Doctors at Northampton General Hospital were today expected to perform a delicate skin graft procedure following an operation on Cobblers striker Alex Nicholls’ broken leg.

The forward suffered a double compound fracture of his left leg following a heavy challenge from Port Vale skipper John McCombe as he slotted home the home side’s opener at Sixfields on Saturday.

McCombe, who was sent off for the desperate lunge, apologised to Cobblers boss Aidy Boothroyd after the game and said it was an honest attempt to win the ball.

Nicholls, aged 24, received treatment on the pitch for 12 minutes before an ambulance was eventually brought onto the playing surface to convey him to hospital, where he was joined by his family who had come to Sixfields to watch the game.

He underwent an operation at the weekend, with surgeons inserting a pin in his tibia to stabilise the leg. A skin graft was then due to be carried out on Monday.

Cobblers have been praised for the medical attention given to Nicholls, with the club physio Stuart Barker joined on the pitch by Dr Andrew Odwell to administer treatment.

A club spokesman said: “We always have an ambulance on site at our matches, and if the crowd is expected to be over 5,000 (which it was on Saturday) we also have a paramedic vehicle in addition.

“The ambulance is technically there to deal with any crowd issues, but of course it can deal with issues involving players as well, which is what happened on Saturday. A second ambulance was summoned to be on standby for any crowd issues.”

Despite a small minority of Port Vale fans shouting abuse at Nicholls as he received treatment, all four corners of the ground rose to give the striker a standing ovation as the ambulance left the pitch.

Cobblers fans also chanted ‘There’s only one Alex Nicholls’ as the full-time whistle blew to signal their best wishes for the popular frontman, who now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Firebrand Port Vale boss Micky Adams hit out at referee Richard Clark for the part the official played in Saturday’s surprise 2-0 defeat at Sixfields.

Clark angered Adams with his decision to send off skipper John McCombe for the late lunge which left Northampton Town striker Alex Nicholls in hospital with a double compound fracture of his left leg.

He was also angry at the decision not to award his side a penalty at the end of the first half when Joe Widdowson tangled with Ashley Vincent in the box.

Cobblers fans behind the goal were insistent there was no contact but the Valiants were left fuming at the decision, sparking a 20-man melee as the whistle blew for the interval.

Adams said: “The red card incident completely changed the game. We were always chasing the game after that incident.

“I thought we should have had a penalty at the end of the first half, it was a blatant penalty. I really don’t want to have a go at referees, but I don’t think he will look back at this game with any great pleasure.”

Clark also angered the home fans when he inexplicably ruled out Anthony Charles’ header, from a long Ben Tozer throw-in.

With Cobblers 2-0 up at half time against 10 men, hopes were high for a goal glut in the second period, but it never materialised as a resilient Vale dug deep and frustrated the home side.

Adams said: “I was delighted with our second half performance. We had problems centre half wise and our backs were against the wall, but I was absolutely thrilled with the performance in the second half.

“To a man, we asked them to stand up and be counted, particularly in the second half. We stuck to it and we caused them a few problems.”

Cobblers striker Alex Nicholls faces a long road back to recovery following his horrific injury sustained in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Port Vale, but it is a well-trodden path as the 24-year-old has already come back from a previous broken leg.

Nicholls is currently recovering in Northampton General Hospital having suffered a double compound fracture of his left leg following a late tackle from Vale skipper John McCombe, who saw red for the challenge but insisted after the game it was not malicious.

Nicholls has undergone an operation to insert a pin in his tibia and has had a skin graft as surgeons battle to repair the leg.

But six years ago Nicholls suffered a similar fate while playing for Walsall’s youth team in a Midlands Youth Cup tie against Hednesford Town on Monday, February 27.

Then aged 18, Nicholls - who was making his way in the professional game having made 13 appearances for the Saddlers first team, was fouled just before half-time and had to be taken off.

He was later sent to hospital for an X-ray, which revealed a break just above his ankle.

The young striker missed the rest of the season but made a full recovery and progressed through the ranks to secure a first team berth.

Cobblers fans will be hoping for a similar outcome second time around and will be looking to inspiration from other footballers who have suffered the same injury, most notably former Arsenal striker Eduardo.

