A 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted after being forced into a car by the driver in broad daylight in Northampton, according to police.

A man forced the girl into his Vauxhall Corsa in The Headlands between 1.45pm and 1.55pm on August 30.

He then drove to a layby in Spectacle Lane between Boughton and Moulton and sexually assaulted her before taking her to a location near Moulton Way South and driving off.

The suspect is described as a mixed race man in his mid-30s, about 6ft, with a medium, muscular build.

He had a local accent, very thin, black afro-style hair and a thin, neatly-trimmed beard.

He also had a large black tattoo across the top of his chest. He was wearing a plain, light grey t-shirt and black jogging bottoms.

At some point during the incident, the man mentioned that his family were part Irish and that he has four children.

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

Anyone with any dash cam footage or CCTV of the area between 1.45pm and 3pm on August 30, are also asked to come forward.

Northampton Borough Council worked with Northamptonshire Police to fund two additional police officers for the town centre from July to the start of September.

Patrols provided community and business support and an increase in police visibility in Market Square and Abington Street.

Enforcement action was also taken to administer the town centre Public Spaces Protection Order, tackling street drinking, begging and anti-social behaviour.

Over the six-weeks, the two police officers covered 576 patrol hours across Abington Street, the Drapery, Gold Street, St Peters Walk, Market Square, Guildhall Road and Bridge Street.

They made 154 alcohol seizures, 88 warnings to cyclists riding their bike in pedestrian areas, 24 arrests relating to shoplifting, drugs and domestic assault and offered 10 drivers ‘traffic restriction advice‘.

Councillor Anna King, cabinet member for community engagement and safety, said: “It has been really fantastic working alongside Northamptonshire Police again this summer, to help improve the town centre environment and reduce anti-social behaviour in the area.

“The activities which took place across the six weeks, built on the success of the support we provided together last summer and have not only provided more positive outcomes, but it has also generated some great feedback from both businesses and visitors to the town centre.”

In addition, the partnership engaged with and moved on 30 beggars, offered support to rough sleepers, interacted with businesses and market stall holders regularly, and provided eight offers of first aid assistance to members of the public.

Chief Inspector James Willis added: “These results demonstrate what a great partnership between two organisations can achieve and I look forward to more good results in the future as we continue to work closely with Northampton Borough Council.”

Tania Gill used 89-year-old Vera Nurse's bank funds for foreign holidays, a car and online gambling in what His Honour Judge Fowler described as a monstrous offence.

The 56-year-old, of Quantock Crescent, Duston, was sentenced to 20 months in prison at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (Friday, September 13).

The judge said it was particularly sad as she had led a 'respectable' life before her crime, which left her victim worried about how she would pay for her care.

"It's a sad day that you're before the court, sad for yourself and for your own children - I know they will feel the effect it's had on them as much as yourself," he said.

The theft came to light in September 2016, when Mrs Nurse's grandson found many of her bank statements were missing.

Once he got them from her bank, he discovered "regular and significant" cash withdrawals dating back to 2013, which she had not made, the prosecution lawyer told the court.

Upon further inspection, the withdrawals were all when Gill, who was one of the carers from Northampton-based Harmony Homecare who looked after Mrs Nurse in her home, was on duty.

She was arrested but denied all involvement so police inspected her bank account and found she had gone from regularly being in her overdraft to having a "growing" balance.

Judge Fowler said: "You found yourself in a position where it was, within your domestic circumstance, attractive to have money to spend on yourself and others. That's what prompted you to take this money.

"It was in no way extravagant living but it was used for luxuries that were beyond what you would normally be expected to pay for."

The prosecution lawyer told the court that Mrs Nurse has been left worried about her finances.

"She now lives in a care home and worries about her ability to pay it," he said.

"She speaks about the effect it's had on her ability to buy gifts for her grandchildren which she did before her money was stolen."

Gill changed her plea to 'guilty' ahead of the trial which was due to take place this month.

Her defence lawyer said it would take a lifetime for her to pay back what she stole so recommended a custodial sentence, adding that she acknowledges its necessity.

Sentencing Gill, Judge Fowler said she had led a productive life raising four children and the greatest shame would be her family finding out what she had done.

"It was a breach of her trust to take advantage of an elderly lady in that way," he said.

