Officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary carried out the operation in Mallard View, Billing Aquadrome at about 6am today (Friday).

Neighbours said at least 10 officers descended on the caravan and the pair were taken into custody.

A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: "This is in relation to an incident that occurred in Hertfordshire in June 2018.

"A man and a woman from the Billing area were arrested in relation to drugs and firearms offences."

The raid saw detectives, dog handlers and firearms and forensic teams take part.

Bomb disposal experts were also sent to the scene over fears that items found inside could be dangerous.

However, the spokeswoman said: "The EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team were deployed to identify some items discovered during the warrant. These were found to be non-suspicious."

Click and scroll through the pages to see how each individual club ranks. Data from February 1, 2018 to January 31, 2019.

You might think Jason Holder didn't know anything about Northants before agreeing to join them ahead of the start of the new season - but that is not the case, says the world's No.1 Test all-rounder.

"I did know they were a pretty good white-ball side," said Holder, who arrived in Northampton on Tuesday. "I watched them when they won the T20 finals a few years back and it was good to see that.

"I've met a few of the guys already and I've played against a few of them as well.

"Nathan Buck and I played in the Youth World Cup, I played against Richard Levi a few years back and I know Rory Kleinveldt, who was a big member of the squad here last year.

"I did have one or two chats with Rory leading up to my move here so there are one or two guys I know.

"I'm looking forward to being part of it and hopefully I can leave a good mark here and help the guys as much as I can."

So how did Holder's move come about?

"I began negotiations after the IPL auction because I was unsold and I would rather be playing cricket than being sat at home doing nothing," explained the 27-year-old, who has signed on at Northants for the opening two Championship games and the first six Royal London One-Day Cup matches.

"This opportunity came up and it was a situation where I could come over and get myself properly prepared for the World Cup ahead."

But before the start of the World Cup, which will be hosted by England and Wales from May 30 to July 14, Holder is desperate to make a big impression at Northants.

And it all begins with a home fixture against Middlesex, starting on Friday.

"I'm really excited for the start of the season," Holder said.

"It's my first time playing county cricket and it's been a childhood dream to come over and play.

"I'm really excited to get my feet under the table and hopefully propel the team to one or two early-season wins.

"I'm really excited to be here in the capacity of both a batter and bowler.

"I've got to get some wickets and that's the primary goal for me.

"Hopefully I can add a bit of value to what the team is looking for.

"I'm really looking forward to the start of a new campaign.

"I can't wait to get going against Middlesex on Friday and I'm sure it will be a really good game.

"I just need to execute whatever my plans are and win games for this cricket team."

The event is taking place on Saturday (April 6) from 12-4pm to shine a light on community connection and to inspire even more people to hold a Big Lunch on June 1 and 2.

The Big Lunch is about millions of people getting together to share food, have fun and get to know each other better. Earlier this year, The Big Lunch published research that showed that more than half of people in the UK - 36 million people - feel distant from our neighbours, and that 75 per cent of people felt there were barriers to getting closer to them.

Last year a whopping 730 Big Lunches took place across Northampton with 65,000 people taking part in the UK’s annual get together for neighbours.

Lorraine Lewis, founder and CEO of The Lewis Foundation, said: “There are so many community groups, organisations, shops and people doing positive things in our town, which doesn't get highlighted as much as it should.

“We feel hosting the Big Lunch in the Market Square in a central point in our town centre is a fantastic way to bring people together and share together what we love about Northampton.”

Research from The Big Lunch also shows that, since 2011, it is estimated that 47,000 new friendships have been made across Northampton, as a result of The Big Lunch.

Laura Graham, co-founder of The Happy You project and Big Lunch ambassador, is attending the Big Lunch event on 6 April.

Being an ambassador has seen Laura deliver a speech promoting The Big Lunch at a parliamentary reception at The House of Commons and she has worked alongside Ainsley Harriott and Jo Brand.

Laura held her first Big Lunch in 2017, she said “I’m proud of the street and the way that everyone’s got involved.

"The whole aim was to bring together the street and that’s what we’ve done.

"I’m a huge believer in strong communities and having that connection to others around us. It’s helped with my own self-confidence too.”

Earlier today, Stephen Mold revealed a £3million investment in frontline officers at Northamptonshire Police.

