Worms is probably one of the longest running games franchises of all time and it’s hard to believe the original little warmongers first hit our screens back in 1995 on the Amiga.

Worms; Collection, developed by Team 17 and published by Mastertronic for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 includes the original Worms, Worms 2: Armageddon and Worms: ultimate Mayhem and a nice selection of downloadable content.

For those unaware of this gaming franchise,Worms is a turn based game where players control a small platoon of earthworms across a deformable landscape.

The objective is to destroy your enemy with an incredible array of weapons before they destroy you.

Worms is the game that started the madness off and is still enjoyable today.

Haven’t had the HD treatment the game doesn’t look dated at all.

With really vibrant colours and nice graphics it hasn`t lost any of its charm with the silly accents of each team member providing some funny moments.

This is a great game for all ages especially as you can customise each character in your team with names and accents.

Worms: Armageddon is basically the same as the first one except there are more weapons and has plenty of DLC included

Worms: Ultimate Mayhem rewrote the book on Worms with the little blighters becoming 3D.

This for me didn`t work as it loses most of its charm and the game play isn`t that great, with overly complex aiming and manoeuvring it quickly becomes a chore and no longer fun.

There’s no shortage of original and mayhem causing weaponry and each worm has as standard a rocket launcher but as you progress more elaborate weapons and gadgets are unlocked allowing air strikes and teleporting.

Worms at its heart is a strategy game as you do have to manoeuvre each worm to aim and launch.

This can include tunnelling under unsuspecting enemies and leaving sticks of dynamite, or lobbing over shrapnel grenades.

Summary

Worms shows us that if you have a great idea and a simple story you can make a classic.

This game might be old school in many ways but it still does have that magic element that still calls you back for more.

The Worms franchise will be around for a while yet and gamers still can`t get enough of them.

This is a great introduction for any one new to Worms and shows that a simple good idea can last a long time and it’s not the most expensive game around so worth a go.

Worms Collection

Developer: Team 17

Publisher: Mastertronic

Xbox 360®

Playstation 3®

Genre: Action/ Strategy

Release Date: 31st August 2012

Police have named the victim of a fatal road crash in Daventry at the weekend.

Traffic officers have confirmed Robert Pejas, aged 39, of Daventry, was the person who died in the crash, which happened in the early hours of Sunday morning.

His car left the road and crashed into a tree.

The incident, on Thames Road in the Grange estate, close to the underpass through to Drayton, was reported at around 5.15am.

No other vehicles were involved and the man, who was driving a red Toyota Corolla hatchback, was pronounced dead at the scene.

SAINTS have been dealt a big injury blow by the news full-back Ben Foden will be out for a number of weeks after suffering major ankle ligament damage.

Foden was clattered by winger Tom Biggs in Saints’ 18-14 win at Bath last Friday night and left The Recreation Ground on crutches, with his foot in a surgical boot.

After the game, Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder claimed that was just a precaution and he was ‘hopeful it is just a strain’.

And Foden tweeted: “Ankle is very sore and swollen this morning but hopefully not as bad as feared maybe just a bad roll! Physio at 12 to be sure.#rubberbones”

But at the club’s AGM on Monday night, Mallinder revealed Foden had suffered ‘major ligament damage’ and would be out for ‘a number of weeks’.

Foden is likely to now miss crucial Premiership and Heineken Cup games, with his participation in England’s autumn internationals, which start on November 10, also in doubt.

The 27-year-old will see a specialist on Wednesday, who will further assess the damage.

Castres Olympique have announced that the Heineken Cup Round 2 match against Saints on Friday, October 19, is now being played at the Stade Ernest Wallon in Toulouse.

It is the third time that Castres have switched a match to Toulouse’s home ground – which holds 19,000 as opposed to the 10,500 capacity of the Stade Pierre Antoine – with the first two coming last season against Munster (Heineken Cup) and Montpellier (Top 14) and follows Saints’ own switch of venue to stadiumMK for its Heineken Cup pool match against Munster last season.

