Football is a fast-moving game both on and off the field. Just a couple of weeks ago Clarets fans were approching the coming season with a sense of impending doom with the departure of top scorer Charlie Austin.

Fans bemoaned a lack of ambition at the club and many predicted a season down in the doldrums of a relegation dogfight. Okay, it is only early days yet, but a glance at the league table sees Sean Dyche’s Claret and Blue Army (minus Charlie Austin) sitting pretty in third spot.

Credit where credit is due, Dyche has put his faith in what he had and it is paying off!

Clarets defender Luke Conlan has received a call-up to the Northern Ireland U21 squad for next week’s Euro qualifier against Belgium.

Left back Conlan, 19, joins the Irish squad immediately for the U21 Qualifier at the Stadion Den Dreef on Monday, September 9.

Clarets boss Sean Dyche hailed Michael Kightly’s versatility after the wide man arrived on a season-long loan from Stoke City.

The 27-year-old former Wolves winger will join up with his new Turf Moor team mates on Thursday after the players return from a two-day bonding trip in Scotland.

And Dyche was delighted to be reunited with Kightly, who he worked with while at Watford.

He said: “We used Michael out wide before, but he has great quality and ability, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we can use him in a number of roles.

“Carrying a small squad, versatility is always key, but the main thing here is that we have to consider a player of his quality coming to our club.”

There was a lot of interest in Kightly, and he added: “There were a lot of other clubs who thought they could land him and he has chosen us, which is great, especially having worked with us before and knowing how we operate.

“Now he wants to come and enjoy himself at Burnley and play some football.”

The deal went through just before the transfer window closed on Monday night, and Dyche was grateful to Stoke for their cooperation: “We must thank Stoke City and Mark Hughes for allowing their player to come and join us.

“I know Michael well, having have worked with him before, and he is a player with really good energy.

“Married with that is his obvious quality, both in terms of scoring goals and being a supplier from out wide.

“He has a lot of experience behind him, including games in the Premier League, and is a player I think can help us to progress further as a team.”

A proud dance teacher has shared her joy after learning that former pupil Natalie Gumede will be gracing screens up and down the country in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Soap star Natalie (29), who appeared in shows at the Pendle Hippodrome Theatre and the Muni, was taught by Susan Thorp since she was four-years-old.

She was trained in various dance disciplines, including ballet and modern jazz, during her time at the Chippendale School of Dance, in Colne, and was said to have excelled with her tap abilities. She left the school in her early teens, before going to train at the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in 2003.

Susan, known professionally by her maiden name Susan Chippendale, is delighted with the progress Natalie has made – but is quick to reassure the public that she is nothing like her former Coronation Street character Kirsty Soames.

The teacher, who retired six years ago, said: “I am very pleased – she has done very well.

“She got the part in Coronation Street, which isn’t anything like her at all – she must be a good actress. People would say ‘She’s horrible’ and I would say ‘No she’s not, she’s lovely’.

“I still see quite a few people who Natalie danced with, and they are very pleased with how she’s done.”

See Natalie begin her fight for the coveted glitterball trophy in the Strictly Come Dancing launch show on BBC One on Saturday at 6-50pm.

A talented opera singer and musical theatre performer has shared her experiences of filming a debut music video in Pendle.

Burnley College student Megan Ingham (18) staged her first original single “Cry Don’t Cry” at the Pendle Hippodrome Theatre, in Colne.

The historic venue neatly tied in with her classical sound, and was chosen by producer Stephen D Reid due to its “beautiful” nature.

Megan, a former St Christopher’s CE High School student, said: “I wanted to keep a classic feel to the video. The single is classical with a drum and bass feel to make it more accessible to everybody.

“This is the first video I have done – it was good, hard work. We had to do it again and again from different angles.

“I love it. We used shots of Marilyn Monroe, as that is what the story of the song is about. When Marilyn was in the spotlight she looked so happy with life, but behind the scenes it was a different story and she was putting on a front.”

And Stephen, who has had a top 40 hit this year with “One in a Million” by Re-Connected, added: “Megan has an amazing voice. I love working with different styles, and this has been a great opportunity to develop new areas of writing, especially with the extended mix exploring the full extent of her talent.”

Megan, who is signed by label Doc Redeye Music, has been performing since the age of 13 – taking on a number of roles in productions such as “Evita” and “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”.

The soprano will soon be taking to the stage in “The Witches of Eastwick” at the Burnley Mechanics, and is currently working on her next single, which will be based around Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”.

