Two lanes of the M1 motorway were closed for more than an hour earlier following a crash.

A motobike and a car crashed on the northbound carriageway between Junction 16 and 18, near the Watford Gap service station, at about 7.45am today.

The male rider of the motorbike was taken to Walsgrave Hospital but his injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the discovery of a man’s body in the early hours of this morning at an address in Adnitt Road, Abington.

The man, from Northampton, was arrested in Roe Road at approximately 3.30am. Police have confirmed the 48-year-old victim died as a result of head injuries.

The victim’s body was reportedly found at Sears House, a converted factory building in Adnitt Road.

The crime scene was this morning sealed off by Northamptonshire Police and officers were conducting house-to-house inquiries in the area.

A police spokesman said: “The cause of death will be confirmed once a post-mortem examination has been carried out.”

Anyone with information can call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Rail workers on London Midland Trains, which serves Northampton, are to be balloted for strikes in a row over the sacking of a colleague.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at London Midland will vote on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action.

The union claimed its member James Crabtree, who worked as a revenue protection officer, was sacked for resisting an assault by a known troublemaker.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “London Midland display posters at their stations stipulating ‘We always prosecute those who intimidate and abuse or assault our staff’, yet the company has failed miserably in their duty of care and support towards James Crabtree.

“Instead of protecting him, the company has dismissed him in the most blatant travesty of workplace justice - siding instead with a known troublemaker who is the kind of menace who should be barred from our railways.”

A London Midland spokesman said: “We are still following the disciplinary procedure which is agreed with the RMT. This is a fair process and as this case is still subject to an appeal hearing we are unable to comment on any detail at this time.

“However, we are very disappointed that the RMT have chosen to ballot their members while the agreed process is still ongoing. “

Last week the Government announced London Midland’s franchise to run trains from London Euston to Birmingham, serving thousands of rail commuters out of Northampton every week, would be extended until at least June 2017.

The woman who died following a crash on a Northamptonshire road last week has been named by police.

Daria Sandra Pikus, aged 22, from Spencer Road, Wellingborough, was walking across Turnells Mill Lane in Wellingborough at about 10.15pm on Thursday, March 28, having just come out of a parked silver Ford Focus.

As she walked across the road, she was in collision with a silver Vauxhall Corsa, travelling in the opposite direction.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Polcie said: “Daria, who was Polish, had been in the country for only a few weeks, and had been on her way back from work.”

She died at the scene.

Witnesses can call the Drivewatch hotline on 0800 174 615.

Police are linking two town centre muggings, which happened within minutes of each other and left one woman with a broken jaw.

The first incident happened on Monday, sometime between 5.30pm and 6.30pm, in Weedon Road, Northampton.

A 57-year-old woman was walking along Weedon Road towards the town centre, near Matalan, when she was approached by two men who blocked her path and demanded money.

A small amount of cash was taken. The woman was then punched, which resulted in a broken jaw.

Then, a 52-year-old woman was walking along Duston Road when she was approached by two men.

One of the men blocked the victim’s path and demanded money. She escaped without any injury and nothing was stolen.

The two men are white, in their late teens to early 20s, between 5ft 2in and 5ft 6in, and were wearing grey sports clothes.

It’s a rare thing to be immersed so fully in a game you think “I wish this was real.”

Many games have captured me by their superb hi-octane set pieces, expertly put together cinematics and gameplay to die for, but games that have gripped me and sucked me in are few and far between.

The gaming masterpiece that is Bishock Infinite did this.

It has to be said, this game is so expertly crafted both setting wise and gameplay wise even the most critical of video games reviewers will find it hard to pick their jaw up off the ground.

Set in 1921, we take on the role of former Pinkerton agent, Booker Dewitt who has been given a daring task of rescuing a young woman named Elizabeth from the floating air-city situated high

above the clouds named Columbia.