He was sidelined for a year but came back to earn a £6million move to Shakhtar Donetsk and is a regular in the Champions League.

A restaurant which has been closed for several years could re-open, but only if a licensing wrangle with Northampton Borough Council is dealt with first.

Businessman Sunny Kooner is in the process of buying the former White Orchid Thai restaurant, in Bridge Street, Northampton.

But he is appealing against a ruling made by the council to limit the licensing hours of the outdoor courtyard area to 9pm. The restriction was imposed when previous owners ran the restaurant.

The results of the appeal will not be known for four months, by which time Mr Kooner said his purchase might no longer be viable.

Mr Kooner told a hearing at Northampton Magistrates’ Court that longer licensing hours were crucial to his business case.

He said: “I’m a prospective new owner trying to get finance for buying the building, but I don’t think it would be financially viable if I have to wait until February. I would get 30 to 40 per cent of my margins through the beer garden.

“My costs are racking up by tens of thousands of pounds.”

The appeal hearing was adjourned to February 19 next year and is expected to last for a day.

Magistrates recommended Mr Kooner and Northampton Borough Council’s solicitor speak outside the court to try to bring the hearing date forward.

Sports clubs banished from Duston for more than a decade have been flocking back since the opening of its sports centre, managers say.

The former British Timken Sports and Social Club in Duston, Northampton, played host to numerous sports teams from martial arts to bowls.

But the site closed in 2001 and, along with the Timken jobs, the sporting heart of the community was ripped out.

But the new Duston Sports Centre, which is overseen by Duston Council, has seen many of them back in the area for the first time for 11 years.

At an open day to celebrate the new centre on Saturday, Lawrence Kay, sport and play development manager at Northampton Leisure Trust, said: “When Timken closed the clubs that survived became nomadic and people were having to travel as far away as the Carlsberg Social Club in Far Cotton just to keep things going.

“None of it was about Duston any more.

“Since we opened in September, aikido, karate and judo are all back here and we’re starting to see numbers increase. It really feels like Duston is bringing its clubs back home.”

The bowls club will return by summer 2013 when the old green to the side of the leisure centre is restored.

And the Duston Dynamos and Duston Falcons teams have also come back to the area, playing on two football pitches at the back of the building.

Aside from the teams, the main purpose of the leisure centre is to promote fitness of people in the area it serves. It is now putting on fun fitness classes for children aged as young as four, including freestyle disco, street dance and cheerleading, basketball and football.

Mr Kay said: “There has been a demand from parents to put on activities for the younger children.

“It has been a problem for quite a few who weren’t able to use different classes as a family because there was something for the older child but nothing for their youngest so we’ve lowered the age range.

“It makes it as easy as possible for parents to stay fit and gets the children used to being healthy from a young age.”

Duston Sports Centre offers a multi-activity sports hall including badminton, football, basketball, children’s activities, fitness

classes, holiday activities and playschemes.

There is a fully-equipped gym with the latest Cybex Fitness equipment, personal trainers, functional training equipment and a free weights area.

It also boasts a multi-activity dance studio offering a varied programme of more than 30 fitness and aerobic classes including zumba, body combat, body attack and yoga. There is also a bar and function room catering for parties, celebrations and an open bar.

The centre is part of the Trilogy group and as a member of Duston you will be able to access the swimming pools and facilities at Lings Danes Camp and Mounts gyms and free access to the Lings Forum cinema. For more information on the centre, visit www.nleisure.co.uk or call Northampton 83760.

Cobblers striker Alex Nicholls has tweeted from his hospital bed to say thank you to fans for goodwill messages in the wake of Saturday’s injury horror.

The 24-year-old frontman has undergone an operation to insert a pin in his tibia after suffering a double compound fracture of his left leg.

He was on the receiving end of a desperate late lunge from Port Vale skipper John McCombe as he scored the Cobblers’ opening goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win over high-flying Port Vale.

The operation was a success and he also underwent a delicate skin graft procedure at Northampton General Hospital on Monday afternoon.