The switch has been made by Castres with the approval of tournament organisers ERC and the blessing of Saints whose chief executive Allan Robson believes that the switch will make travel easier for Saints supporters intending to travel to southern France.

“Castres is a nice town, but it is a difficult place to get to and the number and range of accommodation is quite limited,” Robson said. “As we know from experience, Toulouse is considerably easier to travel to, has a wide variety of hotels to suit most budgets and can be accessed directly on flights from a number of UK airports.

“The away game against Castres will be very tough, and hopefully this switch may enable more Saints supporters to travel to France and get behind the team.”

The Saints have also announced, with regret, that there will be no official club trip to the game.

“European away trips are a highlight of the season for many supporters and we looked at all possibilities as to how we could make it affordable for as many people as we could,” Robson explained. “Unfortunately this just has not been possible. October is still in peak travel season and charter aircraft are in high demand, while scheduled airlines just don’t have the space to accommodate the bulk bookings we would require.

“We also did not have a sufficient number of advance enquiries required to book our own charter aircraft, which is understandable given the current economic climate. Nevertheless we would like to thank those supporters who registered their interest, and hope that this news will not stop them from making their own arrangements to get to the game.”

Officers from Northamptonshire have arrested three people on suspicion of burglary following a 30 mile police chase.

Dave Lee of Northamptonshire Police tweeted immediately after the incident this afternoon and said: “Just had a 30 mile pursuit from Northants into Warwickshire. Three burglars in custody. It was brought to an end by tactical contact after stinger deployment. There was no way he was going to the town centre.”

Officers were alerted following the theft of a Fiat Punto car from a property in Nottingham. The vehicle was driven down the M1 and Northamptonshire Police took over the pursuit after it crossed ther county border.

The chase then switched to the M6 and a stinger device was used to stop the car near Nuneaton.

Three people were arrested and taken to Nuneaton police station for questioning.

Film-makers from Towcester, Daventry and Northampton were recognised for their talent at the fifth Film Northants short film festival

A full house of more than 200 film-makers, supporters and local dignitaries attended the event at Cineworld, which saw five films made in the county pick up awards.

Supernatural drama No Second Chances by Barry Smith won the Public Vote award and black and white animation Disparu by Ashley Williams picked up the Judges’ Choice award, decided by a panel of industry experts.

The winner of the Rotary Club of Northampton Under 16s category was alien comedy Accidentally in Daventry made by Dale Harrington-Carter and Graham Gardiner-Jones.

Ashley Williams also scooped the Film Northants Anniversary Award for best use of the theme of ‘five’ in a film.

Second place in the public vote went to horror Some Sunny Day by James Millar, Phil Chapman and Viv Sharma, and second place in the Under 16s category was awarded to the environmental short Save the Rainforest by McKenzie Halliday Edge.

Mr Smith said: “I would say to anyone thinking they might like to do what we have, you won’t know until you give it a try. It’s so easy to get involved as long as you have a decent story. To see your film up on the big screen in a cinema is just amazing and well worth the effort.”

Mr Millar, whose team are past entrants, said: “We owe quite a lot to this competition because it showed us how to work together and gave us a deadline to get it done.

“This year there was more competition than ever before and the general quality got higher again. I hope this encourages people to have a go themselves because anyone can these days. As long as you think you have a strong storyline, you can even just film it on an iPhone.”

Mr Williams said: “I didn’t expect it. This is the third year I have entered and first time I have won anything. Film Northants gives everyone a chance to make films.”

David Mackintosh, leader of Northampton Borough Council, said: “I thought it was brilliant. It shows what great talent there is in Northamptonshire. I really like the concept of the film festival. I was amazed how creative all the filmmakers were.”

The red carpet event screened twelve shortlisted over 16 and under 16 films, which were all shot in the county, together with a specially-commissioned anniversary documentary about the making of the Northampton Bomberdrome – a bicycle wall of death.

