SO, the eminent Professor Glynane is being hauled before the Standards Committee at the Guildhall after a complaint was made about his behaviour at a meeting over plans for the Battle of Northampton site during which he was accused of “scaremongering”.

Now before any of you get too excited about what awful fate may befall the Lib Dem warrior, remember too that the borough’s standards process is not exactly 
renowned for its enormous workload or its transparency. The last time it actually managed to bring someone to book was a few years ago when that geezer parked his Red Astra motor in the Guildhall car park for months on end, an error of judgement which saw him lose his job. As council leader as it happens.

PS: Can’t wait for the bloodbath that awaits us in Rectory Farm. The Mack versus Paleface: The People Decide. Could be gory...

PPS: Thanks to Aspers Casino for inviting us to chat about “gambolling” with their new manager. Baa.

ADMIT it, how many of you were watching from the sidelines, jaws open wide, when the “are they or aren’t they merging the fire and the plod?” story broke the other day?

#PCC Adam Simmonds certainly seemed to be sending messages out that it was a done deal (even if one affirmative tweet to our crime reporter was mysteriously pulled). County Hall, by contrast, clearly didn’t think it was a full merger.

As Norman Hacker (now 21 years in charge of the Tories at County Hall), tells the Chron elsewhere today, “merger” talks are premature and he’s effectively kicked the whole thing into the long grass, especially in an election year.

At the height of “Merger?-gate” it was left to Binners to wade in with the strongest comments on the subject, but perhaps the real victim of all this bluster is the county council cabinet member for public protection: Gonzo. All the whispers now are that Gonzo cuts a very isolated figure among the Tory grandees at County Hall.

For it was he who was stood there posing for pictures and apparently endorsing the #PCC, while his boss clearly didn’t share that view.

At Derngate on Monday, where Binners was hosting a visit by a Conservative minister, County Hall Tories were snuggled up to Norm while Gonzo was somewhat adrift, looking like the rejected cub of the lioness’s litter.

As if that wasn’t enough, he had last night’s meeting of that wasps nest of a parish council – Wootton and East Hunsbury – to deal with and, specifically, the motion calling on him to switch the street lights OFF in his own Manor (Simpson) which have miraculously stayed ON throughout the switch-off programme which he has overseen.

The motion by his near nemesis, Liam Costello, reminds Gonzo that, after all, ‘We’re all in this together’. Aufona strongly suspects we may now be in the very final days of cabinet glory for Gonzo and he could be swept away if the Tories win on May 2.

It will mean no more vanity shots with visiting Royals, but, heh, at least there’ll be more time to do business.

Whatever that is, exactly...

Sky News’s indefatigable attack hack, Kay Burley, was sweetness personified this week when her Porsche roared into Northampton, and she was hurled around the dancefloor by Chron reporter Callum Jones.

Kay has attracted the odd brickbat in the past for her interviewing style on UK TV’s best rolling news channel, but she was a delight rehearsing for a Sky charity dance event alongside the other chap in the pic, a genuine dance talent, Andrzej Mialkowski.

Kay revealed she’s “in it to win it”. You read it here first: She will...

Two men who robbed a van driver with an axe outside a supermarket in Northampton this morning could be covered in blue dye, police have said.

Northamptonshire Police have now confirmed they were called to a robbery in Blackthorn Bridge Court, at about 11.30am today, outside the Londis and Post Office.

A force spokesman has confirmed two men carried out the armed robbery using an axe and fled with a “substantial amount of money” from a delivery driver.

A money box was later recovered in Maidencastle, which is around the corner and also in Blackthorn.

Officers say the box was fitted with an exploding dye pack, with may have left the robbers covered in blue dye.

They are believed to have fled on a red or orange motorcycle.

Police are investigating whether the attack is linked to other recent incidents in the area over the last couple of days.

The robbery also comes after another van was raided in Moulton earlier this month.

On that occasion, two men armed with an axe and a baseball bat robbed a Post Office delivery driver and escaped with a “significant amount of cash” contained inside a secure box.

The robbery happened on Friday, February 9, at about midday.

It is not known whether there is any link between the two van raids.

Anyone with information can call Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Mike Haywood says the Saints camp is a great environment for a young player to be in.

The 21-year-old hooker has enjoyed a rise to prominence this season, covering for club captain Dylan Hartley on a number of occasions.

Haywood has racked up 22 appearances during this campaign and will start in the big Aviva Premiership clash with Bath at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.

He has been learning his trade from England star Hartley and forwards coach Dorian West and the Southend-born talent is loving every minute of life at Saints.

“They’re always straight with you and telling you where you can improve,” he said. “Dorian (West) pulls me aside and said I could have done that better and it’s really good.

