In fact, the glittery 'Best F***ing Day Ever' sign (with only the 'u' starred out) at the front of Gardners Bakery in Kingsthorpe has helped Helen Gardner's business nearly sell out of a line of celebratory mugs, balloons and candles.

A number of people have raised complaints about the signage in the window along Harborough Road, which has been in place for the past eight weeks.

But Helen has defended the use of the banner, which actually relates to a brand that is stocked in-store of the same name.

"We didn't put it up to cause offence, we are just stocking a lot of that product and promoting the merchandise," she said.

Helen said that the sign, which has the 'u' of the swearword starred out, has helped the bakery to nearly sell out of its niche stock.

However, she said she had apologised to some who had contacted her after taking offence at the banner.

It is also due to come down in the coming weeks when the shop window is refreshed.

Chron reader Harriet Louise, who saw the signage in passing last week, was one of those to find it offensive.

She said: "I was absolutely disgusted and highly offended by this.

"All eyes will see this including children’s, I’m sure children will be looking through cake shop windows and how is a parent going to avoid that when it’s in plain sight?"

Northamptonshire Police was called at 4.45pm on Saturday following reports of the stones being thrown onto cars outside the Pure Gym and Iceland area of St Peter’s Way.

Witnesses said the objects were launched from the roof of the nearby flatblock in Woolmonger Street.

Reader Ian McKellar was passing by when he saw the incident on Saturday.

He said: "Several cars were damaged and it was only by good fortune that no one was either seriously injured or even received fatal injuries,

"The stones were certainly large enough to have caused death. It was very shocking."

A force spokeswoman said no arrests were made following the incident.

If you have any information that could help the police investigation, call the force on 101.

Scoring his fifth goal of the season came as no consolation to Cobblers forward Sam Hoskins who admitted Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Port Vale was ‘very disappointing’.

Hoskins was on target for the first time since scoring twice at Tranmere Rovers in early February, nine games ago, when he was left unmarked just a couple of yards out to prod home with only five minutes gone.

Leon Legge’s red card then looked to have put the Cobblers on course for victory, but David Worrall and Tom Pope scored either side of the break to pull off an unlikely comeback and deny Northampton a third straight home victory.

“Of course I’m pleased to score but that’s just what makes it even more disappointing because we started well and dominated the game for the first 35, 40 minutes,” said Hoskins.

“They then had a man sent off and within a couple of minutes they were level so we didn’t take advantage of that.

“We had a couple of chances to go 2-0 ahead but didn’t take them so it’s very disappointing, especially after last week because we wanted to bounce back and put things right.”

Manager Keith Curle was highly critical of his side’s performance after Saturday’s defeat, accusing some of his players of thinking the season was over, though Hoskins denied that was the case for him personally.

I don’t think so,” he added. “After last week’s defeat we knew it would be tough but we felt we could still push for the play-offs.

“I can’t speak for everyone but certainly in my head we were going out there to get three points and move up the table, but it didn’t happen for us.

“We had those chances to get another goal and maybe we did relax when they went down to 10 men instead of pushing forward and trying to score a second before half-time.

“Going in at half-time 1-1, we knew they would come back out at us and it would be tough but we were confident we could break them down.

“We didn’t want to get caught on the counter but it was unfortunate the way the game went. We couldn’t take advantage of our chances and now we have to move forward quickly.”

But what they eventually served up at Stade Marcel Michelin was far from that.

Individual errors, the failure to execute some basics - especially in the lineout - and a struggle to cope with Clermont's immense physicality proved extremely costly.

Costly to the tune of eight tries conceded in fact.

Saints went toe to toe with the French giants early on, displaying the confidence that has been so evident under boss Chris Boyd this season.

But things unraveled extremely quickly as Clermont managed to sneak in down the left before Saints opened the door for them twice more before the break.

First, James Fish's pass went astray, allowing Damain Penaud to pick up and charge home.

Then, Taqele Naiyaravoro made a decision that was even harder to take as his no-arms tackle on Arthur Iturria not only earned him a yellow card but gave away a penalty try.

At 22-3 down, Saints would have found it easier to climb one of the mountains that overlooks Stade Marcel Michelin rather than the one they faced on the field.

