A burnt out car has been found dumped in a wood in Northampton.
A member of the public spotted the white vehicle in Lings Wood this morning (Tuesday) as he walked his children school.
It’s not clear how long the vehicle has been there.
Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire Rescue both said the vehicle had not been reported.
A further £1m is set to be loaned to Northamptonshire County Cricket Club (NCCC) to ‘completely refurbish’ its conference suite and build permanent Sky broadcasting facilities.
Northamptonshire County Council is expected to approve lending the money to the club at its cabinet meeting next week.
Papers released today state the monies will also be used to resurface the 17-year-old indoor cricket school lanes and carry out a series of other improvements to make sure the Wantage Road ground complies with the Sports Ground Health and Safety Act.
Chief executive of NCCC, David Smith said the money, the final portion of a £2m loan from the county council, will help provide a complete refurbishment of the current Old Speckled Hen Lounge underneath the Ken Turner stand, which he said will make it more attractive for companies to hire out for functions.
It will also double up as a spectators’ bar and seating facility.
He said: “It is being completely gutted to ensure that we have the ability to develop a rounded business model.
“We are near the town centre, and we have 300 parking spaces so it is not about competing with the Sixfields development or Saints, it is about making our facility competitive.”
The conference centre will have capacity for around 250 people and is due to be finished by December. Work on the project and the broadcasting facilities has already begun.
Back in spring the county council loaned NCCC £1m to develop a 950 seat permanent stand at the ground - replacing the temporary University of Northampton and Briggs & Forrester stands.
The whole loan is expected to be repaid within six years and will be largely cleared through money received from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for Sky television broadcasting rights.
Mr Smith said ticket prices are not set to rise as a result of the borrowing.
A budget version of Clinton cards will open at Weston Favell Shopping Centre in Northampton this weekend.
The shopping centre is one of the first to open a new Simply Clintons store which will sell hundreds of greeting cards from £1.
The store is due to open in the shopping centre on Saturday (November 8))
The Simply Clintons brand aims to focus on value for money, without compromising on the Clintons quality.
Alison Aston, area manager Simply Clintons, Northampton said: “We’re delighted that Weston Favell was chosen for one of the specialist Simply Clintons stores. We know that value for money and choice are very important to shoppers and this new format, along with some exclusive deals is sure to be popular.
“Our diverse range of cards will be familiar to those who know Clintons but we hope it will also encourage new customers who may be looking for that special message.”
As well as cards and wrap, there will also be a range of gifts including mugs, photo frames, stationary, Yankee candles and Disney balloons.
All cards will be buy 1 get 1 half price, with a three for two on selected gifts, wrap and party products.
Clintons is a well-known high street chain which launched in 1968. There is currently 400 stores across the UK.
Hundreds of new parking spaces could be created by extending St John’s car park in Northampton – if plans to buy a neighbouring office block and land are approved by the borough council’s cabinet next week.
Privately-owned Albion House on Victoria Promenade, is currently up for sale and the borough council is proposing to buy it for £500,000.
The authority says the site could be used to extend the St John’s car park by an extra 350 spaces and provide parking to the town centre, the Cultural Quarter, the planned new University of Northampton Waterside Campus and the Enterprise Zone.
The authority’s cabinet will consider whether to buy the office block at its meeting on Wednesday, November 12.
Cabinet member for planning, regeneration and enterprise, Councillor Tim Hadland (Con, Old Duston) said: “We have plenty of parking capacity in our car parks but the focus of the town centre is changing and the spaces are not necessarily all the locations where people want to park.
“Buying Albion House will give us a strategic opportunity to continue to shape this increasingly important part of the town in a way that is consistent with other developments, and to extend one of our most popular and modern multi-storey car parks.”
A spokesperson for the borough council said that the building currently has “some tenants,” but is not fully occupied.
The report going to next week’s cabinet meeting describes the building as out of keeping with its surroundings and a key site as in regenerating the town centre and Enterprise Zone.
The cabinet meeting is to take place at the Guildhall on Wednesday, November 12, at 6pm.
Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Tom Wood will be the Saints representatives in England’s 23-man squad to face New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday.
But Lee Dickson and Calum Clark will not return to Pennyhill Park on Wednesday night to prepare for the game as they have been sent back to Franklin’s Gardens.
