper fights back after injury

    TRIPLE jumper Hannah Moody is back in action after a two-and-a-half year fight back from a serious injury to her spine. The 19-year-old sixth form pupil at St Mary's RC School in Menston, and a member of Skyrac AC, left to the fourth longest triple jump

  • Triple jumper fights back after injury

    TRIPLE jumper Hannah Moody is back in action after a two-and-a-half year fight back from a serious injury to her spine. The 19-year-old sixth form pupil at St Mary's RC School in Menston, and a member of Skyrac AC, left to the fourth longest triple jump

  • Public school lets girls in

    Girls are about to join the classrooms at a public school which has been all-boys throughout its almost 80-year history. Malsis School, at Glusburn, has also launched a £200,000 fundraising campaign to raise cash to finance a bursary scheme and to pay

  • Woman escapes death by inches

    DAZED Lynne Thirkill believes she escaped death by inches this week after she was knocked down by a car while walking her dog. Only a street sign stopped the car in its tracks as it swerved across Oxford Road in Guiseley and mounted the pavement, shunting

  • Teenager rescued after 12 hours in trench

    A teenage workman was lifted to safety from a crumbling trench early today - 12 hours after he was buried alive under an avalanche of mud. It ended a dramatic rescue operation as fire crews and paramedics from across West Yorkshire risked their lives

  • Larder rescues Cougar cause

    Leigh18, Cougars 30 COUGARS are determined to wring every ounce of emotion from their fans this season. The final scoreline looks comfortable enough and anyone who didn't travel over the Pennines would think it was anything but a last-gasp victory. But

  • Cricket: Aire-Wharfe League

    HUGH SUGDEN made it four stumpings in two games on Saturday thanks to the ripping spin bowling of Mark Akrigg who took 5-70, restricting Alwoodley to 193. Andrew Pullen also produced a match-winning performance with just 62 runs off his 21-over spell.

  • Cricket: Craven League

    Oakworth batted first in thrill-a-minute top of the table clash with Embsay. The Keighley side batted first and made 180-9 with Steve Lilley 68 and skipper Nigel Lockley 31 as John Metcalfe claimed 5-54. The Shires Lane side were struggling until Stephen

  • Cricket: Bradford League

    NEW overseas player Qasim Ali was the star of Keighley's second successive win. The 19-year-old, who comes from the Sahiwaal Club in Pakistan who produced Test stars Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed, led the way with a sparkling inning of 36. The side had

  • Rugby league star talks cricket

    MATTHEW Elliott first made a name for himself in the rugby league world as a youngster with both Eastern Suburbs and then St George, in Sydney, where he played in the Winfield Cup competition. Since his move to Bradford Bulls in July 1995, first as assistant

  • Bulls scrap their way to victory

    BRADFORD BULLS 17 LONDON BRONCOS 14 by Nigel Askham at Odsal Attendance: 11,893 The Bulls consolidated a top-three spot but not before uncompromising London had given them their now customary scare. After rattling up the half-century at Wheldon Road last

  • New call for poll on Bradford breakaway

    Newly-elected Worth Valley Conservative councillor Kris Hopkins has given a boost to the campaign for home rule for Keighley and district. Despite the government's previous refusal to agree to a boundary review, Cllr Hopkins says he discovered strong

  • Schoolyard blaze 'deliberate'

    A blaze in a rubbish bin in the yard at Eastwood First School on Sunday was caused deliberately, say firefighters. They say it was fortunate that the bin was near the Victoria Avenue gates rather than near the school building where it could have caused

  • Simply Smith

    With Tom Smith It is a sad fact that the concentration span of many of our children is becoming increasingly small. This has been a relatively slow process and one that I feel has been exacerbated by the surfeit of soap operas bubbling onto our television

  • Dear reader

    Earlier this week I had a long overdue meeting with a group of our newsagents to try and iron out a number of issues and explain our strategy for the future. Along with colleagues from newspaper sales I explained that last week was a major milestone in

  • Craven through the years

    100 years ago BEER came out on top after a nasty accident between a milk float and a brewery wagon. The collision occurred between Belmont Bridge and Swadford Street in Skipton after the Scott & Co beer wagon, pulled by two horses, went out of control

  • Rugby league star writes for Observer

    FIRSTLY, let me say how delighted I am to be able to have my own column in the Wharfedale Observer. It will give me an opportunity to let you know what is going on behind the scenes at Odsal and what some of my team-mates are up to. It was a really good

