Policeman receives bravery awardA policeman who rescued two children and an unconscious woman from a man brandishing a knife has been given a bravery award by Lancashire Police.
PC Bruce Irvine, from Preston, was on patrol in Lancaster with a colleague when they were called to an address in Langdale Road.
When they arrived they found a woman unconscious in the hallway and children standing nearby. Two men were standing on the stairs.
One of the men leapt over the banister and into the kitchen where he picked up two knives and made towards the officers.
PC Irvine pushed his colleague away from the danger area and grabbed one of the children and pulled them to safety. He returned to the house and rescued the second child.
Despite the agitated man's threats to harm himself and others, PC Irvine then returned to the house and this time rescued the woman.
A man was later charged with affray.

Fire in city flat
Firefighters tackled a fire in a tower block close to Preston city centre.
Crews fought the blaze in the sixth floor flat in the 15-storey Sandown Court at Avenham Lane, Avenham.
The smoke from the fire set off the alarm and no-one was in the flat when the incident happened at 9.15pm last night.

Bishop will make the final cut
The Bishop of Lancaster will decide on the future of some of Lancashire's most famous Catholic churches by the end of the year.
Patrick O'Donoghue has said he does not expect to start looking at the final proposals of the Fit for Mission Review into churches until early September and will make a final decision by early November.
The review proposes the closure of 10 churches in Preston as places of worship, including St Walburge's Church on Pedder Street, Ashton.


Tributes to former Preston Prison officer
The funeral of a former officer at Preston Prison was taking place today.
A service in memory of James Lee, 57, who died suddenly while on a fishing trip last week, was being held at St Cuthbert's Church, Church Road, Lytham at 1.30pm.
His wife, Sylvie, 56, who lives in Lytham, said she had received hundreds of cards, letters and messages, many of which were from inmates at the prison.
She said: "One of the letters from an inmate referred to a 'golden heart which stopped beating', I was so moved by these words."


Cash pot for Preston site
A cash fund of £65,000 is to be pumped into a rundown part of a deprived city ward.
The city council has received the money from the LCC REMADE fund to pour into preparing plans to upgrade the Fishwick East site, which is an area of grassland between the Fishwick and St Matthew's wards.
It adjoins an area off London Road which has already had £1.4m of improvements.


Conservation area to be given the chop
More than a dozen trees are to be cut down in a conservation area.
A resident of Victoria Parade in Ashton will get rid of 16 trees in two gardens, mostly laurels, cherry and conifer trees. The council said the loss of the trees "will not significantly impact on the conservation area."

Bunker plan is scrapped
A religious group has pulled the plug on plans to replace a former underground nuclear bunker with a gospel hall.
The Exclusive Brethren, an evangelical protestant Christian church, has withdrawn plans for work at the one-time Ministry of Defence base in Whittingham Lane, Goosnargh, near Preston.

Showroom conversion
A mototrbike showroom is to be converted.
Planners have given the go-ahead for the Wyder Honda unit in Wyder Court at Millennium City Park, Fulwood, Preston, to be changed to offices.

Offices to become flats
Planners have given the go-ahead for offices to be converted into five self-contained flats at Starkie Street, Preston city centre.

You can have a say
South Ribble Council's revamped area committee meetings will begin with West Leyland – the first to try out the new set-up.
Immediately before the meeting, its eight ward councillors will host a 30 minute drop-in surgery so residents can raise individual concerns face to face with their councillor.
The drop-in session starts at 6.30pm and the meeting at 7pm next Thursday at Leyland Baptist Church, Leyland Lane.

On the net with library
A Library service has been rolled out to a rural part of the Ribble Valley providing internet access.
The Chipping Rural Library Service is provided by the county council at Chipping Village Hall.
Visitors can use the internet, search, renew and order books, CDs and DVDs and join in with community groups.
l Visit lancashire.gov. uk/libraries or contact Longridge Library on 01772 782386.

>> Vote in our latest web poll