More details and photos of the ceremony will appear at: www.filmnorthants.co.uk or and the Facebook page ‘Film Northants’.

Northamptonshire Police are lowering all their flags to half mast following the deaths of two police officers in Manchester today.

Chief Constable Adrian Lee has asked for all police flags to be lowered out of respect to colleagues.

Two unarmed female police officers were killed earlier today while attending a “routine incident” which led to the arrest of one of the country’s most wanted men.

Dale Cregan gave himself up to police soon after the incident in Hattersley, said Greater Manchester Police.

Cregan, 29, was being hunted in connection with separate gun and grenade attacks that killed a father and son.

One of the officers died at the scene. The second was critically injured and died afterwards.

Several officers from across Northamptonshire Police have paid tribute to the victims via social networking site Twitter.

Aaron Griffiths said: “Those who think badly of the Police - today is a reminder that despite mistakes sometimes being made - every single officer puts on their uniform and does their upmost to protect the public. And there is always a risk they might pay the ultimate sacrifice.”

PC Baker said: “Tragic news of the two officers killed in Manchester. My thoughts go to their family, friends and colleagues. They paid the ultimate sacrifice for doing a job that no doubt they loved.”

Elliot Foskett said: “Just heard the terrible news. My thoughts are with the Officer’s families and all their colleagues in GMP. So sad.”

CSI Bishop added: “Thoughts go out to family and friends of #GMP officers. Another incident which highlights the dangers we face everyday.”

Will Corlett said: “Thoughts with the family and friends of the WPC killed on the line of duty today in Manchester.”

Meanwhile, colleagues of the officers involved in the Manchester shootings said their deaths had hit the force hard.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: “A long and dark shadow has been cast across Greater Manchester and my thoughts are with the officers’ family, friends and colleagues. We will be doing everything we can to support them over the coming days and weeks.”

Cregan had been the subject of a huge manhunt after the murders of David Short, 46, and his 23-year-old son Mark.

Police said the two officers had been attending an incident at Abbey Gardens in Hattersley, Tameside, shortly before 11am today. The force did not give any details of the incident but described it as “routine”. Police said there were reports that shots were fired and the two officers suffered serious injuries.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: “This is a heartbreaking time for the officers’ families and colleagues and our thoughts are with them.

“This is a tragic day for the whole force and we are currently piecing together exactly what happened this morning.”

He added: “I understand that the community will be fearful as they hear news of what has happened this morning. We have armed officers patrolling the area and we will aim to keep people updated as much as we can.”

This creamy, fruity version of the famous baked cheesecake has been conjured up by Lee Gaskins, head chef at Highgate House in Creaton.

Ingredients (serves 8):

Cheesecake base:

80g butter

200g Digestive biscuits

1x 22.5cm loose-bottomed, deep, round baking tin

Cheesecake filling:

500g cream cheese

3 medium eggs

175g caster sugar

Vanilla essence to taste

Cheesecake topping:

200g dried apricots

1 tbsp caster sugar or honey

1 star anise

1 whole clove

Half a vanilla pod

Finely grated zest of half an orange

Juice of 2 oranges

Splash Grand Marnier

Mascarpone cream:

125ml double cream

100g mascarpone cheese

1 tsp icing sugar

Half a vanilla pod

Method:

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Crush the biscuits and melt the butter, then add the melted butter to the biscuits and mix thoroughly. Line the base of the tin with the biscuit mix.

Beat the cheese a little to soften. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence and mix gently until ingredients are just combined. Pour the mix over the base and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the filling is set in the centre.

For the apricot compote topping, place all ingredients into saucepan with 150ml of water, bring quickly to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Leave the mixture to cool; it should be served at room temperature. All of the above can be prepared well in advance and refrigerated, the compote gently warmed when needed.

