A pub in Northampton has re-opened after a £235,000 refurbishment.

The Deers Leap pub was officially opened on Friday with the help of Northampton South MP David Mackintosh.

The five-week refurbishment project by operators Punch has seen the venue transformed both inside and out

A spokesman said: “The investment has helped the pub’s interior to be refreshed, retaining a traditional yet contemporary feel. Everything has been modernised, with new flooring, fixtures and fittings and brand new furniture, as well as an updated kitchen and toilets.

“Externally, the pub has improved lighting and signage to attract customers, and an attractive patio area and enclosed beer garden to enjoy a drink or summer pitcher,” he added.

Teresa Rolfe, who has run the pub for a few years, is excited about the new look pub.

She said: “I am really looking forward to re-establishing the pub as the focal point of the local community. It has always been a popular venue but needed a little love and I’m pleased to be open to welcome old and new customers to enjoy some food and drink.

“Thanks to the investment from Punch and the support and training they’ve provided, I have a pub to be proud of.”

Commenting on the success of the investment, Mr Mackintosh MP said: “I was delighted to visit the Deers Leap and see the transformation myself.

“It’s great that this local pub can now welcome the local community and I’m happy to raise a glass to its future success. I wish Teresa the very best.”

Commenting on behalf of Punch, new business development manager Charlie Carroll added: “The refurbishment has made a big difference to the Deers Leap pub. Teresa has lived in the area for over 30 years and knows both the pub and the community well.

“The new-look pub has something for everyone with a food and drink offer and a great entertainment programme to bring the community together. I have no doubt she will make a success of the new-look pub and I look forward to working with her to provide support to help her achieve this.”

I see that our local celebrity cleric is soon to become a celebrity chef, although he admits he’s no Escoffier!

The Reverend Richard Coles is to be in the next series of the BBC hit cooking show and he has hinted that he will be using produce from his parish, Finedon Dried Apples.

The trouble is, it might be hard to find any nowadays, but at the time of Waterloo they were a great delicacy and much in demand.

Indeed, in the same year as the great battle, the Northampton Mercury carried the following advertisement placed by one of the biggest suppliers of the product:
“J Abel begs leave to inform the public that they may be supplied with Genuine Finedon Dried Apples as usual, of the finest quality, by him in boxes at 20 shillings each from the person who prepares them at Finedon.”

The advert also mentions that pianofortes and other musical instruments were available from Mr Abel.

The company went on, of course, to be the town’s famous music shop at 9, The Parade where, perhaps like me, you bought so many gramophone records until the shop closed down in
1970.

In years gone by there was a huge business built around Finedon Dried Apples.

They were famous long before Waterloo; in 1770 they were being advertised in the Northampton Mercury.

Thomas Smith, Cider maker was also producing “dry’d apples”.

Others included William Butlin, Eli Eady, William McAllister, William Sharp and Berry Chapman, and it was Berry who in 1883 produced the very last batch of apples that was made and sold and that was the end of a remarkable tradition.

But how were they produced?

Whole apples were arranged on large trays and put in the baker’s oven after the bread was removed each
day.

They were left in to start the drying process and when they were taken out they were very carefully pressed between the thumb and fingers, ensuring the skins were not broken.

They were then cooled.

This was done every day for up to ten days until the apples were reduced to about half an inch in thickness.

They couldn’t use any old apples, they had to have thick skins and so varieties like Meltons, Beaufins or Norfolk Pippins were the most favoured.

The apples would keep for months and when they were required they could be reconstituted by soaking them in water.

If Richard can survive the slow and tedious process of producing the dried apples he’d better start now.

But of course we have another local product that he could quite easily incorporate into his cuisine.

Just think of what divinely inspired desserts he could make using another of Northamptonshire’s traditional fruits, apricots.

For centuries Aynho in South Northamptonshire has been unique for the extraordinary fact that virtually every house had an apricot tree growing in its garden.

If you visit the village later in the year you’ll see them ripening to a delicious golden colour.

Just in time for Richard to bring home the trophy!

A Corby former area manager complained he was unfairly sacked by his firm after denying visits to a weightlifting gym affected his “availability for work”.

Keen weightlifter Antony Price, of Priors Hall Park, had been employed as an area manager for five years by Kelly Communications Ltd, which has numerous branches in the UK.

Mr Price’s job was to visit different branches.