“It’s a great side to be amongst because you’ve got players like Phil Dowson trying to push you forward and it’s a great environment to be in.”

Haywood has put in some exceptional performances this season, notably at Leicester in November and, memorably, in the Heineken Cup win at Ulster a few weeks later.

He has improved as the season has gone on, but the former England Under 20s player knows he still has plenty to learn.

“I’ve been really happy,” he said. “I’ve tried to do the best I can in every game.

“I’ve still got plenty of stuff to work on and hopefully I can take that into the future and keep learning from Dyls and Dorian.

“I’m just working on basics such as lineout stuff, reading when to throw and bits and bobs like that.

“Ball handling stuff; there have been a few games where I’ve made some errors that were basic and I’ve been trying to improve on that and develop my skills.”

Haywood will get another chance to show his skills on Saturday, as in-form Bath head to Northampton.

And the youngster is hoping Saints can build on their fine 27-18 win at Worcester last weekend.

“We know Bath are going to be a big challenge, but we just want to get a win on our home patch and keep the momentum going,” he said.

“Bath have been going really well, they’ve won their past six games so we really want to take them on up front.

“Hopefully we can take what we did last week into the game.”

Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell sat in the bedroom they share at England’s Surrey headquarters on Wednesday night and watched a rerun of last year’s landmark triumph over France in Paris.

It is a sign of how much progress has been made in the 12 months since that 24-22 victory that Hartley described that England as virtually unrecognisable from their current selves.

The drive and dogged determination that has underpinned Stuart Lancaster’s England regime was there to see but, Hartley and Farrell mused, it was all they had.

On Saturday, England lock horns with France again having followed up their autumn victory over New Zealand by defeating Scotland and Ireland in contrasting styles.

England took their attacking game to a new level against Scotland, with Farrell playing flat to the line. Against Ireland it was control and high-pressure defence that won the day.

England’s intent to match the French physicality in the set-piece and gain-line battles led directly to recalls for Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Manu Tuilagi.

“Owen Farrell and I room together and we sat and watched last year’s France-England game over a cup of tea and we said ‘we’re so much better than we were then’,” Hartley said.

“We weren’t a good team, but what we did have was a drive and a kind of collective determination that they were not going to beat us - as we did that whole tournament last year.

“The detail wasn’t there as to how to run moves and shape and all these pretty things. We just had a good ‘dogged’ effort.

“If we can bring that same mentality tomorrow with the detail and attacking shape - people understanding running lines and knowing where they’re supposed to be - and all the prettier things we’ve been working on over the last six months then we can definitely get a result I think.

“Now I think we’re a much slicker outfit.”

Hartley missed the QBE autumn international series through injury and had to bide his time on the bench behind Tom Youngs for the first two rounds of the Six Nations.

But Youngs wobbled in the Aviva Stadium cauldron and, with the set-piece battle a key focus for England, Hartley is ready to take his chance.

“We’ve talked a lot this week about set piece,” Hartley said.

“Against Ireland we had a quarter of the game where we lost four or five set-pieces in a row. I’ve had to bide my time and wait for an opportunity. This is it. It is now my shirt to lose.”

France have made their worst start to a championship in 31 years and England’s Six Nations record against Les Bleus is strong, with five wins from their last six encounters.

But Hartley had a word of caution.

“I wouldn’t say they’ve been awful. They’ve lost two games, as we did in the autumn when we came back to beat the All Blacks,” he said.

“We’ve got to be very wary of that. A lot of people talk about how unpredictable they can be. We’ve seen things from their camp saying this is their Grand Slam match, if they can beat us everything is forgiven.

“They can be so dangerous. They have big ball carriers across the back row, a solid front row, dangers out wide.

The preparation this week has been all about how we’re going to win. If we can control that, we can control the game and win.

“We need to keep building on our defence, which has been a rock for us in this tournament.

“We need to strangle them with our defence, not let the likes of Louis Picamoles and Thierry Dusautoir into the game.

“And if we can stop the big ball carriers with offloading abilities we can definitely get stuck in.”

Boss Jim Mallinder has highlighted three key threats to Saints’ chances of beating Bath today (Saturday).

Mallinder says tricky trio Matt Banahan, Tom Biggs and Nick Abendanon must be stopped at Franklin’s Gardens.

England centre Banahan has been a thorn in the side of Northampton in the past, putting in some memorable performances against them.

Biggs, who scored against Saints in his side’s 18-15 defeat at The Rec earlier in the season, is an imposing presence on the wing.

And Abendanon, a one-time rival of Ben Foden for the England No,15 shirt, is a danger from full-back.

Mallinder is wary of the threat those players pose and he wants his side to get on the front foot early to snuff out the Bath backs.