Luther Burrell (hand) and Stephen Myler (hamstring strain) are ruled out of the Test against the All Blacks.
Alex Waller and Ben Foden had trained with England as cover last week, but have since returned to Saints.
The Red Rose players who have come back to Northampton could play a part in Friday’s LV= Cup game at Scarlets, but Burrell and Myler are unavailable.
“Luther has seen the specialist and, while the news is positive that he could be available later in the series, he will stay with the Saints medical team this week,” said England head coach Stuart Lancaster.
“We will look to bring him into camp further down the line.”
Police arrested a man on suspicion of driving a stolen car after a pursuit in south Northamptonshire.
The pursuit, which involved traffic police and the police helicopter, took place on Tuesday just before 9pm.
PC Dave Lee, tweeting as @Northants_RPU, said the pursuit was in the south of the county and the car was heading towards Buckinghamshire.
“Vehicle turned a different direction and headed back onto our area. All specialist ops vehicles now involved,” he said.
The pursuit ended in the roadworks on the A5 near Towcester.
“Vehicle has collided with hard road closure at roadworks and has now been stopped,” he added.
“Roadworks furniture was damaged as well as a police vehicle with this pursuit. Excellent teamwork with our @tvprp colleagues.”
Joel Hodgson has labelled his Saints debut ‘an incredible experience’ and is now desperate to make plenty more memories in the green, black and gold.
The scrum-half made his first start in last Saturday’s 37-23 success against his former club Newcastle Falcons in the LV= Cup opener at Franklin’s Gardens.
And Hodgson didn’t disappoint, putting in an impressive display that earned him plenty of plaudits from coaches and team-mates alike.
The 22-year-old admits it was a day that is now etched in his mind and he is desperate to ensure it is just the start of something good at Saints.
“I haven’t really stopped thinking about it to be honest,” said Hodgson.
“The noise coming out of that tunnel, when we were making a line-break or a good tackle - the stadium seemed to erupt.
“I’ve certainly not been used to that coming down from Kingston Park. It was an incredible experience and one I hope to repeat time and time again.”
And he added: “It took five minutes for me to get used to things, to get my passes going, relax and treat it as another game - I’ve played plenty of them since the age of eight.
“But once I got that five-minute period out the way, I felt comfortable, enjoyed it and didn’t really want it to end to be honest.”
The fact that it was a fixture against his former club made it a little easier for Hodgson to get over those initial nerves.
And he admits that, at times, it felt like he was back in the surroundings he left during the summer.
“At times it felt like I was on a back pitch at Kingston Park during a normal training week, running 15 on 15, so it was good,” Hodgson said.
“It made things a lot easier because I knew exactly what to expect with it being the same personnel so that helped me settle down and get into my game.
“I was able to do the things that I like to do well.”
Chris Wilder feels he has discovered one of the causes of the Cobblers’ recent injury crisis - that the squad was not being pushed hard enough in training.
Town have been without a long list of first-team players for long periods of this season but the situation has improved in recent weeks with leading goalscorer Marc Richards the latest player to return to fitness.
Wilder had been keen to establish why the situation had developed as it had and, contrary to what might be conventional wisdom, has decided it is down to a training schedule that was not physically demanding enough.
With that in mind, the group’s workload has been increased in recent weeks with a stronger emphasis on cardiovascular work.
“It was a combination of a couple of bits and maybe we needed to work a little bit harder in training,” he said. “We’ve looked at it and perhaps we need to raise the levels in the free weeks that we have.
“We’ve certainly done that – we had double sessions on Monday and Tuesday and we did more running work, we went a little bit more old school.
“I made that decision and I also decided to take them out of their comfort zone a bit more. You have to get the balance right but we have to raise their levels and their conditioning a little bit.
“I’ve took a little bit more control of that and I didn’t think on Saturday we looked leggy at all, I thought we looked nice and bright.
“We’ve upped it a notch and we upped it this week as well so we’re going to go down that road a little bit and hopefully that will make the boys a little bit stronger physically.”
Two men have been accused of causing a full-scale evacuation of a Northamptonshire town centre after allegedly planting a suitcase with a wire hanging out of it outside a shop, a court heard.
Joshua Benson, aged 20, and Lee Venner, aged 34, appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court both on a bomb hoax charge relating to an incident in Daventry town centre on August 24, 2013.
