The incident happened on Sunday, February 24, between 1.30am and 5.30am, and enquires are taking place to establish the full circumstances around what happened.

Northamptonshire Police has this morning confirmed that a woman sustained serious injuries that may have been caused by an assault.

Any witnesses who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the area at the time should call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

NGH said the power went off at around 11.30pm in parts of the site, while other areas were unaffected.

A spokeswoman for Northampton General Hospital (NGH) said this morning: "We had a generator fail in the early hours of the morning of Saturday, February 23 and whilst we were sorting out the issue we went on temporary divert to Milton Keynes and Kettering.

"The issue was resolved within a couple of hours and we came off divert about 5.30am on February 23.

Extra staff were drafted in to help including senior consultants, nurses and other on-call staff. A&E was also closed.

The hospital has confirmed that any obstetric patients requiring surgery were transferred to the main theatres, which were unaffected, as were ITU and HDU.

Back-up systems were used to provide power for equipment where needed.

The spokesman said: "All our systems are regularly checked, tested and monitored. It’s unusual for a generator to fail and first our priority was to maintain patient safety and minimise risk whilst the necessary investigatory work was undertaken to understand the reasons for the generator failure.

"Our staff worked tirelessly throughout the night to keep our patients safe and resolve the issues were experiencing with our generators."

A first goal in senior football will be a moment Joe Powell never forgets after he opened his account for the Cobblers during Saturday’s dramatic victory at Stevenage.

In for his fourth start since signing for Northampton on loan from West Ham United last month, the 20-year-old took full advantage of his opportunity when the ball arrived at his feet 19 minutes into the contest.

Well picked out by Sam Hoskins, Powell steadied himself before firing through the body of Stevenage stopper Paul Farman and into the bottom corner, sending Cobblers on their way to three points at the Lamex.

“It was a great feeling,” he said afterwards. “I was speaking to my brother before the game and he was telling me to get shots off. I was in a good position to hit it and luckily the ball went in!

“Sam and I caught eye contact. As I was running down the side and I screamed for the ball. I mentioned to him afterwards that I’d have been livid if he had chosen to shoot!

“Fortunately he gave it to me and we scored. The fact it wasn’t on my strong foot made me think to just get something on it and keep it hard and low and luckily the shot went through the goalkeeper and into the net.”

The goal initially stemmed from Stevenage’s unwise decision to pass out from the back as Town pressed high and won possession back before working the ball over to Powell on the right.

“You see it as a chance,” he added. “To have the courage to play football out from the back is brilliant but being the opposition you see that and you think you can win the ball back high up the pitch.

“Some of the players at this level aren’t the best with the ball at their feet so you look at them and think we can nick it and get at them and get shots off early.”

Powell lasted 71 minutes before being replaced by eventual match-winner Andy Williams, who grabbed all three points with a stoppage-time strike.

“It’s a physical league and you go into every game knowing you have to graft as much as possible,” Powell admitted.

“I felt a bit of fatigue. I still have a lot in the tank but I think the manager made the right decision to put on fresh legs and see the game out and luckily we came out with all three points.”

Between December 16 and December 19 last year, six people were charged with drink-driving offences after a month-long campaign by Northamptonshire Police.

Northamptonshire Police said the force would name all those charged with being over the prescribed limit as part of their annual campaign.

Now the force has published the details of the court results on their website and publicised it on their social media platforms.

The list includes the following drivers who have been charged with driving while over the prescribed limit and have appeared in court to face those charges:

The court results for drivers caught drink driving on Sunday, December 16:

Anne Carter, 43, of Crow Lane, Northampton, was given a 36-month disqualification, £80 fine, £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge.

Tara Whelan, 33, of Allen Road, Finedon, was given a 17-month disqualification, £120 fine, £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge.

The court results for drivers caught drink driving on Monday, December 17:

Deepak Patel, 45, of Shakespeare Road, Northampton, was given a 40-month disqualification, £85 costs, £85 victim surcharge and unpaid work requirement.