“First of all we’ve got to look for a stranglehold up front, which every team looks to do, and in defence we’ve got to watch them playing,” said the Saints boss.

“They’ve got some big midfield runners, Banahan in particular is a big lump and hard to stop, and their back three love to play. We’ve had some fun with them before.

“They’ve got Biggs and other class players out wide so we’ve got to stop them playing. We’ve got to get on the front foot.”

Lewis Hamilton has dismissed claims from long-time rivals Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso he will be in the hunt for this season’s Formula One world title.

On a rain-hit final day of the second pre-season test in Barcelona, Hamilton finished top of the standings for the Brackley-based Mercedes team, although on this occasion the times were relatively meaningless.

Instead, it was an opportunity for all the teams to at least give an airing to Pirelli’s range of intermediate and wet-weather tyres.

Hamilton’s best lap yesterday at the Circuit de Catalunya of one minute 23.282secs was set on medium tyres on a drying track in between the showers.

In contrast, it was 1.4secs adrift of the fastest this week from the driver who replaced him at McLaren in young Mexican Sergio Perez.

Although Hamilton produced a seemingly impressive time on the hard compound of rubber on Wednesday, suggestions he is a championship contender again this season are far from his thoughts.

“I think people are talking us up at the moment,” said Hamilton.

“Vettel, and maybe Fernando, were saying I’m maybe going to be competing for the world championship, but I really don’t see that happening at the moment.

“Of course that’s our goal, but you have to remember the car was over a second off, sometimes two seconds off, last year and we’ve not caught up a second.

“Other teams will also have put a second on over the winter, so we’ve not gained three seconds, that’s a fact.

“Hopefully by the end of the year, that’s our goal, but definitely not at the beginning.”

It could be Hamilton is severely downplaying his chances because the car has so far certainly appeared to be within touching distance of the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Lotus.

“The downforce isn’t great, but we have some updates,” added the 28-year-old, who this week brought dog Roscoe with him to the paddock.

“It (the car) is probably not fast enough to be the quickest, but it’s not slow, that’s for sure.

“So I don’t think there should be a reason not to succeed. I think sometimes people lose their way and it takes a group of people to try and put the train back on its tracks.

“We’ve lots of great people here who I think have been doing that and we’re now rolling in the right direction.”

Overall, it proved a frustrating day for all the teams and drivers, none more so than Jenson Button who on Wednesday complained about his lack of mileage in testing so far.

On a day when there were also eight red flags for various spins and incidents, the 33-year-old was second quickest on the timesheet in his McLaren, finishing 0.351s behind Hamilton.

Jules Bianchi was fifth fastest for the Silverstone-based Force India team, but with a time and data the team will be unable to compare against Adrian Sutil.

Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley confirmed this week the board would make a decision on their second driver over the weekend after studying the data of Bianchi and Sutil, who was back in the car on Wednesday for the first time in 15 months.

With insufficient data, it could be Force India will run both drivers again in next week’s third test that starts on Thursday in Barcelona, with an announcement to come after that.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, Mark Webber in his Red Bull, Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde, Max Chilton for Marussia, the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne, Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and Lotus’ Romain Grosjean all set lap times, but given the weather, it was more about data collection.

Aidy Boothroyd accepts his Cobblers side have to maintain their excellent home form but is wary of the progress Plymouth have made under hard-working manager John Sheridan.

The Pilgrims visit Sixfields on Saturday (3pm kick-off) having seen their recent five-match unbeaten run ended by a home defeat to Oxford United.

It is a result that leaves Plymouth outside of the npower League Two relegation zone on goal difference only, a factor that should offer great encouragement to a Northampton side who have been in excellent form on their own ground.

But while Boothroyd knows his players must maintain a record of 11 wins from 16 home games so far this season, he is also aware of the work Sheridan and his assistant Gary Owers are putting in behind the scenes at Home Park.

“Whenever Andy (King, assistant manager), Tim (Flowers, goalkeeping coach) or myself are out (scouting) at games we always seem to see those two (Sheridan and Owers) at them as well, so you know they’re putting the work in,” he said.

“They’re doing a lot of miles if they are going to these places from Plymouth so they are clearly very hard-working lads.

“They have seen us a few times now and they will know what we’re all about; we know they’ve played 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 with (Paul) Wootton just sitting in front of the back four.
“There are a number of formations they could play to try to stop us and they have some strong, experienced players and under John they will keep getting better and better.”

Town rested several first-team regulars for the 1-1 draw at Wimbledon on Tuesday night, with Chris Hackett getting just half an hour and Luke Guttridge and Ben Harding not featuring at all.

