The serious crash happened at around 7.20am on Saturday (March 16) when a black Volkswagen Polo travelling along Cold Ashby Road, for reasons unknown, left the carriageway and came to rest in a field, between Cold Ashby and the West Haddon/Guilsborough Road junction.

The male driver was taken to University Hospital Coventry by air ambulance with potentially life-threatening injuries.

A spokesman for the East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We sent a paramedic in an ambulance car, a crewed ambulance and the air ambulance. We transported one patient to University Hospital."

Police investigating the single-car collision are appealing for anyone with information to get in touch.

Anyone with information or who witnessed this incident is asked to call the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615.

At around 11.45am on Friday, March 15, three men wearing high visibility waistcoats on top of dark clothing and gloves and plain white facemasks entered the shop in Magpie Road, Sulgrave.

One of the men was armed with a white baton-style weapon and the trio forced the volunteers into a bathroom, before stealing a large quantity of cash from the store’s safe.

One of the suspects carried a black holdall.

Anyone who witnessed the robbery or has any information about it is asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Information can also be shared anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Sometime between 6.05pm and 8.50pm, on Friday evening (March 15), the offender/s broke in through patio doors at the back of the house and stole a safe containing cash.

It is believed they left the property via a neighbour’s garden, Northamptonshire Police today said.

Anyone with information or who may have seen any suspicious activity in the area on Friday evening, is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

It was a year before the former partner of PC Greg Mead went to the police to report her experiences at his hands during their relationship 2018 and early 2018.

But at a misconduct hearing over the officer's behaviour, the 28-year-old told the panel how Mr Mead lost his temper in violent ways on several occasions during their time together.

It included times where Mr Mead hurled a dog lead at her, pushed her into mud and held her against a set of stairs while swearing in her face.

Then, on another occasion, a morning started with him pushing over the breakfast table and storming upstairs in front of the woman and his children.

When she went upstairs to talk to him, he pushed her on to the bed and strangled her, saying: "I want to kill you."

Speaking of the incident at the hearing, the woman said: "It was awful. If his children weren't there he probably would have killed me.

"It was much worse than previous incidents."

She also told the panel their relationships were marked by him 'constantly undermining' her with controlling and demanding behaviour.

After they broke up, the woman later went to the police to report the incidents.

But at the officer's gross misconduct hearing in between March 4 and 7, the panel heard how Mr Mead also was caught inexplicably keeping a set of police spike stinger traps used to stop vehicles in the boot of his car.

There was also an occasion where he reportedly pushed a teenager against a wall during an outreach programme, which amounted to unlawful force.

At the hearing, the panel found all the allegations against Mr Mead were proved.

He was dismissed from the force and will be barred from ever becoming a police officer again.

A robber threatened to stab a man in Kettering if he didn’t hand over his phone or cash.

Police have launched an appeal after the terrifying incident in Cross Street on February 22, with the force releasing details today (March 19).

The incident happened between 2.30pm and 3pm when the victim, a man in his 20s, was walking along Cross Street in the direction of Grafton Street.

He was confronted by a man claiming he had stolen money from his brother and threatened to stab him if he didn’t hand over his phone or £30 in cash.

The victim refused and started to raise his voice to the offender and, as he began shouting, people started to look out of their windows.

The offender then ran off down Cross Street towards Duke Street.

A police spokesman said: “The offender is described as a white man, with a pale complexion, about 5ft 8in, with a slim build.

“He had short, dark brown or black hair, stubble and was aged in his mid to late 30s.

“He was wearing a grey hooded tracksuit jacket with the hood up and grey tracksuit bottoms. “

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information about it is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

‘Any excluded child is a child at risk and we need to be dealing with it’ is the stark warning from the new children’s director at Northamptonshire County Council.

Sally Hodges made the comments at the council’s cabinet meeting last week after concerns were raised by councillors about the rising number of exclusions from Northamptonshire secondary schools.

In 2017/18 there were 150 permanent exclusions compared to 95 the year before. This is a 63 per cent increase.

Since the start of this academic year in September 59 secondary school pupils were excluded in the county.

Labour councillor Anjona Roy said the county authority had to take more of a lead.

She said: “The figures do reflect an increase and are a tragedy for every single family, every single child that is being denied access to education.

“These are some of the children who are most at risk in our communities and most at risk from the threatening aspects of our society.

“As a key organisation in the county we have a job in terms of leadership about how these problems should be tackled.

“A more punitive approach does not build bridges with communities.”