Just hours after the skin graft he tweeted to say: “Just recovering from my second operation. I am overwhelmed with the calls, messages and tweets and I can’t thank you all enough. I am feeling very tired at the minute but will speak to you all soon.”

Nicholls was joined at the hospital on Saturday afternoon by his parents, partner and young daughter, who had all been at Sixfields to watch the game, only to see him lay motionless in the penalty area for 12 minutes and receive treatment from medical teams before leaving the ground in an ambulance.

Detectives investigating a string of burglaries targeting Asian families for gold have arrested a 23-year-old man from Northampton.

The man, who is believed to be from the Asian community, was arrested yesterday and charged with burglary and converting stolen property. He was remanded and is due to appear at Northampton Magistrates Court this morning.

Police have said they are still investigating the raids.

DI Louise Fleckney, who is leading the investigation, said: “Investigations into these burglaries are continuing and we will follow all positive lines of inquiry to seek out the offenders and bring them before the courts. “

Asian men began patrolling the streets of Northampton last month following an alarming number of break-in across areas of the town.

The latest arrest comes after a man from Leicestershire was arrested earlier this month.

A 33-year-old man from Leicestershire was charged in connection with a burglary on September 8, in Hinton Road, Northampton, where a quantity of jewellery was stolen.

He was arrested and charged on October 12 and was bailed to appear in court next month.

Anyone with any information can call Northampton CID on 101 or, alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Steve Diggin bagged both goals as Brackley Town regained top spot in Blue Square Bet North following Monday’s 2-1 victory at Worcester City.

In a first half of few chances, Diggin turned home Owen Story’s cross to give the visitors a 16th-minute lead.

A flurry of goalmouth activity at the end of the half saw Glenn Walker’s goal bound shot hit his own player and City’s Tom Thorley hit a fierce free-kick that Billy Turley gathered gratefully at the second attempt.

The hosts grabbed the equaliser 10 minutes after the restart direct from a corner through a defensive gaffe, the goal credited to Greg Mills.

Owen Story’s 63rd-minute free-kick crashed onto the bar as both sides sought the crucial third goal and it was Saints who conjured it with 14 minutes remaining.

Fine work on the right by Walker found Diggin on the by-line in the danger zone. Diggin turned two defenders and fired home from a tight angle high into the roof of the net beyond keeper Glyn Thompson.

Thirty-three people were found to be breaking the law in Northampton on Saturday as traffic police targeted drivers using their mobile phones and not wearing a seatbelt.

Officers from the Operations Tactical Unit, together with officers from the Special Constabulary and trainee police officers, carried out the coordinated operations in Towcester Road, Northampton, and Midland Road, Wellingborough, on Saturday.

In total, 75 people were found to be flouting the law.

Fifty of the offences were in relation to people not wearing seatbelts, 44 of which were the driver, six of which were the passenger.

In Northampton, 14 drivers and three passengers were found without a seatbelt, while seven were using their mobile phones while behind the wheel.

Five were booked for not being fully in control of their vehicle, one person had no insurance and one had an illegal tyre.

PC David Lee from the Operations Tactical Unit, was involved in the operation, he said: “Operation Motor is a great example of different units within the Force coming together.

“Two thirds of the offences we found as part of the operation were people not wearing a seatbelt – something which is simple and easy to do and could make the difference between life and death.

“There is no excuse for not wearing a seatbelt unfortunately we found that not everyone takes the responsibility of wearing a seatbelt seriously.

“During the course of the operations we also found 11 people using their mobile phones, as well as five people who were not in proper control of their vehicle.”

The operation again targeted the force’s Fatal Four campaign, to combat speeding, mobile phone usage, not wearing a seatbelt and drink driving.

PC Lee added: “Motorists need to understand the dangers of committing these offences and the consequences they may have, not only to themselves, but their passengers and other road users.

“We see too many serious injury and fatal road traffic collisions in Northamptonshire and simple steps like putting your seatbelt on and switching your mobile phone off when you switch your engine on, can make a difference.

“Motorists also have the responsibility of making sure their vehicle is roadworthy, has a valid MOT, road tax and insurance, something some motorists we stopped on Saturday had not.”