But after Clermont continued to twist the knife, the Top 14 giants showed one of their very few weaknesses, losing concentration again during the second half.

Just as they had back in January, when Saints pushed them all the way in a 48-40 pool stage defeat, Clermont started to leave gaps.

And Saints exploited them.

At first, there was warm applause in the stands as the home fans afforded their opponents some sympathy.

But the appreciation soon started to turn to angst as Saints started to cut Clermont apart with the slick attacking game that has been on show so often during the current campaign.

At 37-31 down with 14 minutes to go, it was certainly game on.

But once again, Clermont awoke from their slumber, eventually pulling away again to claim the win.

That they couldn't really get the home side's nerves jangling will be a big regret for Saints.

They got to within touching distance and then totally lost their grip on the game again, allowing the hosts to get off the hook.

But credit has to go to Clermont.

They are a formidable side, saturated with power, pace and precision.

And when you've got players who are that big and that good, every team in Europe would struggle to live with them.

Saints won't play many better teams than this and at least their young players have seen how high the bar is set in Europe.

They could have expected a slightly easier ride in the Challenge Cup this season, but, in truth, they have been playing Champions Cup opposition in Clermont.

The Top 14 giants will be back in Europe's top tier competition next season - and they should be among the favourites to win it.

So losing three times to them in a season should bring no shame.

But it does inspire a few regrets for Saints, who will believe they are better than what they showed on Sunday evening.

And now they must prove that in some big Premiership matches in the weeks to come.

If they can do that and secure a top-six finish, games against sides as good as Clermont will be more frequent next season.

And Saints will hope that their Challenge Cup experiences of 2018/19 can stand them in good stead if that Champions Cup place does come to fruition.

How they rated...

GEORGE FURBANK
Constantly tried to probe for openings and did not look overawed by the occasion, but Clermont were simply too strong and he missed a few tackles... 5

TOM COLLINS
Did some good things in attack, but had a huge task on his hands in defence as he squared up to the sizeable Alivereti Raka, who gave him real trouble all night... 5

RORY HUTCHINSON
Not an easy night defensively, but was Saints' most creative player once again as he pulled the strings during the second period, setting up a couple of tries and scoring one... 7

PIERS FRANCIS
Tried to give Saints some go-forward but Clermont shut the centre down well and he wasn't able to have an influence... 5

TAQELE NAIYARAVORO
Did well to set up what was almost a try for Cobus Reinach but had a really difficult night defensively and his no-arms tackle on Arthur Iturria was extremely costly... 4

DAN BIGGAR
Was not delighted to be taken off as Saints sought to rest players for their next game, having fallen behind during the first half. Didn't do much wrong at all... 5

COBUS REINACH
Will feel he should have scored in the first half and couldn't get the joy he has so often in Saints colours this season... 5

ALEX WALLER
The captain tried to get his team going with a couple of carries but Saints kept hitting a brick wall during the first half... 5

JAMES FISH
Produced one sublime offload but that was as good as it got in a really tough 36 minutes for the hooker, whose stray pass led to a try and who struggled to hit his man in the lineout... 4

PAUL HILL
Saints didn't do too badly at scrum time and the prop didn't do too much wrong on a tricky night... 5

ALEX MOON
Kept going until the end, etching his name on the scoresheet two minutes from time as he refused to let fatigue get the better of him... 6

API RATUNIYARAWA
Was unable to take one of the kick-offs that immediately let to a Clermont try but he did put his body on the line again... 5

COURTNEY LAWES
Clermont combated Saints' power well and the England lock was eventually forced off early in the second period... 5

LEWIS LUDLAM
Prides himself on his high-energy performances but Clermont were ready to meet fire with fire in the back row battle... 5

TEIMANA HARRISON
Scored a hat-trick at Stade Marcel Michelin in January but try as he might, he couldn't have the same telling influence on this occasion... 5

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

REECE MARSHALL (for Fish 36)
Managed to steady the ship in the set piece slightly and certainly put himself about in a bid to help Saints turn things around... 5

JAMIE GIBSON (for Lawes 46)
Produced one superb offload on the right wing that led to a score and was an assured presence... 7