Her ambitions, once she has completed her BTEC in Performing Arts, are to attend drama school in London and bag herself a role in a West End production.

To watch Megan’s new single visit www.pendletoday.co.uk

Last Tuesday was a proud day for Burnley as the town was named the “Most Enterprising Area in Britain 2013”.

The announcement was celebrated in style and even Burnley’s most-famous supporter The Prince Of Wales got in on the act with a front-page message to readers.

But while we can reflect proudly on the achievement, what is important now is that the town maximises this accolade and continues to attract much-needed new investment to the borough.

Burnley is certainly on the up, and our profile has probably never been higher. We now need to take our efforts to the next level.

POLICE are advising members of the Asian community in Burnley and Pendle to be vigilant following a spate of jewellery burglaries.

Properties in Burnley, Barrowford and Nelson have been broken into in recent days, with hundreds of pounds worth of Asian heritage jewellery stolen.

The offenders have targeted the addresses between 11am and 6pm, when the occupants were at work or away from home.

Detective Inspector Vinny De Curtis, from Burnley police, said: “We believe thieves have deliberately targeted this area, with the intention of stealing Asian heritage jewellery.

“We are carrying out a number of lines of inquiry, but I appeal to anyone with any information that could help identify the offenders, to get in contact with us.”

The burglaries have taken place in Eastern Avenue, Burnley; Ronbury Close, Barrowford and also Meredith Street and Beaufort Street, Nelson.

A report was made of a suspicious black Peugeot car in the vicinity of two of the burglaries in Nelson and inquiries are being made to identify the vehicle.

Det. Insp. De Curtis continued: “I urge all residents, particularly those in Asian communities, to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to us.”

Historian and author Geoff Crambie is set to take residents on a trip down memory lane as he prepares to host a lecture at Colne Library for the first time in 25 years.

The Leader Times columnist will be at the Market Street site on Tuesday, September 10th, between 7 and 9-30pm.

The event, entitled “Cornucopia of Colners”, will reflect on stories, photographs, and the lives of 80 of Colne’s biggest and most memorable characters. These include Titanic bandmaster Wallace Hartley and former librarian and historian Wilfred Spencer.

Previously entitled “Colne’s Who’s Who”, the event has been renamed by Geoff to mark the milestone since his last local library lecture. Some 75% of the passport-sized photographs and memories, which include 10 Pendle mayors, have been obtained firsthand.

Geoff now has over 12,000 images in his photograph collection and is currently working on his 10th book. He said: “It will be a nostalgic, evocative evening.”

“Cornucopia of Colners” is priced at £1, and tickets for the lecture are available from the library.

When Blackburn author Elizabeth Ashworth unearthed the tumultuous medieval history of Hornby Castle, a Grade I gem tucked away in the Lune Valley near Lancaster, she found the thrilling plotline for a novel set during the Wars of the Roses.

In the late 15th century, the castle and its estate belonged to the wealthy Yorkist Harrington family who owned other lands across the north but, alone and vulnerable after the death of their father in battle, two teenage sisters were at the mercy of ambitious predators.

And predators didn’t come more ambitious and more opportunist than Lord Thomas Stanley of Lathom House, near Preston, the owner of vast swathes of northern England, the most successful power-broker of his age and the man who would go on to play a critical role at the Battle of Bosworth Field which ended the bitter Wars of the Roses and saw the rise of the Tudor dynasty.

Stanley, later the 1st Earl of Derby, was given guardianship of Anne Harrington and her younger sister Elizabeth by a grateful King Edward IV in 1460 for his help in securing the throne even though the girls’ two uncles wanted the Hornby estate to remain in the Harrington family.

Wardship of the girls gave Stanley the right to marry them to husbands of his choosing – men who would automatically become owners of the Harrington lands.

In 1470, still angry and determined not to lose the family estates, one of the uncles, James Harrington, took possession of his nieces and fortified the castle against the Stanleys who tried to take it by force with a cannon brought from Bristol to blast a way in.

But it seems that the Harringtons had the support of the king’s youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester and later the controversial King Richard III, who is known to have signed a warrant on their behalf in March 1470 ‘at Hornby.’

It is also on record that Richard had an unknown mistress and as evidence places seventeen- year-old Richard and 15-year-old Anne together in Hornby Castle while it was under siege, maybe just maybe they fell in love in adversity and she became the secret love of his life.

