A £110,000 project to revamp and extend Horsforth Mus-eum has started, much to the delight of fundraisers who have battled to secure the cash for the scheme. The money will pay for stables behind the museum to be transformed into a resource centre for
VILLAGERS braved bad weather to enjoy some festive cheer at the official switch-on of Burley-in-Wharfedale's Christmas lights. The festivities began at 4pm on Saturday when Santa arrived on his sleigh to hand out sweets to village children, and hear what
Four unsung Aireborough heroines have been honoured for their selfless contributions to the community. The girls have been singled out in the annual Young Women in the Community awards run by Soroptimists International of Aireborough. The awards recognise
Outraged residents had to be restrained by police as contractors chopped down a cherished 150-year-old tree. The apple tree was torn down from its historic place in the school yard of the former Wharfe Street School on Saturday. Contractors arrived on
OTLEY'S Christmas lights have been criticised as 'diabolical' by two traders this week. Owner of the Real Food Shop, Keith Pinder, believes Christmas has been cancelled in Otley this year. "The Christmas light situation is absolutely diabolical in Otley
The multi-million pound restoration of Wembley Stadium is being helped along by a Guiseley business with a passion for football. As work gets underway to build the new and improved national stadium, design consultancy Elmwood has been appointed to create
CAMPAIGNERS fighting for heavy lorries to be banned through Otley are celebrating a cautious victory. As a result of traffic surveys, Leeds City Council says it is prepared to ban the majority of lorries, but not those with a genuine reason for being
SCHOOLCHILDREN will be singing in the streets tomorrow as part of Otley Children's Spirit of Christmas Day. Six primary and secondary schools, a hand bell orchestra and a street organist will be taking part in the day held in place of the town's cancelled
In a week in which Bradford needs some good news to counter the disappointment of the downgrading of plans for the Broadway shopping centre, the district's schools have delivered the goods. They have produced the biggest year-on-year improvement in the
A Bradford business has signed a £3.5 million deal to refurbish the Yorkshire Building Society's branches. Castles Shopfitters, based on Bowland Street, specialises in shop and bank fitting and has secured the design and build contract for the building
Bathroom group Qualceram Shires plc is to sell its site in Bradford as part of measures to cut costs. In March the firm, which employs 150 at its acrylics plant and warehouse on Beckside Road, revealed that turnover was up by 137 per cent from £41.7 million
COOKRIDGE teenager James Dabill talks little, but gets results, remarkable results like scoring points in his debut European championship ride this year; like blasting all the Experts at the final round of the British trials championship at Back Cowm;
Otley Town 4 Tyersal 4 OTLEY Town took the lead several times during this West Riding County Amateur League Premier Division game and at one point they were 3-1 leaders. As in past weeks Town, despite dominating games for long periods, again lost their
Otliensians 19 Halifax Vandals 10 ALTHOUGH winning in the Junior Cup earlier in the season Otliensians achieved their first league win on Saturday and hope this will be the turning point of their season. They defeated Vandals by two tries and three penalties
GIRLS led the way at a school's production of Shakespeare's Macbeth. St Mary's School at Menston put on a performance of the play last weekend to parents and friends. And as well as girls taking the part of the three witches, they also took the roles
While you spend a warm evening in front of the fire happily watching television, bear in mind that more than 20,000 elderly people will die this winter simply because their homes are too cold. Just think, elderly parents and grandparents may have spent
A FOOTPATH in Earby has been cleared and cut back after parish councillors complained about its condition. The Mill Lane path links Stoneybank Road with Birch Hall Lane and was cleared, drained and restored two years ago in a major project overseen by
"THE future's bright, the future of South Craven is more than orange," the annual general meeting of South Craven Community Action was told on Friday. Chief officer Milton Pearson added: "I think the future of South Craven is the brightest it has been
