Northampton Town have announced that club historian Frank Grande has passed away.

The 70-year-old died on Thursday, having battled against illness in recent months.

Chairman Kelvin Thomas paid tribute to Grande, who has been the official club historian since the early 1980s, and a supporter of the team for 60 years.

“Although we knew Frank was poorly, this is an incredibly sad day and all of us at the club are devastated,” said Thomas.

“Frank will leave a huge hole in the community of this football club.

“He has been of great assistance to the club over many years, whether it be writing for the club programme, checking records, helping to arrange for former players to attend games or just helping out in any way he could.

“Frank also did something very special for me personally regarding my grandfather’s career when we first took over the club, which I have never forgotten.

“He was very much part of the family.

“He has shared in the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs of the club and he will be sadly missed by us all.

“We send our best wishes to all of Frank’s family and we will support them however we can.”

A club statement added: “Everyone at Northampton Town Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of club historian Frank Grande.

“A wonderfully loyal supporter, Frank has been a huge help to the club over many years, writing many books on Northampton Town Football Club and contributing to the matchday programme for nearly 40 years.

“The news comes just a few days after the EFL named Frank the EFL League Two Supporter of the Year.”

That award was only announced at the back end of last week, and was well deserved for a man who has been a regular at the Cobblers since going to his first game at the old County Ground in 1958.

Despite his illness, Wellingborough-born Grande still attended matches at the PTS Academy Stadium until as recently as last month.

One of his last games watching his beloved club was the 4-0 defeat at the hands of Colchester United in February, but he took that disappointment in his stride.

Indeed, he summed up the feelings of the majority Cobblers fans following that game, when he said: “It’s something we have to get used to as Cobblers fans I’m afraid... It makes the successful seasons more special.”

Police were called at 7.27am this morning (Friday) after two cars were involved in a collision in Danes Camp Way.

A police spokesman said that one of the drivers, who was in a silver Audi, left the scene without leaving their details.

The accident caused queues in the area which reached the Queen Eleanor roundabout.

Anyone who has information about the accident can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

All three lanes on the northbound side of the motorway are shut between Lutterworth (junction 20) and Foss Park (junction 21).

Traffic on the northbound M1 has backed up to the Catthorpe interchange, and there is slow-moving traffic on the A5 as a knock-on effect from the diverted traffic heading up the A5 to Hinckley to then take the M69 back to the M1 at junction 21.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service was called out at around 1.30am to reports of two lorries on fire.

While the fire is now out, recovering the vehicles and repairing the road are the reasons for the current closure. Highways England says it does not expect the M1 to clear until around 3pm.

Click here for full diversion information

UPDATE: The fault has been fixed and all lines have reopened. Alterations and delays to services continue to passengers advised to check before they travel

Virgin Trains and London Northwestern are advising all passengers to check before they travel today due to severe disruption on all lines due to a signalling fault between Milton Keynes and Watford Junction.

Disruption is expected until 1pm, according to Virgin.

Rail replacement services are in place and tickets are valid on other rail services.

For the latest updates check here for Virgin and @LNRailway on Twitter for London Northwestern.

Fixture: Cheltenham Town v Northampton Town, Sky Bet League Two

Date/time: Saturday, March 23, 3pm kick-off

Venue: Whaddon Road

Forecast: 11C, sunny spells

Outs and doubts: Robins: Billy Waters (ineligible), Alex Addai (hamstring), Sean Long (knee). Cobblers: Shaun McWilliams (hamstring), George Cox (ankle), Junior Morias (ill)

Betting: Cheltenham 8/5, draw 11/5, Northampton 17/10

Form guide: Robins LWDLWW, Cobblers DWWWWD

Possible line-ups: Cheltenham (3-5-2): Flinders; Raglan, Tozer, Boyle; Broom, Dawson, Tillson, Clements, Hussey; Varey, Barnett. Northampton (4-4-1-1): Cornell; Goode, Taylor, Pierre, Buchanan; Hoskins, Turnbull, Foley, Bridge; O’Toole, Sordell.

Man in the middle: Charles Breakspear – more on that here...

Last time out: Newport 1 Cheltenham 0; Grimsby 0 Northampton 0

Most recent meeting: Saturday, September 8, 2018 – Northampton Town 1 (van Veen) Cheltenham 3 (Boyle, Thomas, Mooney)

Record v Cheltenham: P31 W11 D8 L12

Opposition view: Robins boss Michael Duff said this week. “I don’t think Northampton should have been where they were, but they were and Keith has come in and done a really good job. I think they’ve only lost 10 games all season and most of them were at the start of the season.