Valeriu Sirbu, 37, of Wellington Street, Kettering, was given an 18-month disqualification, £360 fine, £85 costs and £36 victim surcharge.

The court results for drivers caught drink driving on Wednesday, December 19:

Anna De Winter, 19, of The Green, Flore, was given a 21-month disqualification, £200 fine, £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge.

Robin Porter, 68, of Latham Street, Brigstock, was given a 23-month disqualification, £326 fine, £85 costs and £32 victim surcharge.

Ijuha Sterling, of Chapman Road, appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Friday, February 22, charged with possession of cannabis, and possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious substance.

He was remanded in custody and is next due to appear at court on March 21.

Sterling was arrested on Thursday, February 21, in Portland Road, Rushden, after being detained and searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act by officers from the serious and organised crime proactive team.

A Northamptonshire father has been spared jail for throwing his son against a wall after a judge ruled he was 'a poor parent who needed help, not punishment'.

The 28-year-old man pleaded guilty to child cruelty after a weekend in last year in which he threw the six-year-old boy against a wall, shaved his head with clippers and 'forced' him into the bathroom 'by his neck'.

The young boy's mother called the police after she discovered bruises on her son's neck and shoulders. He has not seen his father since.

But at Northampton Crown Court today (February 25), the judge gave the man a second chance and ordered him to attend courses to correct his behaviour.

His Honour Judge Roger Tregilgas-Davey said: "A child is not an object. It's an individual person who has their own rights.

"But given there are children in your life, you need assistance and help rather than punishment.

During the weekend at his father's house, the six-year-old boy wet the bed on two occasions and cut the hair on one of his stepsisters' dolls with scissors.

But the 28-year-old dad decided the boy was 'wetting the bed on purpose' and threw him against a wall. He also put his hands 'forcibly' on his neck to push him into the bathroom, and later shaved his head with clippers to punish him for cutting the doll's hair.

The judge said: "It does not matter if he was wetting the bed on purpose or not. If he was, you should have shown care and sensitivity and found out why. If not, it just shows just how unnecessarily brutal your reaction was."

"However, I find your behaviour was rooted in frustration and poor parenting rather than anything sinister."

The 28-year-old was handed a 12-month community order and ordered to attend courses to correct his parenting.

The judge added: "Please make the most of these courses. If you are foolish enough to miss them you will be brought back to court."

The family of 10-year old book-lover from Northampton are supporting a cancer charity's campaign that offers fans the chance to become immortalised in their favourite author's next novel.

Maisie Bullock is currently in remission having been diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia when she was just seven.

Now her family are getting behind the Get in Character campaign from CLIC Sargent, one of the UK’s leading cancer charities for children and young people.

The scheme will take the form of a seven-day eBay auction between Monday, March 4 and Sunday, March 10 - and will give readers the chance to either feature in their

favourite authors’ next book, win signed copies of it or a signed illustration.

More than 50 writers are taking part this year in the campaign, which has raised more than £35,000 for CLIC Sargent since it began in 2014.

TV personality Alesha Dixon is among the authors auctioning character names, alongside thriller writer Stephen Leather, best-selling author Lisa Jewell and British comedy novelist Nick Spalding.

Other items that will be auctioned during the event include signed books from Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon and thriller writer Lee Child. There is also a signed illustration to be won, by award-winning designer Coralie Bickford-Smith.

After two-and-a-half years of treatment, Maisie is now in remission, is back at school and enjoying life.

Maisie's mum Sarah said: “I know I speak for Maisie, and our whole family in saying we are forever indebted to CLIC Sargent for the amazing work they do for families facing childhood cancer. CLIC has been with us all the way – but critically, just when we needed them most. This is why we're backing CLIC Sargent’s Get In Character campaign and asking others to bid and get involved.”

The Bullock family say they are keen to give something back to CLIC Sargent after Maisie received the shock diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia aged just seven.

The family first noticed something was not right in December 2015 when Maisie complained of a sore shoulder. After Christmas, Maisie was examined at her local doctors and given the cancer diagnosis.