ICE-MAN Dr Mervyn Black provided children at South Craven School, Cross Hills, with a series of cool demonstrations on Tuesday. The scientist from Salford University gave an entertaining lecture about the properties of liquid nitrogen, and froze flowers
DESOLATE landscape, howling gales and torrential rain don't appeal to everyone, but Alan and Babs Shearing say they've found "heaven on earth". Appointed "custodians" of Ribblehead station and visitor centre, the couple love the area's splendid isolation
A POTENTIALLY fatal accident was averted on the road to Kettlewell - thanks to the quick thinking of unknown locals. The stretch of the B6160 that drops into Kettlewell is notorious for its rockfalls. Large limestone boulders are known to detach themselves
CRACOE School has achieved flawless results in the year six national attainment tests. Every 11-year-old last year achieved level four in English maths and science exams - the only school in Craven able to boast such results. Level four is the national
THE congregation at Holy Trinity Church, Skipton, will help the nation welcome Christmas when their 10am service on December 22 is broadcast live on BBC 1. The BBC has chosen to film from churches across the north on the four Sundays of Advent. The first
CHRISTMAS will be extra special for Thomas Robinson who has bounced back to health after contracting e-coli. Four-year-old Thomas was struck down with the potentially life-threatening bug in September - nine weeks before the outbreak at Busy Bears Nursery
SPEED protesters hopes of seeing speed bumps installed on the central section of Bolling Road have been stalled. Highways officer Richard Day told a meeting of Ilkley Parish Council this week that his department wanted to see the effects of traffic calming
THE Ilkley Gazette has won another prestigious award. Your local newspaper was named runner-up in the Weekly Newspaper of the Year category at the annual Yorkshire Press Awards dinner at the Cedar Court Hotel, Wakefield. Gazette editor Mel Vasey collected
An 80-year-old woman from Ilkley is being backed by MP Ann Cryer in her fight to win back her disabled parking badge. Jean Smith, of Ben Rhydding, held an orange badge for nine years until she was 're-evaluated' in May under the Government's tougher new
THE mystery of Mr Mildew Meldrew, the new resident of Quarry Cottages, deepens by the week. He has rapidly assumed the role of the most unpopular man in Beggarsdale - which is no easy contest, I might say - but even that is a mystery. I mean, how can
Parish precept and consultation Sir, Once again Councillor Gibbons uses slurs and insults in reply to my correspondence which I feel are unnecessary. It convinces me that I was right in my observations, about his leadership of Ilkley Parish Council and
A widow died from a blood clot in her head after falling from bed, an inquest heard. Jean Pearson, 68, was found dead by her brother, Frank Loftus, two days after she had fallen. The inquest at Huddersfield heard how Mrs Pearson had sustained a head injury
A father and son are locked in a bizarre battle over whether a favourite pig should be the centrepiece of a Boxing Day feast. Chris Davis, 18, is desperate to save the bacon of family pig Mr Robinson. Chris's dad Michael, a former butcher who is head
OTLEY RUFC will be looking for revenge when they take on Plymouth Albion in a National Division One game at Cross Green on Saturday. Peter Clegg's side went out of the Powergen Cup to Plymouth early in November. Otley lost out in the last ten minutes
Bedale Town 0 Burley Trojans 5 BURLEY Trojans consolidated their lead at the head of the Premier Division by comfortably disposing of bottom of the table Bedale Town. Trojans maintain their one point lead over neighbours Ilkley who saw off high flying
A former paperboy has been cleared of carrying out a knifepoint robbery at a newsagents where he used to work. Barrington Depass, 21, of Westroyd Avenue, Shipley, was charged with robbery following an attack on Brian's newsagents in Wrose Road. Carol
A mobile station which brings policing to the heart of the community could slash crime figures if introduced in Brighouse and the Calder Valley, according to police. The £42,000 station, known as the Community Copshop, has been piloted in Hull and has