They’re organised from set-plays; they’re a real threat from them, they throw seven in the box, and have good variation within it so we’ll be under no illusions that it’ll be typical League Two and you’ve got to be able to stand up and fight.”

James Heneghan’s preview: The Cobblers aren’t quite drinking in the last chance saloon just yet but their margin for error is already small and anything other than victory at Cheltenham Town tomorrow will only see it shrink further as they hunt down a play-off place.

Judging by recent League Two history, Keith Curle’s men likely require a minimum of six wins from their final eight games for a top-seven finish this season, an improbable but not impossible ask.

Their fixture list pits them against teams struggling at the wrong end of the table. Tomorrow’s opponents Cheltenham, currently 15th, are almost certainly safe but the Cobblers then face Port Vale and Notts County on back-to-back Saturdays, two sides in poor form and still in need of points and wins to get away from the drop zone.

Something must give this weekend as Cheltenham, strong on home turf, takes on a Northampton team in fine form away. The Robins have won five and drawn one of their last six at Whaddon Road while the Cobblers are unbeaten in five on the road, including three wins and only three goals conceded.

As for the teams Northampton are chasing, all have winnable fixtures this weekend. Forest Green and Exeter, both in the play-offs and six points clear of Town, face relegation-threatened duo Port Vale and Notts County respectively.

Colchester and Carlisle, in eighth and ninth, are both at home while Stevenage, a point and a place above the Cobblers, visit struggling Macclesfield. If the Cobblers do not return from Gloucestershire with all three points, you fear it could well be game over.

And they will have the added motivation of attempting to right the wrongs of what happened in the reverse fixture in September.

Town’s abysmal 4-0 defeat at Mansfield is often considered the nadir of Dean Austin’s ill-fated reign but their hapless 3-1 home reverse to Cheltenham Town three weeks earlier was arguably worse.

The Robins turned up at Sixfields with only one win and four points from six games but some charitable defending gifted them three goals and three points, one of only four on the road all season.

Seeking to complete the double over Northampton, Cheltenham boss Michael Duff – appointed two days after that win at Sixfields – is hampered by the loss of Billy Waters. The Cobblers loanee has started five of the last six games and scored two goals since rejoining in January but is ineligible to face his parent club on Saturday.

Curle has a few selection quandaries of his own. He’s named an unchanged team twice in the past two weeks but, after a couple of toothless attacking performances against Newport and Grimsby, now might be the time to make a few alterations.

He could call upon any of Jack Bridge, Joe Powell or Marvin Sordell to give his side a little extra firepower at Whaddon Road. For sure, at this point draws are of little value to the Cobblers. They may as well go for broke.

Prediction: Cheltenham Town 1 Northampton Town 1

Cheltenham Town boss Michael Duff says Keith Curle has ‘done a great job’ in transforming the fortunes of the Cobblers since taking charge in October.

The Robins boss is an admirer of how Curle has steered Town away from relegation danger to the fringes of the promotion play-off places in his six months in charge, and has hailed the ‘resilience’ and ‘mentality’ he has instilled into the Cobblers squad.

Curle takes his team to Cheltenham on Saturday aiming to extend their unbeaten Sky Bet League Two run to nine games, but they will be up against a Robins side that is in very good form at home.

Cheltenham are unbeaten in their past six league games at Whaddon Road, winning five of those, but Duff knows his team are in for a testing afternoon against the Cobblers.

“Keith’s done a great job. I think Northampton have lost four or five games since he’s come in,” said Duff, who has been in charge of the Robins since September.

“Granted I don’t think they should’ve been where they were when he took over, but they were, and he’s come in and done a really good job.

“I think in the form table they must be in the top three or four since he’s been in; hard to beat, tough, I think they’ve only lost 10 games all season, so I think most of them were at the start of the season.

“MK Dons and Forest Green have only lost 10 so it goes to show that they’re a hard team to beat.

“I went to watch them against Newport the other week and it was really gritty, similar to our game with Newport…it looked like it was going to be a 0-0 but they scored in the last minute.

“They’ve gone up to Grimsby and ground out another 0-0 so they’re definitely tough to beat.

“I think that shows a resilience, it shows a mentality that Keith’s drilled into them.