Conservative county councillor Andy Mercer agreed that the council should be doing more to address the issue.

He said: “Every exclusion is one too many. I have always been concerned about them. “

“It seems that when a child is excluded we have given up on them. We have got no right to give up on any child.

“Children who are excluded are very, very vulnerable. There is a significant risk they may be brought into gang culture.

“The time to fix it is at the beginning not later after they have been picked up by the law enforcement agencies.”

Sally Hodges, who started in post one month ago and whose department is being overseen by Children’s Commissioner Malcolm Newsam, told the meeting at One Angel Square that she had begun early conversations with the police and crime commissioners office and that this was a national issue.

She said: “Colleagues work very hard with schools on programmes around resilience and self preservation and how to help keep children in schools.

“I would not like people to think that people get excluded and nobody cares because this is far from the truth. But having said that we do recognise that any excluded child is a child at risk and we need to be dealing with it.”

There is a rising growing gang culture in Northamptonshire which has seen an increase in violent crime and drug offences. Children as young as seven are being drawn into gangs according to the county’s youth offending service.

A motorist is wanted after being spotted driving dangerously near Kettering’s police hub.

Officers are appealing for information after the incident in Weekley Wood Avenue at about 1.30pm on Sunday (March 17).

A silver VW Golf with a registration number beginning LT02 was seen to be driving in a dangerous manner while making multiple overtake manoeuvres.

Witnesses or anyone with information should call Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Information can also be shared anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Promoters The Pad Presents are bringing one of the best known names of the Britpop era to the Northampton venue after they played at Esquires last year.

Sleeper release their fourth album The Modern Age this month, their first record in 21 years.

It wasn’t meant to happen. In fact, the band had promised each other it never would.

“We had no plan to get back together,” explains singer Louise Wener.

“Sometimes life throws you a massive curve ball. You end up jumping off the cliff, just to see what it feels like.”

The band spent summer 2018 recording The Modern Age with their long-time producer Stephen Street and a relationship that clicked into place again right away.

They tracked live at Metway studios in their adopted city of Brighton, before decamping to Street’s studio in West London to add the finishing touches.

The Modern Age is the outward looking sound of a band revitalised and refreshed.

Covering subjects from motherhood and social media to personal loss and, inevitably, relationships. The Modern Age retains Sleeper’s classic pop sensibilities with a shiny, new, contemporary feel.

The first single to be taken from the album, Look at You Now, was released at the end of last year. Initially it appears to be referencing Sleeper’s comeback, but it’s a protest song at heart - a howl for the politically homeless in a landscape where reasoned debate has given way to vitriol.

Sleeper notched up eight top 40 singles and three top 10 albums and sold more than one million records before they split in 1998.

Their music was characterised by astute, observational lyrics and big, hook-driven melodies.

Wener was an iconic front-person, heading up a movement that brought women centre stage in guitar music.

Their hits included Sale of the Century, What Do I Do Now, Nice Guy Eddie, Statuesque and Inbetweener.

After walking away from the limelight, Wener carved out a career as a successful novelist.

Drummer Andy Maclure and John Stewart - Sleeper’s guitarist - both became lecturers in music studies.

Sleeper reformed in 2017 and are joined by former Prodigy bassist Kieron Pepper.

They headline the Roadmender on Friday, March 29.

Tickets cost £20 in advance before fees. Support is by Lucia are to be confirmed.

For more information, visit www.thepadpresents.com

The pair released their third album Pop Voodoo in 2017. It was their first album in 20 years.

Black Grape’s ironically titled 1997 debut, It’s Great When You’re Straight...Yeah, gave a nod to their hook up as drugs buddies around the grizzled fag end of Happy Mondays and Kermit’s band The Ruthless Rap Assassins.

It was a storming phoenix rising from the ashes of the other projects that seemed to have run their course.

Black Grape followed this up with Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

Then nothing – until they reformed in 2010 and set about working on their third LP.

Shaun’s triumphs, struggles and diversions have been well documented.

The usual contract and money hassles, a best-selling account of life in the Mondays, a stunning electropunk album from nowhere in Amateur Night in the Big Top, a serious and informative investigation of UFO’s as an author and broadcaster, a reality TV bon vivant and finally, a life as a clean-living family man, which has supplanted his old ways.

And of course, there was the reformation of the Happy Mondays.

Years of hard living, however, had taken their toll on Kermit.

He developed health issues making a remarkable recovery from his life-threatening condition and operation, and this would be the catalyst for another Black Grape collaboration.