When Booker arrives, he soon finds out the city is torn between two factions, the nativists and the Elite who are fighting to keep Colombia a law abiding city while the Nativists are fighting for

freedom of common folks.

Due to the intensity of the two factions colliding, rescuing Elizabeth is no easy task especially seen as though she seems to possess extraordinary power that Colombia’s founder, Comstock won’t give up easily.

Of course there is a lot more to the story and to be frank it is seriously engaging thanks to the fantastic voice acting and excellently written dialogue.

Booker is an ideal tough guy perfect for the protagonist role and Elizabeth is a beautiful character that really makes you care for her but she can certainly handle her own.

Bioshock Infinite is a first person shooter and is the third game in the Bioshock series and players who have played the first Bioshock will find similarities throughout but they are subtle ones.

Shortly after arriving to Colombia, Booker retrieves the power to use Vigors which are similar to the Plasmids from the first game and can give you special powers such as summoning a flock of evil crows to kill and subdue opponents and throw fire bombs to name a few.

The shooting mechanic has been perfected and killing enemies feels beastly thanks to the array of weapons that feel like they kick like a government mule.

The coolest feature in Bioshock Infinite is the new way of getting around in the form of the Skyline which is essentially a rail system connecting each island that makes up the city.

These are fantastic and breath-taking to use and some of the scripted key moments involving them are simply stunning to behold.

It’s like a 35,000 foot high rollercoaster that you won’t ever want to get off.

Of course, using the Skyline opens up the skill to take enemies out from the air and pull off extremely slick looking air executions with the aid of a spinning blade weapon Booker finds at the beginning.

Vigor power, health and armour are replenished by pickups littering the game and some can permanently enhance them.

The ability to change Bookers’ gear has been added to Infinite which give him special perks that act as passive abilities.

Bioshock Infinite looks stunning from the first ride up to the beautiful city of Colombia to the onslaught of jaw dropping Skyline rides with the assistance of sights that will make your eyes water.

Every building is a floating wonder with Zeppelins and blimps littering the skies around you, it’s a serious sight to behold.

However, if you get motion sick or hate heights then I suggest you steer clear as this world is scarily believable.

Colombia’s streets are full of things going on with fairs and shows however, it also has its creepy chapels and intimidating looking gigantic statues.

There is the occasional frame rate drop here and there but this is easily overlooked as it’s not an often occurrence.

It’s hard to fault Bioshock Infinite’s sights and sounds as it succeeds in keeping the gripping nature of the world its set in and it’s even harder to fault its top class gameplay too.

Summary

Irrational Games and 2K Games have created a monster of a game that wears the epic badge

proudly.

The story is one hard to forget which walks hand in hand with the outstanding gameplay and any player will be gripped from the start.

Colombia is a delightful break from the underwater city of Rapture featured in the previous games

and capitalises on delivering breath taking views spanning hundreds of miles from thousands of feet

above the ground.

I can’t sing about this game enough, play it and you will quickly see why.

Bioshock Infinite

Developer: Irrational Games

Publisher: 2K Games

Xbox 360®

Playstation 3®

PC

Genre: FPS

Release Date: 26th March 2013

Story – 5/5

Graphics – 5/5

Gameplay – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

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This week seems to have been a mighty one for squabbles – and not just in political circles. Maybe it’s something to do with the unrelenting misery of the weather that is shortening fuses – maybe not. There’s certainly something in the air though and it’s more than just the lack of warmth, unlike this time 12 months ago when shorts and T-shirts were the clothing of choice.

There’ll be little in the way of political squabbling covered in the media for the next few weeks – it may be going on but you won’t find it reported. That’s because with council elections on the way there is a blanket ban on any publicity-seeking by those putting themselves up for consideration.

AREn’T we all adults?