“They’re organised from set-plays; they’re a real threat from them, they throw seven in the box, and have good variation within it.

“So we’ll be under no illusions that, again typical league two, you’ve got to be able to stand up and fight and do all those because at any level if you’re not prepared to do that you’ve got no chance.”

It’s fair to say the play-offs have not been spoken about too much in the confines of the Cobblers changing rooms this season.

Last summer there was certainly talk of promotion, but the realities of life back in Sky Bet League Two soon ensured the the main focus for the Town players has been keeping their heads above the relegation places.

But it’s amazing what an eight-match unbeaten run can do...

Following the 4-0 hiding at the hands of Colchester United on February 2, the Cobblers fans were still fearing the worst.

But a run of five wins and three draws has seen the Cobblers charge up the table to 11th, and with eight games of the season remaining, they are very much in the hunt for a place in the top seven.

The six-point gap will still take some closing, but attacker Sam Hoskins admits the players are now starting to believe they can do something special.

“You always look as far up the table as you can,” said Hoskins.

“A month ago it was a bit far fetched, but now we have put this run together and if we had won on Saturday (Town drew 0-0 at Grimsby) then we would certainly be looking in a really good position.

“But we are still only six points off it, and we just have to go into every game now believing we can win it.

“What we have done in the last eight games has been really good, and hopefully we can put some more performances together like that, then hopefully we can push on and sneak in.”

So, are the players discussing the play-offs?

“We have just started to talk about it, but I don’t want to too much to be honest,” said the 25-year-old.

“I don’t want to sort of get too excited and for it then not to happen, but it is becoming more realistic now.

“So, yes, we are getting more excited as a group, and everybody can see we are pushing there.”

The Cobblers return to action on Saturday with another road trip, this time to a Cheltenham Town side that triumphed 3-1 at the PTS Academy Stadium back in September.

“It will be another tough game, but we are confident we can go to any place and get the three points,” said Hoskins.

“We were disappointed on Saturday not to come away with the win, but it is credit to what we have been doing that we were disappointed with that.

“Cheltenham is another great opportunity to get the three points.

“We just need to continue doing what we are doing, and we can’t really focus too much on the opposition.

“We want to go there and play the way we want to play, and dominate teams like we have been doing in the past few weeks.

“If we focus on our game we are confident we can go there and get the win.”

The borough council’s planning committee convened at The Guildhall on Tuesday evening (March 19), and approved all 17 of the applications it heard. Here’s a rundown of their decisions.

APPROVED: Change of use from house to House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) for three occupants at 7 Victoria Promenade.

The opening application of the evening was quickly voted through by the planning committee.

APPROVED: Drive-thru Starbucks coffee shop with associated car parking at Morrisons supermarket, Kettering Road.

The first of the ‘contentious’ applications, a Starbucks drive-thru in the Morrisons car park, was approved. A number of residents joined Councillor Mike Hallam in objecting to the scheme on traffic grounds.

It comes just months after a McDonald’s drive-thru was approved by the committee in the same car park, and for which building work started a day prior to this planning hearing.

Councillor Hallam said: "The cumulative impact of the McDonald's and the new housing development coming 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."

But Gary Swarbrick, acting on behalf of applicants Morrisons, says: "Clearly Morrisons would not propose an application that would be detrimental to our own car park. This will generate 20 jobs, it's a sustainable development that will enhance the offer for shoppers and residents."

It was a tight vote in the end, but the application was passed by four votes to three. Read more about the decision here.

APPROVED: Two storey and single-storey rear extension, and to convert a building into four residential units at 186 St James Park Road.

Councillors had no objection to this scheme and quickly granted planning permission.

APPROVED: Change of use from care home to supported living accommodation comprising 14 apartments at Kingsley Nursing Home, Kingsley Road.

The application proposed to convert the nursing home, which closed for a second time last year, into 14 flats for supported living accommodation for vulnerable adults with a range of physical and learning disabilities.

Two letters of objection had been received regarding noise. Neighbours say they already hear fire alarms, banging doors, and shouting from neighbours in the house and garden and were concerned this would increase.

Councillor Jane Birch had originally raised concerns but says complaints about sound had been dealt with professionally by the applicant. She said she would now be happy to see the application go ahead.

Read more about the context surrounding the closure of this nursing home, and the new proposals, here.