Sarah said: “I just couldn’t take it in - it made no sense. The day before I had a fighting fit daughter, and suddenly we were hearing it was leukaemia.”

Hours later, Maisie was sent to the nearest specialist cancer centre at Nottingham University Hospital – a three hour round trip from the family home, where she underwent intensive chemotherapy and two MRI scans.

During Maisie’s treatment, the family were supported by CLIC Sargent who provided them with financial, emotional and practical support, including a stay at one of the charity’s Homes from Home, Billy’s House in Nottingham.

After six weeks in Nottingham, Maisie returned to Northampton where she continued her treatment as an outpatient at Northampton General Hospital. Throughout her treatment, Maisie loved to read and says she found it a big help during hospital visits.

Sarah added: “Maisie has always loved telling and listening to stories - and her favourite author is David Walliams, particularly The Midnight Gang, which is about a group of children on a hospital ward, which really resonated with her. Books are a fantastic way of children escaping for a while from the endless round of hospital stays and treatment.”

Rachel Kirby-Rider, Director of Income and Engagement at CLIC Sargent, said: “It’s fantastic to have the support of so many authors and famous faces for our 2019 ‘Get in Character’ campaign. Their generosity means we can offer book fans a truly unique opportunity to bid to be part of their favourite author’s next book whilst also raising vital funds for children and young people with cancer."

For the chance to have your name in one of your favourite books visit: www.clicsargent.org.uk/GetinCharacter on Monday, March 4 to place your bid.

County Chambers,which fronts The Drapery and backs onto College Street, is a 25-unit development made up of 19 one-bedroom apartments and 6 two-bedroom apartments, over four floors. The development also has a lift. The flats overlook All Saints Church and sit above designer clothes shop Circus. The apartment block is being marketed by yieldit and is priced at £3,300,000.

British Embassies and Consulates in France, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Malta and Gozo, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Germany, Estonia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Belgium will play host to the sessions, which will update British citizens on the UK’s departure from the European Union. There will also be roadshows in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The government has also issued a range of advice for UK citizens living in each EU country on its gov.uk website. Each section outlines what steps must be taken to continue living in the EU after Brexit.

Read more: Airport security procedures after Brexit

UK citizens are also advised to read UK nationals in the EU: essential information, to follow the British Embassy on Facebook or Twitter and to sign up for email alerts to inform them when new information comes in about remaining in their adopted country.

Visit www.gov.uk/government/collections/overseas-living-in-guides for more information.

Police are yet to charge anyone following a stabbing in Northampton that left a teenager in a serious condition.

The incident happened last Monday (February 18) at just after midnight when a 17-year-old boy was stabbed in Waingrove, Blackthorn.

Initially five people - three boys aged 14, 15 and 17 and two 18-year-old men - were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, but were released on police bail with conditions.

A sixth person, a 23-year-old man, was subsequently arrested, also on suspicion of attempted murder. But police have today confirmed he was also released on police bail, last Tuesday (February 19).

A police spokeswoman today confirmed no charges or new arrests have been made.

Anyone with information can contact Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Traffic officers from Highways England were called to the scene of a crash at around 3.20pm on the southbound stretch of the M1 between junction 17 (Dunchurch) and junction 16 (Northampton).

Lane four was immediately blocked with motorway cameras capturing a stranded vehicle stuck in the outside lane.

At around 3.30pm officers stopped all the traffic ahead of the crash and closed all four lanes to traffic.

Traffic was held while the scene was cleared and the stranded vehicle was recovered.

The motorway was fully reopened by around 3.40pm.

There is rarely a time in football when a manager has the universal backing of his fanbase, unless your name happens to be Chris Wilder.

Current Cobblers boss Keith Curle certainly does not have that luxury at present as he continues to divide opinion among Northampton supporters.

But whilst there are legitimate points to be made on either side of the argument, it’s important to add context to the debate when assessing his first five months in the Town hotseat.

At the time of Dean Austin’s sacking on September 30, the Cobblers were 21st in League Two, two points outside the relegation zone and were licking their wounds after being thumped 4-0 by Mansfield Town.