I must admit that I’ve always been somewhat bemused by this. Surely as adult voters we’re deemed adult enough to make up our own minds to vote as we wish. By the same token aren’t we also adult enough to spot when we’re being spun a sales pitch immediately before a vote? I find it ironic that a certain television profile was broadcast immediately before the election period began, the print media leading heavily with it before it went out.

reverse psychology

Then again, perhaps there’s a reverse psychology at work here, encouraging more of us as voters to turn out and exercise our mandates. If so, I support it wholeheartedly – I believe there’s way too much general apathy in how we - the public – decide how and by whom we want to be governed.

It is simply not good enough to utter some meaningless platitude about politicians being of equal value, be they local or national. If we don’t use our vote, we have no right to complain about the kind of government that we end up with – simple.

Sport is now seeing a mighty squabble, thanks to the antics of a young german called Sebastian Vettel. The current Formula 1 world champion, last weekend he demonstrated a singular lack of sportsmanlike behaviour when he muscled his way past Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to effectively steal a hugely unpopular win at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

driving gloves are off

After ignoring what appears to have been team orders from his employers and a prior agreement to run to a certain agenda, Vettel went on to offer a general apology after the race – by which stage his “professionalism” was all too clear and atonement way too late.

The driving gloves are clearly off now and it’ll be interesting to see how the Red Bull managers in Milton Keynes calm troubled waters there by the time the F1 circus reconvenes at the Chinese Grand Prix in a few weeks. Corporate as well as human politics will come into play and deft damage limitation is now needed.

If Red Bull is misfiring right now, there was a great example of teamwork getting it right on the night on Tuesday at Balestra as students of the University of Northampton put on a fundraising fashion show entitled “Sweet 
Dreams”. I went along as a guest expecting a degree of exuberant chaos – exuberance there was with live music, a catwalk show and an after-show party, but no chaos. Instead there was tremendous performance, hosting, professionalism and attention to detail. 
It all ran brilliantly to time and full credit to the 1st year models, 2nd year marketing gurus and 3rd year designers who put the show on in front of an appreciative audience. And the fashion on display? An abundance of pastel shades, men’s shirts on girl’s backs 
and the shortest of shorts. A lesson in people politics taught through future 
fashion.

MURMURINGS that the wheels are in motion at the Northampton South Conservative Association could be a little premature if Aufona’s sources are correct.

A couple of weeks ago, after it became pretty obvious The Mack was lining up Bran Eldred as his number two at the Guildhall, we intimated he might well be a shoo-in for the bigger job of Conservative candidate at the next General Election.

But the fact remains that Binners, who turns 71 on Easter Monday, hasn’t even started to consider his future because he is – quite rightly – concentrating on beating the illness which he announced at the turn of the year, ahead of a six-month treatment programme. He remains busy – he had two meetings with the Prime Minister this week alone, one social, one business and shows no real signs of letting up not least on the Northampton Alive regeneration drive which, friends say, he fully intends to push ahead with gusto until May 2015, regardless of what his political future holds, because of the potential effect it could have on Northampton for generations to come.

Indeed Aufona understands Binners is unlikely to make any decision on his future before the middle of June or early July and, crucially, has the backing of the association if he intends to fight another term.

Other sources have also pointed out that – if Binners were to stand aside – The Mack is not an automatic choice. Around 75 candidates applied to be the PPC for Northampton South in 2005 and there’s every reason to think it could be a Tory target seat (to defend) this time around too. While The Mack has his undoubted connections in Westminster (PICKLES!) there’s a long way to go. Or maybe not if the Big Man decides to go for it later this year. Watch this space...

PS: Labour is reportedly going to be piling in the resources into getting David Palethorpe elected in The Mack’s county council constituency, Billing and Rectory Farm. Meanwhile, Danielle Stone – who has been allegedly keeping the Northampton South Labour Party very much on its toes of late – will be standing in Abington and Phippsville.

NEVER underestimate the geographical skills of people. In a statement the other day on the closure of the Early Learning Centre store in Market Walk, the company told us: “We hope this has not upset any customers and that they will continue to shop at our ELC store in Horsham, West Sussex”. Rather than the St James Retail Park then...