REMAINING HMO APPLICATIONS

The committee then swiftly granted planning permission for three new HMOs. These were:

Change of use from house to House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) for four occupants at 11 Clarke Road.

Change of use from House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) for five occupants to HMO for six occupants at 169 Adnitt Road.

Change of use from House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) for four occupants to HMO for five occupants, with single-storey rear extension, at 6 Holly Road.

NORTHAMPTON PARTNERSHIP HOMES APPLICATIONS

The remainder of the meeting focused on 10 applications from Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH), most of which were to knock down residential garages and build new homes.

Matthew Berry and Nicky McKenzie, both representing NPH, said all the applications needed to be taken in the context that they formed part of a scheme to create 200 new homes in the town.

Most of the applications went unchallenged, but two were met with fierce opposition from residents and were discussed first.

APPROVED: Demolition of 20 garages on Keswick Drive to build two new homes

More than 165 residents signed a petition to save the Keswick Drive garages, but their appeal was not enough in the end.

Residents Ann Brooks and John Connolly were joined by ward councillor Paul Joyce in attempting to persuade the committee to keep the garages.

But in the end, the committee could find no planning grounds on which to refuse the application.

You can read about the decision in more detail here.

APPROVED: Demolition of 10 domestic garages and construction of one new dwelling with car parking spaces at Maidencastle.

The last remaining residents in the public gallery for the evening contested this application as well. One neighbour said their light would be blocked, and it will make it difficult for emergency service vehicles to access their home. They also argued there would be a reduction in parking spaces on site – and there was already a shortfall of parking spaces in the area.

But councillors again felt there was no planning justification on which the application could be refused, and again highlighted the importance of replenishing the housing stock.

REMAINING NPH APPLICATIONS

The remaining eight applications from NPH were unchallenged by members of the public, and were all approved by the committee. They were:

Demolition of 34 garages and construction of three new dwellings at Gloucester Avenue.

Demolition of two garage blocks and construction of one new dwelling to north-west of 40 Tyes Court, and formation of a parking area to south-west of 37-40 Tyes Court.

Demolition of eight domestic garages and construction of two new dwellings at land to the rear of 33 Southwood Hill.

Development of six new dwellings with associated parking at the lock-up garages at Swale Drive.

Installation of hydraulic car park barrier to the existing car park at Caledonian House in Argyle Street.

Demolition of three domestic garages and construction of one dwelling and parking at Maidencastle.

Demolition of six garages and erection of two new dwellings and parking at the lock-up garages at Smyth Court.

Alterations to the design of two-storey extension previously approved at 10 Toms Close. Includes change in ground floor UPVC door from double to single door, insertion of an obscured, top opening window to the first-floor side elevation and a change in dimensions.

Data released by the Police.uk website tracks the number of reports of crime across the town.

This data is based on the latest available information, which tracks reports of crime for January 2019 in the area. There were a total of 723 crime reports. Areas listed are a rough guide based on policing districts and images are for illustrative purposes.

Children’s commissioner Malcolm Newsam has delivered his verdict on the state of children’s services to Government and his findings will be made public soon.

The experienced troubleshooter, who was involved in the turnaround of Rotherham Council after its child sexual exploitation scandal, was parachuted into Northamptonshire County Council in November after a damning Ofsted inspection. The report found that social workers were ‘drowning’ in work and that more than 200 children were not allocated a social worker.

The children’s commissioner’s brief was partly to look at the future delivery of children’s services.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “The Northamptonshire commissioner has submitted his report and its is under consideration. We will publish in due course.”

It is understood from a recent briefing Mr Newsam gave to councillors that setting up a children’s trust is likely. The two new proposed unitary authorities in the north and the west would then have contracts with the trust. This is what happened in Rotherham and in other failing children’s services departments across the country.

A letter last month from the council’s other two commissioners Brian Roberts and Tony McArdle said that despite improvements the service is still ‘fragile’.

It said: “Some of the most pressing risks identified by Ofsted have now been tackled. Most notably, unallocated assessments have been completed and workflows through the front door are more timely.

“However, more still needs to be done to ensure good decision-making and high-quality assessments are in place. Much of the inadequate performance across the service is systemic and long-standing.

“The historically poor approach to workforce attraction and retention has led to an over-reliance on inexperienced, newly qualified social workers or expensive temporary agency staff.

“A streamlined approach to recruitment has been supported by an enhanced remuneration offer for social workers and a new service design predicated on manageable workloads and realistic spans of control for managers.