Henry Taylor says he was 'honoured' to wear a Saints shirt for the first time in Thursday night's 34-26 pre-season defeat to Leinster.

Taylor delivered an impressive showing after coming on at half-time at Franklin's Gardens, scoring almost immediately.

He continued to pull the strings from scrum-half, while also showing good strength in defence, earning praise from supporters and forwards coach Phil Dowson.

And Taylor was delighted to get his time at Saints up and running following a summer move from Saracens.

"I was honoured," Taylor said.

"The pitch here is incredible and to play on the grass pitch is like playing on a world-class football pitch so it was amazing.

"I got lucky to get fed the ball near the line and it was good for me to get my first try."

Saints were 22-7 down at the break, but they bounced back to lead 26-22 before Leinster scored twice late on to win it.

"We really enjoyed it," Taylor said.

"It was a bit of a wake-up call because we got a little bit shocked to start with, but everyone was just happy to be playing.

"It's been a long pre-season and it was a good first knock-out.

"Leinster brought their A game, they put some physical shots in there and it was a good one.

"You could definitely tell they had two games before because they came out and played really well.

"We've got a few things to fix but it was a really good start for us.

"We've got positives and negatives and now it's about kicking on building up to our first Prem game.

"We've got a lot to work on, but it's a great first hit-out for the team."

After the phenomenal success of our recent ‘win a hi-fi’ competition, organisers of the UK Audio Show 2019 are offering readers free weekend tickets to the event.

Held at Woodland Grange hotel, Leamington Spa, from September 21-22 the show allows lovers of high end sound to see, touch and hear all the latest equipment in one of almost 30 individual self-contained demonstration suites.

Each has been set up to a very high standard by the people who have a passion for the products they have chosen to represent in the UK.

To apply for your free weekend tickets (worth £10 each) simply email your name and contact details to roy@chestergroup.org and put the following code in the subject line: ASC19CE

Your request will be acknowledged along with confirmation of how your data is protected.

The special suites at the UK Audio Show 2019 are created by world experts in the audio and AV field to demonstrate just how brilliant and immersive music can be.

You can even bring your favourite sounds to play - and discover and experience elements you may never have been aware of.

Among the exhibitors are Meridian, Audio Note UK and The Chord Co, to name but a few, but for a full list of brands see below for their website details.

Be seated at one of the show’s unique Sunday Album Sessions with the incomparable Jeffrey Lloyd and be blown away by a masterclass performance of classic albums from the Beatles and Elton John.

Or visit a workshop that deals with home acoustics, conducted by world expert Peter Aylett.

Organiser Roy Bird said: “Every element of this show is designed to inspire, so why not make it a weekend and take advantage of the special show accommodation rate of £89+vat for B&B.

“This is a no rush event, so take your time and immerse yourself in one of life’s best communicators - music. After all, it only comes around once a year!”

Now in its 15th year, the UK Audio Show 2019 opens on Saturday, September 21 at 10am and closes at 5pm (Sunday 10am-4pm) at: Woodland Grange hotel, Old Milverton Lane, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 6RN.

For more information visit https://www.chestergroup.org/theaudioavshow/2019

Farcean Alin, aged 30, of Wellingborough Road, Northampton

Dumitru Balaban, aged 56, of Ivy Road, Northampton

Wojchech Barhoniej; aged 70, of St Crispin Drive, Northampton

Rimuydas Barzares, aged 24, of Baring Road, Northampton

Gheorghe Bitcha, aged 31, of Hopton Close, Daventry

Aiden Booth, aged 19, of Beech Avenue, Northampton

Elena Brlritreico, aged 31, of Garrick Road, Northampton

Ion Calfa, aged 49, of Donovan Court, Northampton

Daniel Caruana, aged 27, of Nettle Gap Close, Northampton

Gheorghe Dinu, aged 46, of Lower Hester Street, Northampton

Bogdan Duncea, aged 31, of Hunsbury Green, Northampton

Rlusim Garbevge, aged 22, of Colwyn Road, Northampton

Dan Gegal, aged 25, of Semilong Road, Northampton

Juliette Giles, aged 45, of Vernon Walk, Northampton

Jose Calado, aged 65, of Margaret Street, Northampton

Conner Goodman, aged 23, of Swain Court, Northampton

Laurentiiu Hirteu, aged 25, of Sidebrook Court, Northampton

David Holmes, aged 34, of Compton Close, Earls Barton

Andris Leimanis, aged 26, of Alcombe, Northampton

Audrius Mobtvilas, aged 27, of Clare Stret, Northampton

Floren Sucu, aged 29, of Derngate, Northampton (dropped a Red Bull can)