For the mascarpone cream, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Stir the mascarpone to soften it and fold it through the cream, being careful not to over-whip. Add and fold through the icing sugar. Split the vanilla pod in half, remove the seeds from one half and add these to the cream. The rest of the pod can be stored in caster sugar until needed: this also infuses the sugar.

Serve as shown.

Detectives have revealed increasing numbers of women are trying to get drunken lifts home from strangers after a series of late-night incidents in Northampton.

Northamptonshire Police have today said increasing numbers of women are trying to get lifts home from passing cars and have even be known to get straight into strange vehicles after spending their money on booze.

One incident saw a girl “grabbed” after a driver told her he was a taxi driver.

Detective Inspector Ally White, from the criminal investigation department, said: “We are noticing an increasing trend of young vulnerable women, who are getting drunk, not having any money left at the end of the night and simply asking for lifts home from either strangers or vehicles that they believe to be taxis but haven’t pre-booked.

“We want to highlight the dangerous situation young women may be placing themselves in by not pre-booking a cab. They are in a position of vulnerability, placing themselves in a confined space with a stranger who dictates where the vehicle goes and for how long.

“Of course, not all cases involve women who have had too much to drink and we want to highlight this to people. This Saturday for example two teenagers were waiting for a taxi after leaving a house party in Roade. They spotted a car parked up and asked if it was the taxi, the driver replied he was and when the girls became suspicious he grabbed one of them by the arm. They pulled away and ran. The genuine taxi later arrived.

“We want to ask people who are out and about, enjoying themselves, to just be mindful.”

Three pensioners have been threatened and attacked in their own homes as a spate of violent distraction burglaries across Northampton continues.

All three attacks were recorded yesterday and saw pensioners, all in their 80s, robbed.

In the first incident, between noon and 1.15pm in Thorn Hill, Briar Hill, a man pretended to be from the water board in order to get into the house of a 83-year-old man.

He stole cash from the man.

In the second incident, at approximately 9.45pm in Redruth Close, Far Cotton, a burglar pretended to be a neighbour of the 82-year-old victim, who then barged his way into the house and stole cash and jewellery.

The third incident took place at about 10.30pm, in Euston Road, also in Far Cotton, when a man again pretending to be from the water board pushed his way into the house of an 87-year-old woman and stole her handbag and cash.

In each of the incidents the offenders used or threatened to use violence on this elderly victims.

Police are already investigating 10 violent distraction burglaries this summer, including a violent attack on 92-year-old Frank Davies last weekend.

Detective Inspector Lorraine Gordon, who is investigating the incidents, said: “These callous individuals are clearly targeting the elderly to commit these horrific crimes and what makes them worse is the violence or threat of violence used.

“We can’t stress enough how important it is for the elderly or vulnerable not to open the door if they do not recognise the caller.

“We have had a number of cases recently where victims are opening the door without verifying who the caller is. Once the door is open, the offender is free to push past and get in. In some of these cases the offenders have called at the property late in the evening.

“There is no reason to open the door to someone you are not expecting at that time of the day.

“We are doing everything we can to investigate theses crimes, and desperately need anyone with information to come forward. We also need family and friends who know of elderly residents to warn them and ensure they do not open the door to unknown visitors. If they don’t do anything else, the one thing we would remind them is not to open the door.

“If necessary, they can speak to them through the letterbox and ask them to return when there is an appropriate relative in the house who can check the visitors ID.

“Although there have been a number of distraction type incidents in Northampton recently, they are rare and at this stage there is nothing to suggest they are connected.

“We are carrying out regular patrols in the neighbourhoods and issuing leaflets in the area. Investigators are working to identify the offenders responsible. We would ask members of the public to contact us immediately if they have any information that can help the investigation and quote Operation Inferno when they call.”

Dagenham & Redbridge boss John Still says the Cobblers are one of ‘the big hitters’ of npower League Two – but he still believes his team can claim victory in tonight’s npower League Two showdown between the sides.