“The early signs are that this will have a positive impact but presently there remain significant vacancies, caseloads in parts of the service are still too high and there are too many unallocated cases. The service remains very fragile.”

Northamptonshire’s children’s services first went into special measures in 2013.

It was later thought to be improving but the Ofsted report in October 2018 said there had been a sharp decline over the past two years.

A trial has begun over the alleged mistreatment of children at a Northampton household in late 2016.

At Northampton Crown Court yesterday (March 22), the jury heard what life in the house was like, told through a DVD showing what one of the children said to the police after they were taken into social services.

However, the video statement taken by police greatly contrasted with the evidence the same boy gave in court on Wednesday.

The boy told police: "No kid should have a childhood like that.

"We were all beaten... they chose our clothes over how to hide our bruises... none of us could use the toilet or shower or brush our teeth when we wanted... if we were good we could sit on the couch, but that was about once a month..."

The most serious allegations surrounds how one boy was allegedly kept locked and naked in a filthy, dark room with no bed or mattress, where he was forced to go to the toilet on the floor.

The alleged 'different treatment' the couple gave this boy was laid before the jury in the DVD.

The jury heard: "We were all made to hit him... 'Dad' would slap him so hard it left massive red marks where you could see each finger...

"Sometimes, they locked him in the room all day. He just had to go to the toilet in the room... He was made to clean it up with his bare hands with a bucket.

"If he wasn't in the room they made him stand in the hallway until his feet were purple. Or they made him run up and down the stairs until he cried."

The interviewer in the DVD asked the boy: "Do you know why was he treated differently?"

The boy said: "No.

"They made him like a ghost in our house... it was like we didn't have an older brother."

Other alleged mistreatment included giving the boy only a 99p magazine for Christmas and nothing else.

As a 'family treat', the children would be made to sit up until 3am on the floor of the living room watching horror films like A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The boy ended the police interview by saying being taken into care was 'the best thing that ever happened to me'.

At court on Wednesday, the same boy gave evidence in person to say he 'told lies' in his police interview and had a 'loving, strong' relationship with his dad.

"I was lying," he told the jury. "I had people around me mollycoddling me to attention seek [sic.] and tell lies.

"I love my dad.

"None of us were beaten.

"If we were naughty, we would have to sit on the stairs or have no telly or Xbox."

The trial continues.

A Northampton restaurant is helping three schoolgirls raise money for a trip to Cambodia where they will work on vital forest regeneration projects.

Izobella Russo, Lauren Cooke and Poppy Cummins, all year 11 students at Elizabeth Woodville School, in Roade, will stage the fund-raising night at Saffron, in Castilian Street, ahead of a month-long trip to the country later this year.

The adventure will see them join a 30-strong group to help with the maintenance of a local school and take part in a range of social and cultural projects, including efforts to regenerate essential areas of forest land.

The girls need to raise almost £4,000 each to fund the trip and hope the curry night at Saffron will contribute £1,000 towards the total.

Izobella, aged 15, said: “It will be a fantastic trip and I’m really looking forward to taking myself out of my comfort zone and experiencing a completely new culture.”

Lauren added: “Working on cultural projects in Cambodia will be a real eye-opener and it’s going to be the trip of a lifetime. Raising the money will be hard but we’re really grateful to Saffron for hosting our curry night and helping our fund-raising.”

Poppy said: “It’s good to see new cultures and offer help where we can. I’m looking forward to experiencing something different.”

The teenagers have already managed to raise several thousand pounds between them ahead of the trip, which takes place from July 15 to August 12 and is organised by Camps International.

Saffron owner, Naz Islam, said: “We are always looking to support good causes and this was the perfect opportunity to help three hard-working youngsters raise money for a potentially life-changing trip. The work they do out there will make a long-lasting difference.”

Tickets for the meal, which will be held on Monday, April 8, cost £20 and can be bought directly from Saffron or by contacting Tanya Russo on 07886 077158.

Perry Bentley, 23, watched as one of his friends stabbed a young gay man twice in the belly in a hate-fuelled stabbing near The Boston in August 2018.

But rather than help the victim, he got into a fight with the man's partner and ended up dislocating his own shoulder while judo-throwing him.

Northampton Crown Court heard today (March 22) how Bentley then limped away through the park in St Katherine's Gardens and tried to throw away a Stanley knife he had been carrying. However, he was arrested shortly after.