Special guests at Esquires will be Collapsed Lung.

Expect to hear top 20 hit Eat My Goal and some other gems.

Black Grape headline the Bedford venue on Saturday, March 23.

Doors open at 8pm. Tickets cost £25 in advance before fees.

Tickets include admission into a 90s indie club follows until 3am

For more details, visit www.thepadpresents.com

Tom Winkler vowed to his wife last year that it would be his final London marathon after the birth of his twin girls.

But this year he has broken his promise all in aid of trying to raise £2,000 for a worthy cause, Age UK, who stepped in after Tom's race application for the London marathon was turned down by Cancer Research UK

As well as preparing to run 26 gruelling miles, account manager Tom, 29, of Abington, is hosting a quiz night at the Smoke Pit on April 14 to help him reach his fundraising goal.

He was inspired to start running after his mum, Karon, passed away in 2014. Karon beat breast cancer before it returned again and spread to her lung and liver - at the very same time she was battling a growth in her brain.

Tom and Karon worked together at Nationwide and Tom was asked if he wanted to take up one of the two race places the bank had to run the London marathon.

After jokingly being told he would not be able to manage it as he had no previous running experience, he stepped up and started training hard.

He said: "At that point, I did not run or do anything but my mum was the only person who said 'you can do it'.

"I got the place in October and she passed away in November. My mum was in work three weeks before she passed away and never had a day off sick.

"When I have been on long runs, I'm feeling rubbish and think 'why am I doing this'? I hear my mum's voice in my head. My mum told me to get it done and that's what I'm trying to do now."

If you would like to donate to Thomas' JustGiving page click here.

Sporting events were as popular as ever with good attendances at the County Ground shared by Northampton Town Football Club and Northamptonshire County Cricket Club. Young people involved themselves in a whole range of extra-curricular activities from Gilbert and Sullivan productions to fundraising bed pushes, recitals and dog shows. A hobby was seen as the thing to do: a way to make friends and keep out of mischief. Making music or listening to the latest record by chart-topping artists and sometimes even meeting them - things haven't really changed at all.

An old nemesis will take charge of the Cobblers this weekend with Charles Breakspear appointed as the referee for their League Two clash with Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road.

The Surrey official felt the wrath of Sixfields back in October when he delivered a highly-controversial refereeing performance in the 2-1 win over Oldham Athletic, the highlight of which was his decision to send off Sam Foley three minutes before half-time.

The Town midfielder went in strongly on Oldham’s Christopher Missilou but it was still a shock to most to see the red card come out and that was not the only decision to cause a stir throughout the afternoon, wit both sets of supporters feeling aggrieved by the end of the game.

Foley became the ninth player to be shown red in the 17 games Breakspear had officiated at the time this season. Since, he’s given out another three to go with 119 yellows.

Remarkably, Foley was also the sixth different Cobblers player to be sent off in the last five matches refereed by Breakspear, joining David Buchanan, John-Joe O’Toole, Leon Barnett, Matt Crooks and Hildeberto Pereira.

There was no such drama when Breakspear refereed Northampton’s Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Bristol Rovers in January.

Barnes is planning to hang up his whistle when this year's Rugby World Cup ends, meaning he will not be back in the Premiership next season.

Consequently, this week's game between Saints and Leicester Tigers is set to be his final east midlands match-up.

Barnes, who will be taking charge of his 212th Premiership game, has been involved in some hugely controversial encounters between the local rivals over the years.

In the 2011 Premiership play-off semi-final, Saints wing Chris Ashton and Leicester’s Manu Tuilagi were sin-binned by Barnes after the Samoan centre landed a series of punches on his opponent.

In another league meeting later that year, Saints flanker Tom Wood and Leicester’s Alesana Tuilagi were red-carded for fighting after Ashton pulled Tuilagi’s hair.

And there was to be a further talking point in that game, with Saints unhappy that Horacio Agulla’s late try was allowed after Geordan Murphy appeared to block Ben Foden in the build-up.

But the most discussed incident came in May 2013 when Barnes sent off Dylan Hartley in the Premiership final at Twickenham, with the Saints skipper subsequently banned for 11 weeks for verbally abusing the Gloucestershire official.

It didn't end there though as Barnes was back in charge of an east midlands derby in March 2014, when he was followed down the Franklin's Gardens tunnel by a furious Jim Mallinder, who felt the referee has called time on the game prematurely, consigning Saints to another defeat.