That should ensure some fresh midfield legs but there will be an enforced change for Boothroyd, with Joe Widdowson serving the first match of a two-game suspension for a 10th booking of the campaign.

Lee Collins, who has started the past two matches at left-back with Widdowson on the wing, will continue there.

“Joe has been absolutely outstanding and he has been one of our best players, there is no doubt about that,” said Boothroyd.

“Lee (Collins) is an assassin, he’s a good defender and he’s hard as nails.

“He’s a good player to have on your team, he can play all the way across the back four and in central midfield if we need him to there as well.

“I’ve been really impressed with him as a player and as a person and we need to keep him available because he gives us a number of different tactical options.”

Jamie Elliott scored the try of Saints’ season so far to secure a vital 25-23 victory against Bath at Franklin’s Gardens.

The young wing was on the end of a stunning team move to claim his second score of the game and leave the west country side on the canvas.

Bath, who had won their previous six games, looked set to steal it when Alex Waller’s pass was intercepted by Semesa Rokoduguni, who put the away side 23-20 up.

But Elliott was the hero as he latched on the the impressive Ben Foden’s pass to ensure Saints maintained their near 13-year unbeaten home league run against Bath.

Stephen Myler celebrated his new contract by adding 15 points with the boot, as Northampton remained in the hunt for a top-four spot.

The victory was their best of the campaign at Franklin’s Gardens and left fans who had headed for the exits with 12 minutes to go ruing their decision.

Saints had been handed a boost before kick-off as regular nemesis Matt Banahan was forced to withdraw from the Bath line-up, being replaced by Rokoduguni.

Despite that disruption, the away side started the stronger and took advantage by Saints’ early struggles in the lineout.

Mike Haywood, in for skipper Dylan Hartley, misfired with his first two set pieces, and Bath, after pushing the home defence to the limits, won a penalty, which Tom Heathcote landed.

Saints needed a response to quell any early frustration from the home fans and after a slick move, which involved some great handling, Myler made it 3-3 from the tee.

There was more panache and pace about the Northampton game and they were going toe to toe with the Premiership’s form side.

If there was one concern, though, it was in the lineout, where Saints had seen five early attempts stolen by the visitors. They had won nothing on their own throw.

It seemed to be catching as Bath threw their set piece away inside their own 22 and Ben Nutley pounced as his side took control and Myler sent Elliott over in the corner.

The fly-half failed to add the extras, but Saints had the start their wanted, leading 8-3 with with 15 minutes to go before the break.

Bath had the edge in the set piece and after another good scrum, they earned a penalty that Heathcote landed to reduce the deficit to two points.

Saints needed a retort from their forwards and that was exactly what they got moments later as referee Luke Pearce penalised Bath’s pack and Myler made it 11-6.

The scrumm battle was turning into a see-saw clash as back came Bath turning the screw five metres out, leaving Saints with no option to concede a penalty.

Heathcote again hit the target and Bath should have been ahead soon after a bizarre turn of events.

Wing Tom Biggs kicked through and Wilson and Elliott fumbled, before, amazingly, Nick Abendanon knocked on under no pressure and with the line at his mercy.

Saints had escaped to hold an 11-9 lead into the break, and they started the second half in spritely fashion, testing Bath’s speed and strength.

The away side, though, and in particular the physical Biggs were doing their best to shut the door, showing quick line speed.

Saints resorted to the scrum to assert their authority and Myler was given the chance to land another penalty, which he did, with aplomb.

And the No.10, who had signed a new two-year deal at Northampton earlier in the week, added to his tally again soon after, with another three-pointer.

Bath were struggling to deal with the force of their opponents and more aggressive work from the home forwards handed Myler and Saints another three points from the tee.

At 20-9 down, the away side were desperate to regain a foothold in the game, and they did as Anthony Perenise turned on the power and Pearce awarded a penalty try.

Heathcote easily added the extras and the final 19 minutes were promising to be combustible.

Saints just needed to keep their heads, but Waller was to make the most costly of errors, as his pass was intercepted by Rokoduguni, who ran clear of the despairing Foden to score.

Heathcote put Bath 23-20 up with 12 minutes to go and some home fans headed for the exits.

But those supporters may have wished they hadn’t left early, when, with six minutes to go, Saints scored a stunning try.

Elliott it was on the end of a fine move that involved almost every player in the green, black and gold, including Foden, who did brilliantly to play the final pass.

Myler missed the conversion leaving the game on a knife edge at 25-23, but Saints managed to keep their nerve to claim a vital victory.

Saints: Foden; Wilson, G Pisi, May (Waldouck 71), Elliott; Myler, Dickson; Tonga’uiha (A Waller 63), Haywood (McMillan 37), Mercey (Doran-Jones 54); Manoa, Sorenson; Dowson, Nutley, van Velze.