A man accused of murdering a father of two said he never meant to stab him in the head with a screwdriver. Raees Khan, 20, of Priestman Close, Manningham, told Leeds Crown Court that he had "poked" Kevin Jackson with the screwdriver. Khan, Rashad Zaman
Asian communities in Bradford want to live in mixed racial areas, according to research into housing in the city. The findings of the study, conducted by researchers at Leeds University, contradict Sir Herman Ouseley's report about race relations, which
A Bradford pet shop has been condemned as being one of the worst in the country after an undercover investigation found a dead budgerigar in a cage and animals kept in overcrowded conditions. The Consumer Association's Which? Magazine described the shop's
A badly ventilated boiler almost cost the lives of a whole family when they mistook its poisonous fumes for a bad case of flu. The Shah family, of Stirton Street, Bradford, are using their experience to back a new British Gas campaign warning about the
Two bungling robbers who terrorised a shopkeeper and her baby grandson during a drink-and-drug fuelled raid were today beginning long jail sentences. Bradford Crown Court heard how brave Brenda Whiteley, 54, shielded two-year-old Joshua when the masked
A school with one of the most deprived catchment areas in the district today celebrated being one of the most improved. At Knowleswood Primary, 57 per cent of children are eligible for free school meals, the leading indicator of the poverty of the student
Bradford primary schools have the most improved results in the country, new figures show today. Although scores achieved by the district's 11-year-olds in tests are still way below the national average, Bradford pupils have registered the biggest gains
Ilkley 4 Boroughbridge 3 THIS was a terrific victory for Ilkley against third-placed Boroughbridge, after the home side lost goalkeeper Smith with a serious head injury after 30 minutes. Ilkley's ill-fortune with goalkeepers is worthy of the Guinness
Kirk Deighton 2 Addingham 4 After the previous week's defeat Addingham were looking to get back to winning ways and erase some of the bad memories created by the appalling referee. The former was duly done with a fantastic display and the latter was helped
Helperby United 1Ilkley Reserves 8 Having been knocked out of the cup the previous week the Guyson sponsored Ilkley Reserves made it eight wins in nine league outings with this crushing victory over Helperby United. On a rainy day and on a pitch that
Bedale Town 0 Burley Trojans 5 BURLEY Trojans consolidated their lead at the head of the Premier Division by comfortably disposing of bottom of the table Bedale Town. Trojans maintain their one point lead over neighbours Ilkley who saw off high flying
SIR - I was horrified watching the programme on carjacking (much of which featured Bradford) on TV the other night. In this type of crime, car windows are smashed and people are threatened or attacked and their property or cars are stolen. Imagine if
100 years ago KELBROOK day schools and Sunday school were closed due to an outbreak of measles in the village. Meanwhile neighbouring Earby was suffering from a poor gas supply causing several factories to close, while tradesmen had been compelled to
WE have always had a certain reluctance to publish the primary school league tables. Much can be read into them, but much more is left unsaid. For example, Thornton-in-Craven school has not suddenly gone from one of the best schools in the district (a
THE announcement that highway officials have taken out the proposed traffic calming measures from the central section of Bolling Road has been met with bitter disappointment by campaigners. They are convinced that unless drivers are made to slow down
Three youngsters from Jimmy's Gym in Shipley came back from an international wrestling tournament with gold medals. It was a family affair as Brett, Katie and Tommy Hawthorn won their weight divisions against top-class opposition at the Aspull International
In more than 500 games for Avenue, skipper Wayne Benn admits he has never seen a game like it. One by one the Bradford players left the Sandy Lane dressing rooms looking increasingly dejected as they went. They had been royally stuffed on a night when
Michael Standing is hoping to cash in on Gus Uhlenbeek's suspension with a return to City's side for their critical home game with Gillingham. Standing was surprisingly left out of the 1-0 defeat at Millwall, City's sixth on the bounce. Youngster Simon