In 2015, Kady Middleton was the victim of a hit-and-run by a drunk driver, which left her clinging on to her life. The accident happened in January 2015, halfway through Kady’s first year of her journalism degree.

While her course mates were busy with lectures, Kady spent a month in and out of the operating theatre as doctors sought to repair the substantial damage her body had suffered – including a broken cheekbone and eye socket, a torn oesophagus, 10 broken ribs, a torn liver and pancreas, a burst stomach artery, two collapsed lungs and a broken leg.

But it was a leaking artery that posed the most significant danger to Kady’s life, and with it going undetected for weeks, she had, at best, days to live.

“I was lying on a hospital bed and I was dying, the doctors told my parents to expect the worse, but it’s not like me to give up,” said Kady.

“I just wanted to go to sleep, but the doctors wouldn’t let me, because I wouldn’t have woken up. Luckily they found the location of the leak and I had an operation, which saved my life.”

After cheating death, Kady was back on her feet within months and was hard at work studying again. With the help from course mates and her lecturers she graduated in 2017 with a top degree in journalism.

After stints working for the BBC during her studies, Kady took a permanent digital marketing job in her home city of Southampton after graduating.

When a permanent job at BBC Radio Solent cropped up last year, Kady applied and she bagged herself her dream job.

Lecturer at the University of Northampton, Kate Williams, who also works for the BBC, was a big influence on Kady and encouraged her to take the job.

She added: “Kate encouraged and inspired me to go for it and I took the leap.

"Since starting last summer I’ve already made the step up to a digital producer role, which I took on in January.”

While she has one eye on the future, she’s also appreciative of the past and the second chance she got at life after her accident.

“I could have died, but I didn’t and I am not the sort to give up,” said Kady.

But Murphy is unsure whether he will throw George Ford, Ben Youngs, Dan Cole, Ellis Genge, Jonny May and Manu Tuilagi straight back into club action.

Leicester had last weekend off and they could also have the likes of Matt Toomua, Ben White, Sam Harrison, Brendon O'Connor and Mike Fitzgerald available after injury.

Those comebacks, allied with the England players having completed their Six Nations commitments, means Murphy has some big decisions to make in derby week.

"It's great for the group, we were at sort of breaking point with injuries and to get those six bodies back gives a nice little bit of energy to the group," Murphy told the Tigers website.

"They're high quality players and they had a tough few weeks on international duty so whether or not we use them is the question now.

"But they've all come back itching to play so it will be interesting to see what we do."

Saints are set to welcome back fly-half Dan Biggar on Friday night, following the conclusion of his stint with Wales, who won the Grand Slam last weekend.

And Chris Boyd's men go into the derby on the back of winning the Premiership Rugby Cup at Franklin's Gardens last Sunday.

Saints are currently seventh in the Gallagher Premiership ahead of this week's league battle at Welford Road, with Leicester three places and three points worse off.

"This is massive for us," said Murphy.

"To add a little bit more spice, the middle of the table is so tight and obviously we're down the bottom end of it, so we have to change our fortunes, we have to start winning.

"It's a huge game for us and Saints will be coming here with massive confidence on the back of their cup win last weekend.

"They're a great side, they're playing very, very good football and it's going to be a tough match but I'm looking forward to it.

"The derby matches are always entertaining and the crowd will have a great time this weekend."

Saints won 27-21 at Welford Road last April, ending an 11-year wait for a victory at the home of their local rivals.

And Murphy admits that was a really disappointing day for Tigers.

"Derby weeks are really special, the big games against Saints are always really, really tight," Murphy said.

"Over the past few years, the games have had one score in them and there have been some big performances from both sides.

"Last year Saints got a big win at Welford Road, which we were particularly disappointed with.

"We didn't play at Franklin's Gardens in the league this year because we were down at Twickenham so it's nice to have those guys back our place on Friday night."

The former Saints and England hooker passed away earlier this week aged 66, having featured more than 150 times for Northampton after making his debut back in 1971.

One of the defining figures in the history of the Saints, Raphael was a part of the famous ‘Gang of Seven’ consortium in 1988 that was instrumental in restructuring the club, setting Northampton on course for the top end of English club rugby.

As a player, the hooker was club captain in 1983/84 and played 159 times for Saints' first team.

He represented England between 1975 and 1981, where he was part of two overseas tours and represented the Barbarians before injury brought a premature end to his career in 1984.

Raphael had the honour of serving as Saints president for a two-year spell, and is among only a handful of people to be made a life member of the club.