They were also coming off a relegation and with only three wins under their belt from 24 league matches across two campaigns, pre-season optimism had been washed away and replaced by a fear that Town were sliding out of the Football League and into the abyss of non-league.

That’s when chairman Kelvin Thomas turned to Curle. His task, first and foremost, was to halt their slide and ensure they did not suffer back-to-back relegations. Barring a major disaster over the final 12 games of the season, the former Carlisle United boss has achieved that with room to spare.

Debates will continue to rage about the style of play and whether Curle has the ability so spearhead a promotion challenge over the next 12 months – which is what fans will rightly expect – but having steered the ship away from choppy waters and picked up 35 points from his 24 league games, losing just five in the process, he’s earned the opportunity to lead the club into next season.

His average of just under 1.5 points-per-game since taking the reins works out to 68 points over the course of a season, short of the play-offs but not by much. Considering the mess he inherited, that’s a fine effort.

“There wasn’t a winning mentality in the changing room but it’s coming and we’re building it,” says Curle, speaking after the victory at Stevenage on Saturday. “There’s a platform and people are enjoying the environment we’re trying to create and we want to work within.”

Curle has guided Town 12 points clear of the drop despite losing his two best players in Kevin van Veen and Matt Crooks, both of whom left in the January transfer window when the wage budget was reduced. As seven departed, only five came in, all on loan.

“As a new manager coming in, for the first month or two months, everybody would have heard me talk about foundations and platforms,” Curle adds.

“They’re still not in place and we’re still working on putting those in place. We’ve had one transfer window but there’s a willingness to work and there’s an appetite to learn and improve. Now, we have to make sure we maintain that.”

Despite widening the gap back to relegation from two points to 12, support for Curle among Cobblers fans is far from universal and perhaps one of his biggest problems is the start he had.

Six wins from his first nine games raised expectation levels and had fans dreaming of a potential play-off challenge when in reality that always seemed beyond their capabilities, particularly given where they were when Austin departed at the end of September.

Sure, there is plenty of room for improvement. The current style of play will not be tolerated over the long-term and Town’s home form remains inconsistent at best, but it’s obvious Curle has opted for the pragmatic approach for the most part.

His focus has been on making them harder to beat – as just five defeats in 24 games demonstrates – and improving a defence that previously leaked goals for fun.

Attacking-wise, work needs to be done. The recent goalless draw at home to Crawley Town was a sharp reminder that, without Crooks and van Veen, the Cobblers lack creativity and flair in the final third. Getting the balance right through smart recruitment and shrewd tactics will be the ultimate challenge for Curle.

His constant tinkering between personnel and formations is another source of frustration for fans. Some decisions, whether made before or during games, have not always made total sense and neither have they always paid off.

But some have. Playing Sam Hoskins as a lone striker at Tranmere Rovers caused outrage on social media and yet Town won the game 2-1 and Hoskins scored both goals.

The fact is Curle sees himself as a tinkerer. If he spots something he doesn’t like, he’ll change it. It can be frustrating for fans but it’s an approach that worked for almost four years at Carlisle United where he came within three minutes of a play-off final less than two years after rescuing them from relegation.

The remaining 12 games are key for Curle as thoughts start to turn to the summer and beyond. He must continue to build on the good work seen at Tranmere, Lincoln and Stevenage, with two wins and a draw from those games having prompted a slight sea change.

The heavy home defeat to Colchester was alarming and concerning at the time and raised relegation fears, but it might just prove the defining moment of Curle’s time at the Cobblers. If he can add consistency and creativity to a solid backbone, his jigsaw will be well on the way to completion.

At the minute, travellers can use their mobile phones in the EU with what is called guaranteed surcharge-free roaming - which basically means means you can use your mobile devices to make calls, send texts and use mobile data services for no more than you would be charged when in the UK.