This fascinating conundrum forms the basis of By Loyalty Bound, a wonderfully imaginative and action-packed story which puts the formative years of young Richard of Gloucester in a compelling and credible new light, and takes us into the heart of a political maelstrom which would finally see the demise of the Plantagenets.

When Richard defies his elder brother, King Edward IV, and rides from York to Hornby Castle to help the Harrington family defend their birthright against Stanley, he triggers a chain of events that will have repercussions for years to come.

It is there he meets Anne and Elizabeth, wealthy young heiresses at the mercy of greedy men and confined to the castle by their uncle for their own safekeeping.

There is an instant attraction between Richard and headstrong Anne, particularly when the castle comes under siege from Stanley who is eager to marry the girls into his own family and grab their lands and money.

Anne’s uncles, meanwhile, see political gain by encouraging a relationship between the young couple and forging family links, legitimate or otherwise, with the powerful Plantagenets.

‘Show the duke some friendship,’ urges her Uncle James, but ‘do not hope for marriage. Your legal guardian would never agree and without Hornby, you would be no heiress. But there are other ways of gaining the favour of influential men.’

When the alternative might be a forced marriage to a man she does not like or is cruel to her, a liaison with the handsome young duke sounds tempting to Anne and in the end she knows she has no choice.

Thus she becomes Richard’s lover in defiance of the wily Stanley, sparking a rift that will never be healed and one that etches itself yet deeper when Stanley puts plans in motion to secure a marriage for Anne as her guardian.

As mutual love blossoms between Richard and Anne, the duke finds himself fighting not only for her home but also for her heart while Stanley moves nearer to his final, devastating betrayal.

By Loyalty Bound is a rare treat… a sweeping love story, an exciting exploration of a piece of little-known local history and an atmospheric evocation of one of the most turbulent periods in English history.

Ashworth brings to vivid life the leading players in the final, destructive years of the long-running Wars of the Roses and gives us a stunning new slant on the last of the Plantagenet kings whose remains were discovered under a Leicester car park last year.

Hornby Castle, which is privately owned and only opens its gardens to the public for special events, was mostly rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries in Gothic style but a tapered courtyard still contains the 16th century keep built by one of the Stanleys.

Ashworth reveals on her interesting and lively website, http://elizabethashworth.com/, that Anne’s uncles were both in service with Richard at Bosworth and that if he had won the battle he was planning to reopen the debate about Hornby with a view to returning it to the Harringtons.

‘Given the close connections between Richard and the Harrington family,’ she claims, ‘it is not impossible that Anne may also have had a close relationship with him.’

An intriguing theory… and an unmissable story.

(Pen&Sword, hardback, £14.99)

Pendle Constituency Labour Party has drawn up a shortlist of five from which its candidate will be chosen to fight the seat at the 2015 General Election.

The five were chosen from six would-be candidates who met local party officials in Nelson on Sunday.

Party members in Pendle will now vote at the Silverman Hall, Nelson, on Sunday, September 15th, to choose the candidate who they want to fight sitting Conservative MP Andrew Stephenson at the next election.

The five are:

Lesley Delves, the only woman on the list.

She lives in Southport and works for Liverpool City Council as a Visitor Economy Officer in the regeneration sector promoting culture and tourism.

She stood as a candidate in the local elections in Southport in 2012, running the most visible and successful campaign in the town’s Labour Party’s history and coming second against a sitting councillor of 40 years. She has been a member of Unison for 14 years.

Colne man Malcolm Birks, an architect who lives in Carry Lane.

He was born and bred locally and has helped to build new schools close by as part of the last Labour government’s investment in education.

He says Labour’s candidate will need the ability, energy and broad-ranging appeal to convince people across Pendle to vote Labour.

Experienced East Lancashire campaigner Marcus Johnstone, who has served for more than 30 years as a district and county councillor.

He is a former journalist who covered local events in Pendle for nine years and then retrained as a teacher before starting a new career as a lecturer at Nelson and Colne College. He has also worked as a regeneration officer for a regionally-based housing organisation.

He lives in Burnley and is currently a member of both Burnley and Lancashire County Councils.

Pendle Constituency Labour Party president Azhar Ali.

Born and brought up in Pendle and currently living in Brierfield, he has been actively involved in community work across Pendle for over 25 years.

He is a former leader of Pendle Council and is currently the County Councillor for Nelson South and Cabinet Member for Health and Well-being.

Salford city councillor Jim King.