But the firm told Birmingham Employment Tribunal that Mr Price did not always arrive at work at 7am – “the most crucial time of the day”.

The former employers also alleged that Mr Price’s time at work was affected by his frequent visits to a gym.

Mr Price was making a legal claim for unfair dismissal against the firm after denying he had done anything wrong.

The firm said Mr Price was dismissed following an investigation into his time keeping.

They told the tribunal that Mr Price was in a position of trust and was expected to be on duty at 7am which was the most crucial time of the day.

This was because the firm dealt with television installation work and customers on behalf of Virgin Media and engineers needed to be delegated for numerous work sites.

The respondents complained Mr Price was not always available, alleged he made visits to a gym and failed to attend some meetings with Virgin Media.

One senior executive told the tribunal that the firm had “no issue” with Mr Price leaving work at about 3pm to avoid heavy traffic, but that morning duty was important.

Mr Price also had to visit other Kelly branches as area manager and at one stage he was offered bed and breakfast at local hotels to make sure he arrived at work on time.

Mr Price admitted he was a weightlifting enthusiast at a gym but said he never attended the gym in work time and that his service to his employers had always been loyal and efficient.

He claimed there had been flexibility allowing him time to work from home on Fridays and accused the firm of acting drastically by dismissing him.

After a two day hearing, tribunal judge Mr David Rostant rejected Mr Price’s claim for unfair dismissal.

Folk-blues singer songwriter Harry Pane releases his new EP Changing tomorrow.

The former Northampton resident moved to London last year and has been busy playing across the city since.

The four track EP was produced by Dani Castelar, who worked with Paolo Nutini on the track Caustic Love.

Pane had emailed Castelar, not expecting a response at this early stage in his career.

However, he replied and flew Pane over to Studio Barxeta in Valencia to record.

Changing was then mastered by Mandy Parnell from London’s Black Saloon Studio.

The EP’s artwork features a photo of Harry’s father.

Pane, who now lives in Walthamstow, combines emotive vocals, tumbling guitar riffs, a trademark stomping pulse and a bit of slide guitar chucked in for good measure.

Pane’s influences include John Martyn, Damien Rice and Rocco Deluca.

In January, PRS For Music chairman Guy Fletcher presented Pane with the Best Original Artist accolade at the #Roadtothe100club event which led to the offer of a development fund with Island Records.

Following showcases at SXSW in Texas in March, this month he will be playing at the Glastonbury Festival on the Rabbit Hole Stage and also The Big Feastival, CarFest North and South and Jimmy’s Farm Harvest Festival.

Pane will be launching the EP at the Sebright Arms in Bethnal Green, London on June 30 and will also be playing across the capital as part of the Coffee House Tour in July.

For more information, visit http://harrypane.com, www.facebook.com/harrypanemusic and twitter.com/HarryPaneMusic

Changing can be bought via iTunes via http://bit.ly/ChangingEP.

When were you last challenged to do something? Really taken out of your comfort zone and given something to do that put you into an area with which you were so unfamiliar that you could feel the adrenaline going round your body in your blood?

It’s the so called “fight-or-flight” feeling and it in itself can be either really unnerving, or a welcome relief.

For me it’s the latter and that’s not because I’m some kind of adrenaline junkie – I’m certainly not that.

Instead it’s a feeling which I welcome when I get it, for a very simple reason.

Today is my last day – for now – hosting the Drivetime programme at the radio station while its regular host Annabel Amos has been away.

In turn, Dawn B has been covering for me.

Every day that I’ve done the Drivetime programme it has been different and it’s been a constant learning process.

They sometimes call it the Learning Curve – well the last week has been, for me, a learning circle, seemingly never ending.

It’s meant a very different working day too, with lots of behind-the-scenes preparation, off-air interviews in subjects which I have never encountered before and people I’ve never met before either.

I’ve learned so much in such a short time that it’s going to take a while to catch my breath and get back into the routine of the Afternoon Show.

And I’ve loved every second, including the bits that perhaps didn’t go so well at the time.

My father always used that overworked phrase “you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs” – it’s true.

As the week has gone on I think I’ve got generally better at doing what’s asked of me and I know that at the end of the programme this evening there’ll be part of me that doesn’t want to hand the reins back.

I make mention of this because it was me that asked to be given a chance to present Drivetime.

Years ago I used to be on the radio at the same time of the day, but that was with commercial music radio and utterly different to this.