FRANCOIS VAN WYK (for Waller 50)
Didn't do much wrong after coming on, making his tackles and trying to put himself about... 5

BEN FRANKS (for Hill 50)
The final 30 minutes were dominated by the backs, meaning the forwards just chugged along, and this man did okay... 5

ALEX MITCHELL (for Reinach 50)
Made one superb tackle to stop man mountain Peceli Yato in his tracks and then managed to etch his name on the scoresheet in a sparky display... 7

HEINRICH BRUSSOW (for Ludlam 54)
Wasn't able to have too much of an impact as the game started to be taken over by backs play... 5

AHSEE TUALA (for Biggar 54)
Helped Saints to step up a gear in attack, scoring one try and setting up another, but did palm the ball into Clermont possession from a kick-off, which proved costly... 6

LUTHER BURRELL (for Francis 54)
Was unable to stop a slaloming Tim Nanai Williams when the Clermont full-back scored, but he wasn't the only one, and he added plenty in attack, scoring and assisting... 7

James Grayson will start for the Wanderers in tonight's Premiership Rugby Shield game at Worcester Cavaliers (kick-off 7.30pm).

Grayson, who was named man of the match when Saints beat Saracens in the Premiership Rugby Cup final at Franklin's Gardens last month, teams up with Charlie Davies at half-back.

It is a strong Wanderers side, which also includes the likes of Ken Pisi, Nafi Tuitavake and Andrew Kellaway.

Four changes have been made to the team that lost 31-29 to Wasps at the Gardens last Monday.

Grayson, Davies, Matt Worley, who replaces the injured Ollie Sleightholme, and James Craig come in.

There are four guest players among the replacements, with Jack Culverhouse (Ampthill), Ed Taylor (Bedford), Tom Jubb and Robbie Povey (both Coventry) hoping to make an impact off the bench.

The Wanderers are chasing a spot in the semi-finals of the competition with three matches remaining of the group stage.

They currently sit second in the Northern Conference and will be hoping to close the gap to Newcastle Falcons ahead of them with a place in the final four at stake.

Worcester Cavaliers: van Breda; Hearle, Olivier, Butler, Tonks; Simpson, Arr; Cosgrove, I Miller, Mudariki; Kitchener, Scott; Monks, Williams, Dodd.

Replacements: Newborn, Owen, Morris, Ward, S Miller, Jackson, Veebel, Brown.

Wanderers: Emery; Worley, Kellaway, Tuitavake, Pisi; Grayson, Davies; Davis, Ma’asi, Ford-Robinson; Bean, Craig; Coles, Eadie, Onojaife.

Replacements: Dawidiuk, Trinder, Culverhouse (guest), Taylor (guest), Jubb (guest), Tupai, Povey (guest), Dayes (U18).

Firefighters are at the scene of a fire on the M1 near Northampton.

Buckinghamshire Fire Service said it had sent fire engines to the scene - on the northbound carriageway between Newport Pagnell services and junction 15 - after reports of an HGV well alight.

There are currently delays of more than 25 minutes and increasing as emergency services deal with the incident.

Travel speeds are down to about 10mph in the area.

Ever wondered what the average income is in your local area?

Property research website Property Detective has revealed the top seven postcodes in Northampton with the highest average annual income, ranked from the highest earning to the lowest. Images are for illustrative purposes.

A cyclist was robbed on a path between Wescott Way and Newark Drive, Corby.

The incident happened between 1pm and 1.20pm on Friday (March 29).

The victim was riding along the path when he was punched off his bike and threatened with a kitchen knife.

The offender then rode off in the direction of Wescott Way on the victim’s bike.

He was white, roughly 6ft, slim and had bright blue/green eyes.

He was wearing a black hooded zipped sweatshirt, black Nike jogging bottoms, black trainers, black sports gloves and a black snood.

Anyone with information should contact Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Two men have appeared in court over an aggravated burglary in Corby.

Corby men Henry Barry, 34, of Whitworth Avenue, and Scott Hargin, 31, of Oakley Road, were arrested by police after an incident in Culross Court at around 7.30pm on Friday, March 29.

Both were charged aggravated burglary and possession of an offensive weapon.

They appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court today (Monday) and were remanded into custody ahead of their next court appearance on May 1.

Two other Corby men aged 33 and 34 who were arrested in connection with the incident have been released on conditional bail.

Police investigating a fatal collision at the entrance to the Red Lion truck stop on the A4500 near Kislingbury are appealing for witnesses to get in touch.

Just after 11.55pm on Friday, March 29, a silver Ford Fiesta was in collision with the rear of an unlit stationary lorry trailer, which was being hitched to a yellow Volvo Series 4 tractor unit on the westbound slip road leading to the truck stop.

The man driving the Fiesta was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

A female passenger in the car was taken to Northampton General Hospital suffering minor injuries.

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

Cobblers boss Keith Curle has explained his reasons for replacing striker Andy Williams with midfielder Dean Bowditch during Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Port Vale.

The decision to withdraw Williams, Town’s top scorer this season, and introduce Bowditch on 56 minutes was met by boos from disapproving home fans as Northampton struggled to make their numerical advantage count against 10-men Vale.

The score was 1-1 at the time and it would get worse for the Cobblers with 15 minutes to go when Charlie Goode was adjudged to have pushed his man in the penalty box, allowing substitute Tom Pope to convert from the spot with his first touch of the game.

That brought Curle’s substitutions further under the microscope, especially as John-Joe O’Toole, also on from the bench having replaced Sam Hoskins moments earlier, lost possession in the build-up to Vale’s winner.

But the Town boss justified his decisions afterwards, saying: “We were going to get dominance of the ball with the extra man and we needed a creative player in midfield to open them up.

“Sometimes people think think having lots of centre-forwards on the pitch means you have more chance of scoring, but you need creativity to supply forward passes and we were lacking that.

“Andy knows himself that he didn’t play well on Saturday. He’s a professional and he knows that things weren’t going his way.”

Curle also had no issue with fans booing, either during or after the game, adding: “I don’t mind supporters booing. They pay their money and they’re entitled to it. I had a pitchside view of it, they had to sit in the stands!”

Cobblers struggled to make much headway against struggling Vale on Saturday, even when the visitors lost skipper Leon Legge to a first-half red card, as they repeatedly lost possession through careless, wayward passing.

“If you look at good teams and successful teams, when you’re in possession of the ball, you work hard,” Curle added. “You don’t just work out of possession.

“When you’ve got the ball, you work and you move and that creates space and opportunities and then you have people who want to get on the ball.

“If you get a team that don’t want to get on the ball and don’t want to receive the ball and don’t help the person on it, you become very static and that’s what we became on Saturday.”

Six of Northampton’s secondary schools will take in extra pupils to ensure Northamptonshire County Council is able to meet its statutory requirement  to provide places

Bulge classes will be added at Northampton International Academy, Abbeyfield School, Northampton School for Girls, Thomas Becket Catholic School , Northampton Academy and The Duston School this September.

The council is creating 200 temporary Year 7 places and has had to negotiate with the academy trusts running the schools in order for them to agree to take on the additional pupils.

Northampton International Academy will take on the most, adding in 60 Year 7 places, with Northampton School for Girls taking on 20 pupils. The other four schools will have an extra 30 Year 7 pupils each.

The authority will spend £2.3m from its 2018/19 budget to pay for the places which include spending £400,000 on improvements at both Abbeyfield School and the same sum at The Duston School. A sum of £1.5m will also be spent at Northampton International Academy to turn a former commercial space into classrooms and also to make a temporary on-site alternative provision permanent.

The £2.3m is coming from a combination of government cash for school places and section 106 contributions from developers.

A report which will go before the council’s cabinet next Tuesday (April 9) has laid out the severity of the situation.

It says: “The deficit of Year 7 places detailed above represents a clear and immediate risk to NCC fulfilling its statutory obligation of providing a sufficiency of Year 7 places in Northampton from September 2019 and immediate action is required.”

A total of 171 places are needed for this September. The council as the local education authority has responsibility for standards and places. As they are part of academy trusts the schools do not need to carry out consultation before they increase pupil numbers.

Councillor Dennis Meredith (Lib Dem, Talavera) said: “These issues have been known by the council for a long time as the scrutiny committee warned the council it was going to happen.