He has put forward a 10-point plan designed to guarantee for every young person of a job and or training/apprenticeships paid for by a bankers’ “bonus tax”, renationalising the NHS by repealing “Lansley’s Law”, ensuring every child achieves good GCSE grades by sharing “best practice” from high achieving schools through more co-operation and less competition and introducing financial transfer and land value taxes.

A teenager who was sexually assaulted in the early hours of Sunday morning “demonstrated incredible bravery in fighting her attacker off”, police have said.

The 16-year-old was followed by a man believed to be in his late 20s, when she was walking from Oak Street onto Vincent Street at around 1-40am. She had been on a night out with friends.

The man, described as being white, of slim build and with facial stubble, is said to have briefly spoken to the girl, before sexually touching her over her clothing. The girl fought back, striking her attacker, before running home and alerting the police.

Now detectives are urging anybody with more information to step forward – adding that the man was around 5ft. 9 in. and was wearing grey joggers, a grey hooded jumper, and a blue and white thin waterproof jacket.

Det. Sgt Charlie Haynes from Pennine CID said: “Attacks of this nature are extremely serious and we are in the process of examining CCTV from the area and forensic evidence in our efforts to identify this man. I would also like to remind women to be vigilant and extra careful when going home after a night out.”

Call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Police were studying CCTV footage from the Pendle Rise Shopping Centre in Nelson as we went to press in a bid to identify two people responsible for the theft of a purse from a pensioner.

The purse was in a bag which the 84-year-old female victim had left on a bench where she had been sitting in the centre, visiting the Farmfoods store before realising she had left her bag behind.

On her return, she found the purse, which contained money, bank cards, a bus pass and sentimental items. had gone.

Anyone with information on the theft can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Burnley travel to Elland Road on Saturday, September 21 for the Championship game (KO 3pm).

The club has been allocated an initial allocation of 1,086 tickets for this game, priced as follows:

Adults: £34

Over 60: £23

Full time students (22+): £23

16-21: £23

U16: £23

Disabled (inc carer): £23

These are now on sale to Season ticket holders, flexi-ticket holders, and Foundation members.

All remaining tickets will go on general sale from Monday, September 9.

Ticket can be bought in person at the ticket office, by telephone on 0871 221 1914 9 (opt 2) or online.

Please note, the ticket office at Turf Moor will be open on Saturday until 12.30pm.

A Burnley man who harassed a mother and her two daughters for 17 years must undergo a psychiatric report before he is sentenced at court.

Graeme Hannigan (43) of Brownhill Avenue, Burnley, pleaded guilty on August 13th at Burnley Magistrates’ Court to stalking Anne Brierley and Lisa Wilkinson by “persistently monitoring their internet usage, publishing statements regarding their moment via the internet, and watching or spying on their activities.”

Magistrates heard how in 1996 Hannigan had “become obsessed” with Anne Brierley’s daughter Carrie-Ann Birbeck, who now lives in Australia, when she worked at a cinema in Brierfield.

Hannigan had sent her sexually explicit and threatening letters for which he was convicted at Burnley Crown Court.

But when she emigrated to Australia in 2011 he infiltrated her Facebook profile and attempted to “add” her sister Lisa Wilkinson as a friend.

Miss Alex Mann (prosecuting) said: “The defendant is a complete stranger to this family.

“Anne Brierley has said that he actively stalked her and her daughters and was frightened of him.

“She is disturbed by the lengths he may go to and terrified where it might end up.”

The court heard how Hannigan “had acquired a vast amount of detail” on Mrs Birbeck’s life in Australia and had even contacted her workplace to say she was an illegal immigrant.

Miss Mann added: “Lisa Wilkinson found his Facebook profile extremely disturbing and discovered four posts about her family on there.”

Mr Daniel Fraser (defending) said: “My client suffers from Aarskog-Scott syndrome, which may affect his cognitive thinking.

However, he is not actively going out and following this family around.”

Magistrates adjourned sentencing for a psychiatric report to be prepared.

Hannigan was released on conditional bail to return to court on October 29th.

Children returning to hundreds of Lancashire schools this week will have safer journeys thanks to new 20mph speed limits and flashing signs warning drivers to slow down.

Lancashire County Council has so far installed new lower limits, which operate only at the start and end of the day, outside 152 schools as part of its programme to introduce 20mph as the normal limit in residential areas and near schools.

The part-time 20mph limits are being brought in at more than 200 schools which are on roads outside main residential areas already covered by 20mph limits. The remainder are awaiting construction or at the public consultation stage and expected to be completed in the coming months.