Over the next two years the police force will look to hire 200 new constables which, when resignations and retirements are taken into account, will see 100 extra bobbies on the beat across the county.

Speaking to the Chronicle & Echo today, Mr Mold said the new officers would be concentrated in neighbourhood teams where the resources are most needed – providing a more visible street presence.

He said: “This is the biggest recruitment in a generation for Northamptonshire- but we are very clear that it’s an ambition.

“It would be a shame to get to two years and not have the best cops we could have – so I would rather be two months late in achieving it.

“By actually having those extra resources it gives the chief constable more opportunity to reorganise the force in a more optimal way.”

Mr Mold and the Chief Constable Nick Adderley have, in the past year, been meeting members of the public to discuss their concerns over crime.

One of the main responses they said they received related to ‘visibility’ - people told the police chiefs they did not see enough bobbies on the beat. Concerns over low-level drug dealing, burglary and rural crime also featured heavily.

With the recruitment drive being paid for by a rise in the police portion of household council tax bills in Northamptonshire, Mr Mold said it was important the new staff were tasked with pounding the beat.

The extra officers, he says, also come with a new pledge that every burgled home will be visited by an officer.

“If people are paying more they have genuinely got to see more,” he said. "We want to make this a hostile place for criminals."

“We hope no-one is a victim of burglary. But if you are and it’s your home, you need to have that confidence that someone is coming to visit you."

The feeling of a greater police presence, Mr Mold added, would be increased by recent technological improvements. Officers, for instance, can now perform 17 tasks on a standard-issue smartphone that would previously been done behind their desk.

But Chief Constable Nick Adderley said the new officers would not simply be deployed "on every street corner".

"They will be targeted in those areas where we have the most challenges," he said.

"It won't be a case of you'll see a different bobby on a different street corner in case someone might want to come along and talk to them.

"They will be there with a purpose and an objective. Now what's important, certainly from a rural crime angle, is that those remote villages will start to see a more visible presence.

"That's about attending surgeries, going to schools and community meetings so they can get a flavour of what's going on in their area."

Recruitment of the new officers has begun and anyone interested in applying to join Northamptonshire Police should visit www.northants.police.uk/careers

A five-week project between a care home and school has finally drawn to a close today as their Easter chicks hatched in time to say goodbye.

The five-week 'Book End Project' was rolled out at the start of March at St Christopher's Care Home in a bid to build friendships between the older residents and reception pupils at Bridgewater Primary School.

The new scheme included the same 10 children, aged four and five years old, and 10 care home residents, aged between 84 and 99 years old, and today came to a close as their six fluffy Easter chicks hatched in time for a cuddle.

The Project - which gets its name from the different ends of the age spectrum - was evaluated for both groups from beginning to end.

Sarah Clarke, manager of St. Christopher's Care Home, says she has really seen the interactions between the older and younger generation have a positive impact on her residents.

She said: "It's been absolutely remarkable - some of our residents were more able and alert and some of our residents have slight memory difficulty but they remembered the children were here the week before.

"It's had a positive effect on mood and general wellbeing - it's given residents something to look forward to. I think they will be quite disappointed today as it's the last session.

"It's been really amazing and the residents have loved every moment of it. It's been so worthwhile."

The scheme has seen the children play parachute games with the residents, learn new songs, watch their chicks hatch and they threw 84-year-old Tony Austin a big birthday party.

Jess Wise, Early Years lead teacher at Bridgewater Primary School, said the children have become more confident.

"It's been a wonderful project to be involved in," she said. "For us at Bridgewater, it's had a real ripple effect - the children come back and they share the experience with their friends at school, they go home and talk to their parents and their parents come in and talk to the teachers."

"They present to other children when they come back. It's improved wellbeing, increased self-awareness and awareness of other people as well.

"The children live in Abington, the home is in Abington, it's part of their community. Now they all want to come to the events here."

There will be three stages of evaluation for the St. Christopher's residents who will have a questionnaire to complete and the care home will evaluate how their answers change over the five-week period. For those who cannot fill in a questionnaire, their progress will be reported by observation by the care home manager, Sarah.

The primary school will be completing entry and exit observations to feed back how children have engaged with their language and communications.

Northampton residents can now sign up to the Street Champions Scheme, which is being launched by borough council and the company in charge of keeping the town tidy, Veolia.