I wanted to test myself, to develop myself and to see whether I had it in me to reach the required standard.

And whatever happens in the future, I’ll know that when I was given the chance, I grabbed it with both hands.

The feeling of the fear of falling was with me for at least three of the six editions of the programme but it fell away bit by bit each day.

To expect that I would have been spot on on day one would have been rather arrogant I suspect and mistakes I certainly made.

But equally I’ve improved – and been allowed to improve by making those mistakes.

I think it’s definitely made me a better broadcaster.

I asked for the challenge and was granted it.

Across the county there are lots of people who are being challenged on a daily basis and I wonder whether they recognise what an opportunity that is.

In our schools there are thousands of young students about to take the challenge of their exams – of pivotal importance in some cases.

To them all I offer good luck and wish them a great experience at the same time.

Over a period of just a few hours they will have the nervousness and hopefully the exhilaration of testing themselves against their exam questions.

If they don’t get the grades this time, life will go on and there will be options.

But grab the opportunity and welcome that challenge.

Moulton College has fallen from an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating to ‘requires improvement’ after its latest inspection.

A report published following a visit by the Government’s education watchdog in April states students’ attendance and punctuality is not high enough and teachers do not have sufficiently high expectations of what they can achieve.

Leaders and managers at the college have also been criticised for being slow to improve management weaknesses in English, mathematics and apprenticeships.

Moulton College, which offers a range of degree and apprenticeship courses, was rated ‘outstanding’ after a visit by Ofsted inspectors eight years ago. More than 5,000 students were taught at the college’s 500 hectare site in the village of Moulton last year.

The report states: “Self-assessment is not sufficiently wide-ranging and comprehensive and managers do not use data well enough to evaluate the effectiveness of their provision.

“Teachers do not plan and teach lessons that take into account students’ and apprentices’ starting points and potential. Theory lessons do not enable students and apprentices to make rapid and sufficient progress with their learning and fulfil their potential.”

The inspectors noted that in a minority of lessons, students’ poor behaviour causes disruption to their learning and teachers are not all sufficiently skilled in managing poor behaviour.

The college was praised for establishing strong links with local and regional employers and using them well to plan and enhance the curriculum offer to students.

Inspectors also noted the high quality practical and commercial facilities that enable students to learn relevant practical skills and skills for work effectively.

Moulton College Principal Stephen Davies said there was work to do to improve standards at the college.

He said: “Our teaching, learning and assessment are not yet consistently good across the college particularly in maths and English theory classes, and we are addressing that inconsistency by building upon the good practice that already exists within the college.

“English and mathematics provision and success rates are an education sector-wide challenge particularly in Northamptonshire, but we recognise that we can be and must be part of the solution for our local community and that our English and maths success rates need to improve from last year. The College acknowledges this priority and improvement initiatives are already well underway but these have not, as yet, had sufficient impact.”

A man was knocked unconscious during a robbery in Northampton town centre in the middle of the day.

The 26-year-old was walking along St Edmunds Road, Northampton, between 3pm and 7pm on Tuesday, May 31 when he was hit on the back of the head and knocked unconscious.

As he lay on the ground a number of his personal item were stolen. He was later taken to hospital.

Officers would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who went to the aid of the victim after it happened.

Police would like to speak to anyone who may have been in the St Edmunds Road area of Northampton, on Tuesday, 31 May and who may have any information about this incident.

Witnesses or anyone with information can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Fraudsters are trying to scam people in Northamptonshire by pretending to be phoning from HMRC.

Police are warning people about the scam phonecalls after a number were made to local people this week.

Concerned householders have contacted Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire County Council Trading Standards to report having had a suspicious phone call or message from someone claiming to be from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), telling them they have an outstanding tax bill.

The callers state that the recipient must not ignore the phone call and should call back, threatening legal action or police involvement if they don’t. The fraudsters then claim the recipient owes money for unpaid taxes, sometimes saying they will visit the resident’s home, arrest them or take other items in payment.

A police spokesperson said: “These calls are bogus and we are urging people to be aware and to hang up on any suspicious callers.

“Fraudsters will use various hoaxes to try and scam money out of people so please be vigilant about any unsolicited phone call – remember that the bank or police or HMRC would never ask you for your PIN over the phone or send a courier to collect cards or cash.

“Don’t engage in conversation or phone back, and never give out any personal information, bank or card details, or hand over money in any form.