County Councillor John Fillis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Pedestrians and cyclists are at particular risk if they’re hit by a car and seven times more likely to die if the collision is at 30mph rather than 20mph.

“Some schools already had measures to encourage slower speeds and alert drivers to the school, but with the new signs and part-time limits we now have a consistent approach across the county for all schools where the main entrance is on a road with a limit higher than 20mph.

“We’re fortunate that hard work to reduce road casualties continues to see deaths and injuries in Lancashire fall year on year, but we’re keen to do more to reduce injuries to children which are historically higher in Lancashire than other areas.”

Lancashire County Council has been working with schools where the new temporary 20mph limits have already begun operating to encourage parents and the wider local community to support the change. Pupils at many schools have made posters and banners to display to drivers passing the school.

Lancashire Constabulary has also supported schools to raise awareness of and enforce 20mph limits by carrying out operations in which pupils or local people help police to monitor traffic and talk to any speeding drivers about the effect their behaviour has on those who live or go to school in the area.

More information on 20mph speed limits outside of schools and in main residential areas can be found at {http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/20mph|www.lancashire.gov.uk/20mph}

It’s a universal truth that going on a diet is often a miserable, soul-destroying way to try to lose weight because the minute the diet stops, all the pounds you lost start to pile on again.

Yes, there are few things in life as cruel as how the human body manages its weight… well, at least that’s how it feels.

So is there a pain-free, exercise-free and scientific way to keep a trim figure and enjoy your food at the same time?

Peter Jones and Della Galton, two authors with a positive belief in the merits of self-help, reckon they have come up with the ideal way to ‘eat loads and stay slim’ but first you have to be open-minded, happy to make small changes to your lifestyle and prepared to put in a little effort.

If that all sounds too good to be true, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and Jones and Galton – who were once more than happy to bury the bathroom scales at the back of a cupboard – have become slim, fit examples of the efficacy of their own no-nonsense weight loss formula.

Most importantly, they say, How to Eat Loads and Stay Slim is NOT a diet book in the traditional sense. It’s more a set of principles that require some planning but are not time consuming, are definitely not costly and do not include banishing food from your life.

This invaluable and wonderfully down-to-earth book presents us with a mixture of science (how hunger really works), quick cheats (how to make zero fat chips), psychological techniques (why focusing on your food is really important), ingenious strategies (how to cut down on sugar without going cold turkey), and super-easy recipes.

‘Della and I come at slimming from different angles,’ says Peter. ‘Della champions low fat and sensible eating, whilst I have a fondness for psychological techniques and quirky science.’

But Della and Peter do share the simple techniques that they themselves have been using to amazing effect over the years. ‘We gave each tip a star rating,’ says Della. ‘Collect enough stars and we guarantee that a slim figure, coupled with a healthy but satiated appetite, are yours for the taking.’

So from learning to love vegetables – ‘the more veg you mix together whilst creating a meal, the better they taste’ – and surviving eating out by choosing the right dish to making smart food choices and ringing the changes, there is everything here to keep you on the culinary straight and narrow.

How To Eat Loads and Stay Slim is also refreshingly mumbo jumbo and jargon free, and Galton and Jones serve up their practical advice and know-how with humour, wit and panfuls of common sense.

Add to all this some easy peasy recipes like Jones’ roast potato and ‘egg smashup’ breakfast and Galton’s delicious apple ginger clafouti and you really do have success on a plate.

How to Eat Loads and Stay Slim is also available as an ebook.

(Soundhaven, paperback, £6.74)

This year’s GreenRock Concert has been hailed “a mini Glastonbury” by a chief organiser.

Coun. Dorothy Lord is delighted with the success of the Colne Town Council event, after it attracted approximately 400 music lovers to the town’s Millenium Green on Saturday.

Now in its third year, the family-friendly day included a schedule of bumper acts, including Drum Machine and Draks Drum, as well as plenty of refreshments.

It also included a visit from Brian Jackson, from Friends of the Earth, who spent time handing out stickers promoting the importance of saving bees.

Coun. Lord, who chairs Colne Town Council, said: “It went very very well – we probably doubled the figures from last year.

“It was a proper family day, with people coming with rucksacks, tables and chairs, and gazebos.

“There is a massive come down after the Blues Festival. There are lots of people in the town, and so much is going on, then suddenly it’s all gone. It is good that we are able to do this the week after, as it’s a little bit extra.”

And Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson added: “I really enjoyed attending the Green Rock Festival and pay tribute to Colne Town Council for organising the event. It was great to hear so many local musicians and there was a great family atmosphere at the event.”