Volunteers - who are given a litterpicker and logo-adorned high visibility jacket when they join - are encouraged to hold litter picks on their street, report on those who fly-tip, and act as an all-round good example to their neighbours when it comes to cleanliness.

More than 20 people have already signed up from across the town and it is hoped that, soon, every area of Northampton will be covered by a Street Champion.

Cabinet member for the environment on the borough council, Councillor Mike Hallam, said: "There are already many proactive groups in the town, who do an absolutely fantastic job keeping our streets and parks clean with regular litter picks, and we hope that the launch of the Street Champions scheme, will help to build on this work and install a wider a sense of pride in Northampton by encouraging more people to take positive actions to improve their local areas.”

Hunsbury dad-of-two Richard Mallinson, 35, is among the early recruits.

"I have been picking up litter for quite a long time because I think it's just senseless - it makes places look really bad.

"I really liked the sound of the street champion scheme. You can get all the equipment sent to you, you don't have to spend any money on it.

"We are just hoping more people get involved."

No formal commitment is needed when signing up to become a Street Champion. People can give as much or as little time as they like, either as an individual or by forming a group with like-minded friends and neighbours.

"We have scheduled litter picks and bin collections - but what happens between them?" Said Veolia's education and community officer Nicola Gregory.

The scheme, she adds, is not intended a way of using volunteers to plug a gap in Veolia services.

"We can clear a street then someone can go and throw a McDonald's wrapper out the window moments later.

"It's people's behaviour we ewant to change."

Anyone who would like to sign up to become a Street Champion can download an information pack at: www.northampton.gov.uk/recycling or call our local Veolia Community and Education Officer on uk.recycling.northampton@veolia.com or call 020 3567 5488.

Mark Wells-Pestell, 49, was in his Nissan ambulance when alerted to an incident ahead of him on the M1 southbound between junctions 18 and 17 in May last year.

That stretch of the road is a smart motorway with a variable speed limit and as he raced to attend the scene he was clocked at 66mph in what was at the time a 40mph zone because of the crash up ahead.

He had been alerted to the accident by his GPS and drivers on the other side of the M1 who were flashing their lights and gesturing in the direction of the incident.

When Mr Wells-Pestell, from Stevenage, arrived he found a car in lane three which had been damaged by a metal object which had fallen off a trailer.

A trained paramedic, blue light driver and former Army medic, Mr Wells-Pestell was able to briefly close the carriageway to help get the vehicle to the hard shoulder and treated the driver who was described as "a bit shook up".

Wearing his paramedic uniform, Mr Wells-Pestell represented himself at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday where he was able to overturn the decision to endorse his licence with six points for speeding.

Those points would have prevented him from continuing his work as a medic in an area where there is a shortage of paramedics.

"If I hadn't attended the incident I would have failed my duty of care to the public," Mr Wells-Pestell told the court.

"If a member of the public needs my help I am duty-bound to help them."

"I thought I was doing the right thing," he added.

Mr Wells-Pestell told Judge Rebecca Crane he had been unable to work because of the points on his licence and said that after 32 years he was facing unemployment.

After retiring to consider her verdict with two magistrates, Judge Crane said: "We accept his evidence that he was in a marked vehicle that was properly registered, that he is a trained paramedic and he genuinely believed there was an accident on the M1.

"It was his duty to attend that incident."

Keith Curle believes hard work is the best remedy for his side’s troubles as the Cobblers bid to make amends for last week’s calamity against Port Vale with an improved performance and positive result at struggling Notts County on Saturday.

Northampton have been hard at work in training this week, desperate to put right the mistakes made in their defeat to Vale and bounce back with a far better display at the second-from-bottom Magpies, who are embroiled in a three-way scrap to avoid relegation.

“We’re very much in work mode,” said Curle. “Myself, the players and my staff still haven’t forgotten the disappointment and the frustration from Saturday.

“But what we do is we work and we work to improve the areas that I feel that we’re lacking in, not only on Saturday but previous games as well.

“Some of our game understanding is still poor, some of our decision-making is still poor and some of the fundamentals are still not in place but what we have to do is work on improving.”

Following a four-game winning run at the end of February and start of March, Town have failed to win any of their last three, drawing with Grimsby Town and losing to both Cheltenham and Port Vale, all teams who remain below them in the table.