ADIEU to Slugger Church, who’s standing down from the county council – and all frontline politics in Northampton – after about three centuries services. We always admired his streetfighter approach to politics, he was a proper adversary, but his powers seem to have diminished since that Clegg bloke popped up alongside a Tory Prime Minister. Farewell too to Dick Giddings. Four years was probably enough. Time for a rest now...

IT would be remiss not to signpost you all to not one but TWO Gonzo stories this week. Both of them characteristically odd, to say the least.

Firstly, we had the very well placed Tory who blabbed to Aufona about Adam’s Park, the green space in East Hunsbury, named after Gonzo’s son, who also happened to be on the planning team. At the age of eight.

And then there’s Gonzo popping up to sign off a £3,379 donation to #PCC Simmonds’ election campaign.

Considering how he seems to have fallen out of favour with his own boss, Norman Hacker, after seeming to back the police/fire merger – (or police/fire/ambulance merger or no merger at all?) – it might look a bit strange. Luckily for him, however, he was just acting as treasurer for Northampton South Tories rather actually making a personal donation to get young Adam elected. A brace of delicious stories there then, prominently positioned in this fine edition, and ones the voters will doubtless mull over carefully before marking their cross on May 2.

SEMLEP rarely features here as we find ourselves addicitively drawn to the goings-on of NEP, purveyors of a council tax-funded Brussels office. But after tweeting they had a new CEO on Tuesday, we had to repeat its Twitter handle was indeed, a letter-shy @SouthEastMidlan. To which @johnpalethorpe replied: ‘UKSEMLEP, SEMLEPUK, SEMidsLEP available, although semlep already taken. Bizarre social media decision’. Quite.

The cost of wasted NHS medicines in Northamptonshire this year could have paid for 600 life-saving heart operations.

The £4.6 million figure is being publicised to coincide with the launch of the Northamptonshire Medicines Waste campaign.

Sue Smith, head of prescribing and medicines management at NHS Nene and NHS Corby, said: “Medicines wastage is a serious problem for the NHS.

“Some patients or carers with repeat prescriptions order more medication than they really need and stockpile them at home. People often continue to order medicines they are no longer taking and do not need.

“All of this wastes millions of pounds. But that cost can be counted in human terms too, given the healthcare that this money could have been spent on, but also the health benefits that people may not be getting because they are not taking their medicines as intended.”

The money could also have been spent on cataract operations for 4,780 people to give them a greater chance at regaining their sight or potentially life-saving breast cancer drug treatments for 304 women.

Mrs Smith said: “Think carefully before ticking all the boxes on your repeat prescription request form and only tick those you really need.

“If your pharmacist or a carer orders your medicines on your behalf, make sure that you tell them to only order what you need.

“If you need the medicine in the future you will still be able to request it. You should let your GP or pharmacist know if you’ve stopped taking any of your medicines or if you have any concerns. If you are going into hospital please take all your medicines with you.”

“Medicines are prescribed to prevent ill health, relieve symptoms or cure serious illnesses. If these are not taken as intended, this is considered a waste because they are not being used for the right reasons.

“If you have any queries or concerns about your medicines you can ask your pharmacist for a Medicines Use Review. The pharmacist will explain what all your medicines are for and answer any questions you may have. Alternatively you can ask your doctor for advice.”

Work has stopped on the development of a solar farm in Silverstone after council officials realised it was not being built in line with original plans.

A spokesman for South Northamptonshire Council said: “It was brought to our attention the solar farm was not in accordance with the approved plans.

“Officers immediately asked the developer to cease work.”

It was discovered the number of rows of panels was different from that shown on the approved plans.

The applicant has now applied to amend the planning permission.

If the revised scheme was refused, the council would take enforcement action if the developer did not revert back to the original scheme.

Saints are remaining tight-lipped on claims that George North has signed on at Franklin’s Gardens.