The Cobblers travel to east London this evening aiming to get back on the winning trail following their heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at Fleetwood Town on Saturday.

A win could see Town return to the upper reaches of the league two table, and they are taking on a Dagenham side that has yet to win a league game this season.

Despite that record, Still is unconcerned as he feels his team is playing well enough, it’s just that they aren’t getting the breaks they need.

The Daggers boss is wary of the threat the Cobblers pose, but he is confident his side has what it takes to take them on.

“This league is tough and getting tougher as well,” said Still, who saw his side claim a 1-1 home draw with Accrington Stanley at the weekend.

“I would look at Northampton as one of the big hitters in the league and would perhaps expect them to be closer to the top.

“It is going to be a tough game for us as they have recruited well in the summer. They have got quite an experienced side, so it will be a hard game for us.

“But we have had some tough games already and played well, so I don’t really worry about that.

“I know that if we are on our game then we can compete with anybody.”

The Cobblers will be without right-back Danny East for tonight’s game as he serves his one-match ban for his sending off on Saturday.

John Johnson is likely to return at full-back, while boss Aidy Boothroyd has hinted that he will pair Clive Platt with Adebayo Akinfenwa in attack, with Louis Moult stepping down.

Akinfenwa missed the weekend trip to Highbury due to illness.

Kick-off at the The London Borough Of Barking & Dagenham Stadium is at 7.45pm, and you can follow the action as it happens via Jefferson Lake’s Twitter feed @JeffersonLake

There will also be updates on @chronsport while report, reaction and pictures from the match will be online at www.northamptonchron.co.uk once the match has finished.

Thousands of people are expected to flock to Delapre Park next year for a ‘major’ three day music festival.

It is hoped the festival will attract a number of ‘big name’ artists and will be similar to concerts organised by the Forestry Commission in outdoor venues which have featured the likes of Will Young and Plan B.

Plans for the festival were revealed by Northampton Borough Council at Delapre Park on Tuesday.

Councillor David Mackintosh, leader of the borough council, said: “We provided some great events this year and I am confident that we could put on a stunning show that would be the centrepiece of the 2013 events calendar.

“We are working hard to raise the national profile of Northampton, and draw attention to the exciting things that are going on here - both in terms of culture and in business.

“I’m really excited by the potential of this event and I hope that very soon, we will be able to announce that some big names are on the way next summer.”

Councillor Mackintosh said the park would be able to hold 6,000 people per day but there are no plans to allow people to camp overnight in the grounds.

The event will be held on July 19, 20 and 21, 2013 and the Guildhall has committed to putting on the event for at least three years.

Further details about the line-up of the event are expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

Aidy Boothroyd gave a glowing appraisal of the attacking variety within his Cobblers side after watching them win their first away game of the season.

Town ran out 1-0 winners at Dagenham & Redbridge thanks to Adebayo Akinfenwa’s 50th-minute header.

The result lifts Boothroyd’s men to seventh in the npower League Two table, with a home game against Chesterfield on Saturday the next fixture.

“We knew this was going to be a difficult game, especially with the energy we had put in on Saturday and the nature of that game,” said Boothroyd, whose team issued the perfect response to last week’s 1-0 loss at Fleetwood.

“They are a tough team to beat here and they make you work for everything you get but I thought we had some good attacks in the first half.

“I always felt like we were more likely to score and I thought we deserved the result.

“He (Akinfenwa) had a very good game, he was great at leading the line and Alex Nicholls looked very good playing off him.

“We have a variety now where we can play the two big ones together or get wide people involved and I was really pleased with this result.”

Town lost Ben Harding to injury after just seven minutes at Victoria Road, and the nature of the problem will be assessed by the club’s medical staff on Wednesday.

Harding was troubled by an ankle injury over the summer and it is not known at this stage if the midfielder has sustained the same problem.

“It’s the same ankle he injured before but we don’t know yet if it’s the same injury,” said Boothroyd.