And whilst they have nothing tangible left to play for over the remaining six games of the season, Curle has demanded an improvement from his players in all areas.

“We’re working on all the key aspects,” he said. “There’s improvement to be made in every one of the departments – tactical, physical, mental and technical – and that’s part of my job, being accountable for all those departments.

“They’re here to work, develop and improve. It doesn’t matter if it’s the start of August or coming into April, this environment is not only here individually but collectively and it’s here for people who want to develop.

“The harder you work the luckier you get and, likewise, hard work will beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard and last Saturday was a prime example of that - I didn’t think we worked hard enough and therefore we didn’t get our rewards.

“Every day is an opportunity to improve and that’s what we’re doing.”

Chris Boyd expects the Gallagher Premiership play-off race to 'go down to the wire'.

And the Saints boss knows his side must not lose any ground when they face two of their top-four rivals during the next couple of weekends.

Boyd's men host third-placed Gloucester this afternoon (kick-off 3pm) before travelling to fourth-placed Harlequins next Saturday.

Fifth-placed Saints are currently nine points adrift of Gloucester and eight behind Quins with just five games to go.

And Boyd said: "We could get two wins in the next two weeks and still only be fifth.

"What we do know is that if we don't get wins we'll slide down the ladder so every point is vital.

"There are probably 10 teams where every point is vital for something.

"There's no let-up in this competition - it's going to go down to the wire."

Saints have been beaten in both of their meetings with Gloucester this season, losing at Kingsholm on Premiership opening day in September before suffering a narrow defeat at the same ground in the Premiership Rugby Cup in November.

And Boyd said: "They're a really good side and they deserve to be where they are.

"Their last away game, (the 29-7 win) against Harlequins, was particularly impressive.

"They haven't got a lot of weaknesses; they've got a big, strong forward pack and a bit of a pupeteer at 10 (Danny Cipriani), who runs the show really nicely for them.

"They've got some good attacking shapes and they're going to be a handful."

The final episode of Blue Planet II, in 2017, saw Sir David Attenborough investigate the impact of human activity on marine life, which left the Willis family, from Abington, determined to make a change to the amount of single-use plastic they used, which in turn became a successful business venture.

Shortly after the episode aired, BBC Radio Northampton set the family a two-week challenge to save every scrap of plastic they had used. In the first week of the BBC challenge the family - who already used reusable shopping bags, coffee cups and water bottles - counted that they had used 118 pieces of plastic, and in the second week they got that down to just 17.

It was in May 2018 the family's business idea GoodToBee got off the ground, which makes alternative food wraps from organic cotton fabric, local beeswax, organic Jojoba oil and tree resin, now used by Sir David Attenborough.

The family sent Sir David Attenborough a set of their wraps to say thank you... but they never dreamed they would get a personal response, in the form of a letter.

Founder of GoodToBee, Madeleine Willis said: "We were overjoyed - I didn’t stop smiling for a month. It’s amazing to think that Sir David Attenborough has our wraps in his fridge.

"Setting up GoodToBee has been extremely hard work but when I’m exhausted I just a glance at his letter, which we have in a frame on our wall, and it makes it all worthwhile, we couldn’t possibly have any greater acknowledgement."

During the first week of the BBC challenge, Madeleine made her first reusable wax wraps and drummed up lots of support from her friends.

It wasn't long before she rented a stall at Towcester Food Festival where her product sold out on the first day.

"I had to work completely through the night to make more for the next day," she added. "It was then that I realised I may be able to turn it into a business.

"People’s response has just been overwhelming - it’s so wonderful to see how eager they are to give up plastic and help our planet."

Almost a year on from launching her business she has sold over 5,000 products.

"It’s much better to have lots of people doing a little bit to be plastic-free than a few people doing it perfectly," she added.

"So to anyone thinking of trying it I’d say - go for it.

"Try little things that are easy and work them into your everyday life, like our wraps, and then build on that over time. To go completely plastic-free can be daunting but in small steps you can do it."

The beeswax in the wraps makes the fabric durable and the oil has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties - similar to a wax coating on cheese and made clingy by the tree resin.

The wraps are suitable for sandwiches, and should be used just as you would use cling film. They last for about a year, are easy to wipe clean and when finished with it can be thrown in the compost heap.