Wales Online are tonight (Wednesday) reporting that the Wales wing has agreed a two-year deal with Northampton.

North, who has one year left on his Scarlets deal, has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks.

And he has also been at the centre of a row between his club and the Welsh Rugby Union over attempts to keep him in the country.

Northampton’s interest in the player has been well documented, with chairman Leon Barwell confirming his club’s interest in the 20-year-old to the Chron last week.

But Saints will make no comment on reports the player has finally put pen to paper and an announcement is not imminent.

A car has tonight crashed into three houses in Little Billing, causing “substantial” damage to the properties.

Police have confirmed they are still dealing with the incident, which happened in Swinford Hollow, in Little Billing, at around 8.45pm.

The driver and occupants of the vehicle have all been taken to Northampton General Hospital.

Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Nobody inside the houses was injured.

However, the crash has caused significant damage to the properties and police, fire and ambulance services are at the scene.

Saints boss Jim Mallinder admits his team would love to be playing this weekend as they aim to banish their derby-day demons.

Mallinder’s men were beaten 36-8 by Leicester Tigers at Franklin’s Gardens last weekend, conceding four tries during a torrid second half.

They must now wait until a week on Sunday, at London Welsh, to get it out of their system as this weekend is dominated by European rugby.

Saints were eliminated at the Heineken Cup pool stages and were unable to do enough to make the Amlin Challenge Cup.

And Mallinder admits he would much prefer his side to be playing this weekend, rather than waiting more than two weeks to overcome their Tigers mauling.

“Yes, we would like to play this week,” he said. “It’s a shame we’re going to have another week’s break but the lads will come into training, we’ll keep working hard and we’ve got to really push now for the end of the season.”

Aidy Boothroyd feels only minor adjustments will need to be made by his Cobblers team to recover from Monday’s loss at Cheltenham with a positive result at Bradford City on Saturday.

Town head to Valley Parade still third in npower League Two but with the race for automatic promotion intensifying every week.

Northampton are level on points with Cheltenham but ahead of them on goal difference, while Burton Albion, whose draw at Accrington on Easter Monday deprived them of a top-three place, are a point behind.

Rotherham could overtake the Brewers if they win their game in hand and there is likely to be many more twists and turns between now and the season’s final day on April 27.

Boothroyd’s men will be automatically promoted if they win all five of their remaining fixtures but they will need to improve their poor away performances if they are to achieve such a feat.

The display at Cheltenham was a good one, especially in the second half, and although the team came home empty-handed, Boothroyd believes it was a step in the right direction.

“We’ve had a couple of days off this week because we’ve been pretty intense with the players recently,” he said.

“There have been quite a few games and they’ve worked very hard when they’ve been in for training as well.

“We’ve reflected on the game at Cheltenham and there were lots and lots of positives to take from that game.

“It’s not just about making sure we put the little things right, the minor details.

“At this stage of the season is about mental strength, concentration and organisation and we fell down on our organisation a bit on Monday, in terms of defending throw-ins.”

Clive Platt has returned to full fitness and will be available for the Cobblers’ trip to Bradford City on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

The veteran striker, who scored at Bradford in the FA Cup first-round replay between the sides in November, sat out the Easter Monday game at Cheltenham on the substitutes bench after a calf injury saw him withdrawn at half-time of the win over Torquay United on Good Friday night.

Platt’s return means manager Aidy Boothroyd has just two absentees in his squad, with Kelvin Langmead continuing his rehabilitation from a recent knee operation and Alex Nicholls - who travelled to Cheltenham with the squad - out with a broken leg.

Loan trio David Artell (Wrexham), Lewis Wilson (Bishop Stortford) and Louis Moult (Nuneaton) are all away.

Bradford have virtually no injury concerns of their own, with long-term knee injury victim Luke Oliver the only player likely to be missing.

Nahki Wells, who scored a hat-trick against Northampton at Sixfields last season, is expected to lead the Bantams line alongside James Hanson.