Coun. Lord would also like to praise everybody who attended the GreenRock for their tidiness when leaving the site.

She said: “We gave everybody a bin bag to put rubbish in when they arrived.

“We finished at about 7-15pm and at 7-30pm PC Mark Walker came down and said you wouldn’t believe anybody had been here.

“I would like to thank everybody for that – that was brilliant.”

A young mum on a suspended sentence for child cruelty put her family’s future in jeopardy by going on a shoplifting spree.

Leanne Case put perfume and clothes she wanted for her holidays in a pushchair when she and her younger sister raided New Look and Boots in Blackburn.

Case (22), of Macleod Street, Nelson, appeared at Burnley Crown Court for being in breach of her 16-week suspended prison term and for the two thefts.

Mr Martin Hackett (defending) said a pre-sentence report from the probation service made uncomfortable reading, suggesting she did not take the court appearance seriously.

However, he said, she said she was remorseful and was fearful for the future.

“I’m making a plea for mercy to give her another chance, at 22, to get her life back on track,” he said.

Recorder Mr Andrew Thomas said Case deserved to be punished for her selfish offences. He extended the suspended sentence by six months until November next year, and gave her two extra weeks at the end of it for the shoplifting offences.

He told her: “You should be ashamed of yourself. If you commit any further offences, it is highly likely that it will be implemented. Please do not be so stupid next time.”

Two brothers hit a paramedic called to help a woman at a drunken party, a court was told.

Samuel Richmond (20), of Tavistock Street, Nelson, and Reece Richmond (19), of Wilfred Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm to ambulanceman Gary Stacey when they appeared before Burnley Crown Court.

Recorder Andrew Thomas jailed both brothers for 30 months, but suspended imprisonment on Samuel Richmond because he had a shorter criminal record.

The court was told Mr Stacey and his colleague Sarah Walsh were called to a house party in Hollins Road, Nelson, to attend a woman who was being sick. When they arrived, they found a one year old child on the sofa in the middle of the party and an eight-year-old in bed.

Mr Stacey was assaulted after he asked the party goers to leave so he could treat the woman and get the children cared for. When the group refused to leave he told them he would call the police.

Reece told him: “Why have you said that? He (Samuel) is going to kick off.

Prosecutor Mr Raymond Bennett said Mr Stacey then pointed at Reece and told him to go. “Reece said don’t point at me, and then he stood up and punched Mr Stacey,” said Mr Bennett. “Samuel did the same and struck him in the face. Reece then struck him again, knocking him backwards and breaking his glasses when they were knocked off.”

Mr Julian Goode, defending Samuel Richmond, said his client had been shocked by his own behaviour and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. Mr Recorder Andrew Thomas suspended the jail term for 12 months and ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work with probation supervision.

Mr Martin Hackett, for Reece Richmond, said he accepted that courts had a duty to protect public servants doing their jobs and knew he would be going to jail. His immediate reaction on being charged with the assault had been to say that he was sorry.

A fly tipper from Nelson has been sent to jail for dumping rubbish in Chorley.

Ryan Clough received a three-month sentence when he appeared at Chorley Magistrates’ Court.

Clough (26), from Highfield Crescent, was caught on CCTV tipping several sheets of corrugated roofing down the side of a garage in Whittle-le-Woods and trying to conceal it with leaves.

Coun. Adrian Lowe, who oversees environmental issues at Chorley Council, said: “I hope the severity of the sentence will make people think twice about dumping rubbish and ensure that people dispose of it properly rather than risk a jail sentence.”

Clough was sentenced to 90 days immediate custody after the homeowner’s CCTV camera caught him dumping the rubbish down the side of his garage near Chorley Old Road.

Previously, magistrates had heard that while pretending to work on the engine of a car they had used to carry the rubbish, two men were seen waiting until nobody was passing before removing the corrugated roofing, which often contains asbestos, from the roof rack and dumping it at the side of the garage.

One of the men then noticed the camera and concealed the sheets with leaves.

The sentence was reduced by one third to 60 days in recognition that the defendant pleaded guilty to the offence at the first available opportunity.

But the magistrates noted that Clough was devious in his actions by attempting to cover his tracks.

The court also ordered that Clough must pay the council’s costs of £1,414 in full within 30 days of his release from custody.

Coun. Lowe added: “I would like this case to be an example that the council take incidents of fly-tipping extremely seriously as they cause a detrimental effect on the appearance and cleanliness of our borough.”