The Willis' also replaced the plastic straws their disabled son Aiden used to drink from and have changed to using a metal one. Their daughter, Freya, makes her own make-up removal pads too, to avoid buying wet-wipe packaging.

Vald Alexandru, aged 20, of Brook Street, Northampton
Raja Andrea, of Dunster Street, Northampton
Daniel Deacon, aged 28, of College Street, Northampton
Alex Jicolaescu, of Kingsley Avenue, Northampton
Shanice Ibbeson, aged 20, of Towcester Road, Northampton; fined £19, surcharge £30.
Sarah Lennard, aged 23, of Purser Road, Northampton
Jenny Luker, aged 40, of Marburg Street, Northampton
Jacek Lukomski, aged 49, of Wellingborough Road, Northampton
Kara O’Connell, aged 19, of Bedford Mansions, Northampton
Gabriel Petre, aged 37, of Arrow Head Road, Northampton
Tedora Rus, aged 20, of Conifer Rise, Northampton
Karolina Seferi, aged 21, of Bedford Mansions, Northampton
Julie Smith, aged 50, of Highfield Road, Daventry

Brothers Jay Dhesi, 23, and Rik Dhesi, 30, died after colliding with another car on the A6 in December 2013.

Since 2014, a gridiron game has been held in their memory as Jay was a talented American football player who coached Northampton University's Northampton Nemesis team and played for Peterborough Saxons.

The match, organised by Jay's coach Wayne and played at Northampton BBOB rugby ground in St Andrews Road, has grown each year and this time the Dhesi family raffled Jay's Vauxhall - which helped more than double the usual fundraising tally.

Rik and Jay's sister Sonia said: "It's comforting to have everyone they knew come and play and remember them.

"The atmosphere was brilliant and it's now one big family.

"Normally we just go round with a charity box and raise around £500.

"This year my mum wanted to give someone my brother's car.

"We raffled it and one of Jay's friends won it.

"It's nice to see that it will stay in his friendship group."

Dad Bakhtawar, mother Amratrashpal and their daughters Sonia and Vicky were joined at the game by their extended family who travelled from Coventry and Wolverhampton for the occasion.

"We miss them very much - it was an emotional day for the family," Mr Dhesi said.

"The team is like our family."

The game saw a mix of Jay's old teammates face the newest members of the Northampton Nemesis side with the former coming out on top for the fifth year in a row.

Mrs Dhesi added: "Every year I think it’s going to be the last one but the teams want to carry on for as long as they can which we as a family truly appreciate."

There were many other prizes donated by local businesses for the raffle from Rushden Lakes, Through the Looking Glass in Irthlingborough, Pizza Hut Northampton and American Football UK Leicester.

All the proceeds will go to a prostate cancer charity.

Mrs Dhesi said: "As a gesture to the team playing we lay on a spread for them which they are always grateful for.

"But not as grateful as we are for remembering our boys."

A restaurant themed on all things dinosaurs is set to open in Kettering this summer.

Jurassic Grill is taking on the unit left vacant by Chimichanga last year.

It will serve a variety of grilled and smoked meats with themed dishes, to the backdrop of a jurassic environment with 25-plus dinosaurs and the sounds of the rainforest and dinosaurs.

There will be a final interactive twist that owners Joe and Nat, the team that created Bugtopia, will reveal closer to its opening.

Nat said: “It will be a new type of eating experience.”

READ MORE: Restaurant promising to be first for UK coming to Kettering

The pair, who also run the Little Country Smokehouse in Cransley, say Jurassic Grill will be a first for the UK and potentially the world.

Its menu will change regularly with steaks, pulled pork and smoked meats as well as a ‘raptor meat bucket’, fossilised burgers, giant ribs more than a foot long and themed desserts.

The restaurant will also have an emphasis on education about ecology and biodiversity with starters and main courses in the evening being pre-booked to cut down on waste.

Joe said: “We hope to attract people from all over.

“We love Kettering and we want to bring more people here.”

The restaurant will serve a lunch menu with ‘dinky dinos’ for kids.

Upstairs will be a schools’ area which can host parties and will be a bar in the evening.

When it opens it will create about 30 jobs with the pair supporting local businesses and tradesmen.