“It was a nasty fall on what is a very hard pitch at Dagenham and so we just took him off as a precaution.

“We didn’t want to risk him and we’ll have a look at him on Wednesday.”

Police have arrested five people on suspicion of burglary following a break-in at the home of a pensioner in Northampton - and officers will now be investigating whether it is linked to a spate which has taken place across the town in recent weeks.

The five people, both male and female, were held after a major police operation in the Far Cotton area at about 6pm.

Two men, aged 21 and 31, and three women, aged 27, 30 and 59, are currently in custody at Weston Favell police station.

A break-in was reported at the home of an elderly resident in Queen Eleanor Road. The victim, aged 81, was not believed to have been hurt in the burglary.

The five, who are understood to live locally, were taken into police custody and interviewed by detectives.

The arrests come after a total of 10 distraction burglaries targeting pensioners in the town in the past few weeks. Some of the victims have been subjected to terrifying violent attacks.

A police spokesman said: “We need to sit down and find out if this is linked to the other attacks. At the minute they have just been arrested on the one burglary but obviously we are going to have a look and see if it is linked to the others.

“It’s certainly a very positive result for us, it’s been a good night’s work.”

A DRUG addict and self-confessed burglar and robber faces the rest of his life in prison after he tied up, gagged and murdered a vulnerable 62-year-old alcoholic in his Northamptonshire home.

Phillip Haslam, 36, was unanimously convicted at Northampton Crown Court today of murdering John Kiernan in Havelock Street, Kettering, whose decomposing body was found “hog-tied” when police broke in on October 1.

The jury took just over an hour to return a unanimous verdict after a three-week trial in which he had accused associate Levoy Berry, 31, of carrying pout the horrific murder.

Mr Justice Henriques said: “That verdict was inevitable. There can be few murder trial where the evidence is completely overwhelming and unanswerable. Indeed the defendant himself failed to answer the allegations (in not giving evidence). The sentence will, of course be life imprisonment, but I have to decide how many years he will have to serve before being considered for parole but you can be sure it will be many years.”

Haslam, of Gloucester Close, Kettering failed to give evidence during the trial in which the jury heard how Mr Kiernan was ‘hogtied’, gagged with a pair of socks and repeatedly struck with a brick, in order to force him to sign a £90 cheque to fund his addiction to heroin.

The judge adjourned passing sentence for the murder, as well as two burglaries of Mr Keirnan’s Havelock Street flat and the violent hammer robbery of another 62-year-old alcoholic.

Northampton Crown Court heard Mr Kiernan, who lived alone, died as a result of head injuries and partial blocking of his airways. His decomposing body laid undiscovered for up to two weeks.

Hallam admitted twice burgling Mr Kiernan’s flat, stealing money and personal items, in the weeks leading up to his death.

He has also admitted robbing 62-year-old Raymond Heaviside of a wallet, bank cards and cash.

Mr Heaviside was attacked with a hammer, at Christine Windle’s property in Duke Street, Kettering on September 1 last year.

David Herbert, prosecuting, said Mr Kiernan’s arms and feet were tied together behind his back with electrical cord and he had been gagged with a pair of socks before being killed.

Addressing the jury, he said: “During this trial, we have stepped into a different world of drug addiction and desperation, where people will do anything to get their next fix of heroin.

“A world where the chosen way of achieving that is by committing acquisitive crime and if the victim does not co-operate, he turns to violence to achieve his needs.”

The court has heard Haslam allegedly confessed to tying up Mr Kiernan and hitting him with a brick to a number of people including Louise Wall, 32, and her husband Levoy Berry, 31.

Mr Herbert added: “The prosecution says the confession evidence is reliable and points to the fact that the defendant spoke freely about what he had done to John Kiernan to a number of friends and associates. What you have to decide is whether it is sufficient to convict Phillip Haslam.