Karl Pratt could be a Bradford Bulls player by Christmas. The Leeds reject is hoping to be released from his contract with the Rhinos next week with Odsal thought to be his likely destination. The Great Britain international is taking his case to an RFL
A GUISELEY sub-post office is facing the axe. Town Gate Sub Post Office is one of 25 sub post offices across the country expected to close in February next year in the first phase of closures announced this week. The Post Office has said its closure will
ST Joseph's School in Otley has become the first in the town to sign up to a litter pledge. The town council has asked all the schools in Otley to get their pupils to sign an agreement aimed at making the town a tidier place. Each of the schools' pupils
Ryan Giggs and Tony Blair will be cooking up a treat on Saturday when a special celebrity recipe book is launched in Menston. Five Menston parents have worked tirelessly to produce the celebrity recipe book to raise money for Menston Pre-school. The parents
The ANSA Clubhouse at Nunroyd Park, Yeadon, was the venue for the Skyrac AC presentation evening and disco and Skyrac athletes, from juniors to seniors, were present to receive the 16 annual awards. Awards announced for the different categories included
DREAMS really do come true. Just ask Burley-in-Wharfedale schoolboy Ross Smitheringale. He will run out as Leeds United mascot on Saturday at Fulham and then race back north to take his regular place as mascot for FA Cup minnows Harrogate Railway on Sunday
Pontefract 8 Yarnbury 3 A 90-YARD interception try proved to be the difference in a hard-fought, low scoring en-counter. Yarnbury had Ian Moule sin-binned in the first ten minutes for throwing a punch and they defended well during his absence. Both sides
SETTLE'S festive fireworks proved a triumph helping to light up the town at the Christmas switch-on. The spirit of Christmas shone through the drizzle as children from Giggleswick and Settle primary schools, supported by their rain-soaked parents, sung
PIECEMEAL development of a site in Barnoldswick stretching back to 1976 has caused repeated disruption to nearby residents and untold damage to plants and wildlife in the area. Even the ouzels - a dipper-type bird - that gave nearby Ouzledale its name
THOUSANDS of people flocked to Grassington on Saturday to enjoy the start of the Dickensian Festival. The 21st event went like clockwork - apart from the disappointing weather - with more than 80 coaches making their way to the village to sample a taste
BRINGING the community together in the old-fashioned spirit of Christmas was the aim of a festive extravaganza held in Silsden town centre on Wednesday night. The event was organised by the town's Business Watch, a group which aims to tackle vandalism
A £120,000 dry-stone walling project along the Settle-Carlisle railway line has won national acclaim. The Princess Royal presented the National Railway Heritage Awards' First Engineering Award to Railtrack North Western for the Settle-Carlisle walling
AN important North Craven wildlife haven has been damaged by contractors. Newby Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest is noted for its purple moorgrass, mosses and fens. It also contains a regionally important population of the rare small-pearl bordered
A TALENTED Skipton teenager is working 66-hour weeks - which will include a 12-hour shift on Christmas Day - just to raise enough money to help others voluntarily in one of the world's least known countries. Rosemary Smith achieved three A grades at A-level
A YOUNG Carleton ballerina who has only been dancing for 12 months has been invited to pirouette with the professionals at Leeds Grand Theatre. Nine-year-old Gemma Bowers, of Chapel House Mews, a junior with the Northern Ballet Associates, has been invited
AIREDALE NHS Trust is facing its "gravest" financial position in its 10-year existence, and more cuts in services may have to be made, members revealed yesterday (Thursday). Director of finance Janet Crouch said that the trust's financial situation -
A piece of rock memorabilia from Jimi Hendrix's legendary appearance in the town has been auctioned for £625. A paper flyer advertising the rock star's gig at the ballroom of the former Troutbeck Hotel on March 12, 1967 has been sold over the internet