“It comes down to bad planning and is another failure of this administration as far as I am concerned.”

Each of the six schools that have agreed to take on the extra pupils will receive an additional £72,000 for the five years this Year 7 cohort will go through the school.

The report says it will be difficult to prove that value for money considerations have been achieved but it is the only way the council can provide the places.

The extra places are a temporary two-year measure. The council is also working with other partners in a free school bid for the town.

It should be known in the coming weeks whether the Government will approve the bid.

Heading back to dry land after last year’s Peter Pan performance, the theatre is this year hosting the Fairy Godmother of all pantomimes, Cinderella, starring Anita Dobson as the Wicked Stepmother.

Anita has been a household name for over 30 years, since she rose to fame as Angie Watts, the first landlady of the Queen Vic on EastEnders. Over 30 million viewers tuned in to see her served with divorce papers by her on-screen husband Dirty Den on Christmas Day in 1986, a record which is yet to be surpassed by any other UK soap.

She went on to appear in many other television series including Red Dwarf, Rab C Nesbitt and her own BBC sitcom Split Ends.

Her stage credits include Mama Morton in Chicago and Madame Morrible in Wicked, both in the West End, Joan Crawford in Bette and Joan, which toured to Northampton, and an Olivier-nominated performance in Bryony Lavery’s Frozen at the National Theatre.

Cinderella, at Northampton's Royal & Derngate, will feature comedy, 'jaw-dropping special effects', singing and dancing and plenty of boos and hisses from Friday 6 to Sunday 29 December.

There are generous discounts for groups and special rates for schools available for selected performances.

Tickets prices start from £11 and more than 10,000 tickets are available at less than £20.

For more information or to book tickets, call Box Office 01604 624811 or by visiting www.royalandderngate.co.uk.

A charge of £3 applies for all transactions of £15 and over. Does not apply to groups, friends or disabled patrons, and is per-transaction, not per-ticket.

Northamptonshire County Council is predicting an underspend of £100,000 for the 2018/19 financial year - just months after banning new expenditure as it was in a ‘financial crisis’.

The latest, and final, monthly report for 2018/19 forecasts that the council will balance its budget against the odds, and report a £0.1million underspend, which is £1million better than the previous month’s forecast.

Papers, to be seen by councillors ahead of next week’s cabinet meeting, state: “This forecast position of an underspend of £0.1m includes £7.7m of savings assessed as delivered from the Stabilisation Plan.

“Following the audit of 2017-18 accounts, the total deficit brought forward from 2017-18 into 2018-19 of £41.5m has been cleared through the application of capital receipts in accordance with the Capital Dispensation approved by the Secretary of State in November 2018.

“Furthermore, savings have been achieved by the Council through measures taken to reduce costs, increase income and tackle inefficiencies in service delivery.”

The Capital Dispensation from the government allowed the council to use funds from its capital pool, which funds infrastructure and asset projects, for services which depend on finance from the council's revenue stream. The £70m figure was a huge helping hand from the government, as it has also allowed the council to add £20million into its reserves, which had been wiped out trying to fight its debt.

The balanced budget has persuaded the government appointed commissioners, Brian Roberts and Tony McArdle, to lift the Section 114 notice which banned new expenditure when it was implemented in August last year.

Leader of Northamptonshire County Council, Councillor Matt Golby, said: “This is a remarkable achievement for all concerned and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work in making this happen.

“Let’s not forget that our financial challenge stood at £64.4m earlier this year so to be reporting such a positive situation for period 11 is a considerable accomplishment.

“However we still need to be cautious as although this is exceptionally positive it does not mean that the council has made a full recovery. Our financial position remains fragile.

“As such, the council will maintain its robust spending controls, including the continuation of the spending control panels, to ensure all spending is scrutinised to demonstrate best value in fulfilling the council’s objectives.”

A van failed to stop for police after driving the wrong way in the A45 roadworks.

The westbound stretch between Rushden and Wellingborough is currently closed until October with all traffic using a contra-flow system in the eastbound carriageway.