A 17-year-old man who was found guilty of carrying out the stabbing was also present in court but will be sentenced on May 23.

However, the victim in the case took the stand to tell his attacker how the stabbing had devastated his life and self-confidence.

The victim said: "When I first saw my scars in hospital I cried for over an hour at what these men had done to me.

"I have frequent flashbacks... I have nightmares of a man in my room at night.

"I have been left a shadow of my former self... I used to be outgoing and confident but I find going out just makes me anxious. I don't think I will ever be the same."

When Bentley saw the victim of the stabbing was in court, he grinned at the man and flashed him a thumbs up. The victim looked away.

During the trial, a picture taken on Bentley's phone a few months before the attack was shown to the jury. It showed the 23-year-old posing with a machete alongside the 17-year-old attacker in the case.

Bentley claimed the photo was a cover for an anti-knife-crime song he was working on.

But today, Bentley - from Isleworth, Hounslow - was jailed for 20 months for possessing a bladed article in public.

A motorcyclist has died in hospital after a crash on the A43 near Brackley with police appealing for witnesses.

A green Yamaha motorbike was travelling south as it hit the central reservation on the approach to the roundabout for the Brackley bypass at about 10.40pm on Wednesday (March 20).

The rider, a man aged 53, suffered serious injuries and was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital, when he later died.

Officers from Northamptonshire Police’s serious collision investigation unit are appealing for witnesses to the collision.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, or information can also be provided via the Drive Watch Hotline on 0800 174915, quoting incident number 659 of 20/3/19.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has today launched a new recruitment drive where they hope to sign up to 40 more on-call firefighters to join their existing 200-strong crew.

Full training is given and, in the past, on-call firefighter posts have been filled by everyone from hairdressers or factory workers to retired people, restaurant managers, and otherwise full-time mums and dads at home.

Darren Dovey, chief fire officer for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "I would say to anyone to come along to the information evenings and get a full view of what the job is. Obviously, everyone has a perception of what a firefighter's job is and I think the job is much, much bigger than that.

"Actually, think about the benefit to the community and yourself. The big thing with this particular campaign is to widen the understanding of what the on-call role is so it can potentially appeal to a broader range of people.

"Historically the job has generally appealed to men between the ages of 20 to 40. At the minute 10 per cent of on-call staff are women and around five per cent are from BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) communities. We want to try and increase that by really explaining what the job is about."

The on-call officers work from five stations in the county, which include Kettering Wellingborough, Daventry, Rushden and Moulton, but more help is needed here in the daytime.

As well as fulfilling the more traditional roles of a firefighter such as tackling blazes and attending the scene of a crash there is a big focus on work in the community too.

Mr Dovey added: "They will be doing the operational response, so obviously they will go to fires and road traffic collisions. In addition to that though we would want them to do the prevention type work in their own communities.

"So whether that be going to fetes or schools and visiting nurseries it's also about going into people's homes and what we call 'doing home fire safety checks', fitting smoke detectors for people and making people safer in their homes.

"People who are working on the on-call stations will live or work in that community and they are giving the service back to themselves, their families and communities."

The job of an on-call fire fighter is a paid role, which many people choose to take on in addition to their, often very different, day jobs. There is no upper age limit and recruits should allow up to one year to complete basic training.

On-call firefighter Georgia Abbott, 25, was inspired to take on a role with the counties fire service when she heard about the Grenfell Tower disaster. She works as a transport manager for a delivery company too.

She has been on-call for five months and has been called out to a flooded kitchen, a thatch roof fire, acted as a co-responder to a caller who had suffered a stroke and helped a man down a ladder who was stuck on a cherry picker.

"My inspiration was the Grenfell fire disaster," she said. "But ever since I was young I've always wanted to be part of a corse.

"There was something about watching Grenfell on the news - I just wanted to be there so desperately. A few days later was when I looked at how I went about being an on-call firefighter."

Georgia said she feels empowered as a woman while working as a firefighter.

"From what I've experience so far, especially on my basics, it's really nice to have a female on your crew.

"They really look after you, there's no sexism or anything like that and they really include you and see you as a valued member.

"I'd say absolutely go for it. It feels all the more empowering because you're a woman and you're in what people perceive as a male dominated environment."

Screen Northants has made five short films about the fire service in Northamptonshire, which will be used as part of the recruitment campaign on social media.