Tomasz Telega, aged 35, of St Andrew’s Road, Northampton

Ellis William, aged 23, of West Street, Northampton

Toms Zabrovskis, aged 20, of Salisbury Street, Northampton

Armands Baltins, aged 26, of Chapmans Road, Northampton

Amdfieen Bamu, of Poole Street, Northampton

Damian Brown, aged 48, of St George’s Avenue, Northampton

Joanne Burge, of Tweed Close, Daventry

Jake Cox, aged 26, of Langdale Road, Northampton

Tomszora Dudek, aged 40, of Somerset Street, Northampton

In recent weeks there have been multiple sightings of a man exposing a private part of his body in the male Grosvenor Centre toilets.

Witnesses have also claimed to have seen the man performing a sex act in view of other people - though he is yet to be detained by police.

The county police force told the Chronicle & Echo on Friday (September 13) that it had received a number of calls relating to the man.

A spokeswoman for the police said: "On Wednesday (September 11) we received reports of a man who exposed himself to others in the toilets on the first floor of the Grosvenor Centre.

"Apparently he has done this a number of times.

"An officer attended the scene on Thursday and took details."

Anyone with information should contact Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Cobblers ended Newport County's unbeaten start to the season with a professional and accomplished 2-0 victory at the PTS Stadium on Saturday.

For the second home game running Town looked a class above a team who sat second in the league ahead of kick-off as they bounced back from the defeat at Bradford City with a polished, albeit at times hard-fought, three points.

Andy Williams' fourth goal of the season was the difference at half-time and victory was sealed by Sam Hoskins' easy tap-in with 18 minutes remaining.

Despite playing a team who hadn't lost any of their seven league games so far this season, Town goalkeeper David Cornell didn't have a single save to make in the whole game, which was testament to the home side's excellent defending.

Keith Curle made one change in personnel as Scott Wharton replaced Matty Warburton, which meant Jordan Turnbull moved into central midfield.

Newport hadn't conceded a single league goal since the opening day of the season but it took their hosts just five minutes to hit the front.

Turnbull's shot from range was blocked by a defender and the ball fell kindly for Williams, whose low effort beat the dive of Tom King and was inadvertently sliced into the net by Exiles defender Mark O'Brien.

Apart from having Joss Labadie's header ruled out for offside just prior to Town's goal, second-placed Newport were on the back foot for large parts of the opening half-hour and the home side almost had a second when Hoskins flicked a header into the gloves of King.

Town's grip on the game loosened as half-time approached though and Newport grew in confidence, with Labadie heading their best chance over the crossbar.

Cobblers, protecting a narrow advantage at the break, were in a similar position at Bradford last week and again they made a cautious start to the second-half, allowing Newport plenty of the ball while hoping to cause problems on the counter-attack.

An injury to Shaun McWilliams saw a Cobblers debut for Egli Kaja and the hosts were close to a second when O'Brien deflected Nicky Adams' cross just wide of the woodwork.

Town were doing a good job of holding Newport at arm's length, and they gave themselves breathing space with 18 minutes to go through a well-worked breakaway goal.

Charlie Goode showed smart awareness to chest the ball down and drive forward before slipping it to Chris Lines who squared for Hoskins and it was a simple tap-in.

Kaja, found by Adams, dragged a shot wide from another counter-attack before substitute Warburton did likewise as time ticked away.

Newport's day went from bad to worse late on when Jamille Matt, only on as a sub earlier in the second-half, picked up two yellow cards in the space of five minutes and was sent for an early bath.

Six added minutes might have for a nervy finish but Town were not going to make hard work of this one and the full-time whistle duly confirmed three well-earned points.