The court heard the men allegedly placed a suitcase with a wire hanging out of it outside the It’s a Gift shop in the High Street shortly after midnight.
Vicki Walker, prosecuting, said a 999 call was then made which led to a large area of the town centre was cordoned off and a number of nearby properties were evacuated.
Ms Walker said a specialist bomb disposal unit from the RAF was also sent to the scene.
Benson, of Ericsson Close, Daventry, pleaded not guilty to the charge. Venner, of Bowen Square, Daventry, offered no plea.
Magistrates declined jurisdiction in the case. The case was sent to Northampton Crown Court. A hearing was listed for November 19.
Children at a Northamptonshire primary school are marking Armistice Day by ‘planting’ ceramic poppies they made themselves.
The Blisworth Primary School pupils have echoed the River of blood display of manufactured poppies currently on show at the Tower of London.
Each child made a ceramic poppy that has been fired and painted and these have been planted into the grassed area at Elm Tree Corner, within the school grounds.
Rev Andrea Watkins will be taking a short service of Remembrance there on November 11 with all children and staff.
Headteacher Celia Irwin has invited anyone who would like to attend to assemble there at 10.40am to observe the two-minutes’ silence at 11am.
Extra poppies were made so they could be purchased and the proceeds sent to the same charities as chosen by the Tower of London Appeal.
The suggested price is £5.
If anyone would like to have one and perhaps dedicate it to an individual, a form is available from the school office.
A prolific burglar who targeted houses across Northamptonshire in a series of overnight raids has been locked up for two years.
Jarred Tokens, aged 19, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting committing nine burglaries and two handling stolen goods charges.
The court heard that Tokens burgled three houses in Kettering over a four-night period in August and stole electrical items including mobile phones, a Tesco tablet and jewellery.
Joey Kuong, prosecuting, said Tokens committed the burglaries at addresses in Stamford Road, Wallace Road and Poplar Road while he was under curfew for a handling stolen goods charged after he was found in possession of mats from a Volkswagen Golf stolen in a burglary in Kettering on June 26.
Tokens also asked for six other burglaries that happened in the Kettering area between April 2013 and August 2014 to be taken into consideration.
Mr Yuong said Tokens pointed out the addresses where he had stolen items from during a “drive round” with police.
The court heard that Tokens broke into the properties through unlocked doors when the occupiers were asleep at night.
Recorder Marcus Tregilas-Davey told Tokens it was not “big or clever” to commit burglaries of this sort that he said “brought utter misery” to the victims.
Tokens, of Valley walk, Kettering, was sentenced to two years in custody for each burglary and one month for each of the handling stolen goods charges. All the sentences will be served concurrently.
He famously rarely travels outside of his Northampton home but there are few remaining corners of the world his work has not yet reached.
And with an exhibition that opens today, iconic graphic novelist Alan Moore will even be honoured in the remote Amazonian capital of Manaus in Brazil.
The city, which is in the middle of the rainforest and hosted England during this year’s World Cup, will pay tribute to Moore with a showcase entitled “The Voice of the Fire,” named after his first novel set in his hometown.
Some 22 Amazonian artists will display pieces inspired by Northampton-born Moore’s catalogue including V for Vendetta, Watchmen and From Hell.
Work from the writer’s early career as well as recent releases such as the film “Show Pieces” will also be exhibited at the Palace of Liberty in the historical centre of Manaus.
The ornate palace was built in 1874, around the rubber boom in the Amazon, which brought many European rubber barons to the city. It was once the mayor’s headquarters and has since been turned into a cultural centre.
Organisers had hoped Moore’s wife Melinda Gebbie would be able to attend on his behalf but she was unable to travel for the opening.
There will also be a series of lectures and roundtable events to discuss Moore’s work and career, including a discussion of the language of Watchmen, and Moore’s influence in graphic literature.
José Augusto Cardoso, culture director at the culturalfoundation Manauscult, said the exhibition would inspire more comic artists in the city.
“Alan Moore elevated the standard of comics to a category of art, with mature and focused stories aswell as being the author of several short stories released by renowned publishers,” Mr Cardoso said.
“The exhibition is yet another initiative from the foundation to open up space for other types of artistic expression.”