Applicants for on-call firefighter roles must:

• Live or work up to eight minutes travelling distance from nearest on-call fire station
• Be 18-years-old or within six months of their 18th birthday
• Be physically fit

To sign up click here: oncallfire.uk/treadmill/

Two Northampton men have been charged with committing three burglaries across the county.

Wayne Brown, 45, of Kingsland Avenue, Northampton, and Kieron Long, 33, of Balfour Close, Northampton, were arrested last night (Thursday, March 21) and subsequently charged with six offences in relation to three Northampton burglaries.

The pair appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court this morning where they were remanded into custody.

Detective Inspector Wayne Preece, said: “Burglaries have a huge effect on victims and I am pleased that the team have charged two offenders in relation to a number of offences across the County.”

All emergency services were in attendance to the incident in the early hours of this morning (Friday) which resulted in a full northbound closure between junction 20 for Lutterworth and 21 for Fosse Park.

Highways announced this afternoon the stretch had reopened.

@HighwaysEMIDS tweeted: "REOPEN: The #M1 Northbound between J20 (Lutterworth) & J21 (Leicester) has reopened - all lanes are now running. Resurfaced all lanes across 200m using 100 tonnes of tarmac."

Another bandit machine has been targeted by burglars in Kettering.

The burglary took place on Monday, March 18, between 2am and 3am, when the offenders broke in to a pub in Bath Road through a rear window, forced open a games machine and stole cash from it, as well as a large amount of alcohol.

The suspects were wearing grey hooded tops, combat trousers and Nike trainers. It is believed they are likely to have made their escape by a vehicle.

It follows a series of similar burglaries across Kettering and Corby during the past seven months that have targeted pub and club fruit machines. Several arrests have been made and one man is awaiting trial.

A Northampton community is in uproar in the face of another hike to a 'second council tax' they are paying to a private management company.

Homeowners in Duston say they are facing 'ever increasing' mandatory payouts to private management company Chamonix Estates.

The company are managing new build estates in Duston in lieu of the borough council or county council, and charge residents for groundskeeping services and maintenance.

But since taking on the estates in 2017, some residents say their payments to the company have increased by up to 66 per cent - to a total of over £300 a year in some households.

Now, residents have reacted angrily to a new letter through their doors saying Chamonix will bill them for an additional £46 under 'gate supplementary charge' to maintain barriers onto the estates.

One resident told the Chronicle and Echo: "You pay them in perpetuity to companies you have no say over.

"It's a license to print money for little in return."

Residents have called the payments to Chamonix 'a second council tax' and have criticised the management company for adding new reasons to charge homeowners.

An email from Chamonix to a resident seen by the Chronicle and Echo claimed the company can 'demand these funds' because homeowners agreed to any charges by the company when they signed their transfer documents.

Meanwhile, chair of Duston Labour Sandie Maitland has called a residents meeting for April 9 at 7.30pm at the library on Pendle Road to discuss the payments.

She said: "I think it's morally indefensible. These charges affect people's income and residents are incensed because they have no power over how it's spent or what Chamonix do with it.

"I'm hoping we will get together an form a residents group so they can enter into proper discussions."

Some of the gates are also currently under a risk assessment after Chamonix found they posed a 'threat to life'.

Chamonix has been contacted for a comment.

Payday for staff at a Northampton service station can now come weeks in advance thanks to a new 'flexible income' scheme.

Roadchef’s Northampton Motorway Service Area at junction 15a of the M1 has launched the scheme in partnership with the tech company Wagestream.

The site, which saw over 2.8 million visitors pass through last year, will make Wagestream’s ‘Get Paid As You Go’ service available to all its employees.

Workers can now withdraw up to 30 per cent of their income throughout the month rather than having to wait for payday.

Mark Fox, CEO of Roadchef, said the new scheme would help 'alleviate the stress of the monthly pay cycle'.

He said: “We truly believe it is the team members that make the brand at Roadchef, so it is key for us to be able to provide our employees with any support they need, be that financial or otherwise."

Roadchef says the wage advances will allow staff to cope with unexpected expenses such as car troubles and boiler replacements without having to turn to overdrafts, credit or high-interest payday loans.

Workers will also be offered a variety of discounts on 'everyday purchases'.

The company hopes the new scheme will encourage employees to build careers at its service stations, even if they move jobs between the eateries and shops available there.