Replacements not used: Craig, Oakley, Roberts, Lamb.

Bath: Abendanon (Cuthbert 64); Agulla, Rokoduguni, Eastmond (Vesty 76), Biggs; Heathcote, Stringer (Claassens 76); Beech (Catt 47), Webber (Batty 76), Perenise (Palmer-Newport 76), Day (Spencer 62), Attwood; Fearns, Gilbert (Koster 62), Skirving.

Referee: Luke Pearce

Attendance: 12,291

Aidy Boothroyd admitted his Cobblers players were well below their best in their 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle at Sixfields on Saturday.

Town recorded their ninth win in 10 home games to maintain their excellent record on their own ground and move to fourth in npower League Two.

The victory was one secured in controversial fashion, with Clive Platt appearing to foul visiting goalkeeper Jake Cole in what proved to be the game’s decisive moment.

And Boothroyd felt the decision by referee David Phillips to award a goal instead of a Plymouth free-kick represented an ‘evening out’ of the luck the team did not get in their midweek draw at Wimbledon, when their own stopper Lee Nicholls was impeded in the build-up to the Dons’ goal.

“We didn’t play anywhere near as well as we can but it’s all about winning at this stage of the season,” said Boothroyd, whose team play host to Bristol Rovers at Sixfields on Tuesday night (7.45pm kick-off). “If you had offered me a scrappy 1-0 win before the game I’d have taken it.

“Most of my players were below par but we ground out the result, although we were a bit fortunate with the goal. I’m pleased we kept a clean sheet.

“We didn’t have a lot of luck at Wimbledon in midweek so it’s evened itself out with the goal which won it. We had more chances to make sure late on in the game and normally we would have taken them.

“Our run-in away from home is against teams around us and in the top half of the table and our home games are against teams in the bottom half.

“But that doesn’t mean you are going to easily win all your home games.

“Plymouth made us work very hard, we had to scrap for the win. A year ago we were in their position and if they keep playing like that I’m sure they can get out of it.

“It will be just as hard against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday. It’s all about making sure we are in the automatic places or the play-offs with four or five games to go.”

The Cobblers redefined winning ugly as they beat Plymouth Argyle at Sixfields to record their ninth win in 10 home matches.

The fortress was as strong as ever but played host to very little excitement as an own goal from visiting keeper Jake Cole was the difference between the sides.

Northampton’s inability to effectively clear their lines was a problem throughout the game and provided Plymouth with several attacking positions but they failed to profit from any of them.

What punished the home side repeatedly was their lack of accuracy with balls out from the back, which invariably either went into touch or fell short of the targets and were picked off by Plymouth’s central defenders.

At the other end, Ben Harding failed to connect with his shot properly after joining in an attack created by a Clive Platt flick and a slick pass from Roy O’Donovan before blazing a volley over on the turn in the game’s next phase.

Jason Banton had the game’s first good chance with a superb slalom of a run inside two challenges followed by a fierce shot that Kelvin Langmead did very well to block.

Chris Hackett picked out O’Donovan, who had intelligently got across his marker, with a good cross early in the first half but the Irishman glanced his header wide of the target when he should have done better.

It was a match, though, of limited chances. Adebayo Akinfenwa had already ruffled a couple of feathers - notably Guy Branston’s - after his introduction and forced a good saved from Cole after beating his marker to a bouncing ball in behind.

From the corner, the controversy took place. Harding put a corner under Cole’s bar that he claimed only to spill it over his line under pressure from Clive Platt.

With the ball rolling into the net, the defenders looked the referee Phillips to award the foul but he instead signalled for a goal and the Plymouth bench signalled their absolute disgust.

Town pushed forward in pursuit of the second goal that would have settled the game and Jake Robinson almost had it when he was put clean through after a Branston slip only to slide his shot over the target with Cole in no man’s land.

But in a game with very little goalmouth incident, one was enough.

Cobblers: Nicholls, Johnson, Langmead, Carlisle, Collins, Hackett, Harding, Tozer, Hornby, O’Donovan, Platt

Subs: Akinfenwa (for Johnson 61), Robinson (for Platt 86)

Not used: Guttridge, Demontagnac, Snedker, Artell, Oyeleke

Plymouth: Cole; Blanchard, Charles, Branston, Bhasera; Cowan-Hall, Cox, Wotton, Hourihane, Banton; Reid

Subs: Ugwu (for Cowan-Hall 74), Gurrieri (for Wotton 77), Murray (for Reid 81)

Not used: Young, Chenoweth, Richards, Gurrieri

Attendance: 5,382

Away fans: 615

Referee: David Phillips

Acting backs coach Alan Dickens hailed the ‘outstanding’ support of the Saints fans after the vital victory against Bath.