Signs by local firm KenSigns were put up last week and it’s hoped Jurassic Grill will open in the summer although an exact date has not yet been confirmed.

Joe said: “We want to make sure everything is perfect so people have an amazing time.”

A 14-point action plan has been put into action by Northampton Borough Council to reduce the use and cost of temporary accommodation.

During the last three years, the number of households applying to the council for assistance under new homelessness legislation has more than doubled and, between March 2016 and February 2019, the number of households living in temporary accommodation more than quadrupled from 66 to 324.

One of the key reasons for this leap, the council says, is a ‘severe shortage’ of social rented properties in the town, as well as new legislation that gives them a duty to relieve homelessness for a wider range of eligible people.

During the past three years, the amount of money that the council has spent on temporary accommodation has increased from £673,000 to more than £2.5million.

In a bid to cut the growing costs, the council has drawn together an action plan, and wants to extend its Housing Revenue Account (HRA) borrowing by up to £25million in order to enable the acquisition of affordable housing.

Chief finance officer Stuart McGregor told the cabinet meeting on Wednesday (April 3) that they would not necessarily actually extend the borrowing, but they want the flexibility to be able to do it if needed.

More than three-quarters of the temporary accommodation the council uses is purchased on a nightly basis from private sector housing suppliers.

Of the 324 homeless households in February this year, 56 were living in HRA council homes, 244 were living in self-contained, nightly purchased accommodation in Northampton and 24 (22 single people and two families) were living in bed and breakfast accommodation.

The net cost to the council for those in the nightly purchased accommodation and bed and breakfasts was more than £33,500 per week (£1.74million per year).

Some of the actions the council is taking include asking full council for approval for increasing its HRA borrowing by up to £25million, which would allow NBC to acquire a significant number of new HRA council homes by purchasing properties through developers or Homes England schemes.

The plan also wants to make ‘optimum use’ of its current housing stock. This will include new policies that all households (single or couple) with a pregnancy are offered one-bedroom accommodation, and are only offered a two-bedroom property when the child is born.

Other proposals include all households (single people and couples) that contain only one child under the age of 12 months should routinely be offered suitable one-bedroom temporary accommodation and continue to reside in that accommodation until they are offered a two-bedroom affordable rented home, or the tenancy of suitable private rented housing.

The report states: “These arrangements will make optimum use of the one-bedroom HRA council homes that are used as temporary accommodation and ensure as few households as possible are accommodated in two-bedroom nightly purchased accommodation.”

Some of the homelessness preventative work to take place will include two specialist advisers who will engage with every private landlord and letting agent who has served notice on their tenants, with a view to persuading them to renew the tenancy for 12 months or allow their tenants enough time to find somewhere else.

A temporary ‘home visiting officer’ position, which helped 73 applicants find temporary accommodation with friends and family, will become a permanent position, while officers have agreed with Northampton Partnership Homes that when council tenants are being evicted, the eviction will be postponed for eight weeks to enable the tenants to continue living in the property during the period in which the ‘relief’ duty applies.

The cabinet member responsible for housing and homelessness, Councillor Stephen Hibbert, said: “We have to move quickly on this, and that’s why we are suggesting these proposals. We will come back with a report in October on how all this has progressed.”

The submission for the extra £25million HRA borrowing will, however, have to be approved by full council at a later date.

Magpies boss Neal Ardley has pleaded with County fans to remain patient and stay behind his team if the Cobblers make what he expects to be a ‘fast start’ to tomorrow’s crunch League Two clash at Meadow Lane.

The Magpies, who are on the verge of a takeover following news of an accepted bid on Thursday, remain in the League Two drop zone despite winning 3-0 at mid-table Stevenage last weekend.

County have gone through three different managers during their season-long battle against relegation, with Kevin Nolan, who became the first managerial casualty across the EFL, replaced by Harry Kewell as early as August.

But Kewell himself only lasted 10 weeks and it’s been left to former Wimbledon boss Ardley to pick up the pieces and drag County to survival. Any positive result against Town tomorrow could see them leap above Yeovil and out of the bottom two for the first time since mid-November.

However, given what’s at stake for the world’s oldest professional club, Ardley knows it could become a tense afternoon, particularly if the Cobblers start well at Meadow Lane.