  • Rugby league star writes for Observer

    FIRSTLY, let me say how delighted I am to be able to have my own column in the Wharfedale Observer. It will give me an opportunity to let you know what is going on behind the scenes at Odsal and what some of my team-mates are up to. It was a really good

  • Inquest adjourned because of murder trial

    AN inquest on the death of Horsforth Chinese restaurant owner Jackie Chau Kwok Tam has been opened and adjourned pending a murder trial. The 41-year-old, who lived in Hall Park Avenue, died as a result of shotgun wounds to the chest received during an

  • Rock star snubs literature festival

    CONTROVERSIAL rock star Bill Drummond has snubbed the Ilkley Literature Festival to the disgust of the event's director. Drummond, who was front man of the 80's pop band The KLF, was due to headline the festival's PopTV season with a performance at the

  • Couple are star struck

    A Cullingworth couple mingled with the stars at last week's BAFTA TV awards in London. Nick and Hazel Abbott, of Halifax Road, won a competition to spend the evening at the award ceremony and the star-studded dinner that followed. The couple wandered

  • Drivers put lives at risk

    A HAZARD warning has gone out about drivers detouring to avoid queues at roadworks on the main road and speeding through Cononley. They were driving at excessive speeds and often in the middle of the road, forcing pedestrians and oncoming traffic into

  • Welcome for change to 'comical' law

    A retired Keighley lollipop lady welcomes government plans to drop child-only crossing rules. Iris Pearce was rapped by police in 1990 for helping the elderly and disabled - as well as children - cross busy North Street at her patrol point outside St

  • Celebrating 50 years of cross-Channel friendship

    Two penfriends from opposite sides of the English Channel have met again to celebrate a friendship which has lasted more than 50 years. Barbara Pearson and Marianne Dudillieu started writing to each other in the hours leading up to VE Day on May 8, 1945

  • Delighted Wayne back on straight and narrow

    A Keighley teenager has turned his life around by working with police and a local youth project. Fifteen-year-old Wayne Coll-yer started off on the wrong foot with Keighley Youth Services Officer PC Lee Holmes after he was caught skipping school. But

  • 'Traders facing closure' warning

    Oxenhope pub owner Gerald Smith says confusing road signs put up by Bradford council could put him out of business. Mr Smith, who runs the Waggon & Horses Inn, at Dyke Nook, has joined forces with five other local businesses to try to get Bradford

  • Shop worker robbed

    A shop worker was attacked and robbed on Tuesday afternoon as she took cash to a town-centre bank. The woman was grabbed and pushed to the ground at the junction of North Street and Low Street. A carrier bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash was

  • School Review: village pleads for secondary school

    Parents in Cullingworth have voted overwhelmingly in favour of using the village's Parkside Middle School for secondary education. More than 90 per cent of parents who returned questionnaires sent out by Parkside were in favour of using the current site

  • School Review: anger over jobs

    Parents from Swire Smith Middle School and Long Lee First School say both schools should close, not just one. At a meeting last week parents confronted Jennie Sadowskyj, head of public services in education at Bradford council, and Keighley North ward

  • School Review: 'Don't bulldoze Bronte'

    'Don't let Bradford bulldoze Bront''. That's the message from a group of Keighley parents fighting the proposed demolition of Bront' Middle School. Oakbank Action Group is determined to keep the Bront' site open, and use it as part of a split-site school

  • Skaters have their goal in sight

    EARBY'S in-line skaters got their first taste of the sports facilities they have worked so hard for this week, when the first piece of equipment was installed at Sough Park. It coincided with the launch of the new skating safety leaflet which they have

  • Mel's anguish over 'unexplained' events

    ARE the skies above Barnoldswick acting as a window for extraterrestrial visitors......or is the answer closer to home? This is a profound question on an emotive subject, but is also something to which Barnoldswick man Mel Ford, of Chatford Lodge, Ben

  • PoW calls for reconciliation

    A FORMER Japanese prisoner of war from Eastburn has said it is time for reconciliation with the Far Eastern country despite its atrocities during the 1940s. Douglas Firth, of Grange View, says he would not have joined the protest against the visit by

  • Paralysed nurse tells of living nightmare

    A STEETON woman left paralysed following a parachuting accident has spoken openly about her life in the hope it will encourage people to support research into spinal injuries. Nurse Penny Roberts, 35, was parachuting over Florida when her main and emergency

  • Villagers win battle to save pub from closure

    RESIDENTS in Tosside were celebrating this week after winning a bitter row to keep their village pub from being turned into a bed and breakfast operation. More than 20 residents of the small village sent letters of objection to Ribble Valley planners,