Kettering Town manager Alan Doyle is optimistic the demands put upon them by the Southern League can be met and the club can be kept alive.

The league held an emergency board meeting last week, the outcome of which was to give the Poppies seven days to meet specific criteria.

It is not known exactly what has to be achieved as only a short statement was released at the time which said Kettering had to ‘satisfy certain conditions’ by tomorrow (Wednesday) night.

However, one of the issues was regarding player payments and Doyle is confident that an agreement can be reached.

He organised a meeting with some of the players and Kettering’s majority shareholder Imraan Ladak last night and the outcome appears to have been favourable.

“I was getting worried because nothing seemed to be happening,” Doyle explained.

“I’m not party to any of the other details the league set out but I know a main one is to have agreement with the players.

“I have been trying to set up a meeting with them and finally managed to get it together last night.

“We had the players and Imraan Ladak there and I would have to say it was quite successful.

“I’m not 100 per cent certain that things will be sorted but I do feel happy with the way it went.

“All I’m interested in is saving the club.

“Some people are saying we should just let it die but I don’t want that to happen.

“And I’m fairly certain Imraan feels the same.

“He said several times during the meeting that he doesn’t want to be chairman.

“But also why would he have agreed to meet up in the first place if he just wants the club to fold?

“After the talks he put all the figures down and they have now been emailed off to the players.

“Hopefully they will sign an agreement and we can get the green light from the league tomorrow.”

A man was attacked by a gang of four people including a woman who was wearing pink bunny ears, police have said.

A 23-year-old man was attacked between 1.30am and 2.30am on Sunday in the Drapery, in Northampton.

The attackers included a white man in his 20s with dark hair who was wearing a black t-shirt with a square design on the front.

The second man was also white, in his 20s, and was wearing a white shirt, while the third was a white woman in her 20s with blonde hair, wearing a white sleeveless top and pink rabbit ears.

The fourth man was white, also in his 20s, and was wearing a black t-shirt.

Injured duo Courtney Lawes and Dylan Hartley are among nine players released by England ahead of this weekend’s Aviva Premiership action.

But the pair, who sustained knee injuries in Saints’ defeat to Saracens last weekend, are unlikely to play any part in Saturday’s game at Leicester Tigers.

The forwards are to be reassessed by the England medical team at Pennyhill Park on Sunday, having been released as part of a co-ordinated programme between the national team and Saints.

There is some good news for Northampton in that back row Phil Dowson is available to line-up against the Tigers at Welford Road after also being released.

Lee Dickson and Tom Wood are the only Saints players retained by England ahead of the first autumn international against Fiji on Saturday, November 10.

Meanwhile, Leicester have received a double boost as scrum-half Ben Youngs and centre Anthony Allen have been given the go-ahead to play against Saints.

England boss Stuart Lancaster said: “It has been a busy few days of training as well as injury assessment and in line with the EPS agreement coordinating the release of players, some will return for further treatment from their club and others to get some game time to put a marker down for selection for when we meet again on Sunday after the weekend’s games.

“We will not finalise selection for the Fiji game until after training next Tuesday and so for those going back and playing this is a real opportunity to stake a claim with a really big performance.”

Die-hard Dirty Dancing fans moved to the beat at a special kind of tribute night for the popular feel-good movie.

Whittlebury Hall, near Towcester, held a Dirty Dancing tribute night which included a three course dinner and entertainment for guests.

I took my friend Laura along with me to the event as we are both massive fans of the movie.

The room where the event was held reminded me of a wedding with around 30 round tables filling the floor.

The surroundings were plush, the service at dinner was excellent and the food was delicious.

Courses included roast beef and mashed potato or pumpkin smoked chicken and tarragon boudin and slow cooked beef and celeriac mash.

After dinner came the moment that myself, Laura and the rest of the Dirty Dancing fans had been waiting for when impersonators of the two main cast members from the movie came on stage.

Dancers posed as Johnny and Baby as they taught guests some of the best known routines from the film.

We learned the moves to songs such as ‘Be My Baby’ by the Ronnettes and ‘Hey Baby’ by Bruce Channel.

Dancers invited guests on stage to dance with them which was a real treat, especially for the ladies on hen dos or celebrating birthdays.