Mobile operators must limit mobile data usage to €50 a month and send alerts once the user reaches 80% and then 100% of the agreed data roaming limit. Known as Roam Like at Home, the EU Roaming Regulation also regulates what mobile operators can charge each other for providing roaming services and extends to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

If we leave the EU without a deal, the costs that EU mobile operators would be able to charge UK operators for providing roaming services would no longer be regulated. This would mean that surcharge-free roaming when you travel to the EU could no longer be guaranteed.

Some of the larger mobile operators, including 3, EE, O2 and Vodafone, have said they have no current plans to change their approach to mobile roaming after the UK leaves the EU, although there's nothing to guarantee this stance won't change.

Read more: British embassies to host outreach meetings for UK citizens living in EU countries

The government is working on retaining a top financial limit of £45 per month and ensuring the data usage alerts remain at 80 and 100 per cent.

Consumers should check the roaming policies of their mobile operator before they go abroad, check the terms and conditions in details, use wi-fi where it is available and know how to turn off their mobile data roaming if they’re worried about being charged for data usage in the EU.

Consumers and businesses in border areas of Northern Ireland should also be aware of the issue of ‘inadvertent roaming’. This is when a mobile signal in a border region is stronger from the country across the border.

To help address this issue, the government intends to retain a rule that operators must make information available to their customers on how to avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions and take reasonable steps to protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services.

The Cobblers have announced that six young players have put pen to paper on full-time scholarships ahead of next season.

Five of the six have come through the club’s academy age-groups, while the sixth has joined Town having previously been at Premier League Southampton.

The homegrown players joining the Cobblers are central midfielder Liam Cross, striker Lewis Gilbert, attacking midfielder Tom Scott, right-back Richie Bailey and central defender Josh Flanagan, while midfielder Ewan Clark arrives having left Saints.

“We have offered six scholarships and they have signed on to join us full time for next season,” said Cobblers head of academy Kieran Scarff.

“We think these players have potential and we are looking forward to working with them.

“Our recruitment for our full time scholars continues, our scouts are watching lots of games and identifying players for consideration and we were at the EFL exit trials during half term too.”

In recent years, several players have worked their way through the academy and gone on to sign professional contracts, including the likes of first team regular Shaun McWilliams, as well as Morgan Roberts, Jay Williams, Camron McWilliams, Sean Whaler and Joe Iaciafano, who have all played for the first team.

“The Academy is in a very good position and I have been very impressed with the infrastructure that is in place,” said Scarff, who joined the club in the new year from Doncaster Rovers.

“The club’s reputation for developing young players is very strong, players are very keen to be part of our development programme and we are looking to continue to produce players who, in time, are capable of making an impact at first team level.”

Archaeologists carrying out survey works on land destined for hundreds of homes outside of Northampton have unearthed a possible Roman cemetery.

Emails seen by the Chronicle and Echo show that the company excavating a parcel of the Buckton Fields site behind Smith's Farm Shop in Chapel Brampton have discovered the skeletal remains of 35 bodies - though it is not yet been confirmed whether the find is significant enough to delay the major home development there.

Oxford Archeology has now sent samples off for testing before producing a full report - though it is thought the remains could date back to the late Roman period.

Experts may be able to obtain a wealth of information from the study of the human remains such as sex, height and existing medical conditions.

"It's very interesting and we are really pleased about this," said Lesley Smith of Smith's Farm Shop in Brampton Lane.

"We've thought there could have been something there for some time - over the years we have picked up various pieces of pottery and flint.

"It's just nice to have that confirmed."

Northamptonshire County Council, which owns the land, is yet to comment on the find.

Developers Ensign Group Limited saw plans for 380 new homes on the site approved in September, 2017.

The homes will come in a variety of brick types, styles and sizes and the developers have pledged to give an amount towards the building of the North-West Relief Road project for every one built.

Oxford Archeology has been on the land there since June last year gathering samples as part of the routine mitigation for such a large-scale development.

It is understood pottery, environmental samples and animal bone will also be sent for testing.

Bradley Matcham died as a result of an assault in the Drapery, Northampton, which happened in the early hours of Saturday, February 9.