“Without men like Jon it is conceivable that Saints would not be where it is today,” said former Saints chairman Tony Hewitt.

“As part of the ‘Gang of Seven’, he played a huge role in making Saints the rugby club that it is now and we’re deeply saddened to hear of his passing.”

Saints chairman John White said: “Jon will be sorely missed, not only by everyone at Northampton Saints but also around all our opposition clubs where he was a well-known, respected and popular Saintsman.”

Long-time friend and former Saints chairman Keith Barwell added: “Jon was not only a fantastic and loyal player on the pitch, but a hugely respected member of the board.

"We shall all miss him greatly; our thoughts and prayers are with Kathy and his family.”

The Nineties Brit pop act who brought the world Three Lions have been confirmed as the support for Madness at their Franklin's Gardens gig.

Liverpool's The Lightning Seeds are set to take to the stage at the home of the Northampton Saints on June 29.

After bursting through during the 90s with tracks such as ‘Pure’, ‘The Life of Riley’ and ‘Lucky You’, their biggest and hit came in 1996 with ‘Three Lions’.

Originally written for Euro 96, the song has remained a footballing anthem since and even topped the charts in 2018 during the England football team's impressive World Cup run.

Saints chief executive Mark Darbon said: “We are delighted to have secured such a high-calibre act to support Madness at Franklin’s Gardens.

“The Lightning Seeds made some of the most memorable songs of the 90s and perfectly fit the bill for what promises to be a fantastic weekend of music and entertainment.”

Celebrating their 40th anniversary with a huge summer tour in 2019, Madness are one of the top-20 selling UK groups of all time and will perform hits from their extensive repertoire in front of up to 18,000 people at the home of Northampton Saints.

Their 2019 tour will see Madness visit iconic venues across the UK, with fans able to sing along to classic hits such as ‘Baggy Trousers’, ‘It Must Be Love’, ‘Driving in My Car’, ‘Our House’, and ‘House of Fun’.

Ticket prices start from £40 and include pitch standing, seating and accessible tickets and are available at axs.com and musicplussport.com.

Paid car parking is also available at the venue.

Hospitality packages are also available in the Franklin’s Gardens boxes, Director’s Lounge, Champions Suite, and Captain’s Club.

For more information on what’s on offer, email sales@northamptonsaints.co.uk.

Councillors have given planning permission to plans to build a Starbucks drive-thru in a supermarket car park.

The drive-thru, in the Morrisons car park on Kettering Road, will now be built despite the objections of two ward councillors and a host of residents, who made their views known at Northampton Borough Council’s planning committee meeting this evening (March 19).

Locals have been left ‘angry and hurt’ by the application after a similar drive-thru was approved for McDonald's in the car park last July by the same committee.

The concerns raised over the McDonald’s application, regarding the impact on traffic in the nearby area, were not enough to persuade the committee last summer. And neither were they successful in persuading them tonight, as it was approved by four votes to three.

Planning chairman Councillor Brian Oldham said: “I don’t think this would lead to an epidemic of new vehicles. I think it would mostly be used by people within the vicinity. On planning grounds I don’t think an inspector would support a refusal based on what is in this report. So I will be supporting this application.”

Planning officers had recommended the scheme for approval, and considered the application ‘would not create unacceptable impact on highway safety, visual amenity, general and residential amenity’.

But ward councillors Cathrine Russell and Mike Hallam attempted to fight the corner for residents, who have argued that existing junctions at the site are already ‘beyond capacity’.

Councillor Russell, as a member of the planning committee, was asked to leave the room having called in the application.

But Councillor Hallam said: “The cumulative impact of the McDonald's and the new housing development at Parklands Middle School make approving this Starbucks incomprehensible. People in my community don't want this and the people who will get caught up in the traffic don't want it either."

Local resident Helen Reay, who lives around the corner from the development added: “This is a residential area with a supermarket and a petrol station. To try and redevelop it as a retail area is not compatible with the character of the local area. A queue at Starbucks will completely block the entrance to the whole site."

Councillor Dennis Meredith, who voted against the scheme, said: “Officers have got this recommendation to approve wrong. Traffic around that area is horrendous. If I was a resident in this area I would be pulling my hair out, because this could make this a no-go area and there would be issues over air quality."

The application, which was submitted by Morrisons, will see the new drive-thru create approximately 20 jobs. It would see supermarket shoppers lose 36 parking spaces, although 14 more would be provided at the Starbucks, which will be open from 5:30am until 11pm.