Johnny and Baby performed the best known dance routine from the film to the final song of the night, ‘I’ve had the Time of My Life’ by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.

After the performances the night continued with a disco.

The tribute night was great fun and managed to capture the excitement of the film on stage.

It’s definitely a must-do for any Dirty Dancing fan and friends.

For details about future tribute nights at Whittlebury Hall visit www.whittleburyhall.co.uk

Cobblers head physio Stuart Barker has described the injury suffered by Alex Nicholls against Port Vale on Saturday as the worst he has ever seen.

Barker was the first member of medical staff on the pitch after the striker’s double leg break, 23 minutes into the 2-0 win over the Valiants.

He immediately called for the player to receive entonox (a combination of nitrous oxide and oxygen more commonly known as ‘gas and air’) and morphine, via a tube, for pain relief.

Barker also tried to shield Nicholls from seeing the injury, but the player did witness the extent of the damage to his left leg.

“It was definitely the worst injury I have seen,” he said. “I knew something was quite seriously wrong because of the way the players were calling us onto the pitch.

“As I went on, the first thing I saw was the bone sticking out of his leg and his foot was all deformed.

“What we needed to do early was get the entonox on, to get a bit of pain relief – there’s not much we can do with him to start with.

“I tried to get myself between his face and the injury so he couldn’t see what was going on down there. He knew it was pretty bad.

“Then I was reassuring him, talking to him, until everyone else got on.”

Nicholls left the field with his family members in an ambulance and underwent surgery at Northampton General Hospital to have a nail inserted in his shin and a skin graft on his ankle.

The injury was a very bad one, and looked even worse, but Barker was impressed with how the player handled it psychologically.

“Considering how bad it was he did not panic,” he said. “He was obviously in a lot of pain but some players will get flustered and move around. He just laid there and dealt with the pain.

“People get anxious. It can’t be nice to look down at your leg and see a bit of bone sticking out.

“The doctor came on, then we got the entonox and the defib on pretty quickly. The paramedics then arrived and put a cannula line into him to get some morphine into him.

“That gave him some extra pain relief.”

National boss Stuart Lancaster is hopeful Courtney Lawes and Dylan Hartley will both play a part in England’s autumn international series.

Lawes was forced off with a knee injury after just 28 minutes of Saints’ 16-6 defeat to Saracens on Saturday, with Hartley suffering the same fate at half-time.

The duo linked up with England on Monday before being released on Wednesday as part of a co-ordinated programme between the national team and Saints.

The forwards won’t play any part in their club’s game at Leicester on Saturday and are to be reassessed by the England medical team at Pennyhill Park on Sunday.

The Red Rose start their autumn international campaign with a game against Fiji on Saturday, November 10 and conclude on Saturday, December 10, against New Zealand.

“They are in good hands at Northampton,” said Lancaster. “Courtney could be one to two weeks and Dylan a couple after that.”

There is some good news for Saints in that back row Phil Dowson is available to line-up against the Tigers at Welford Road after also being released.

Lee Dickson and Tom Wood are the only Saints players retained by England ahead of the Fiji clash.

Meanwhile, Leicester have received a double boost as scrum-half Ben Youngs and centre Anthony Allen have been given the go-ahead to play against Saints.

Lancaster added: “It has been a busy few days of training as well as injury assessment and in line with the EPS agreement coordinating the release of players, some will return for further treatment from their club and others to get some game time to put a marker down for selection for when we meet again on Sunday after the weekend’s games.

“We will not finalise selection for the Fiji game until after training next Tuesday and so for those going back and playing this is a real opportunity to stake a claim with a really big performance.”

SIX men have been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison after posing as police officers and stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from trusting members of the public.

Steven Nutting, aged 31, was sentenced to six years and six months at Leicester Crown Court.

The five other men, Wayne Vakani, 29, Shraine Tumber, 30, Ibrahim Razak, 29, Dale Robinson, 27, and Benjamin Chisholm, 29, all from Leicestershire, were all sentenced at Northampton Crown Court at an earlier hearing, in July.

Between September 2009 and May 2010, the group committed seven burglaries, five in Leicester, one in Northampton and one in Nottingham.