Detective Chief Inspector Ally White, who is leading the investigation, said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with Bradley’s family and friends at this difficult time and specialist officers are providing support to them as the investigation continues.

“Bradley sadly died last week as a result of the injuries he suffered during an assault on Saturday, February 9, at about 5.15am, which happened close to an alleyway near McDonald's.

“The investigation is ongoing and witnesses to the assault or anyone with information are asked to contact the Operation Hamper incident room.”

Anyone with information should call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

An 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old man also arrested in connection with this incident have been released under investigation pending further enquiries.

READ MORE: Husband and wife duo take over one of Northampton's longest-running restaurants

The problem with policing packs of roving anti-social children on bikes is exactly that - they're all on bikes.

It's become an everyday sight to see teenagers popping wheelies in front of buses on the Drapery or racing down Abington Street. But the moment they see a police officer's high-vis jacket they scatter like a flock of pigeons. It's part of the fun.

But where does it stop being kids having fun and become a danger to drivers and pedestrians? And how do you police it?

If nothing else, PC Michael Rogers says he is happy to see kids out on bikes on his regular beat in Northampton. He grew up during the 'original BMX craze' and can see the appeal of being out with your friends and feeling like you're part of something.

"I'll always be happier to see kids out having fun then stuck inside glued to a screen all day," he says.

"I'm amazed how positive it can be. The difference between gangs and the Bike Life craze [as it's known] is there is no animosity between these kids. They are meeting up from all over Northampton because they share an interest. It's like a community.

"But there's having fun and there's putting people in danger. You should be able to walk down a street without worry of being hit by a pushbike."

The Bike Life craze started on YouTube around three years ago and is now a countrywide phenomenon. It couldn't be simpler - friends on bikes tooling around neighourhoods and towns.

PC Rogers thinks Bike Life started out as a plain and simple bike enthusiasm. But now he says it's been 'hi-jacked' by mischief and using ride outs to cause a public nuisance.

It's escalated to pockets of crime in Northampton over the past two years. A gang of six young men on bikes reportedly tried to kick a motorcyclist off his vehicle in January. A few months before that, the Drapery was hit by young men on bikes snatching people's fast food off of them and cycling off.

But then in early January, Northampton saw something entirely different. A Bike Storm - a meet-up of 40 young men hit the town centre for an afternoon of trouble.

Their stunts brought the town to a standstill. Between weaving through traffic, riding on pavements and racing through the Grosvenor Centre, they put a lot of pedestrians' safety on the line.

Probably most dangerous of all was the meet-up's glee at hitting the emergency engine shutdown on buses before riding off at top speed.

And at that stage, there wasn't much the police could do about it.

PC Rogers said: "As soon as they see us they starburst off and disappear. They like the cat and mouse aspect of it.

"A little bit of mischief is one thing, but then there's putting other people in danger. They show no road sense in any of it."

But they didn't get away with it. Every one of the riders that afternoon was caught on CCTV. And the police have used that to stop a meet-up like it happening again.

PC Rogers said: "We took the CCTV and worked with schools to identify nearly every single one of them.

"They were all just 12 of 13-year-old boys. We don't want to criminalise them. But they need to be shown why it's dangerous."

The Chronicle & Echo was also asked to publish stills from the CCTV with the teenagers' faces blurred out.

PC Rogers said: "From there, we ended up speaking to each boy's parents with the kid present. Most of the parents were expecting us. They recognised their little darlings on CCTV even with the faces blurred out. Most of them didn't know their boys were up to this sort of thing when they went out.

"All we want to do is tell them it's fine to have fun but not if it puts people in danger. Go meet up somewhere out of the way."

It went well. A sit down with your parents and a police officer will scare most teenagers from being a nuisance again. And the force has acted when they get intel of another possible meet-up in the town centre by stepping up police presence.

But how can Northampton make something positive of the Bike Life craze?

PC Rogers said: "Northampton has no cycling facilities like they do in Corby. The town had a skateboarding problem until we built a skate park. I'd be very interested in seeing a track built for bikes in town.

