Next year sees the 50th anniversary of Dad’s Army, one of the most popular TV sitcoms ever made.

The show and its characters and catchphrases have become so familiar that it is difficult to imagine a picture of the Home Guard during the Second World War that is not defined by the comic antics of Captain Mainwaring and his platoon; but do the historical records of Northamptonshire’s Home Guard held at the County Record Office reveal a different story?

This bizarrely camouflaged Northamptonshire rifleman (left) would have raised laughter on the TV programme, as would the idea of a Home Guardsman from Yardley Gobion who, in an exercise, disguised himself as a woman, concealing a bomb in a bouquet of flowers with the aim of blowing up the enemy HQ.

Equally comic is the suggestion in a training manual in the records that a handkerchief with a stone tied in it might be used as a ‘vital weapon’ against the modern, mechanised army of expected enemy invaders.

Some of the local scares surrounding German paratroopers also had their funny side: a supposed sighting of parachutes coming down at Kettering turned out to be swans descending on a lake in Wicksteed Park, while the parachutes spotted at Thorpe Mandeville were actually parts of haystacks caught up in a violent gust of wind.

Yet despite the laughs, the word ‘Secret’ written on many of the operational orders in the archives is a reminder of the time of extreme crisis in 1940 when a German invasion seemed imminent.

Nearly 500 volunteers attended the first parade at Northampton Drill Hall on May 26, 1940, following the appeal for men aged 17 to 65 made by War Secretary Anthony Eden a few days earlier.

The defences of the town were quickly put into place, with the Home Guard taking responsibility for setting up concrete cylinder road blocks and guarding vulnerable points, as illustrated on this original map from the time (right).

Public utilities, such as the gas, water and electricity works, were guarded, and road blocks were established in locations like West Bridge, Spencer Bridge, the Bedford Road by Becket’s Well and on the Weedon Road by what was then called the Red House inn.

It is now possible to read what were once closely guarded secrets: one list of orders concerns the arrangements for ringing church bells – the signal the enemy had invaded.

Number 1 Platoon of ‘A’ Company of the Northampton Battalion were to be responsible for the St Matthew’s Church bells, retrieving the key to the belfry from the ARP wardens’ post in the crypt with the password, “Belfry”, while number 3 Platoon’s password to the bells at Holy Trinity Church was “Cherry”.

When the invaders from the air did arrive it was not in Northampton but in the village of Denton. There, on September 6, 1940, a suspicious man lying dazed and in a ditch was reported to a member of the local Home Guard, who challenged him. The bespectacled stranger, who was wearing a raincoat and felt hat, replied in perfect English, but the alert volunteer’s suspicions were aroused by the unusual style of knot in his tie, as well as the fact his forged identity card was written in the continental way, with the street name first.

Further investigation revealed that the stranger carried a loaded pistol.

When this was seized, he is reported to have said, “I give up”, remarking that on landing at night by parachute he had struck his head on his suitcase, knocking himself out. The suitcase contained a radio transmitter; the man also had a compass, maps and £300 in English notes.

Northamptonshire was not in fact the spy’s target; his papers were forged with a Birmingham address, and he imagined he had been dropped near Stratford-on-Avon.

The 20,000 men who served in the county’s Home Guard did valuable work in releasing regular soldiers from routine home defence duties, and the fact older men felt involved in the war effort helped to maintain morale.

How effective the Home Guard would have been in the event of an invasion is one of history’s unanswered questions: would the Germans have succumbed as easily as this photo of a display at the County Ground suggests (facing page)?

Thanks to the Northamptonshire Archive Service for this article

Whatever way you look at it, Saints’ final-day fixture against Harlequins at Franklin’s Gardens looks set to decide the destination of the last guaranteed Champions Cup slot.

Jim Mallinder’s men were so close to putting some much-needed breathing space between themselves and Quins last weekend.

But after seeing their rivals from The Stoop lose at home to Exeter two days earlier, Saints couldn’t get over the line against Saracens.

While they were pushing for the bonus-point try at 25-12 up, they took their eye off the ball, conceding two tries in the final 11 minutes to suffer an agonising 27-25 defeat.

It was the third time in as many matches that Saints had lost a lead at the death, and they are now still embroiled in the battle just to make it in Europe’s top-flight tournament.

The losing bonus point they garnered at Stadium MK was enough to put Saints above Quins into sixth.

But with Mallinder’s men travelling to Exeter Chiefs next Saturday and Quins hosting Wasps on the same weekend, it could very much be a case of as you were when the two teams clash on the last day of the season, May 6.

Gloucester could also come into the equation, as they are just two points behind Saints in the standings.

But the notoriously unpredictable Cherry and Whites, who face a Challenge Cup semi-final at La Rochelle this weekend, go to Bath next time out in the league and then host Exeter on the final day.

So it looks set to come down to a straight fight between Saints and Quins.

And that is just how Jim Mallinder would like it, if his men can’t get it sewn up at Sandy Park next Saturday.

“In terms of last Sunday’s result, I don’t know how much has changed for us,” Mallinder said.

“We’ve got Quins on the final day and we’re going to try to go down to Exeter and win, which will be a very difficult task.

“We got a point last Sunday and that nudged us up to sixth.

“The Quins game will be massive and hopefully it will be between us and them in a winner-takes-all game.”