“At home, there is an expectation,” Ardley told the Nottingham Post. “I always try and reach out to the fans and show them their importance.

“At every club I have been at, away from home the fans have a tendency to go out and have a few beers and sing throughout the game, and no matter what make it a positive experience and we need the fans to recreate that atmosphere at home.

“Anxiety can be a difficult thing to deal with and if we are feeling that from them on the pitch or if it comes from us to them then it makes the job a bit harder.

“All opposition managers will say ‘let’s keep it quiet and let’s keep it tight so that their crowd get on their backs’, that is what most teams say when they go away from home.

“We have got to say ‘okay, that is what they expect so let’s not make that happen if we are not in the lead at some point early in the game’.

“You never set up a team in any game to be cagey and hope for the best, you always set your team up to win.

“Northampton will turn up here to make a fast start and get in our faces and cause us a problem. We will be saying the same in our dressing room.”

Notts have just six games left in their fight to stave off relegation to non-league for the first time in the club’s long history.

“We are used to being down here,” Ardley added. “We were off the bottom and then we were back on the bottom a week later.

“We have had to fight and scrap just to get into contention. In my mind this will go down to the very last game of the season.

“We have a target that we feel we need to get to and I believe that the other two teams are going to win at least two games and draw a few so you have to get above that.

“You have to keep on top of your mindset otherwise we will get disappointed by falling back down to the bottom of the table, let’s say.

“There will be some twists and turns between now and then and we just have to ride it.”

The changes coming into effect on April 15 will affect borough council surface and multi-storey car park tariffs.

Evening charges, for leaving a vehicle from 5pm to midnight, are to rise from £1 to £3 across all borough council-owned car parks.

At surface car parks such as Upper Mounts, the 60p for an hour tariff and £1.20 for two hours will be replaced with a new minimum charge of £2.

Anyone staying at surface car parks for between three and four hours will have to pay £4 – as opposed to £2.40 for three hours or £3.20 for four hours.

The two-hour free parking offer at Northampton’s multi-storeys – St John’s, Mayorhold and the Grosvenor Centre – will remain in place.

But last Friday opposition councillors felt the changes were being imposed without a proper public consultation and called on the Conservative-run council to delay the changes.

The borough council has now agreed to accept comments from the public via its communications channels.

So as a reader, what do you think?

Will the parking rises put you off coming into town? And what do you think about the £2 minimum charge introduced at surface car parks?

Although the official consultation is over the borough has said it will now accept additional comments via its communications channels.

If you want to have your say, get in touch with us via email on: editor@northantsnews.co.uk or by sending a message to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/northamptonchron.

All the comments we receive over this week we will send to the borough council so the public gets the public consultation it deserves.

On Monday, business owners expressed their fears at the soon-to-be-enforced hikes to parking charges during a Guildhall meeting.

The quickly arranged summit, hosted by the Business Improvement District (BID), saw shop, pub and cafe owners vocally request the council not to increase the amount people have to pay for short visits to the town centre.

Councillors and officers from the borough council were there to take questions. But a BID spokeswoman said there was an ‘overwhelming consensus’ from its members that increasing car parking charges would not make the town centre an attractive place to visit.

Speaking at the meeting the BID’s executive director, Rob Purdie, said: “We were told too late about this proposal and need to be involved at the early stages in these types of consultations.

“Raising car parking costs is a reason for people not to come into the town centre. The depth of feeling in this room demonstrates how deeply our BID businesses feel about this issue.”

The authority has allowed the BID to form a ‘small working group’ which can sit down with council officers in the next week to see if alternatives to the charge increases can be considered.

Proceeds from the annual fundraiser allows for its members to enjoy bus trips up and down the country and helps to put on festive events in the home to put a smile on the faces of many.

BBC Radio Northampton presenter, Bernie Keith, will be opening the Spring Fundraiser at St Christopher's Care Home in Abington Park Crescent on Saturday, April 6 at 2 pm.

The event will be running until 3 o'clock and there will be a variety of stalls including cakes, bric-a-brac, books, jigsaws, raffle and tombola.

Admission is £1 and all are welcome, with free car parking in Abington Park Crescent.

Caroline Morris, PR, fundraising and community liaison volunteer said: "As a charity, we rely on our fundraising to benefit the residents.