The Voice of the Fire was organised to coincide with the National Day of Brazilian Culture, which is commemorated on November 5, the birthday of Brazilian writer, politician and abolitionist Rui Barbosa.
The free exhibition will run until December 5.
More than half of the 999 calls received by Northamptonshire Police last month were not emergencies, it has been revealed.
People are now being asked to think before automatically dialling 999 if they want to speak to the police and it’s not an emergency.
In October, 51 per cent of 999 calls received by Northamptonshire Police did not require an emergency response by the force.
Chief Inspector Fay Tennet, from the Force Control Room, said: “I am asking people to stop and think before they call the police – is it a life or death emergency, or is it a crime taking place now? If the answer is no, then please call 101, our non-emergency number.
“Calling 999 when it’s not a life of death situation, or when a crime is not in progress, could mean our resources are diverted away from a genuine emergency call.
“Members of the public can call 101 to report a crime that has already taken place as well as other incidents or concerns that are not emergencies.
“Calling 999 should not be used as a way of by-passing 101.”
Members of the public can also call 101 to speak to their local Safer Community Team or any other officer or member of staff, to provide information to the police or to make a general enquiry.
Northamptonshire Police received almost 650,000 calls from the public in the last financial year, of which 234,120 were to 101 and 100,935 to 999.
A further 312,433 calls were made to 03000 111 222 – the number for people calling from outside of Northamptonshire.
The emergency 999 number should only be used when:
*a crime is happening now
*someone suspected of a crime is nearby
*someone is injured
*someone is being threatened or a life is at risk
*there is a traffic incident involving personal injury or danger
Calls to 101 from landlines and mobiles costs 15p per call, whatever the time of day or length of the call.
For anyone with hearing difficulties or a speech impairment, a text phone is available on 18001 101.
For more information, visit northants.police.uk or police.uk/101
A road through Northamptonshire has been named as one of the most persistently high-risk in Great Britain.
The A4300 in Kettering, which runs along Rothwell Road, Montagu Street and Stamford Road, is ranked as the most high risk in the East Midlands in a new report by charity the Road Safety Foundation.
The rankings are based on figures from the pan-European Road Assessment Programme, which measures and raises awareness of risk on highways across the continent.
The Kettering town centre route also makes the top 10 nationwide after 25 crashes in the two two-year periods studied by the charity for its report, published today (Tuesday, November 4).
There were 13 crashes along the 6km (3.7mi) stretch of road in 2007-09 and a further 12 in 2010-12, meaning the road has been given its ranking because it has ranked among the most at-risk in both time periods while showing little or no improvement between studies.
Britain’s most dangerous road, in West Sussex, saw a total of 39 incidents over those years – although the stretch of road involved was more than three times longer.
There are also a number of other “medium-high risk” roads in north Northamptonshire, including the A427 from Corby to Oundle, the A43 from Corby to Stamford and the A6 from Rushden to Kettering.
The only green road – those deemed to be the lowest risk – in the north of the county is the stretch of the A510 from Finedon to the A14 at Cranford.
Nine-man Spencer held their nerve in a penalty shootout to progress in the FA Vase at the expense of Haringey Borough in their replay on Tuesday night.
Haringey have scored goals for fun in the Essex Senior League but they failed to find the Millers’ net in two hours play at Kingsthorpe Mill.
Spencer had two men sent off in the match proper, which finished 0-0 after extra-time.
In the shootout Luke Stone, Luke Bartley, Munya Matiyenga, Ryan Dove and Dan Stevenson scored for the Millers as did Daniel Aritidou, Cedric Lecole and Ashley Harris, but Walid Mutata, who had a penalty saved by Tom Cooke in the first tie, crashed his shot against the bar with Borough’s first kick.
“It just shows what we’re all about,” said Spencer boss Ben Stone.
“Most clubs will say they’ve got a good team spirit but I genuinely believe ours gets us points and wins us games.”
Spencer go to London Colney in round two.
A Northampton woman has been left devastated after thieves stole sentimental jewellery from her home in Kingsthorpe.
Thieves broken into the house in Holdenby Road, next to Bradlaugh Fields in Kingsthorpe, and stole a laptop, purse, power tools and jewellery.
Jayne Waterman said: “The jewellery had a lot of sentimental value.