Given the nerves and lack of composure that have blighted Saints in recent weeks, that promises to be a hugely tense affair at the Gardens.

And Mallinder knows his side will have to be much smarter in their next two encounters if they are to achieve their aims.

“There is a pattern in that we’ve played well and then lost it in the last few minutes,” the Saints boss said.

“They’ve all been different games so there are different reasons for that.

“We will and need to keep looking at ourselves in terms of our game management, which clearly wasn’t helped when Louis Picamoles and Stephen Myler aren’t on the field (both were forced off injured).

“They are two of our key decision makers, but we’ve got some good players there and we probably could have been a little bit smarter at times.”

David Ripley rued a missed opportunity for Northants as they were edged out by Worcestershire.

Ripley’s men were bowled out for 164 in the second innings as they lost by 20 runs at New Road.

But it could all have been so different had Northants been able to take their chances with the bat.

They bowled Worcestershire out for 188 on the first day, with debutant Andy Carter taking three for 51.

But Worcestershire hit back with the ball, dismissing Northants for just 157, despite 47 from Ben Duckett.

Northants tore through Worcestershire on day two, with Nathan Buck claiming four for 42, but the final-wicket pair of Ed Barnard and Josh Tongue put on 45 to take the total to 153.

And that proved crucial as the away side were bowled out 21 runs short of the victory total, with Max Holden (37) top scoring.

“We are disappointed because we think had three opportunities to get ourselves ahead of the game,” said Ripley, who had steered his side to five consecutive County Championship Division Two victories prior to the defeat at New Road.

“At 50 for one on day one, we should have gone past Worcestershire from that position, and their last wicket putting 45 on today, that was a lot in the context of the game.

“Otherwise we would have been chasing 140-odd.

“Then at 122 for five in our second innings, we believed again that there was an opportunity to go on and win the game.

“So we had three good chances to put a good bit daylight between us. But I can’t fault our effort.

“It was a difficult pitch to bat on.”

Worcestershire skipper Joe Leach was the home hero as he took 10 wickets in the match.

And Leach said: “It’s hard to describe. All the way through the game the pitch has done quite a bit for the bowlers. So wickets falling frequently was inevitable.

“We felt that setting them 180 we had a better than even chance. Thankfully that’s come to fruition,

“I think it’s hard to be disappointed with the batting, to be honest. I think Northants bowled well again.

“The bowling has been high quality all through and I think it’s harsh to put too much blame on batsmen.

“Mitch (Daryl Mitchell) and Mo (Moeen Ali) played fantastically on the first morning and that gave us a foundation in that first innings.”

The end of the football season is often met with disappointment and dejection but, for Justin Edinburgh and fans of Northampton, summer can’t come quickly enough as this dispiriting campaign drifts towards a rather limp conclusion.

It’s fair to say these past nine months will not live long in the memory for those of a Cobblers persuasion, even in spite of achieving their ultimate goal of survival, and Saturday’s lamentable and frankly pitiful defeat to Bury only added to this season’s growing list of low moments which significantly outweigh the highs.

If ever there was a game and a performance that highlighted the shortcomings in this squad and emphasised how much work Edinburgh has to do over the next few months, this error-strewn display at Gigg Lane was it.

Safety has at least been secured for 12 months but that largely owes to the inadequacies of others, and if Northampton have aspirations of becoming a stable, consistent League One club, they must learn from their mistakes and not rely on rival teams constantly slipping up.

Whilst the transition from Chris Wilder to Rob Page was not as smooth as it might have been, it was the muddled recruitment last summer that has played the biggest role in Northampton’s troubles this season.

Page overhauled Wilder’s title-winning squad with a host of new faces but it’s debatable whether any of those have been an unqualified success, even the likes of Gabriel Zakuani and Alex Revell have endured their struggles, either through injury or being away on international duty.

They cannot afford a similar summer this time around because next season, with Plymouth, Doncaster and Portsmouth on their way up, will be tougher, harder and more competitive, and Northampton will need a squad that is both balanced and has strength in depth to compete.

That is far from the case at present, as underlined on Saturday.

Edinburgh challenged his players to finish the season with a flourish but it is fair to say they did not respond in the manner either he expected or the near-800 fans deserved.

After a run of three straight victories at the start of March had some looking towards mid-table, no win in the past seven and only four goals scored has turned optimism into pessimism when thinking ahead to what next season might offer.

Based on recent showings, any concern is justified because performances have taken a serious downturn since the defeat to Sheffield United, the latest coming in a defeat at Gigg Lane that was only second to the 5-0 loss at Bristol Rovers in the horror show stakes.

Outplayed, outrun and outfought, this sorry and forgettable afternoon only served to remind everyone how much of a struggle this season has been and how the summer can’t come quickly enough.

It was a throwback to the final days of Page – not that Edinburgh should be blamed, even if his team selection did raise a few eyebrows – as heads dropped from the moment of Bury’s third-minute opener.

In the absence of several regulars, Edinburgh went with a makeshift, experimental line-up which featured Brendan Moloney and Shaun McWilliams in midfield, and most of the first-half was spent trying to work out which system they were playing, even the players themselves did not seem completely certain.

The performance and result only reinforces the notion that drastic changes and a major overhaul is needed in the summer. There are too many bits and pieces players and not enough quality throughout the squad and certainly not enough behind the first-choice XI.