On Thursday, March 28, between 8.30am and 8.40am, a white Ford Transit van drove through Knuston along side roads and then towards the A45 at Ditchford.

But with the westbound slip road closed the van was then driven down the opposite slip road, against the flow of traffic and clipping another vehicle, before going onto the eastbound carriageway at Ditchford into the path of oncoming traffic.

It then continued the wrong way along the A45 towards Wellingborough before coming off on the wrong slip road towards Turnells Mill.

The van failed to stop for officers.

A 27-year-old man has been arrested in connection with this incident and released under investigation pending further enquiries.

Anyone with information can contact Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Councillor Danielle Stone is one of just two female councillors on the 16-member West Northamptonshire joint committee.

The committee - which met for the first time last Tuesday (March 26) - features four councillors each from Daventry District Council, Northampton Borough Council, Northamptonshire County Council and South Northamptonshire Council.

It is the first formal public group in the chain of setting up the new unitary authority that is likely to replace the county and district/borough councils next April.

But Councillor Stone has said that the number of women councillors on the new committee is ‘outrageous’. Councillor Stone, who is representing Northampton Borough Council on the committee, has only one female colleague - Councillor Rebecca Breese from South Northamptonshire Council.

Councillor Stone, who leads the Labour group at NBC but is also a county councillor, said: “I think it’s very concerning. In my Labour group we have a fairly balanced makeup, and my deputy is a woman and half the shadow cabinet are women. If we can do it why can’t everyone do it?

“I think they will be missing out on direct first-hand experience of working, as more women are workers at the council and women are more likely to be a recipient of council services. And yet we are going to be ruled by a group of men.”

Around the West Northamptonshire area, roughly a third of the overall councillors are female. 14 of 45 (31.11 per cent) councillors at Northampton Borough Council are female, while the levels at Daventry and South Northamptonshire are 27.77 per cent and 38.09 per cent respectively.

The figure for the county council overall, including councillors from the north of the county, stands at 35.08 per cent.

But just 12.5 per cent of the new joint committee for West Northamptonshire are women, and Councillor Stone wants to see that improve moving forwards.

She added: “I would expect to see more women being selected. I sent an email around that I was pleased South Northamptonshire Council has appointed a woman and Northampton Borough has as well, but that it’s still not good enough.

“I had Chris Millar [Daventry leader] come up to me and he said he agreed with me, so maybe it’s something that can be looked at further.”

The shelf life of the new joint committee is expected to be short, as it has only a few tasks to carry out before making way for a new shadow executive.

Its tasks included setting up three working task groups to look at a constitution and code of conduct; interim appointments; and members’ allowances.

Neither of the two female councillors on the joint committee were chosen to head up the task and finish groups.

The committee heard that a decision from the government on whether to agree to the unitary proposals will be determined either before April 4, when parliament breaks up for recess or after it returns on April 23.

The Wanderers were beaten 34-26 by Worcester Cavaliers in the Premiership Rugby Shield clash at Sixways on Monday night.

Tries from Matt Worley, James Craig and Ken Pisi put the Wanderers in control at half-time.

But their 19-17 lead disappeared in the second period thanks to efforts from Wynand Olivier and Louis Brown.

Former Gloucester hooker Darren Dawidiuk came off the bench to score for the Wanderers but James Grayson was yellow carded for a high tackle late on and Worcester finished things off with a last-minute try.

The Wanderers, who started the night second in the Northern Conference, did at least pick up a try bonus point for their efforts, but they are now level on points with Worcester.

Worcester Cavaliers: van Breda; Hearle, Olivier, Butler, Tonks; Simpson, Arr; Cosgrove, I Miller, Mudariki; Kitchener, Scott; Monks, Williams, Dodd.

Replacements: Newborn, Owen, Morris, Ward, S Miller, Jackson, Veebel, Brown.

Wanderers: Emery; Worley (Dayes 65), Kellaway (Povey 65), Tuitavake, Pisi; Grayson, Davies (Tupai 60); Davis (Trinder 60), Ma’asi (Dawidiuk 63), Ford-Robinson (Garside 60); Bean, Craig (Taylor 40); Coles, Eadie, Onojaife (Jubb 65).