Match facts

Cobblers: Cornell, Goode, Wharton, Turnbull, Harriman, Martin, McWilliams (Kaja 53), Lines, Hoskins, Adams (Warburton 87), Williams (Smith 78)

Subs not used: Fisher, Pollock, Waters, Oliver

Newport: King, Haynes, Labadie (c), O'Brien, Howkins, Willmott, Dolan (Whitely 62), Sheehan, McNamara (Poleon 75), Abrahams, Amond (Matt 62)

Subs not used: Leadbitter, Bennett, Maloney, Townsend

Referee: Alan Young

Attendance: 4,616

Newport fans: 289

Cobblers boss Keith Curle was full of praise for his players and hailed their 'attitude and application' after Saturday's 2-0 victory over Newport County.

County, sitting second in League Two, arrived at the PTS without a league defeat to their name all season, but they were barely given a sniff by the excellent hosts throughout the afternoon.

Town took command as early as the fifth minute when Andy Williams scored his fourth of the season, the first goal Newport had conceded since the opening day of the campaign.

And they were picking the ball out of their net for a second time with 18 minutes to go after Sam Hoskins finished off a slick move to secure back-to-back home victories.

"The result and the performance started on Monday morning," said Curle. "I thought we gave a decent enough performance at Bradford away last week but there were things we could work on.

"As a follow-up to the win over Plymouth in our last home game, it was pleasing enough and it all started when we had a meeting on Monday.

"We identified the areas we did well against Bradford and areas we can do better and we highlighted the challenge that faced us and the work ethic, the application and the attitude from the players, from Monday through to today, has got us that result.

"Everyone was switched on. I gave the players a challenge because these (Newport) will try and bully you, try and find a weakness and try and find somebody who's prepared to go on the back foot too easily.

"You need to stand up them and you match their endeavour and match their willingness and then play at the right times and I thought we did that - we earned the right to play.

"We were disciplined, we were solid, we were brave and we earned the right to play."

The 21-year-old made his ninth successive start against Newport and was enjoying another strong performance before he went to ground on the halfway line eight minutes into the second-half.

Following several minutes being tended to by the club doctor, it was decided McWilliams couldn't continue and he was replaced by debutant Egli Kaja.

And Curle revealed exactly what was wrong with his midfielder after full-time.

"He was suffering from chest pains," said the Town boss. "He saw the doctor at half-time and I said it's probably because it's the hardest he's worked all season!

"But he was taken off as a precaution because he's been having palpitations. The doctor thought he was going to be OK but we've had a situation here recently (Leon Barnett) and we've got to be cautious.

"The player's concern and the player's welfare is paramount. The medical department said if it feels any different to when you've settled down at half-time then you've got to tell us and you've got to come off. We're mindful of the player's safety."

Newport County manager Michael Flynn conceded his side deserved nothing out of Saturday's game against the Cobblers despite expressing frustration with the manner of Andy Williams' opening goal.

Newport were bidding to make it 18 successive league games unbeaten on Saturday but, like Plymouth Argyle two weeks ago, they came unstuck by a strong home performance at the PTS Stadium.

Andy Williams needed just five minuted to net his fourth goal of the season before Sam Hoskins made the points safe late on as Newport failed to register a single shot on target throughout the 96 minutes.

Whilst Flynn was magnanimous during his post-match interview, he felt Town's first goal shouldn't have stood due to a foul in the build-up.

"We huffed and puffed at times and it was a so-so performance," said Flynn, whose side's most recent league defeat prior to Saturday came on their last visit to the PTS in March. "We had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside and then we score an own goal so it's a bit frustrating.

"The first goal was a definite foul but I'm not going to get drawn on that because I don't want to take the victory away from Northampton.

"They did what they did well and we weren't quite at it so I'm not going to go on too much about making excuses. They got the three points and they deserved it.

"I'll end up with a fine if I get drawn into it but I will be going in to see the referee and his assessor.

"But we weren't brave enough on the football in the first-half and conceded a goal that, nine times out of 10, he clears off the line. Second-half we got on top but the breaks in play helped them to turn the momentum around.

"The players have been on a fantastic run. They give their all day in, day out and we won't get carried away because we knew a loss would come sooner or later - I'm just glad I don't have to come back here this season!"

Who stood out from an impressive team performance? Find out with our player ratings...

Whilst the Cobblers trod two very different paths en route to these impressive victories, it was easy to draw parallels between Saturday's win over Newport County and their previous home success against Plymouth Argyle two weeks earlier.