Only the loss of two or three key players is required to expose that fact, as Saturday’s wretched showing at Bury showed.

To go into detail seems rather meaningless at this stage of the season, especially given so many of these players will be on their way in the next few weeks.

But this wretched defeat had all the hallmarks of a team in desperate need of change and a makeover. The first goal came about from hesitant defending, presenting James Vaughan – of all people – with time and space to score, before more static defending allowed George Miller to prod in a second after half-time.

In between, there were moments and spells when Northampton controlled the play and had Bury on the back foot but for all their pressure and possession, Joe Murphy barely broke sweat in keeping a clean sheet for the division’s third leakiest defence.

Town’s attacks were disjointed and sorely lacking in creativity or innovation, and things were hardly much better at the other end, capped off by Harry Beautyman’s indecision and David Cornell’s poor positioning as Vaughan thumped in a late third.

That put the seal a thoroughly woeful afternoon that was only saved by Port Vale’s loss at Bolton but the Cobblers, as Edinburgh knows, will not be be able to rely on other teams next season.

Roll on the summer.

How they rated...

David Cornell - Made his first start under Edinburgh and might have wished he remained on the bench. Let down by those in front of him, though his positioning came under question for Bury’s third... 5

Neal Eardley - Brought back for his first appearance since February and was the only one of three right-backs in the team to start in his natural position. Was tidy and did little wrong before being forced off at half-time with a calf injury... 6

Zander Diamond - Didn’t react quick enough after Burgess’ header hit the bar, allowing Miller to net the crucial second, but that was the only real blot as his efforts prevented an even heavier beating... 6

Lewin Nyatanga - Hesitated and then out-muscled for Vaughan’s first which set the tone for a horrid afternoon as neither he nor the team recovered... 5

Aaron Phillips - Drafted in at left-back to replace the suspended Buchanan and was far from the worst offender in a back four (or three) that struggled badly. Coped well in an unfamiliar position.... 6

Brendan Moloney - Surprisingly deployed in a more advanced role from his usual right-back slot. Slashed an early chance over and one dangerous run was snuffed out but was otherwise kept at arm’s-length... 5

Shaun McWilliams - The only redeeming feature of a sorry afternoon. Given his first ever professional start and it was far from a comfortable introduction as he played in an often disjointed midfield, but you find out a lot about young players in tough times and he did himself no harm with a competent display... 6 CHRON STAR MAN

Matty Taylor - Hardly had a kick as Bury’s more energetic and mobile midfield ran the Cobblers ragged, although went as close as anyone when Murphy tipped his free-kick wide... 5

Paul Anderson - Never one to shirk responsibility but nothing came off for him here, struggled to get to grips with the system and Bury’s midfield throughout... 5

Alex Revell - Pushed into wide areas too often where he provided little or no threat. This display would have done little to change the minds of those who believe he and Richards can’t play together... 5

Marc Richards - Spent most the afternoon chasing lost causes and watching over-hit crosses sail over his head. Not much he could have done given the non-existent service up to him... 5

Substitutes

Rod McDonald - 5

Keshi Anderson - 6

Harry Beautyman - 5

The country is unmoved, literally, by another election.

There seems to be a new summer trend in the UK – get the country out to vote!

In 2014 it was the Scottish independence referendum grabbing attention while in 2015 the whole country turned out to vote for Westminster seats. In 2016 we had that EU referendum and now 2017 means another General Election focussed on Westminster once more.

It’s tempting to feel very sorry for the Scots as they, like the Welsh, have also voted for their devolved assemblies. But in Northern Ireland, they’ve just had another devolved assembly election and might well face another so you have to have sympathy for Ulster residents. “No more elections” is the policy that gets my vote!

Summer, of course, is the time we are all supposed to get cheery and move home. For the last two years south of the border and three years north of it there has been too much else to think about for many people. The only good thing about the EU referendum outcome for everyone last year, whether you wanted in or out, was that the final result saw a logjam of property sales suddenly come free and the market quite literally get moving.

It’s useless making confident predictions about the outcome this time and its effect, although Theresa May must be sure she’s heading for a landslide or she wouldn’t have called the election. I’m sure she doesn’t see it as a gamble.

North of the border, which fascinates me as a Hebridean born and bred, the situation is complicated by it becoming a vote on whether to back the SNP and independence or scotch such moves by supporting parties that believe in the Union as it is.

Is this a poll about Brexit anywhere else? Theresa May would like to think so while others will shift the focus onto such things as the NHS and education. The biggest problem facing politicians, however, is keeping the electorate awake long enough to hear any message at all! Most of us have had enough.

What I would urge is that even if you want to wait for the outcome of the election before you decide whether or not to move you should at least be prepared. Get everything ready, make sure all your documentation is in order, have your property valued and an agent selected, know what you can afford to buy should the outcome be the one you want, and then get on with the job.

There will be a rush of activity on June 9th and you need to be ahead of the game.

Colin Shairp is director of Fine and Country Southern Hampshire. He is also a Fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents, the trade body that encourages and oversees professional training and standards.

It’s Saint George’s Day today - the day we celebrate England’s patron saint.

Or the day we moan about how we ought to celebrate him, whilst not doing anything to actually celebrate him ourselves. Both are fine options. Here is your guide to George, his life, his legend, and why he is our patron saint.