They posed as police officers and on one occasion a tax officer, targeting businesses and members of the public at their home addresses.

The men, in groups of three to five, approached the victims and told them that they were being investigated by police for offences including drugs, illegal immigration, tax offences and firearms.

They were then threatened with arrest if they didn’t co-operate.

Police say victims had their hands tied, their heads covered and were told they would be shot if they did not co-operate.

They stole cash, jewellery and electronic goods,

Chris Hackett and John Johnson will train with the Cobblers squad this week and are in the selection frame for Saturday’s FA Cup first-round tie against Bradford City at Sixfields (3pm kick-off).

Hackett has recovered from a groin strain he picked up at Barnet and that saw him miss two games while Johnson has completed his rehabilitation from keyhole surgery on a torn knee ligament.

However, Town do have a new name on the injury list with Alex Nicholls out for between nine and 12 months after suffering a double fracture of his left leg in the 2-0 win over Port Vale last time out.

Nicholls has had his tibia pinned and continues to recover at Northampton General Hospital.

Ben Harding is two to three weeks away from a return, while the club hope to agree a deal to extend goalkeeper Lee Nicholls’ loan spell from Wigan Athletic in time to face the Bantams on Saturday.

David Artell (Achilles) and Luke Guttridge (broken metatarsal) are both out until January.

An international drugs smuggling gang who flew £1.7 million of cocaine in a light aircraft from France were arrested once it had touched down at a Northamptonshire airfield, a court heard today.

The Corby-based gang were already under police surveillance when they plotted to smuggle five kilos of cocaine into the UK from Europe.

Having bought a light aircraft, they arranged for the drugs to be transported from The Netherlands to France and then flown into an old World War Two airfield near Corby. However, they were arrested when the plane touched down and the drugs were found in a wing compartment.

Wayne Burgess, 36, spent six months learning to fly a micro-light, which they bought for £31,000 cash, in order to bring the drugs into the country and in June last year, courier Richard Murray, 50, travelled to Amsterdam to collect the cocaine.

Northampton Crown Court heard he then travelled to Abbeville airfield in France where he met Burgess and handed over the drugs.

Murray, and the woman he travelled with to The Netherlands, were arrested at Dover on their return to the UK.

James Thomas, prosecuting, said: “On Sunday, June 26, 2011, Burgess was arrested at Deenthorpe Airfield, near Corby. He had arrived in a micro-light from France and concealed inside were five kilos of cocaine with a purity ranging between 59 and 89 per cent.

“At the heart of the conspiracy was Adel Chouhaib.

“The Crown says he organised the importation and he was closely assisted by James and Christopher McGlone and also by Abdelilah Hilali.”

The court heard the conspiracy was organised by Chouhaib, who arranged for Burgess to be trained as a pilot, and for the drugs to delivered to the French airfield, at a time when he was already on bail for conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Adel Chouhaib, 33, of Lingfield Walk, Corby; James McGlone, 30 , and Christopher McGlone, 27, both of Occupation Road, Corby; Hilali, 35, of Marsham Road, London; and Burgess, of Westfields Road, Corby, have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import class A drugs.

They are due to be sentenced today by Judge Lynn Tayton QC once she had determined whether Chouhaib is the ringleader, which he denies.

Murray, of Green Hill Rise, Corby , who has also pleaded guilty, is due to be sentenced on Friday.

Chouhaib is already awaiting sentence for a conspiracy to supply cannabis from drugs house in Grendon Avenue, Corby.

Former Saints wing Chris Ashton could face a ban after receiving a post-match Level One citing for his challenge on Vasily Artemyev at Franklin’s Gardens last weekend.

Ashton put in a no arms hit on the Russian during the first half and though no action was taken at the time, he has now been handed a retrospective yellow card for the incident.

It means the Saracens star now has three yellows to his name this season and will be forced to appear at an RFU diciplinary hearing at 7pm this evening (Wednesday)

And he is likely to be handed a one-game ban, which would rule him out of England’s first autumn international against Fiji at Twickenham on November 10.

The Labour candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections has been forced to quit after it emerged he was arrested during a town centre disturbance 22 years ago.