Whereas the win over Plymouth was both spectacular and thrilling, here they were more controlled and efficient and never once looked in trouble from the moment Andy Williams nudged them into a crucial early lead, with Sam Hoskins securing all three points 18 minutes from time.

But there was one obvious similarity between the two games. On both occasions, Curle identified the opponent's weakness, worked out how to exploit it and then watched his players brilliantly execute the gameplan. The fact that previously unbeaten Newport, flying high in second spot ahead of kick-off, failed to register a solitary shot on target told the story.

"I've got a lot of respect for Flynny and what he's done at that club because he's built success and built momentum and it does take time," said Curle afterwards.

"They don't change the way they play. They have a slightly different system that can catch you out because they quickly get people in the box so we needed to match that and stand up to that and earn the right to play and I thought we did that."

Yet to lose a game by more than one goal, the major positive to come out of this season so far is that the Cobblers have been competitive in every game. They were beaten by late goals against Macclesfield Town and Bradford City, lost to a second-half penalty at Colchester United and were unlucky in the opening day defeat to Walsall.

Against Newport, they were industrious and effective and came away with three well-deserved points. Having now won three of the last five to edge their way up to 14th place, the signs of progress are undeniable.

"We've got players who can play and who can open doors but we're getting the understanding that we need that shape to play from," added Curle.

"We're playing against a good team and we need to fill holes. Percentage wise and statistically wise, Newport land on a lot of second balls but we were in their face and we didn't allow them to dictate play.

"The two centre-backs were excellent and the two full-backs were excellent and we matched them in midfield. When we got the other side of them, we had enough to cause them problems and Chris Lines came into his own and enjoyed himself.

"He earned the right to play and if you get Chris Lines operating in the final third, he can open doors because he's got composure - and then the finish from Sam Hoskins, he deserves that. But there were plenty of other contributors."

The Welsh rugby goldfish bowl is like water off a duck's back to Dan Biggar as he prepares for an impending World Cup challenge in Japan.

The Saints fly-half has had his critics during a 73-cap Test career - most recently, former Wales wing JJ Williams claiming that Wales would not win a World Cup with Biggar at number 10.

But it says everything about his durability and match-controlling longevity that Biggar has arrived in Asia as an integral part of Wales' global supremacy bid.

After playing key roles off the bench for much of last season, working in tandem with Gareth Anscombe, Biggar now steps forward to reclaim Wales' number 10 shirt while Anscombe continues his recovery from a World Cup-ending knee injury.

And Biggar's worth to Wales head coach Warren Gatland cannot be understated ahead of the tournament.

"Comments are comments," Biggar said. "I have had it my whole career.

"It really doesn't bother me. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I actually quite enjoy those things as it gives me motivation.

"I meant it to be a bit tongue-in-cheek at the end (Biggar thanked Williams for his comments after Wales beat England last month).

"It was not so much the comments about me, but we had won 14 on the bounce prior to that England game, it was our first game of a new season with lots of boys playing at Twickenham, which is not the easiest place to play anyway.

"It's less about me - I couldn't care less what he said about me - it was more the negative comment about the team after one difficult afternoon."

Asked about big occasions and criticism firing him, Biggar added: "I'm competitive. I don't mind that side of it - it's part and parcel of the job.

"If you are not comfortable with that, and in the position I play in this country, then you're probably in the wrong job! I don't tend to put any pressure on myself, really.

"Certainly in the last few years since I've had a little boy and with my family, they are the most important thing to me, anyway.

"That's been a big thing for me over the last 12-18 months, but I quite like having it (criticism) and performing on the big stage. Hopefully, I can keep delivering if called upon."

Biggar proved an instant hit in his first season at Franklin's Gardens, helping Saints reach the Gallagher Premiership play-offs last term.

"I'm not going to tell anyone else what to do because they have to do their own thing, but for me it (Northampton move) has been the best thing I've done," he said.

"I had 10 fabulous years at the Ospreys and loved every minute of it, but for me getting outside of the goldfish bowl... with all due respect, you guys aren't bothered if we play Newcastle or Sale away on a Friday night.

"Even though Northampton is a rugby-mad town, it's quite nice to be outside the bubble there instead of Wales, where rugby is all year round."