Replacements: Dawidiuk, Trinder, Culverhouse (guest), Taylor (guest), Jubb (guest), Tupai, Povey (guest), Dayes (U18).

Northants head coach David Ripley says a T20 batting signing is 'the last piece of our jigsaw'.

The County have already drafted in Pakistan all-rounder Faheem Ashraf for the entire Vitality Blast T20 competition.

But they are still targeting one more signing in a bid to bolster their batting for the competition.

"A T20 batter is the last piece of our jigsaw really," Ripley said.

"We hope to have some news on that in the next week or so.

"We've had quite a lot of different conversations with people over some time but we haven't been able to get anyone across the finish line with them committing early enough.

"It seems like when you've got more money to spend, often it's harder to spend it because the players are looking for a bit more choice.

"You go to your global tournament players and they're waiting to see what else happens.

"It's been slightly frustrating that we haven't managed to get anyone up to now, but we've got a couple of guys in the pipeline and hopefully we can announce one shortly."

Northants start their Specsavers County Championship Division Two campaign at home to Middlesex on Friday.

Brett Hutton will definitely be missing due to a calf tear, but Alex Wakely is expected to shrug off a hip injury in time to skipper the side.

"We're very happy with the overall squad and we've got to pick a side for Friday, which looks a tough one to pick," said Ripley, who will have West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder available for the opening two Championship matches.

"You want a competitive squad where places are not a given, and I think we have that.

"I'm particularly pleased with our overseas players, and the fact they're all playing international cricket is a great plus for us.

"We hope we can be competitive on all fronts because we've got white-ball cricketers and it wasn't long ago we won nine Championship matches in a season with a fairly similar group.

"We do need a bit of luck with injuries because our squad is the smallest compared to others.

"If we can make sure our key players avoid injury we think we can be competitive."

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) is assessing how well it can respond to risks in the county as part of a new 'fire plan'.

But as part of this, the service has revealed the average response time to reach incidents has increased over the past 20 years, in line with how fire stations across the country are being affected.

The average response time to attend any incident is now around 10 minutes and 32 seconds.

The service says this has increased up from less than 10 minutes in 2012 because of increasing traffic volume and how towns and villages are more built up than ever.

Meanwhile, less than two-thirds of on-call fire engines were available in Northamptonshire in a time of crisis in 2017/18.

Since 2009, the availability of on-call fire engines has dropped from over 90 per cent to just 57 per cent.

It comes as a cabinet meeting in February heard at times NFRS only had 12 of its 28 fire engines available, and the newest current appliance was 15 years old.

The service says addressing this is 'a priority', and is aiming to maintain a minimum of 14 fire engines going forward and rethink how they can respond to the needs of housing developments.

The plan goes in front of the police, fire and crime panel on April 4 as part of a new 'fire plan' to following the appointment of police, fire and crime commissioner Stephen Mold.

Under the existing legislation, coroners are obliged to hold inquests only for babies who have shown signs of life after being born.

But a six-year campaign led by Michelle Hemmington of Kingsley could now bring about a major change in the law after she found that hundreds of mothers like her had been left struggling for answers following stillbirths.

She and her friend Nicky Lyon launched the Campaign for Safer Births in 2013 in a bid to make the HM Coroner begin holding inquests for stillborn babies.

Her own son Louie died in 2011 - but she had to undergo a four-year legal battle to prove that errors by doctors had, in fact, contributed to his death.

Now a private members bill that has just passed its third reading at the House of Lords could soon make it law for coroners to investigate all stillbirths, which occur after 37 weeks of pregnancy - or full-term.

Sarah Harper, senior associate at Access Legal Solicitors, which supports the Campaign for Safer Births said: ‘Michelle and Nicky deserve many congratulations on their achievement; they have lobbied hard and effectively for this outcome.

"Their hope now is that the change in the law will help achieve the national ambition to halve the number of stillbirths and make maternity services in the UK world class."

While inquests would not replace investigations by the hospital or NHS agencies, the coroner would be able to consider whether any lessons could be learned and make suitable recommendations to improve safety.

The Government is still consulting on giving coroners in England and Wales powers to investigate all full-term stillbirths without any need to gain consent or permission from a third-party before exercising the new power.