The NSPCC has teamed up with Lidl for a campaign aiming to keep children safe from abuse.

The long-term commitment from the supermarket aims to enable the charity to reach one million children with its ‘Speak Out Stay Safe’ primary school programme.

Currently the children’s charity has managed to visit two-thirds of primary schools across the country with its ‘Speak Out! Stay Safe’ programme, and Lidl has committed to raising £3 million over the next three years for the NSPCC’s Schools Service.

The NSPCC hope to reach every primary school in the UK with its interactive assemblies and workshops designed to keep young children happy and safe from abuse.

The partnership is the NSPCC’s first with a major supermarket, and resulted from a vote that was open to Lidl’s 20,000 employees across the UK.

The supermarket’s employees will be given the opportunity to volunteer with the NSPCC to see the work the charity does with children and teenagers first hand.

They will also be able to witness ‘Speak Out! Stay Safe’ being delivered in primary schools close to the stores where they work, seeing for themselves how children are being taught to protect their bodies and encouraged to speak out if something is wrong.

Peter Wanless, Chief executive of the NSPCC said: “We are delighted Lidl UK has chosen us as its charity partner. Their support means we will be able to train enough volunteers to deliver our schools service to every primary school in the UK, enabling us to reach one million children with crucial advice on how to stay safe and happy.

“This is especially important when you consider that two children in every classroom have suffered some form of abuse, a state of affairs that is completely unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue.

Christian Härtnagel, CEO of Lidl UK, added: “With 650 stores and 20,000 employees nationwide, Lidl UK is at the heart of communities across the country. We, therefore, feel proud that we are in a position to give back to those local communities by enabling the NSPCC to expand its Schools Service to every primary school in the UK.”

Brits are a nation of telly watchers, and according to a new survey, comedy is always what has kept us glued to the small screen.

A poll by galabingo.com asked UK viewers for their favourite TV moments, from the 70s till the present day, and while soaps, reality TV and even this decade’s more highbrow winner figured strongly, it was sitcoms which took the bulk of the votes. 167 scenes from Only Fools and Horses being nominated, the Trotters coming top of the poll in two decades.

It may legendarily exist in a galaxy far far away, but it could be that fans of Star Wars could soon visit the Unknown Regions.

Plans for a theme park based around the sci-fi episode series, are, it seems, under way, with creative types from Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Imagineering speaking about new galactic lands being created at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts.

BB-8, the loyal droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has already begun greeting guests at the Star Wars Launch Bay at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

But a mysterious destination somewhere on the Outer Rim could soon be the home to fans of the franchise - who will be able to mingle with bands of smugglers, rogue traders and adventurers traveling between the frontier and uncharted space.

To set the scene, the remote village was once a busy crossroads along the old sub-lightspeed trade routes, but its importance has been diminished by new routes - a hyperspace bypass if you will.

Which makes the location ideal for those who prefer less attention from the likes of the First Order.

And before you say “that is illogical”, yes, an influx of space tourists could upset this community of miscreants and misfits. Which should make for plenty of droid and lightsaber-based shenanigans.

That warm, fuzzy feeling inside... that’s nostalgia.

Unlike platform shoes, platform games have never gone completely out of fashion, so much so that when six classics from the 90s were resurrected there is a genuine appetite for them.

The Disney Afternoon Collection brought back Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, Duck Tales and Talespin this week in what was a nostalgic feast for gamers from that era.

While the licence may be a big turn off for many given the stigma attached to them in modern gaming, we must remember that some of these titles set the bar for everything that followed way back when.

Yes Mario and Sonic dominated the world for decades, but the six games in the Disney Afternoon Collection have their place too as iconic platformers.

But do they still have a place and are they worth revisiting.

In short some are, some aren’t but what I will say is that anyone who loved the originals will get a big buzz talking a walk down memory lane and they will not be disappointed with what they find.

The old Capcom magic (remember Capcom developed the originals for the Nintendo Entertainment System) is tangible when you start playing with the instantly recognisable tuns and great looks. The Rewind feature and the ability to save once per game really help to get you through these TV-smasinhingly difficult games and are a welcome and successful feature.

My advice would be skip Darkwing Duck, Rescue Rangers 2 and Ducks Tales 2 and go straight for the classics Rescue Rangers, Talespin and what is one of the best platformers of all time Duck Tales.

Playing through those in all their retro glory was vindication enough for Capcom to lovingly raise the Disney games from the archives.

They look great, feel great and if you were gaming in the 90s and don’t get a warm fuzzy glow when you fire them up then you have a heart of stone.

While three successive matces ending in late heartache has sparked a feeling of misery among Saints supporters, there have been some beacons of light amid the gloom.

Some of the rugby the team has played against Leicester, Wasps and Saracens has been superb and there have been plenty of stand-out individual showings.

Courtney Lawes has been a behemoth, Nic Groom has grown into the Saints No.9 shirt and Ahsee Tuala has made the full-back slot his own with an assortment of excellent displays.

But the most surprising shining star has come in the second row, with a 21-year-old really beginning to make a name for himself.

David Ribbans, who arrived at Saints from Western Province in January, was thrust into the spotlight for his Aviva Premiership debut against Wasps a couple of weeks ago.

And how impressive he was, standing out not only because of his 6ft 8in frame, but also because of his ability to show quality and maturity in a big game.