Gatland handed Biggar a Wales debut during his first year at the helm in 2008 - and the Saints number 10 has no doubt about the New Zealander's impact.

"What Warren has done since he has been here is instil a belief, more than anything," Biggar added.

"When we go into games against England or Australia, South Africa, we are always going with the mindset that we are going to win, whereas before it was more in hope rather than expectation.

"We are fully aware we are up against some big teams - just in our pool, let alone the latter stages of the tournament - and it's about making sure the belief is right.

"If we can get out of the pool first, the other seven teams in the quarter-finals will not want to play us."

And head coach David Ripley says if his side's form continues, their opponents are in for a 'very tough' week at the County Ground.

Northants’ victory at Leicestershire last week took them second in the table and 14 points ahead of Durham in fourth with two matches to play.

Gloucestershire, currently occupying the third and final promotion place, are Northants' final opponents, at Bristol.

And Ripley said: “Coming to the end of the season these are the types of games we wanted to be involved in.

“Durham have been playing well and winning matches so it’s looking like a cracking match.

“But if we play the cricket we’ve played over the last few matches they’ll have a very tough game.

"Promotion is in our hands so the scenario is very simple for us.”

Victory at Grace Road brought up a significant milestone for Northants seamer Ben Sanderson, who passed 50 wickets in the Championship for the third time in four seasons.

“He’s a phenomenal performer day in and day out,” Ripley said.

“His red-ball bowling is unbelievable - it’s not just the wickets but how many times he beats the bat. We’re very pleased he’s one of ours.

“And what I’ve liked about him this year too is that he’s got himself in our 50-over team and the T20 team.

"He’s a competitive guy who wants to play all formats and rolls his sleeves up to do anything we ask him too.”

​Gareth Berg, who joined on loan from Hampshire, and New Zealander Doug Bracewell both impressed at Grace Road.

“Gareth has been ticking over playing second team cricket but has just been practicing so his skill is improving,” said Ripley.

“And Doug was obviously rusty in the first innings because he’s only in pre-season mode - in New Zealand they’re just gearing up for the start of their domestic season.

"But he really wanted the opportunity to play and he bowled very well and showed good pace in the second innings.”

But Ripley still wants his side to be more ruthless when on top.

With a chance to bat Leicestershire out of the game, Northants slipped and only took a modest first-innings advantage.

“Division one sides put you to bed from those positions and that was our only hiccup,” he said.

“We talked a lot about scoring big hundreds - a lot of our centuries are around the 110 mark and that’s not quite what you want for winning four-day matches. You need someone to go on and make a match-defining score.

“We just need to be a little more ruthless and think back to when we were last in division one and how we were nailed a few times when sides got on top of us with the bat and didn’t give us a sniff and that’s what we’re striving for.”

Saints suffered disappointment on home soil as their Premiership Rugby 7s bid ended early.

Having lost to both Bristol and Harlequins on Friday, the black, green and gold, who selected an extremely young side, headed into the Plate competition on Saturday.

But they were just edged out by eventual winners Gloucester.

DAY 1

Saints kicked off their campaign with a defeat to Bristol, going down 26-24 at the death after a topsy-turvy opening clash.

The black, green and gold went behind as Toby Venner scored his first, but a burst down the left wing from Josh Gillespie saw him hold off three defenders and level the scores at 7-7 – Tommy Mathews knocking over the conversion.

Stubborn defence across the park from Saints forced a knock on, but as they were pinged trying to clear their lines, a quick tap-and-go from Bristol allowed Ioan Lloyd to put them back ahead.

Skipper Connor Tupai responded with a score in the left corner, the scrum-half finishing well after Tui Uru’s excellent offload, but Mathews could not add the extras from the touchline making it 14-12 at the break.

Saints looked to have the game in the bag with two quick scores for Tommy Freeman, who first barged his way over the line after a tap-and-go – Uru again the one to cause Bristol problems with a slick offload.

Mathews' conversion made it 19-14, before Freeman collected his own kick to score a superb solo try.

But two late scores for Bristol through Venner, and one clutch conversion from Lloyd, edged the Bears clear with the clock already in the red.

And things did not get any better for Saints later in the evening, with scores for Dylan Munro, Sam Riley, Lennox Anyanwu, and Jack Kenningham helping Harlequins to a 29-0 win.