“When you look at all the circumstances, as you know them to be, from these circumstances alone, you can reach your conclusion that this defendant was involved in burgling and killing Mr Kiernan.

“On any view, all the evidence points to the fact the defendant and the defendant alone was the person who had been targeting John Kiernan in the weeks leading up to his death, stealing from him during burglaries, robberies, and threatening him for money.”

Nicholas Syfret QC, for Haslam, has accused Levoy Berry of carrying out the murder, which he denied while giving evidence for the prosecution during the trial.

He admitted Haslam had “been parasitic, selfish and brutal” but was not responsible for the murder.

He said: “The Crown’s case is that it was the defendant. The defence say that it was Levoy Berry.

“If you come to the conclusion Levoy Berry was the murderer, that goes some way to making the confession evidence unreliable and if you reach that point, you will acquit the defendant.”

Christine Windle, 37, has admitted arranging the robbery of Mr Heaviside, with her partner Haslam, as well as handling property stolen from Mr Kiernan including money and cheques and will be sentenced with Haslam.

A paedophile who subjected a young girl to years of sexual abuse has been jailed for six years.

Jason James, 42, started abusing his victim when she was a young girl.

Rebecca Herbert, prosecuting at Northampton Crown Court, said it only ended when she reached puberty.

Mrs Herbert added: “It’s quite clear she has been badly a ffected by what happened. The trauma has continued into her adult life.

“The complainant‘s first disclosure of this abuse was to her first boyfriend but in 2010, she was reminded of the defendant again because either her or her mother saw a reference to him on Facebook.”

James, of Spencer Bridge Road, St James, Northampton pleaded not guilty to the allegations when he appeared in court last year, and the case was set down for trial. However, he pleaded guilty to eight sexual assault offences on the day he was due to stand trial in August.

Judge Rupert Mayo sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment and made him subject to an indefinite sexual offences’ prevention order, banning unsupervised contact with children. He will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Judge Mayo said: “It’s plain from the language of her statement, you ruined her life and robbed her of her childhood, effectively compelling her to co-operate with you.

“To say she was flirting with you, as a seven-year-old, is monstrous and it’s clear you have distorted thinking and are quite prepared to blame someone else for your actions.”

Matthew Kirk, mitigating, said James has a low IQ and has “certain difficulties.”

He added: “He does recognise there should be restrictions on him when he is released in the future.”

The Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police has personally contacted his counterpart in Manchester to express his sympathy over the deaths of two officers on Tuesday.

Adrian Lee, who spent two decades working for Greater Manchester Police, got in touch with Sir Peter Fahy yesterday following the deaths of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes.

He said: “I have contacted the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police to offer my sincerest condolences on behalf of Northamptonshire Police following the deaths of two police officers on Tuesday morning.

“I joined the police service in Manchester where I served for almost 20 years and my thoughts are with my former colleagues at this sad time.

“This is a very difficult time for all of those within the wider policing family and as a mark of respect to PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes, I have requested that all flags across the force be flown at half mast.”

The pair, aged 32 and 23 respectively, were on a routine patrol in the Mottram district of Greater Manchester when they responded to reports of a house burglary on the Hattersley Estate.

As they approached the house, a man suddenly emerged and fired more than ten times at them before throwing a grenade in their direction.

Both women were fatally injured, one dying at the scene while paramedics were unable to save her colleague.

A short time later Dale Cregan, 29, who was wanted in connection with the murders of father and son David and Mark Short in separate gun and grenade attacks, walked into nearby Tameside police station and gave himself up.

Police said they believed Cregan or someone acting on his behalf had deliberately called the police to report a bogus burglary in a bid to lure officers into a deadly ambush.

Northamptonshire’s countryside is a beautiful sight and what better way to view it than from the sky?

With this in mind, my mum and I embarked on a hot air balloon flight early on a Saturday morning.

We arrived at the Marriott Hotel in Eagle Drive, Northampton at 6.45am to meet the four other passengers and our pilot.