Last Sunday was no different, as Ribbans again belied his inexperience with another assertive showing, against Saracens.

He has been eased into life at Saints, playing a couple of Anglo-Welsh Cup games soon after arriving from South Africa and then impressing in a friendly at Bedford Blues in March, scoring a hat-trick and persuading his coaches to give him a shot in league action.

Two Premiership starts later, and Ribbans is now a name on the lips of Saints fans, who believe their club has unearthed an English-qualified gem.

And the man himself is enjoying every minute of life in Northampton.

“It’s never easy joining halfway through the season, getting used to all the plays and everything, but I’ve really enjoyed it,” Ribbans said.

“The team has just made me feel really at home and I’m loving it.

“As long as I can help the team and keep grinding, I’m happy.

“It’s a tough part of the season, some big games and it’s been great to get an opportunity.

“I’ve taken it with both hands and I’m really enjoying it.

“The Premiership is such a tough league, every game is tough, but I’m loving the opportunity and working every day.”

Ribbans was grateful for the Saints coaches giving him time to bed in before throwing him into big matches.

“It would have been tough to come straight into the Premiership so it was good to get my confidence up and get a bit of game time,” he said.

“It’s not often you can say as a lock you get three tries (in the game at Bedford). Some of them were a bit lucky but it was good to get that boost and I’m taking it on to the field now.”

Ribbans certainly is.

And what has clearly helped him is his upbeat persona.

Even after another gut-wrenching defeat last weekend, Ribbans managed to find a smile for the assembled media.

Young players tend to take defeats hard, but he appears able to bounce back quickly, with his innate positivity there for all to see.

“It’s part of the job - you have to do it,” Ribbans replied, when asked how he would recover from the agonising 27-25 defeat to Saracens, which came thanks to a try two minutes from time.

“We’ve still got something to fight for, that top six spot, so that’s keeping us motivated.

“We really want to finish in the top six, European rugby next year, and it gets us up every week.

“It’s always tough to play these big games, but that’s when you learn the most. Exeter away is another big game, another quality side and we’ve got to get ourselves up for it.

“We’ve had the week off and we’ve really got to work hard and get positive again.

“We’ve got two massive games to fight for the top six.”

A man who police have been trying to track down for almost a week has been arrested in Rushden.

Arthur Collins, 25, was wanted by the Metropolitan Police in connection with an incident in a London nightclub.

The investigation began after police were called to the nightclub on Sidworth Street in Dalston, at 1.10am on Monday, April 17, after a noxious substance was sprayed.

Last night (Saturday) Collins was arrested in Rushden by officers from the Met’s Specialist Crime & Operations and Hackney Borough, with the assistance of armed officers from the East Midlands Operational Support Service (EMOpSS) and Northamptonshire Police.

Collins, the boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was taken into custody.

A number of people suffered burns during the alleged attack with two blinded in one eye.

Last week it emerged Mr Mackintosh's desire to fight the General election on June 8 in the Northampton South seat was likely to face opposition from local Tory executives.

In particular, former borough council leader Councillor Mary Markham revealed she would not be voting for him to remain as a candidate at a crunch meeting set for May 2.

She claimed the way the current Northampton South MP had handled the fall-out after the failed Sixfields loan saga had damaged the reputation of the Conservatives locally.

But today it has emerged the crucial meeting on May 2 - that will decide who the Tory candidate is for Northampton South - has been booked at the very centre of the controversy.

Executive committee member of the Northampton South Conservatives Association, Councillor Suresh Patel, has claimed other similar-sized venues were not available on May 2, which was the earliest available date for Mr Mackintosh to attend.

"We looked at other venues and Sixfields was the only one available," he said.

"Time is of the essence here.

"It was because the General Election had been called and we wanted to have a venue that fell within the Northampton South constituency that more than 100 members could attend."

David Mackintosh, who delivered Conservative election flyers in the Castle ward over the weekend, previously told the Chron he was ready to fight for his candidacy in Northampton South and had a good track record as an MP.

He said: “It is disappointing that a few of my colleagues have chosen to brief against me in the media when the country is about to make an important decision about who leads our country in the future. I am proud of my record as an MP, to date I have dealt with over 20,000 cases from thousands of my constituents. I would like to continue that work and intend to stand for re-election.”

The Northampton South Conservative Association meeting will take at 7pm at Sixfields, but is not open to the public.

Once the dust settles and the disappointment fades, there is a lot Northampton can take from their first season back in League One. Indeed, as Alex Revell suggests, if they can learn from their mistakes and improve in key areas, they’ll most certainly be better for it next time around.

Despite losing 3-0 to Bury, the Cobblers sealed their spot in next year’s League One on Saturday thanks to Port Vale’s 2-0 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers.

It was hardly the most satisfactory way to confirm survival but it was rather in keeping with the season as a whole because their journey to safety has certainly not been plain sailing.

The latest disappointment came at Gigg Lane when James Vaughan’s brace and George Miller’s close-range finish condemned the Cobblers to a 21st defeat of the campaign.

Thankfully, the ineptitude of others has spared them an immediate return to League Two but if the Cobblers are to make the most of a second chance at this level, there is much learning to be done.

“We conceded an early goal and it’s an uphill struggle and they’re the things we have to learn,” said Revell afterwards.