“Some of the jewellery that was taken belonged to my partner who died two years ago.”
The burglary happened sometime between 7 and 8pm on Friday, October 17.
Jayne added: “I think you should warn the people of Kingsthorpe that there are a lot of thieves about. People should take care with their security.
“The police were very good. They responded within the hour and the fingerprint officer had been in for a couple of hours and left with some results.”
Witnesses or anyone with information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Saints could give James Wilson another week off as he continues to recover from the head injury sustained against Ospreys on October 25.
Kiwi centre Wilson was forced off in the ninth minute of the Champions Cup clash and could not return to the field, being replaced by Jamie Elliott.
He missed last Saturday’s 37-23 LV= Cup victory against Newcastle Falcons and is a doubt for Friday’s trip to Scarlets in the same competition.
And Saints forwards coach Dorian West said: “He’s been training, but it’s one of those things when you’ve had a bang on the head that sometimes it takes a few weeks to get over and the way the medical teams work with the protocols it’s all pretty tight.
“You have to be at certain stages at certain times of the week. We’re hopeful he’ll be recovered in time to play on Friday but if it’s another week he needs, that’s what he’ll get.”
Samu Manoa could be back in contention for Saints after playing in the USA’s 74-6 defeat to New Zealand in Chicago last Saturday.
West, speaking on Tuesday, said: “Samu returned on Monday night. He’ll still be in bed knowing him, getting over that long flight and a tough game at the weekend.
“We’ll have a sit down with him and see what he’s doing.”
And on Sam Dickinson, the No.8 who has not played a competitive game this season after having neck surgery, West said: “He’s progressing well.
“You never quite know where they’re at until you get them on the pitch, hitting some bags and making some tackles.
“I know he’s been looked after well, he’s positive himself and looking forward to playing again.”
Alex Corbisiero (shoulder), George Pisi (hamstring), Luther Burrell (hand) and Stephen Myler (hamstring) are all unavailable for Saints this weekend.
But Calum Clark and Lee Dickson, who were released by England on Tuesday, could come back into contention.
Chris Wilder is pleased the Cobblers will vote against a proposal to introduce artificial surfaces at a Football League meeting on Thursday.
The club will oppose the plans after taking a vote from their supporters, 81 per cent of whom were against such a move.
Wilder is not a fan of plastic pitches but feels there should be more of them for training purposes, especially at youth football level.
“I don’t like them,” he said. “I think they’re okay for academies and for training on but I think for Football League games and senior football then they need to be on grass.
“We’ve played pre-season games on Astroturf and it just feels like it’s a completely different game.
“They are getting more advanced by the year and I think they’re excellent for young players to learn their skills on.
“I think there should be a lot more 4G pitches out there but kept at grass roots level for younger kids to play on.
“When you get to senior football, I think the game should be played on grass.”
Joel Hodgson is desperate for Saints to maintain their ‘winning culture’ when they head to Scarlets in the LV= Cup on Friday night.
Jim Mallinder’s men have claimed seven victories from nine games in all competitions this season, the latest of which was a 37-23 win against Newcastle Falcons last weekend.
That Franklin’s Gardens success was earned by a new-look side, with 14 changes from the previous week’s win over Ospreys in the Champions Cup.
And Hodgson, who made his debut in the triumph against Falcons, is aiming to keep the good form going with his side shorn of some of their international stars.
“It’s not just focusing on the LV, it’s the general momentum for the season,” said the scrum-half.
“Phil (Dowson) spoke before the Falcons game about last year’s LV= Cup campaign and they won everything before missing out in the final.
“It really helped carry on that momentum while the internationals are away.
“When the internationals did come back, there was a winning culture, they were playing good rugby and it encouraged that competition among the squad. It’s very much the same message here.
“We’d love to reach the final of the LV= Cup and win it, but the bigger picture is to keep performing and keep the winning culture going.
“Ultimately, we want to get to the Premiership final and Champions Cup final and come away with those trophies.”
Labour leader Ed Miliband is due to visit Northampton today.
The leader of the opposition is visiting the town a week after Mayor of London Boris Johnson spent time at the University of Northampton and a day after a Lord Ashcroft poll predicted a Labour win in Northampton North.
Mr Miliband is due to meet with Labour candidate for Northampton North Sally Keeble and talk to people in the town about transport issues.