But goalkeeper Matt Duke, who made nine appearances on loan for the Cobblers last term, will be on the bench with Jon McLaughlan the preferred option in goal.

Several county players have been selected for the England international trial teams who will meet up next month in Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire.

The England junior women’s trial, which will be held on Saturday, May 18, sees an opportunity for Rebecca Wigfield (Desborough BC) to make it a second international call-up for England following her first indoor appearance in February.

Also selected is 15-year-old Chloe Wordingham (Higham Ferrers Town BC) for her first call-up to an outdoor trial, following on from her success indoors at under-25 level and her performances at Leamington last year.

The junior men’s trial, to be held on Saturday, May 25, sees a first call-up for 17-year-old Connor Cinato (Kettering Midland Band BC) who has already cemented a place in the indoor under-18 mixed England squad, and he will be very keen to show his skills on the outdoor stage.

The 2012 Taylor Bowls Male Bowler of the Year, Jamie Walker (Northampton West End BC), who was awarded his first cap in 2010, will also be in action.

Joining an England trial, also for the first time, will be Callum Height (Thrapston BC) who caught the selectors’ eyes at Worthing last year in the under-25 singles

where he reached the semi-finals.

The senior men’s trial will be staged the following day and selected for his first trial for a number of years is former England international Paul Broderick (Wellingborough).

In addition to being selected for the junior trial, Walker will also compete in the senior event.

Winner Corbyn goes through to final

Results and fixtures from the latest games in county competitions:

Singles, semi-final: Mark Corbyn (Wellingborough) beat John Haines (Desborough). He now meets either Matt Pownall or Connor Cinato (both Desborough) in the final.

Pairs, semi-final: David Walker & partner, (Kingsthorpe) beat Ross Knox & partner, (Desborough). They now meet eitherWayne Gregory & partner (Wellingborough) or Darren Lewis & partne (Kingsthorpe) in the final.

Fours, semi-final: Jim McCamley/Trevor Anderson/Martin Cinato/Connor Cinato, (Desborough) 20 Jason Bryan/Darren Lewis/Mick Sharpe/Vernon Gearey (Kingsthorpe ) 19.

They now meet either Mike Arnold’s rink (Kingsthorpe) or Chris Bland’s rink, (Northampton & District) in the final.

Under-25 Singles, semi-final: Matt Cattell, (Rushden Town IBC) beat Danny Walker, (Wellingborough). He now meets either Connor Cinato (Desborough) or David Walker (Kingsthorpe) in the final.

Cavaliers prove too strong for Police

The Cavaliers BA met the Northamptonshire Retired Police BA at Wellingborough IBC last week for the annual match in which the John Macpherson Shield was at stake.

On the day the Cavaliers proved too strong and won on all but one of the rinks with a final advantage of 44 shots overall.

The highest scoring rink was that skipped by Mick Hall who claimed a 33-13 victory. The final score was Cavaliers 135 Retired Police

91.

Rink scores (Cavaliers names first) Rink one: Peter Kneeshaw/Malcolm Tait/Don Smith/Ken Court 21 Tom Dowdy/Harry Twelvetree/Tim Robinson/Peter Simmons 18.

Rink two: Trevor Tilley/Colin Bradbury/Ken Legan/Richard Somerton 23 Mike McKeown/Graham Earl/Paul Langdon/Mick Lee 13.

Rink three: Roger Summers/Peter Byworth/John Cooper/Alan Spencer 15 John Ruff/Robert Tapp/Norman Cooper/Bill Tapp 10.

Rink four: Len Smith/Stewart Laxton/Harvey Fruish/Geoff Hunt 18 Phil Webb/David Johns/John Mayes/Bob Tingle 22.

Rink five: Peter Hooton/Tony Hancock/

Tony Warren/Brian Sherwood 25 Greg Benton/Alan Berwick/Clive Appleton/Brian Hayes

15.