“We have to learn for next year that you do’t concede and you always need to be in the game. We have a big learning curve this summer and we’ve got to be ready for next year.

“At the start of the season I was looking and thinking ‘we’re going to do well here’ because maybe things were going for us and we were putting in some great performances.

“But since then we went on the run and lost to Peterborough and lost to Millwall at home and then we kind of picked ourselves up again.

“I remember beating Shrewsbury away and we went on a little run but the problem has been that we’ve probably not been in enough games.

“We were in the game on Saturday, we were on the front foot and then all of a sudden it’s 2-0 and it’s a sucker-punch and that’s something we have to learn.

“If you learn that and if you’re hard to beat and if you’re horrible to play against, sometimes the quality might not always be there but as long as you’re always in the game and you only get beat by a bit of brilliance.

“You don’t lose like we did on Saturday. We believed we should be beating them but we conceded goals we shouldn’t concede at this level.

“We just have to learn, that’s the only way you can move on.

“There’s no point looking at it and thinking ‘what could have been’. We’ll learn from this and we’ll be in a brilliant league next year and that, at the end of the day, was what everybody at the club would have wanted.”

Despite the season failing to live up to early promise, there have been signs that Northampton can compete with the best this division has to offer.

Twice they pushed runaway champions Sheffield United all the way before succumbing to late goals, and second-placed Bolton also didn’t have things all their own way in both meetings, only just scraping to 1-0 and 2-1 vicotries.

Equally, though, there is plenty of room for improvement.

Having collected a meagre 14 points from 24 games against the current top half – the worst return in the division – Northampton cannot afford to standstill this summer.

“We’ve proved at times we can massively compete – we should have got results in both games against Sheffield United and Bolton,” added Revell.

“I think it’s the games against teams in and around us and mid-table where we have to improve.

“If we go 1-0 up we have to go two or three and that’s the difference.

“I’ve missed the majority of it since the manager’s come in and it’s been hard to watch but he’s installed an intensity that we have to perform at.

“I think that next year, whoever he brings in, if you’re not performing at that intensity you won’t be in the team and that’s probably what we need to think about now.”

Cobblers boss Justin Edinburgh has explained why he opted for David Cornell over regular first-choice goalkeeper Adam Smith for Saturday’s clash at Bury.

Smith had been ever-present between the sticks since Edinburgh’s appointment in January but he was surprisingly dropped for the trip to Gigg Lane, giving Cornell a rare opportunity to impress.

But the former Swansea man may have wished he remained on the bench after a torrid day for his side as Bury romped to a 3-0 victory through goals from James Vaughan and George Miller.

Though not directly at fault for any of the goals, Cornell remains without a clean sheet in any of his nine appearances during his first season at Sixfields after signing for the club last summer.

“I spoke with Adam and I’ll keep those conversations private but I think David deserved a chance and I needed to have a look at him in first-team action,” revealed Edinburgh afterwards.

“I just felt that maybe some of Adam’s kicking of late has been a little bit erratic and nervous and it was time to make that change.

“Obviously we had to make other changes with personnel and suspensions but it was a disappointing afternoon.

“David had no chance with the goals and that’s disappointing because people like him have had to wait a long time to get an opportunity and then players perform like that in front of him which is tough to take.”

In the absence of several first-choice players through injury and suspension, Edinburgh selected a makeshift team for Saturday’s game at Bury, including both Shaun McWilliams and Brendan Moloney in midfield.

At just 18 years of age, it was McWilliams’ first ever professional start and his performance was the one ray of light on a thoroughly disappointing afternoon.

“I thought he was excellent and I thought he showed promise,” said Edinburgh.

“I’m pleased to him and I told him in that in the dressing room afterwards. I thought he did well and showed what we expect of him.

“If he keeps working hard, which he will do, he’ll continue to try and press and become a regular in this football team.

“I also thought Neal Eardley did really well. It was a big blow that he had to come off with a calf strain at half-time because I thought he was playing well.

“Other than that we were below-par.”

Time is quickly running out for Cobblers supporters to choose their Chronicle & Echo player of the year for the 2016/17 season.

Having stepped up a level after claiming the Sky Bet League Two title last April, the Cobblers have battled hard to secure their status in the third tier of English football, and that survival was confirmed last weekend.

Town were well beaten 3-0 at Bury on Saturday, but results elsewhere mean they cannot be relegated, and that was the primary target when the season kicked off in August.

There have been highs and lows along the way, and a change of manager mid-season with Rob Page being replaced by Justin Edinburgh.

The team began the campaign well, and at one point were as high as fifth in the table, but it has been a case of ensuring safety for the second half of the season, and under Edinburgh the team has done enough.

Despite some mixed results over the past nine months, there have been good performances and a lot of strong contributions from individuals throughout.

In goal, Adam Smith returned to something like his best form in the second half of the season, while in defence, Zander Diamond and Dave Buchanan have been the models of consistency, with both players rarely putting a foot wrong

Gaby Zakuani has suffered with injuries, and has also missed a few games due to international commitments, but when he has put on the shirt he has never let anybody down, and the same can be said for Lewin Nyatanga who has been an ever-present since the late autumn.

Another player whose season has been hampered by injury is right-back Brendan Moloney, but whenever he has played he has shown what a class act he is, while Aaron Phillips has been a more than capable understudy when he has been called upon.