Although this results in a net loss of 22 parking spaces, planning officers believe ‘there would still be available capacity in the car park to accommodate the demand arising from the supermarket, McDonald’s restaurant and Starbucks coffee shop’.

Gary Swarbrick, acting as the agent on behalf of Morrisons, said: "Clearly Morrisons would not propose an application that would be detrimental to our own car park.

"This will generate 20 jobs, and I hope that is afforded significant weight. it's a sustainable development that will enhance the offer for shoppers and residents."

The first public meeting involving councillors making decisions on the local government reform in Northamptonshire will take place next week.

On Tuesday, March 26, councillors from Daventry, South Northamptonshire, Northampton Borough and the county council will convene at The Guildhall for the first joint committee of the new West Northamptonshire Council.

The new unitary authority is set to replace the district and borough councils in April 2020, and even though the process has yet to be formally approved by the government - a move expected at the end of this month - work has nevertheless been going on behind the scenes since last August, when the proposals were submitted to Westminster.

The joint committee will be made up of three councillors each from the four different authorities after an agreement was finally reached on equal representation after a row over the issue earlier this year.
The joint committee’s shelf life is expected to be brief, as it is mainly intended to carry out some brief work before a shadow executive is implemented.

But it still has some important tasks to carry out. At its first meeting next week, the committee is likely to establish three ‘task and finish’ groups.

These will work on a new constitution and code of conduct for the West Northamptonshire authority, oversee the recruitment process for the interim head of paid service, interim chief finance officer and interim monitoring officer positions, and to agree the process for an independent review of members’ allowances and the creation of an independent remuneration panel.

The committee will also hear an update on how the process of setting up the unitary councils is coming along. A government decision is currently expected before Easter recess of Parliament, expected to be late March or early April, which would then allow a Structural Change Order - the legislation required to set up the new council - to be submitted for completion by the end of June.

After this, the joint committees would be abolished to make way for the Shadow Executives, estimated to be in early July.

Meanwhile, in 2020, a budget is expected to be set for West Northamptonshire Council in February, before the new council goes live on April 1, with elections being held the next month in May.

It's been a busy few years for Savannah Morgan. The Year 6 schoolgirl from Kings Heath was at a photo shoot in Amsterdam for her Nike advert in July.

This was after clocking the fastest 60m sprint in the country for her age at 8.50 seconds in November 2017.

Then, in February this year, she met her hero and European Gold Champion sprinter Dina Asher-Smith for the second time.

Now, her last race of the indoor season on March 2 saw her smash her personal best with a time of 8.21 seconds - cementing her as the UK's fastest 11-year-old. Ever.

"Dina Asher-Smith told me to think about one word over in my mind at the starting blocks," Savannah told the Chronicle and Echo. "I went with 'explode'. I just thought 'explode, explode, explode'.

"It really helps. I'm still learning to run properly, like how to move my arms. Dina says races are won in the first three steps."

Savannah is still training every week with Moulton Athletic Club on the ground of Moulton College ahead of the summer season. She is still learning where to hold her head and how to pump her arms, but the Northampton girl is head and shoulders above her competition.

There's no denying it. The Northampton 11-year-old is on track to be a UK Olympic Gold medal winner - and it's not a stretch to say she could be breaking world records in Los Angeles 2028.

Her Olympic dream has been constant throughout her life. Her sister, Corinne Humphreys, is 16 years older than her and represented Team GB in the 2018 Commonwealth games. And one of her earliest memories is seeing Mo Farah win Gold at 2012 Olympics with her father when she was just four years old.

Savannah said: "I want to go to the Olympics and win Gold. But I want to be a world record holder too.

"It's just another goal. I just have to work really hard to achieve it. It means I have to catch up on school sometimes after training but I don't mind."

The schoolwork is just as important. Being an Olympic Gold medallist and record breaker is just one of Savannah's goals - she has her heart set on being a vet so she can meet as many pets as possible.

Her mum Amanda has been cheering for Savannah since her first contest when she was nine.

She said: "She surprises us all the time. None of us takes her talent for granted. She has her own of goals and she's always pushing herself.

"If she sticks to it, she will be as good as if not better as what we've seen in the UK."

But for now, Savannah is gearing up for her first outdoors contest at the Youth Development League races in April.

Watch this space. The next greatest thing in UK athletics is training in Northampton and one day the world could well be watching her take her marks in the starting blocks.