Northampton had led 20-9 at one point at Franklin’s Gardens, but fell 23-20 behind with 12 minutes remaining as Semesa Rokoduguni intercepted to score.

At that point some supporters opted to head for the exits, but those remaining made themselves heard to force their side over the line.

Jamie Elliott grabbed his second try of the game - one of the scores of the season so far - with just seven minutes remaining to secure a 25-23 victory.

And Dickens said: “It was with 10 minutes to go that Bath scored the intercept try and the crowd were immense then.

“They got behind us and I’m sure it was a real lift to the players on the pitch.

“The fans that were cheering with 10 minutes to go was outstanding.”

The victory was reward for Saints’ determined showing, one of their best of the current campaign at the Gardens.

And Dickens was delighted with the hard work his players put in to emerge victorious and remain in the Premiership play-off hunt.

“If we had come away with a defeat it would have been disappointing, but the effort and commitment from the boys was phenomenal,” he said.

“Luckily we were on the right side of the scoreboard.”

Traffic plans designed to get people out of Sixfields and Franklin’s Gardens quickly have been labelled a success by organisers, despite some people still being stuck in jams almost an hour after the final whistle.

Both the Cobblers and Saints kicked-off at 3pm on Saturday, causing large traffic jams between Franklin’s Gardens and Sixfields as fans tried to get home just after 5pm.

Saints fans seemed to suffer worst in the traffic, with some still queuing at almost 6pm.

But Chris Wearmouth from the rugby club said the traffic had flowed well compared to previous dates when the two clubs’ matches had clashed.

He said: “Having people queue for up to an hour is a much better result than we’ve had at previous clashes. In September, people were having to queue for a lot longer than that.

“And considering our car parks sometimes used to take up to 90 minutes to empty on days when the Cobblers weren’t playing as well, I think for all the traffic to be clear in an hour is quite a result.”

But fans sitting in their cars were not so upbeat.

Cobblers fan Jim Boulton said: “The plan is clearly not working, it’s ridiculous that people are having to wait so long to get out.

“It just needs a bit of common sense, I don’t understand why one of the clubs couldn’t have just kicked-off 15 minutes later than the other.

“It can’t be that difficult to sort out. This is just organised chaos.”

The traffic also hit people passing through the area who were accidentally caught up in the queues.

Adrian Hassall, who works on the Ross Road Industrial Estate, got stuck in the Saints traffic on his way home.

He said: “It’s ridiculous, they should have been able to see this coming.”

The traffic leaving Franklin’s Gardens met Cobblers fans leaving Sixfields at the roundabout next to the Walter Tull memorial, causing long tailbacks both along Edgar Mobbs Way and up through Sixfields.

A community in Northampton has raised at total of more than £12,000 to help support the family of a two-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer.

Harvey Oldfield-Goode, of Kingsthorpe, is currently in Leicester Royal Infirmary hospital recovering from an operation to remove a tumour from his lung which involved taking out part of the lining of his heart and tightening his diaphragm.

In a bid to support Harvey’s parents Tina and Simon, who have been staying with their son in the hospital since last October, a series of fund-raising events have been held in the past few weeks.

Last weekend, a group of volunteers raised more than £2,000 from a bucket collection and more than £7,000 was raised from an event at The Romany pub which included car boot stalls, a dance display, a raffle and an auction with dozens of prizes donated by businesses and individuals in the town who wanted to help out Harvey’s family.

Almost £1,000 has been raised from a goldengiving website and Barclaycard have agreed to donate £1,500.

Northampton-based car finish suppliers Sayers have also raised a total of £1,250.

Sara Smith, who has been the driving force behind the fund-raising, said Harvey’s bravery had inspired the Kingsthorpe community to unite and support his family.

She said: “When I told the family how much money had been raised they were very happy indeed. It will help them out a lot.

“They know now they can come and spend time with their other two children and not have to worry about money.

“I’m surprised how big the fund-raising has got. The amount of people who did not even know Harvey’s family that donated money is amazing.

“It is a big community and it has brought everyone together, even people that haven’t spoken to each other for years.”

Harvey’s parents, who could not be at the event at The Romany as they were at the hospital, sent a speech which stated the couple were “humbled” by the support of the community.

The speech stated: “As parents and as a toddler Harvey and us have had to experience things no family should and yet many do, and I guess when this journey started we felt so alone and I didn’t know how my family as a whole would make it through this bulldozer through our lives.

“As the news spread so many people came to our aid, old friends, new friends and of course family, offering to help.”

Daventry MP Chris Heaton-Harris has revealed his expenses claims for the year so far.