In midfield, last season’s award winner John-Joe O’Toole has been a strong performer and scored 12 goals, many of them crucial, while Matt Taylor has been a consistent player and created havoc with his dead-ball delivery, scoring eight times in the process.

Paul Anderson has quietly and efficiently gone about his business, scoring seven goals from the flanks, while prior to his unfortunate knee injury, Sam Hoskins was really hitting his straps as an attacking force.

Up top, there is bags of experience between Marc Richards and Alex Revell, and they have both scored goals.

Richards is the club’s top-scorer after taking his tally to 13 with a goal in the 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town on Easter Monday, while Revell was outstanding early on, scoring eight goals in his first 15 games for the club, including one in the League Cup clash with footballing giants Manchester United.

Revell has scored 10 times in all, but frustratingly for him he has barely featured in 2017 after suffering a calf muscle injury at MK Dons in January.

These are just a few of the players that have done their bit over the campaign, and your favourite may or may not have been mentioned, but as is always the chase, the choice of who will be named the Cobblers player of the year 2017 lies with you, the club’s supporters.

To cast your vote for your winner couldn’t be easier.

All you need to do is email us your choice for the player of the year, and the player with the most votes wins.

The register your vote, please title your email ‘Cobblers player of the year’ and send it to chron.sports@northantsnews.co.uk

Voting is restricted to one per person, and the closing date is 6pm tomorow (Tuesday, April 25).

So get voting to do your bit to make your choice the player of the year for 2016/17.

The presentation of the award will be made at the club’s end-of-season dinner at the County Ground on Sunday night (April 30).

What were feared fake versions of the new ‘counterfeit-proof’ fiver have turned out to be genuine, washed-out notes.

Police had issued a warning over fake versions of the new £5 notes - despite claims it was impossible to copy.

Officers issued the alert after what appeared to be counterfeits of the new design were seized in Wadebridge, Cornwall.

Local police published two key differences between a real £5 note and a fake one.

The Big Ben clock tower appears in gold on the real note but the landmark did not appear at all on the ‘fake’.

Also, clear holograms appear on the top and bottom on the front of the new note while the ones discovered in Cornwall are coloured and not holographic.

But The Bank of England subsequently issued a statement saying the ‘fake’ fivers highlighted by police were genuine notes - but badly worn through ‘extreme use’.

A spokesman said: “Polymer notes are stronger than paper notes and last longer in usual day-to-day use but they are not indestructible.

“The Bank of England is aware that a small number of polymer £5 notes have been damaged due to extreme use, for example prolonged washing at high temperatures.

“In some cases this has resulted in the foil Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) being removed.

“These notes are damaged genuine banknotes not counterfeits, and a lot of other security features remain intact such as the Queen’s portrait in the window and the microlettering.

“The Bank has not seen any counterfeit Churchill £5 notes printed on polymer.”

If you’re having difficulty choosing the most flattering pictures for your online profile - then let a stranger decide, suggests new research.

With more of our lives spent online from getting a job to seeking romance, having the right profile picture may be critical as first impressions really do count.

For the first time psychologists have investigated the process by which people choose their profile pictures and how to avoid a social media faux pas.

And strikingly it showed people select more flattering profile images when selecting pictures for other people compared with when selecting for themselves.

Lead author Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr David White, of the University of New South Wales in Australia, said: “Key events in our professional, social, and romantic lives unfold on the Internet.

“Approximately one-third of employers search online for information on job candidates, half of British adults that are currently searching for a relationship have used online dating, and 1.79 billion people world-wide have an active Facebook account.

“As a result, we are continually forming first impressions of unfamiliar people in professional, romantic, and social contexts via social networking sites.

“Pictures that are chosen to represent us in these online environments - ‘profile images’ - establish a critical link between an individual’s online and offline personas

“Our findings suggest that people make poor choices when selecting flattering images of themselves for online profile pictures, which affects other people’s perception of them.

“This effect is likely to have a substantial impact on online interactions, the impressions people form and the decisions they base on them, including whether to employ, date, befriend or even vote for someone.

“Previous work has shown that people make inferences about an individual’s character and personality within a split second of seeing a photograph of their face, so our results have clear practical implications; if you want to put your best face forward, it makes sense to ask someone else to choose your picture.”

The study explored whether selecting one’s own profile picture might have a positive or negative effect on first impressions.

It asked 102 students to select two out of 12 photos of their own face that they were most or least likely to use as a profile picture in three online network contexts: social networks, dating sites and professional networks.

They were then asked to do the same for 12 images of a randomly selected stranger who had participated in the study previously.

People tended to select images that highlighted positive personality traits in line with the context of the website that the image was for.

Dr White said: “Our results demonstrate that people know how to select profile pictures that fit specific networking contexts and make positive impressions on strangers: dating images appear more attractive, and professional images appear more competent.”

However, when the researchers showed these images to strangers they had recruited via the internet and asked them to rate how attractive, trustworthy, dominant, confident or competent the person in them appeared, they found that the images people had selected for themselves made a less favourable impression than images selected by others.

Dr White added: “Future research needs to investigate the mechanisms that underlie the choices people make when selecting profile pictures to find out why people seem to have a limited ability to select the most flattering images of themselves.”

The study was published in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications.

No one is immune from cyber crime, a leading internet security expert has warned, following revelations that one in five UK businesses fell victim to online attacks last year.