"Most of the kids in Bike Life are from decent backgrounds. They don't realise what they are doing is potentially dangerous or criminal.

"Yes, Northampton does have a bike problem, but we're not going to ban bikes. My only message is to do it safely and in a place that won't cause a nuisance or a danger."

Greenpeace volunteers called on Northampton to give them their single-use plastic rubbish this weekend so they could hand it over to a supermarket manager.

On Saturday (February 23), the volunteers in Abington Street asked shoppers to fill their baskets with single-use packaging so they could 'return' it to the manager at a nearby Tescos.

Greenpeace claims UK supermarkets generate more than 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste every year and call it a major contributing factor to plastic pollution.

Tesco supermarket customers wrote personal messages to Tesco telling them to 'ditch single-use plastic'. One customer called on Tesco supermarket to 'please stop using unnecessary plastic - save the oceans' while another said 'please help save our turtles'.

Shirley Waterhouse, a volunteer with Northants local Greenpeace group, said: “When you go around the supermarkets you can see unnecessary packaging, especially on fruit and vegetables like cauliflowers and bananas.

"The more we can do to show that it's not needed, not wanted and not necessary the more we can reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the oceans and rivers. It feels good that there has been so much support in Northamptonshire."

A survey of supermarket plastic use by Greenpeace UK and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) revealed that despite their huge plastic footprint, half of the supermarkets surveyed have no specific targets to reduce plastic packaging and most would take more than 20 years to completely rid their shelves of throwaway plastic.

Tesco is ranked 5th in the league table published as part of the survey. It has no specific targets to reduce plastic packaging.

Shirley Waterhouse said: "That’s why 800,000 people have signed Greenpeace’s petition calling on supermarkets to ditch single-use plastics, including 121 Northamptonshire locals plus an additional 30 signed the petition today on Abington Street.”

Although the husband and wife team have never owned a dining venue before, they are now the new owners of Sophia's in Bridge Street, one of Northampton's best-loved restaurants.

Joanna and Fitim Imeraj, from Abington, found out about the business being up for sale through a friend-of-a-friend who had known the former restaurant owner, John Panayis, for many years.

John - known for the rapport he had with his customers - retired in December.

SEE MORE: Take a look inside Sophia's restaurant as new owners Joanna and Fitim take over

"It felt right, you know," Joanna said about taking over the business. "It felt like it was meant to be and that's pretty much how we've lived our lives, going on gut instinct. It's never done us harm so far.

"I do strongly believe everything happens for a reason."

The standard of John's service is something the couple want to continue.

But the duo have made some changes to the decor, namely the flooring, and the upholstery. They have also brought in Roman-themed art work for the walls, created by a film set designer.

The menu is changing slightly too but is still staying loyal to its Italian-Mediterranean roots for now. They have bought a charcoal grill, which they are excited to cook sea bass and steaks on and are now open for lunch, with a two-course menu for £15.50, which they're keen to push.

Joanna said: "I am not going to change it too much. I'm slightly changing the decor because I feel it's a bit dated, it will be more themed, like old Roman Italy.

"At the moment it's just giving it a face lift and in the future I want it to be a place people still want to come to eat and enjoy.

"There's a lot of regulars that we cherish and we want to keep them coming basically and keep making people happy."

Ex-builder Fitim took over the restaurant because of his love for food and Joanna was happy to support him.

"It was my husband's passion, it was his dream. I'm quite happy to do his dream," Joanna added.

"I've done a lot of dinner dances in the past for charity events. I did work in hospitality in agency catering but I'm learning as I go at the minute. I've got a very good team.

"The majority [of the team] have stayed from John Panayis and we have Paul, who is John's brother. He is still here as a waiter so I have a very good guide."

Joanna is considering launching a live music night and has plans in the pipeline to host Greek-themed evenings.

The restaurant is now open lunchtimes: 11am until 3pm between Tuesday and Saturday, and could soon open on Sundays after trialling this coming Mother's Day. Evening meals can be booked between 5pm and 10pm from Tuesday to Saturday too. The restaurant also offers a children's menu.