In addition to his regluar payments of £1,800 a month for renting a flat in London and £250 a month for office space in St George’s Avenue Conservative Club,he has outlined his expenses claims from January 4 to February 23.

The claims were as follows:

£106.23 for a “printer image drum” for the printer in his office; £48.40 for mobile phone hire for one of his staff for the month of January; £486.00 for printed headed paper; £410.40 for mileage to and from Westminster and £81 for Congestion Charge payments.

Mr Heaton-Harris has also outlined his lunch and dinnner appointments for the same period:

January 4 - curry for 3 at Brinjol Restaurant, Weedon; January 21 - dinner (in House of Commons Dining Room) with Coca-Cola Enterprises; January 22 - dinner with “Tax Payers’ Alliance” at their offices in Westminster; January 23 - dinner (in House of Commons Dining Room) with the Association of FE Colleges; January 29 - lunch with Stephen Castle (International Herald & Tribune) in “The Adjournment” in Portcullis House; January 30 - breakfast with All Party Parliamentary Group for Media. Guest: Ed Richards from OFCOM; February 12 - dinner with Chris Lewis of Lewis PR at Cinnamon Club.

Saints may have been accused of not justifying the Franklin’s Gardens entrance fee at times this season - but not on Saturday.

Jim Mallinder’s men turned in a performance full of fizz to dampen Bath spirits, ending the west country outfit’s six-game winning streak.

Okay, so no one’s getting the Champagne out yet, toasting Saints returning to their best form, but from minute one on Saturday there was a different feel about the team.

There was far more aggression, passion and panache from the men in green, black and gold.

The performance was an antithesis of the one they turned in against Gloucester two weeks previous.

This time they didn’t need criticism to inspire.

They hadn’t been wounded at Worcester a week earlier, when winning 27-18.

Instead the desire to stay in the hunt for a top four spot and the fear of dropping out of the top six drove them on.

And so did the fans.

A few may have chosen to exit when Bath went 23-20 up with 12 minutes to go, but those who stayed played their part, and the team responded.

The togetherness, which hasn’t always been present this season, paid dividends as the supporters almost sucked the ball over the tryline late on.

The Gardens had a different feel at the final whistle.

Saints had provided pure satisfaction.

So much of Northampton’s success has been built on winning the forward battle, but on Saturday the backs came to the fore.

Ben Foden looked fresh and full of running, eventually teeing up Jamie Elliott for a sublime, match-winning score.

James Wilson was full of wisdom under the high ball, refusing to crumble in the face of the onrushing Tom Biggs, who is a beastly winger and one of the best in the league.

And Elliott deservedly picked up the man of the match red wine, which he’s barely old enough to drink, as he put in a poacher’s performance.

There have been doubts about the back three this season, and rightly so as their combined lack of tries can be called into question.

But on this occasion Saints showed signs of finding a winning formula that didn’t revolve entirely around their powerful pack.

And it was extremely entertaining fare.

How they rated...

BEN FODEN

Looked closer to the Ben Foden of old, putting in a sparky display that included a fine assist for Jamie Elliott’s match-winning try... 8

JAMES WILSON

Great performance from the utility back, who showed his ability under the high ball time after time... 8

GEORGE PISI

The Samoan tried to provide the midfield platform for Saints to build on and he did a good job... 7

TOM MAY

Saints don’t often lose when this man starts games and his experience and steadying influence is vital to the cause... 7

JAMIE ELLIOTT - CHRON STAR MAN

Showed a finisher’s instinct to claim two tries, the first of which required plenty of poise, which Elliott had in abundance... 8

STEPHEN MYLER

Mixed day with the ball in hand as a couple of passes went astray, but was as assured as ever from the tee... 7

LEE DICKSON

Stepped up his performance levels in the win at Worcester and put in another good, high tempo showing here... 7

SOANE TONGA’UIHA

Full of hustle and bustle and gave as good as he got in the scrum against a Bath side who were no shrinking violets... 7

MIKE HAYWOOD

Had a really tough 37 minutes as his lineout throwing was poor and he threw to the opposition five times... 5

TOM MERCEY

Another accomplished display from the tighthead prop, who is repaying the coaching staff’s faith in him...7

SAMU MANOA

Made one amazing catch from a Stephen Myler high kick and was, as always, a key player... 7

MARK SORENSON

An understated member of the side, but gets through plenty of work and never lets the team down... 6

PHIL DOWSON

The stand-in skipper had another fine game, carrying well as Saints tried to find their way through the Bath rearguard... 7

BEN NUTLEY

The youngster followed on from a good start against Gloucester recently to put in a display full of passion and determination... 8

GJ VAN VELZE

Had a fairly good game, but missed a couple of tackles that could have proved costly... 6

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

ROSS MCMILLAN (for Haywood 37)

Brought added assurance to the Saints lineout and looked good in the loose, too, in a good all-round showing... 7

PAUL DORAN-JONES (for Mercey 54)

Continued Saints’ good work in the scrum, which was a big source of home penalties and is a good man to bring on... 6

A specialist detective whose police team smashed a paedophile ring that included a former Scout leader in Northamptonshire is urging child abuse victims not to suffer in silence.