Robert O’Brien, of internet security firm MetaCompliance, said the rise of hacking means business leaders and members of the public can no longer afford to think “it won’t happen to me” when it comes to cyber crime.

Mr O’Brien’s made the comments following the British Chambers of Commerce findings that 20 per cent of UK businesses were victims of cyber attacks in 2016-17.

“Figures released by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today show that one in five businesses fell victim to a cyber-attack in the past year. The figures from the BCC’s digital survey highlight the startling threat to the business community and the alarming potential for floods of personal details to fall into the hands of thieves.

“Data compromised will be sold on the dark web and the next step will be criminals hitting people’s inboxes with phishing emails - exactly the type of scams which cost consumers hundreds of millions of pounds each year.

“To put it in perspective, in the case of Wonga’s recent breach - when the personal details of more than 250,000 customers were compromised – it is very conservatively estimated that least 10 per cent of those people will lose money to cyber criminals.”

And the financial threat to businesses of ignoring cyber risks will soar with the introduction in May 2018 of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“With the GDPR approaching, all companies need to get their acts together to avoid very costly and potentially business-ending penalties. Organisations who are found in breach of the regulations will incur penalties of up to €20,000,000.

“A worrying number of UK businesses believe GDPR will not affect them. However, GDPR will require all organisations to disclose major data breaches - including those stemming from cyber-attacks - to data protection authorities and affected customers.

“For all businesses, the first line of defence is employees and it is vital that they are given the training and education to ensure no doors are left open for hackers. It important that everyone is fully aware of their responsibilities to take the right steps to minimise risk from cyber criminals.”

Justin Edinburgh is under no illusions. As manager of a team who have floundered and stumbled their way to safety this season, he is all too aware of the major rebuilding job he has on his hands over the next few months.

If ever there was a game and result that highlighted the shortcomings in Edinburgh’s squad and left him in no doubt as to the overhaul that is required, Saturday’s error-strewn and seriously out-of-sorts display against Bury at Gigg Lane was it.

After below-par showings against Millwall and Shrewsbury in their previous two outings, Northampton once again toiled and struggled on Saturday, right from the moment of James Vaughan’s third-minute opener which set the tone for a torrid afternoon.

Vaughan, now up to 24 for the season, is the last person you want to gift a clear sight of goal to and he duly capitalised on static, hesitant defending before George Miller did likewise in the second-half.

Even in the intervening period between those goals, when the Cobblers bossed most of the play, Shakers goalkeeper Joe Murphy was only once brought into strenuous action – and that from a set-piece – as the visitors lacked fluency and creativity.

It was conclusive proof, if it was needed, that this summer’s transfer business will prove absolutely crucial in Edinburgh’s attempts to transform the Cobblers from relegation battlers to stable League One club.

“We’ll get through to the summer now and we have to make sure the recruitment we bring in produces better performances over the full duration of the season and not for glimpses and that’s the job we have on our hands,” admitted the Town boss.

“There’s huge amounts to do. I wouldn’t have been brought here if this club didn’t need changes.

“I had to buck a trend after nine defeats in 11 games and it doesn’t happen instantly.

“I think we got there and got a good run together and I think we’ve been hurt by injuries and suspensions over the last couple of weeks.

“Would that be my team (against Bury) if I had everyone fit? No. So we’ve been weakened in the last couple of weeks but that’s no excuse.

“There are certainly changes to be made and they will be made. Some will come, some will stay and a lot will go.

“Then, when we come back for the summer, I can put my own stamp on it and move the club forward and make sure we’re not in this position next year.”

As an experienced campaigner and a veteran of 13 clubs, Alex Revell has seen plenty during his 16-year career and he too admits the Cobblers have no option but to improve for what will surely be a tougher, more competitive division next season.

He commented: “Like the manager said there’s going to be people at the end of the season going back to their clubs or out of contract and the gaffer’s got to make decisions because this year was tough but next year’s League One is going to be tougher.

“We need to be ready and performances like the one at Bury are going to stick in the gaffer’s mind and he’ll know full well we need to improve.

“We’ve put in performances like Saturday and that’s not down to the gaffer – that’s down to us when we go on the pitch.

“This year we’ve stayed up but we’ve stayed up because unfortunately other people have lost, whereas we wanted to win and finish on a positive.

“It’s great that we’re here for another year but we don’t want to be thinking like that, not with the players that we have in the squad.

“We have to improve and everyone needs to go back and have a look at how they performed this year and try to improve for next season.”

Revell’s own Sixfields future should be relatively secure having signed a two-year deal last summer but that is a rarity in the context of Northampton’s current squad with many players unlikely to be around next season.

“Pressure’s not nice,” added the striker. “There are a lot of players out of contract and sometimes you try a bit too hard but I think the lads who are out of contract this year, most of them have performed well throughout the whole season if I’m completely honest.

“But it’s down to gaffer – even if you’ve played well you might not be the one he wants to keep.

“But when you do play you’ve got to put it into the gaffer’s mind that you want to be here and you want to play and you have to play well.

“Losing 3-0 to a team fighting for their lives doesn’t look good on the lads.

“The manager’s going to want his own players and he’ll want to put his own stamp on it.

“He’ll have a pre-season and work with new players to get to get to the standard we need to be at.”