DAY 2

Saints began day two of the competition locking horns with Gloucester for a place in the Plate final and though Gloucester looked like scoring first, a brilliant cover tackle from Gillespie kept things level.

Eventually though it was Gloucester that got the scoring started, as Cory Howells snuck around the corner and over the whitewash.

But Saints hit straight back and Uru raced in untouched from the restart, with Mathews’ conversion putting the hosts ahead.

Gloucester added a second to their tally through Jake Morris just before the break to put them 12-7 up before Morris claimed his second on the restart.

Saints responded immediately to bring the game within a score as skipper Tupai steamed in from the halfway line and were soon ahead as Freeman collected his own kick to score under the sticks.

The conversion from Mathews gave Saints a narrow lead with three minutes left and a fourth try extended the home lead further; Tom Litchfield broke through with Ollie Newman and Gillespie on his shoulder – the latter scoring in the corner.

Gloucester weren’t done though and scored with just 30 seconds left before Howells scored a second with the clock in the red to see Saints drop out of the competition.

Vote for your man of the match from Cobblers' 2-0 victory over Newport County.

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He didn't refer to him directly by name but everyone knew who Keith Curle was talking about when he spoke of Cobblers' most recent ride from bottom-half strugglers to emphatic promotion-winners.

When he was appointed almost 12 months ago, Curle would have been hoping to follow in Chris Wilder's footsteps: halt the slide, steady the ship and then lead a promotion charge. He's well on his way to completing the first two objectives but the third was always going to prove the trickiest.

However, Wilder has shown Curle the perfect template and having steered the Cobblers away from relegation and into mid-table last season, his side are now hoping to make steady progress towards the top end of the Sky Bet League Two table.

Saturday's win over Newport County made it back-to-back home victories and three wins across the last five in total, lifting the Cobblers up to 14th and within striking distance of the top 10.

"Every manager wants to win games in front of his own paying public," said Curle, whose team had won just 14 of their previous 48 home league matches prior to Saturday. "We've got fantastic support and I think the supporters understand where we're at because they've been here before.

"They've had a manager that came in, kept them up, second season finished in mid-table and then third season got them to where they wanted to be and got them out of the division.

"It's different personnel and a different platform now but we've come in, we're trying to stabilise and we're trying to show good housekeeping and we're trying to create a competitive squad that gets us operating in the top half of the division - we're trying to build."

If the Cobblers are to follow Curle's words with actions and construct a promotion challenge this season, the ability to back up one impressive result with another will be needed.

For one thing, defeat to struggling Stevenage on Tuesday evening would undo a lot of good work achieved against Newport.

"It's massive we go on from this," admitted striker Andy Williams. "Three points would be ideal but we have to go there and at least get something because we need to back up these home wins with points away.

"It'd be good to go on a run now. Newport came to us unbeaten and now we want to go on an unbeaten run ourselves and string a few results together.

"I want to go on a run as much as the team do too so hopefully we can put everything together and back this win up with another result on Tuesday."

Fears that Northampton’s high street is becoming a ghost town may be unfounded at least for now – as our latest empty shops survey has shown a surprising turnaround.

Two years ago when we last carried out our regular count of the vacant units in the town, ‘to let signs’ were in place above 78 shop fronts.

Since then, the town has been hit by some challenging developments.

In August last year, one of the biggest, busiest shops in the town, Marks & Spencer, shut its Abington Street premises, prompting fears that a huge town centre unit would be left vacant for years to come.

In August, the Chronicle and Echo reported how the number of people visiting the centre had fallen dramatically in the second quarter of 2019 compared to the previous year – just as bosses at the sprawling Rushden Lakes retail park in the north of the county celebrated their 10 millionth visitor.

But our latest survey carried out this week shows there is cause for cautious optimism.

The number of vacant units has actually gone down to 72 – the second-best result in our yearly town centre health check since the 2009 low of 68.

The regeneration of small and medium-sized premises appears to have been key to the improvement.

Leader of Northampton Borough Council Jonathan Nunn said the health check was “part of the message” that bigger retail units were “not what the town needs or wants.”

“As an individual town, we didn’t want to spend the sort of money that Marks & Spencer needed to keep going,” he said.

“But this shows that the independent side of things really does have hope.”