Rink six: Graham Cashmore/Keith Howlett/Ron Fox/Mick Hall 33 Gavin Bremner/Dave Chapman/Trevor Lane/Arnie Bell 13.

Northants team to take on Middlesex

Northants men take on Middlesex in a friendly at Wellingborough IBC on April 10.

Northants team – Rink one: Alan Baulch, (Northampton), Geoff Allen (Daventry), Tony Warren (Northampton), Tony Weston, Northampton. Rink two: Roger Summers (Northampton), Mick Weatherill (Desborough), Brian Sherwood (Rushden), Ted Guiver (Wellingborough). Rink three: Jim Diver (Desborough), Keith Howlett (Desborough), Andy Hogg (Northampton), Reg Jones (Northampton). Rink four: Dougie Cooper (Kingsthorpe), Trevor Tilley (Wellingborough), Brian Langton (Rushden), Richard Somerton (Brackley). Rink five: Peter Woodhams (Rushden), Don Scott (Brackley), Geoff Harris (Rushden), Norman Gibb (Desborough).

Rink six: Stuart Lowe (Brackley), Bill Craig (Desborough), Brian Diver (Desborough), Bob Tingle (Desborough). Reserves: John Clarke (Kingsthorpe), Barry Adair (Desborough),

Geoff Hunt (Wellingborough), John Smith (Kettering).

Daventry say farewell to club great Archie

Former Daventry IBC and Daventry Town BC bowler Archie Wilson passed away on Wednesday, March 27. He was 82. Archie settled in England in 1968 after moving from East Lothian and was a valuable member of Daventry Town BC for nearly 40 years. He was extremely successful as a player, winning the Club Championship, two-wood singles, pairs and triples, VP’s Harris Cup, and was a member of Manfield Cup winning team. He was also a former president (twice) and captain (four times). His funeral is at 10am at Banbury Crematorium on Friday, April 5.

A fifth of all burglaries in Northamptonshire in the last year happened because victims left doors and windows open and unlocked, police have said.

Northamptonshire Police today released the stat as part of a drive to ensure residents do not fall victim to predatory and opportunistic burglars during the summer months.

It also comes amid an alarming spike in the number of recorded burglaries across the county.

Detective Inspector Nick Lyall, burglary lead for the police, said: “These types of offences are preventable and we encourage people to take some simple steps to make life harder for thieves.

“We appreciate that we repeat this message year after year, but we tend to see an increase in burglaries at this time of year as a result of people leaving windows and doors open while their property is left unattended.

“Many burglars are opportunists - they will take advantage of an unlocked door or window.

“It may seem obvious advice but it’s important to get into the habit of locking all doors and making sure all windows are secure every time you go out and when you go to bed.

“Items that can be stolen easily, such as car keys, wallets and phones, should be kept in a safe place, out of sight and away from windows and doors.”

Operation Guardian continues to target offenders involved in house burglaries.

In the last 12 months, officers have executed 303 warrants for theft offences and have made 636 arrests relating to house burglaries.

Embattled Conservative county councillor Andre Gonzalez de Savage will fight in next month’s elections despite an eleventh hour emergency meeting which threatened to cost him his seat.

With nomination papers for the county council elections on May 2 due in by noon tomorrow, Conservatives in East Hunsbury last night called an emergency meeting to decide on the future of Councillor de Savage, who is the Tory administration’s cabinet member for public protection and the ward member since 2005.

At an 8pm meeting, understood to have been held at Wootton Community Centre, Councillor Gonzalez de Savage received what sources have told the Chron was a “severe ticking off” for a string of adverse stories in recent weeks which some members felt had damaged the party’s position in the ward.

Chief among these was a Chron exclusive last week which revealed how a park had been named after his own eight-year-old son.

Northampton Borough Council removed the sign at Adam’s Park in East Hunsbury because it was put up without any planning permission whatsoever and told the councillor that if he wanted it back he would have to come and collect it from the Guildhall.