We soon found out that the flight, run by The Ballooning Business, which is based in Northamptonshire, is a hands-on experience.

Our pilot, Lawrie Ellis, who has been flying for more than 20 years, soon asked me to help inflate the balloon.

Another passenger and I were given gloves and asked to hold each side of the bottom of the balloon open while Lawrie blew it up using a cold air pump.

My mum and I looked on in awe and admittedly with a few nerves aswell as we saw the balloon come to life.

At that moment it was hard to contemplate that we would soon be thousands of feet in the air with only the balloon to carry us.

Lawrie talked us all through every step of the process of getting the balloon ready for the flight and it was a great experience to be involved in.

Soon it was time for us to get inside the basket and looking up at the inside of the balloon while Lawrie pumped hot burning air into it was a unique experience.

The balloon soon took flight and it seemed that within minutes the people on the ground were just dots and the buildings were far beneath us.

We flew at around 2,000 feet and the views of Northampton, with sights such as the Lift Tower, were undoubtedly the best I will ever see.

Everything was crystal clear on such a beautiful summer’s day and it was easy to pick out Becket’s Park marina, Abington Park and as we travelled further afield, sights including the church in Little Houghton came into view.

The balloon travelled around five miles and flew over water, buildings, parks and fields, where we got a great aerial view of one farmer’s ploughed crops.

We landed smoothly after around an hour and stopped in a field belonging to the owner of Manor Farm in Denton.

The owner’s son and one of the farm workers came over to greet us and even helped us to deflate the balloon.

Again this was a process all of us were involved in and it was lots of fun.

For our reward we enjoyed a glass of champagne and although it was only around 8.15am, after such an eye-opening experience it felt much later in the day.

We were picked up in a truck and it took us around 15 minutes to get back to the launch site.

The whole experience from start to finish was amazing and I would recommend it to anyone, even those who don’t have a head for heights.

After around the first five minutes I got used to being in the air and the height didn’t feel as daunting.

I felt safe in the basket and the whole flight was very peaceful and relaxed.

Flights start at £89 per person.

For more details visit http://www.the-balloon.co.uk or call Northampton 768617.

Hot prospect Teimana Harrison has tied himself to Saints until 2015 after signing his first full contract with the club.

The flanker arrived at Northampton from his native New Zealand last November after being scouted by Saints skipper Dylan Hartley.

Harrison was captain of the first 15 at Rotorua Boys High School, where Hartley was educated, and was recommended by coach Gordon Hunt.

Hartley liked what he saw, and Saints wasted no time in bringing the youngster to England.

Harrison has gone on to make a big impression, excelling at the end of last season, illustrating his credentials with a try in the final home game of the Premiership season against Worcester.

And the 20-year-old is now hoping to make plenty more appearances in the green, black and gold after securing his future at the club.

“I’ve still got to get used to this weather but all in all I’m loving my time here,” said Harrison, who has played four times for the Saints first team.

“I’m very excited by my new contract and it offers a lot of opportunities for me. Hopefully I can get some games during the season.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in Northampton so far, and obviously my main aim is to try and get into the first team here at the Saints. That’s what I’m focusing on at the moment.”

Police searching for missing 16-year-old Holly Whitmore and 21-year-old Brandon Cunningham believe the pair may have been in the London area in the last few days.

Efforts are continuing to locate Holly and Brandon and officers have appealed directly to Brandon and Holly to attend their nearest police station in order to confirm their welfare.

Brandon, who has a previous conviction for child abduction, went missing from his home in Corby on Sunday, September 2. Holly went missing from her home in Rushden on Saturday, September 8.

Officers believe Brandon and Holly, who are not a couple but are known to each other, may be together. Police have confirmed they are not treating it as an abduction case.

Brandon is white, 5ft 8ins, of slim build with blue eyes and brown hair.

Holly is white, 5ft 3ins, of slim build with brown eyes and dark hair dyed blonde.

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.