BOTH sides are claiming victory after an Ilkley school sued the mother of a former pupil in a row over an unpaid bill. The case, which concluded at Dewsbury County Court this week, was brought by Clevedon House School, Ben Rhydding Drive, Ben Rhydding
THIS was the moment at the weekend when Richard Horsfall recreated the moment 100 years ago when his great-grandfather became jeweller Lister Horsfall's first customer. The firm began in Halifax in 1902 and opened its branch in Brook Street, Ilkley, exactly
Ex-fireman recalls strike of 25 years ago SIR, - I read with interest your article in the Observer on October 31. It brought back a lot of bad memories, as I was one of the striking firemen 25 years ago. Although serving at Moortown Fire Station at the
SIR - As one of the residents of Aldersley Avenue, "sad" individual or not, we are only guilty of trying to cheer up the dismal winter months and trying to put a bit of light and happiness into a world of troubled times. I should like to take this opportunity
The ANSA Clubhouse at Nunroyd Park, Yeadon, was the venue for the Skyrac AC presentation evening and disco and Skyrac athletes, from juniors to seniors, were present to receive the 16 annual awards. Awards announced for the different categories included
COOKRIDGE teenager James Dabill talks little, but gets results, remarkable results like scoring points in his debut European championship ride this year; like blasting all the Experts at the final round of the British trials championship at Back Cowm;
Pontefract 8 Yarnbury 3 A 90-YARD interception try proved to be the difference in a hard-fought, low scoring en-counter. Yarnbury had Ian Moule sin-binned in the first ten minutes for throwing a punch and they defended well during his absence. Both sides
Otliensians 19 Halifax Vandals 10 ALTHOUGH winning in the Junior Cup earlier in the season Otliensians achieved their first league win on Saturday and hope this will be the turning point of their season. They defeated Vandals by two tries and three penalties
DREAMS really do come true. Just ask Burley-in-Wharfedale schoolboy Ross Smitheringale. He will run out as Leeds United mascot on Saturday at Fulham and then race back north to take his regular place as mascot for FA Cup minnows Harrogate Railway on Sunday
Otley Town 4 Tyersal 4 OTLEY Town took the lead several times during this West Riding County Amateur League Premier Division game and at one point they were 3-1 leaders. As in past weeks Town, despite dominating games for long periods, again lost their
Pensioners and teenagers are to swap stories about their lives and interests to try to break down social barriers. The Inter-generation Scheme - a pilot project - has been launched by anti-crime officers and could go nationwide. It aims to bring together
A club will be able to repair their "rattling" minibus after becoming the first recipient of a Water Works Award. Yorkshire Water and the Telegraph & Argus have joined forces to launch the £10,000 scheme which will see £500 go to a group every month
A man who was beaten unconscious twice within minutes in Bradford is suing a bar's management claiming they failed to protect him. Dad-of-three Patrick Smith claimed he was enjoying a night out with his family in the city centre Revolution bar when he
Developers of Bradford's Broadway shopping centre today announced they are to sign-up with one of Britain's biggest property and investment companies to help build the scheme. The Forster Square Development Partnership plans to enter a 50/50 joint venture
Unattached Bradford people are single-ing out lonely hearts clubs to fix themselves up with a Christmas romance. With the party season already here, demand for singles clubs in the city is hotting up. Numbers and temperatures are rising in the run up
Ilkley 10 Skipton 7 Ilkley secured a dramatic win at Skipton with a drop goal from skipper Anthony Cadman in the dying minutes of a hard fought tussle at neighbours Skipton on Saturday. The game was played on a muddy pitch in constant rain and was a dour
DREAMS really do come true. Just ask Burley-in-Wharfedale schoolboy Ross Smitheringale. He will run out as Leeds United mascot on Saturday at Fulham and then race back north to take his regular place as mascot for FA Cup minnows Harrogate Railway on Sunday
TRADERS in Otley have not had a good few years, but with the foot and mouth epidemic behind them, they were looking forward to a prosperous Christmas. But then, the Victorian Fayre was cancelled - because of the firefighters' strike, which ironically,