The Chron now understands that the councillor did exactly that last Thursday when he went to retrieve it from the Westbridge depot in St James but was told he could not have it back after he allegedly threatened to stick it back up in East Hunsbury

The park story was picked up by the Conservative-leaning Fleet Street press, including the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph, both of which carried quotes from Labour group leader at County Hall, John McGhee who accused the 45-year-old councillor of being “egotistical” and “arrogant” for naming the park without permission.

That report had come on the back of a number of other adverse stories since the turn of the year, including the councillor’s apparent backing - complete with a photocall with the new police and crime commissioner Adam Simmonds - for a so-called “merger” between the police force and fire brigade.

That appeared to be out of kilter with the position of the Conservative high command at County Hall, including leader Jim Harker, and sources high up within the party said he had become “increasingly isolated” as a result of that.

In addition, criticism has been levelled at him for many months now because the street lights in the road where he lives in Wootton have remained switched on while across the county, Councillor Gonzalez de Savage, who was the political face of a countywide switch-off of the lights as part of a long-term PFI-funded scheme to improve them.

While the technical explanation for the lights remaining on in Simpson Manor was that the roads were “unadopted” this did little to assuage the hostility felt in some quarters of Wootton and East Hunsbury, where he remains a parish councillor.

And only this week, it emerged that independent parish councillor, Liam Costello, had written to residents in Wootton asking why the county councillor’s road had planters in it when the parish policy was to install them only in “main distributor roads” within the area.

A senior insider in the party told the Chron: “The position is that Andre will fight the seat for the Tories on May 2. However, in the event both he and the Conservative administration is re-elected, there’s no likelihood whatsoever of him being in a new cabinet. He would effectively be moved to the back benches.”

Councillor Gonzalez de Savage, who is a businessman, has recently updated his register of interests on the county council website. They include “meeting, accommodation, transport and meals” to Brussels, from the Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership quango, of which he remains a board member. The council has committed £6m of taxpayers’ cash to that organisation over three years.

He also lists a parliamentary seminar on February 28, 2013, courtesy of the Business Sprinkler Alliance Ltd and also holds non-statutory positions with SEMLEP, the Waterside Enterprise Zone Board and Royal & Derngate as well as owning land at “Villa Ashby” in Wootton Hall Park.

Northamptonshire’s Charley Hull was delighted with her stunning professional debut on the Ladies European Tour after she finished joint-second in the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.

Despite missing the cut in a LET Access Tour event in France the previous week, Hull never dropped outside the top three in a stronger field in Agidir as she carded rounds of 68, 70, 64 and 71.

The 17-year-old said: “It was really fun - I really enjoyed it. I didn’t hole as many putts as I would have liked to but I played pretty solid all week.

“It was my first tournament on the Ladies European Tour as a pro and I came joint-second, so I’m very happy. It was my first time in that kind of position and I think I handled it quite well.”

The Kettering member made a brilliant start to the tournament as she birdied four of the opening six holes in tricky windy conditions to sit in third position after the first day.

Hull, who made it through Q School in the same country in December, continued to hit the fairways in the second round as she comfortably made the cut in second position.

Drawn alongside legend Laura Davies and five-time Tour winner Lee-Anne Pace on day three, the teenager produced a masterclass as she smashed eight birdies to move one clear at the top of the leaderboard.

Although Hull kept composed on the final day, she couldn’t match the brilliance of her friend Ariya Jutanugarn as the Thai teenager birdied the opening three holes on her way to a three shot success.

The former Curtis Cup winner wasn’t at all disappointed about missing out on a first victory in her pro debut on the LET as she picked up €27,868.75 to move into 10th place in this season’s Order of Merit.

Hull is in the field for the South African Women’s Open on the main tour later this month, as well as the Turkish Ladies Open, Deloitte Ladies Open in Amsterdam and the Ladies German Open in May.