"This money enables us to lay on special events in the home throughout the year and to take the residents out on our mini-bus on regular visits to locations in and around the county.

"Local businesses and the local community have been tremendously supportive of St. Christopher's over the years and we can never say thank enough for their generosity, however without our wonderful team of volunteers, it would just not be possible to run the fundraising events."

Unions representing staff at Northamptonshire County Council have hit out at the pay of new children’s director as ‘obscene and unjustified’.

Yesterday it was revealed that Sally Hodges, who was appointed to the post in February, is taking home a wage of £1,100 a day which adds up to an annual salary of £258,000.

The unions who represent staff at the authority, who this year have not been given a pay rise, say the pay level is unacceptable and that such huge salaries in public authorities need to stop.

The pay level makes Sally Hodges the highest paid senior officer in the council and is more than is earned by her boss, chief executive Theresa Grant.

Branch secretary of the Unison Northamptonshire Kev Standishday said: “This obscene salary cannot be justified in any way and harks back to the days when NCC paid outrageous sums of money to consultants and agency staff across social care which then contributed to the county going broke.

“How can the political leadership boast about balancing the budget whilst knowing this had been agreed?

“Staff are facing a real terms pay cut, increased parking charges, probable increases in child care due to the nursery funding cuts and a five per cent council tax rise.”

GMB branch secretary Rachelle Wilkins said: “I’m deeply concerned about this. With everything that has gone on within the council in the past 18 months there needs to be a degree of sensibility about things. This sends the wrong message to people that have worked for the council without a pay rise. It is like the council is creating a two-tier system in its workforce.”

The unions have been told that there could be a pay rise in June for all staff, with pay backdated to April. But there is nothing definite as yet.

The council has announced recently that this year it should balance its books, after going £40m over budget last financial year. To do so it has had to impose emergency spending, make cuts to services and has been given a special dispensation by the Government to use the funds from its sale of headquarters One Angel Square to pay off the deficit.

The children’s services department at NCC has been in turmoil for some time and after a damning Ofsted inspection the Government sent in a children’s commissioner to report back an assessment of the department and suggest a way forward.

Before joining NCC Sally Hodges has been a children’s director at a number of other councils and has advised Ofsted.

The authority said ‘a detailed market assessment was carried out to ensure the salary is aligned to market rates for experienced children’s services professionals.’

SANDS United was started by dads devastated by the deaths of their children during pregnancy or shortly after birth, in Spring last year.

The team was put together to provide a sanctuary for men who have been affected by the loss of a child and to harness the power of physical activity in helping with mental health and allows men to talk freely among other men who have shared the same experience.

To raise money for the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (SANDS) - the grassroots football team are this May hosting a family fun day and charity match at Kettering Town Football Club against the 'special 11'.

Former Saints player, Paul Diggin, and current Cobblers captain, David Buchanan, will be playing as part of the opposition.

Team player Nick Hilliker, who is behind organising the event with founder Rob Allen and their wives Sarah and Charlotte, said: "This is an opportunity for us to raise even more money and we will be playing against a special 11.

"The [teams] badge was designed by another father who lost his son Arthur, who lives in Doncaster. He will be joining us too, in May."

Founder Rob Allen, 32, lost his daughter Niamh back in October 2017 after she sadly died in the womb three days before she was due.

Rob organised a charity match at Sixfields last May and brought together a team of other fathers who had lost their children to stillbirth and neonatal complications.

Each game is dedicated to their children and the players have the names of their lost babies embroidered on their football shirts next to their hearts.

Many of the players bottled up their feelings, suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, but through the club the players have developed a support network and finally feel able to open up about their loss.

Last year the team of dads took home the Team of the Year Award at the Mirror’s Pride of Sport Awards.

Since the SANDS United teamed up last year and launched their football team, 32 teams around the UK have since created an 11-a-side team.

Nick added: "We play for and represent our angels and the 15 babies that die every day.

"We want to raise awareness that men hurt too and show there is support available that doesn't just have to be in a group meeting."

All money raised at the charity game will be donated to SANDS Stillbirth and neonatal Death Society.

All donations will support their vision of a world where fewer babies die and helping to ensure every bereaved family, wherever they live in the UK, get the care and support they need for as long as they need it.

All tickets will be sold through Sands United social media pages, including Facebook and Twitter @Sandsunited.