Councillor Nunn’s comments are further signs the borough council has abandoned hope of attracting a John Lewis to the town, instead favouring the idea of a place where smaller, boutique-style enterprises thrive.

In autumn 2020, some 68 extra units sill be added to the town’s cultural quarter when the Vulcan works opens its doors. The site will be aimed at small, creative enterprises.

With Northampton now within sight of a potential £50 million windfall (see page nine) the town’s ability to fill smaller venues and its spirited independent scene could be key to deciding where the money is spent.

Though they are privately owned, Councillor Nunn said the Chron’s figures add weight to the belief that the former BHS and M&S buildings in Abington Street should be divided into smaller premises.

“Those two buildings need something quite dramatic to happen,” he said. “They are former department stores and they are not suitable for what the world wants at the moment.

“We are keeping an active dialogue with them.”

Though the improved vacancy rate is down to smaller venues being re-let our results are not completely clear cut.

For example, work has finally started at the former Ballestra nightclub – one of the largest vacant units in town.

Planning permission was granted for 69 flats and a Cosmo world buffet in Market Square back in July.

On the other hand, a stroll around Market Walk will tell you that not all small units are being replenished quite so quickly.

Earlier this year it was announced that the site was being put on the market for £2million.

The Chron’s annual town centre health check sees us count the number of vacant shops, bars, cafes and restaurants in the town centre on a given day at the end of summer.

This year, the place hardest hit by shop closures was Market Walk. Currently, 17 of the 25 available shops there are empty. In 2015 just seven were closed.

Elsewhere around the town, Abington Street has 11 empty units compared to the 13 seen in 2017.

The majority are now bunched down the de-pedestrianised end which was intended to rejuvenate that part of town.

St Giles Street has seen a great improvement since the eight empty shops seen in 2017, when major resurfacing works were taking place.

Currently, three sites in the street are not in use.

Gold Street, now home to Mexicasa and Turtle Bay, has seen the biggest improvement overall though. In 2017 there were 14 empty units. This year there were just seven.

And the Grosvenor Centre is faring better too despite the impact of WH Smith. This year there were nine empty shops compared to 14 in 2017.

Keith Curle admits he was Andy Williams' 'biggest critic' last season but the Cobblers boss had only good things to say about his in-form striker after Saturday's 2-0 victory over Newport County.

Despite finishing last season as Town's top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions, Williams was rarely an automatic starter for Curle and regularly had to make do with a place on the bench, particularly after the turn of the year.

His future at the club was not assured over the summer, particularly after the arrivals of Harry Smith and Vadaine Oliver pushed him further down the pecking order, but with neither player establishing themselves in the team, Williams was back leading the line at Swindon Town last month for his first league start of the campaign.

He scored the only goal of the game that night to earn Town's first win of the season and the 33-year-old has not looked back, starting all four league games since and taking his tally to four goals for the campaign, including the opener against Newport on Saturday.

"I've got to say I was probably Andy Williams' biggest critic last season and I've gone out and spent money on a centre-forward and I've also brought another centre-forward in," said Curle.

"But we're trying to create competition and Andy Williams knows if he doesn't pull his weight and if he doesn't work his socks off, he loses that starting slot and that's the type of competition we want.

"He accepts the challenge week in, week out and he was excellent (against Newport) and worked his socks off.

"The players who want to get into the team know that as well. Harry Smith was out there doing extra work (after full-time) because he wants to be leading the line and that's the type of competition we want.

"It's the same type of competition you have with the goalkeeping situation because you want your number two to do more because he wants to be number one and then you want your number one to do likewise because he wants to stay there.

"That's the type of competition we're trying to create. We need that competitive edge and there's a team mentality developing from within the squad and I think that's important."

Williams was not the only one to win plaudits for their performance on Saturday though as several players contributed to an excellent victory over second-placed Newport.

"Chris Lines came into his own and enjoyed himself," Curle added. "He earned the right to play and if you get Chris Lines operating in the final third, he can open doors because he's got composure - and then the finish from Sam Hoskins, he deserves that.

"He got three assists in the last home game and not many people would have made the box there but Hoskins will and he'll put himself in there.

"Nicky Adams and Sam Hoskins were instrumental in our shape. Wide players can normally play outside the competitive game but they're in the mix and that gives us a platform and then we go and play."