John Connolly, 42, and Joanne Gale, 36, both from Warrington in Cheshire, were locked up for a total of 40 years for their role in a sex gang that lured young victims to a remote farm.

Their sentencing on Friday brought the total number of people jailed to seven. Other members of the gang who have been jailed include Simon Christopher Collins, 58, from Chippenham in Wiltshire, Simon Wyn-Davies, 38, from Windsor in Berkshire; retired farmer Nicholas Cordery, 63, from Wiltshire; charity worker Peter Malpas, 47, from Moulton, and IT trainer Anthony Flack, 54, from Bristol.

But while the Metropolitan Police won plaudits for catching the group, its Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh has insisted the investigation is far from over as he believes there could be more victims out there.

Speaking after the latest jail sentences on Friday, he said: “These people were members of a paedophile ring.

“I believe that they have committed other offences and that’s why we have released their images.

“Anyone who believes they have been a victim is urged to contact police.

“Police and our partners will only use specially trained staff to investigate this type of crime and we are committed to providing the best possible service to victims of sexual abuse - adult or child - and bringing offenders to justice, no matter when the offence occurred.

“All I ask is that survivors (victims) do not sit in silence - please have the confidence to disclose.”

Inspector McHugh described the ring leaders as “highly manipulative, evil and dangerous individuals”.

Anyone able to help the Met with their enquiries can contact its dedicated investigation unit on 020 7161 3871.

Alternatively, people can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, ChildLine on 0800 1111.

Officers say all information will be treated in the strictest confidence.

First team coach Toby Booth feels Bath’s showing in Saturday’s defeat at Saints will stand his side in good stead.

The west country outfit, who had won six successive games going into the clash at Franklin’s Gardens, fought back from 20-9 down to lead 23-20 with 12 minutes to go.

But a late Jamie Elliott try, the wing’s second of the game, secured the points for Saints and moved them six points clear of their opponents in the Premiership standings.

Booth admitted he was disappointed with the final score, but hailed the character Bath showed to get back in the game.

“We had a couple of opportunities that we left out there in the first half in particular,” he said.

“We could have made life easier for ourselves and when you are playing sides towards the top of the table you have to make sure you take your chances. We were probably guilty of not doing that in the first half.

“More importantly it was a great test of character. We were 20-9 down and rolled our sleeves up at a really difficult place and showed a massive amount of character.

“That is going to serve us well because we are on a longer journey and that sort of desire to play for your team-mates is going to serve us well going forward.”

The scrum battle provided plenty of interest as both sides gave as good as they got throughout the afternoon.

And Booth was happy with how his men performed not only in the scrum, but also in the lineout, where they had plenty of success.

“From the scrum point of view, they are a good scrummaging side and so are we,” he said.

“It was a very good contest and from a lineout point of view we went very well and put them under massive pressure.

“These are the margins we try and live in and that’s where we are going. We have got a lot to be pleased about but we are disappointed with the result.”

Plymouth manager John Sheridan called the decision to allow the Cobblers’ goal to stand in Saturday’s game ‘ridiculous’ and wants to see changes to the way referees are recruited.

Match official David Phillips awarded a goal with 19 minutes to play at Sixfields when visiting goalkeeper Jake Cole dropped Ben Harding’s corner and gave Clive Platt a tap-in.

The Plymouth players were incensed, feeling their keeper had been fouled while claiming the cross and that they should have been awarded a free-kick.

Replays suggest it is Pilgrims winger Paris Cowan-Hall who made contact with Cole, causing him to spill the ball for what was the only goal of the game.

But Sheridan, without the benefit of such replays, was furious the goal had been allowed to stand and consign his team to a 1-0 defeat that has plunged them to the bottom of the npower League Two table.

“It was ridiculous and anyone who was at the game watching it will have said what a ridiculous decision it was to give a goal,” said Sheridan.

“I wanted to go in and see the referee after the game and ask him who scored the goal because it wasn’t a Northampton player.

“It was a clear foul on the goalkeeper and the referee is the only person in the ground who hasn’t seen it but he probably hasn’t ever played football so he doesn’t know.

“They should get ex-players in and people who know the game to referee these matches. We played some decent football and were right in the game but the goal set us back and we couldn’t get going again after that.”