Football fan Lee Barron was watching England play in the World Cup in a Northampton pub in 1990 when trouble flared. A friend was arrested and Mr Barron, aged 19 at the time, tried to convince police he should be left with him rather than taken into custody.

Instead, Mr Barron himself was arrested for wilful obstruction and received a £20 fine.

The details came to light on Tuesday and, following high-level discussions within the Labour Party today, it was agreed he should step down.

A Labour spokesman said: “We are disappointed to learn from Lee today he has a previous conviction which bars him from standing as a candidate. He has been suspended with immediate effect and we have withdrawn our support pending an investigation.”

The Chron understands Mr Barron informed the Labour Party of the incident before he was selected and was confident he was not contravening election rules as the offence did not carry a potential custodial sentence.

However, it has since emerged that, following last year’s riots in London, a change to sentencing guidelines meant the maximum sentence for the offence was now a spell behind bars.

He said: “I was a young lad at the time. I don’t think society takes a view that if you do something wrong you should be punished for the rest of your life. That night was a sea change for me. From that moment on I pledged I’d never get into trouble again and that’s why I have been a magistrate for 10 years.

“I am sick and tired of seeing election candidates picked from the same old backgrounds. They are all whiter than white, educated at Oxford or Cambridge and have no life experience.

“When I applied to be a candidate for the role of Police and Crime Commissioner I understood that a minor offence committed some 22 years ago, which led to a £20 fine, would not invalidate my candidacy. As somebody who has served, and indeed still is a sitting Magistrate of almost 10 years, I was confident of my position.

“All of us can make mistakes. It is what you do following that, which makes you the person you become. One mistake should not de barr people from seeking public office who can take their life experiences with them particularly if those experiences have changed that person for the better.

“In recent days the origins of my fine and the charge I was under at the time have been deemed to be in breach of the legislation which allows candidates to seek the office of PCC. Despite the fact that this offence was fully declared and widely known, it came as a shock that the current legislation is so stringent that it could impact upon my candidacy.

“As a result of that and in order to protect the integrity of the Labour Party and all other candidates standing as PCC I have today asked the Labour Party to withdraw its endorsement of my candidacy for the post of PCC and to suspend my campaign forthwith.

“If we attempt to fight the current legislation, which I would be prepared to do, it could cloud the issues that are so important as we seek to defend our Police service from the austerity being imposed by this Tory led government.

“I know many have been so supportive during this campaign and I hope I have not let you down. But the bigger picture, the integrity of the Party and the other candidates is more important than me. We must not let this badly pieced together, ill thought out legislation take away from the wider campaign any longer.

“Now we must ensure that the work we have done, does not count for nothing, as we continue to build the Labour Party in our county as a force for good. I will be part of that and I hope you will join us along the way.

“We did not get defeated by democracy, we got crushed by legislation which stands in the way of decent people attempting to serve our communities for the better. One day that legislation will change, it has too. Until then we’ll go on campaigning for a better future.”

Meanwhile, a video has emerged showing Mr Barron, a regional secretary of the Communication Workers’ Union, encouraging union members to break the law during a rousing speech at a demonstration in London last year.

During the rally, which can be seen on YouTube , Mr Barron says: “Every time we refuse to cross your picket lines we break the law but we’d rather break the law than break your picket lines any day of the week.”

Mr Barron was selected as the Labour candidate ahead of former police officer Mike Caseman-Jones.

At one stage he was facing having to quit his role as a magistrate during the campaign but a last minute U-turn saw the rules change, allowing him to remain in post unless he won the election, at which point he would have to stand down.

In other parts of the country, a candidate had to step down from the commissioner race because of an offence he committed 47 years ago as a 14-year-old while another had to quit after it emerged he had been fined £5 as a 13-year-old.

It remains unclear whether Labour will be allowed to stand a replacement candidate just two weeks before polling day.

And further confusion emerged tonight when it became apparent that the final date and time for withdrawal of candidature for the election was noon on the 16th working day before polling day, October 24.

None of the five candidates who submitted nominations withdrew within the statutory deadline therefore all can still technically stand for the election on November 15.