“If you get a call like this, hang up immediately and either use an alternative phone to call the police or ask a neighbour or relative for help.”

HMRC provides useful advice about phishing emails and bogus contact and genuine HMRC contact and recognising phishing emails on their website. They also advise that if any details are inadvertently disclosed, HMRC should be contacted immediately at security.custcon@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

More advice and details about how to report suspected scam calls can be found on the {www.actionfraud.police.uk|Action Fraud website|}.

Two bicycles have been stolen from outside a caravan at Billing Aquadrome.

Two offenders were seen running off with the bikes just after midnight on Saturday, June 4. They are described as male, of similar height and wearing dark coloured clothing. One of them had a white JD drawstring bag.

One of the bikes was a specialised XC in grey and the other was a Trek 3500 in black and green.

Two photos have been released of similar bikes to the ones that were stolen.

Anyone with information can contact Northamptonshire police on 101. Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111

A missing teenager from Leicestershire may be in the Northamptonshire area, according to police.

Taylar Hutchins, aged 15, has links to the Northamptonshire area as well as Alfreton in Derbyshire.

She is described as five feet five inches tall and slim. She has very long black hair and a tanned complexion. When she was last seen, yesterday afternoon (Wednesday June 8), she was wearing pink shorts, a long white polo shirt and black Ugg boots.

Officers believe she is with a man she knows, who picked her up in his vehicle.

Anyone who sees Taylar or who knows where she is should ring Derbyshire police on 101.

A woman was bitten on the hand by a dog after trying to stop it attacking her pet in Desborough.

The victim was walking her dog when she was approached by a man and a woman walking two Jack Russells off the lead in a playing field off Dunkirk Avenue, at about 9pm on Monday, June 6.

The two dogs started to attack the victim’s dog and when she intervened she was bitten by one of them.

One of the Jack Russells was black and white, the other brown and white.

Both of the people walking their Jack Russells were white.

The man was slim, was about 6ft and 45 years old with short, black hair. He was wearing a grey T-shirt and dark jeans.

The woman had an average build, was about 5ft 5in with dark blonde shoulder-length hair. She was wearing a black jacket.

Officers would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who may have any information regarding it.

Witnesses or anyone with information about this incident can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Saints have held talks with Samu Manoa over a return to Franklin’s Gardens, the Chron understands.

But Manoa, who left Northampton for Toulon last summer, still has three years remaining on a lucrative contract, meaning Saints could face a sizeable financial stumbling block.

The American is believed to be on a basic salary of more than £600k per year at the French giants and Saints would also have to reach an agreement with Toulon for his services.

But it is believed that Manoa could be open to a return to the club where he made his name.

The 31-year-old was Saints’ supporters’ player of the year in 2013 and 2014 and was a hugely popular figure after joining from San Francisco Golden Gate in 2011.

He scored 16 tries in 84 appearances for Saints, helping the club to claim an Aviva Premiership and Amlin Challenge Cup double in the 2013/14 season.

His first season at Toulon has been hampered by injury, but he has been back in action in recent weeks, helping to secure a second-placed finish in the Top 14.

Toulon will now face a semi-final as they seek to reach the French league’s showpiece, which will be held at Barcelona’s Nou Camp on June 24.

An artwork that was part of Banksy’s critically-acclaimed Dismaland project has been displayed in the car park of a Northampton greasy spoon.

Aftermath Dislocation Principle​ Riot​ is a ‘model village gone wrong’ that depicts in miniature - inside a shipping container - what might happen if only police officers and media teams were left following an unspecified disaster, possibly a catastrophic riot.

Today people were invited to the Super Sausage cafe’s car park - off St Andrew’s Road - where they could view the scene through dozens of peepholes drilled in the container’s sides.

Some of the 1:87 scale officers are enjoying themselves at McDonalds, others hang out near a celebrity gallows, while the Duchess of Cambridge awaits evacuation.

Tour manager Bruce Traynor said: “We would like people to leave laughing and wondering and pondering.

“We don’t want people to think a particular thing, just make them think.”

Northampton was chosen as a stop on the tour because it is one of the places in the country where a riot has taken place, specifically in 1874 in the Market Square.

About 7,000 people fought police after an election campaign by radical atheist Charles Bradlaugh.

World famous graphic novelist and Spring Boroughs resident Alan Moore, who took a look for himself, said: “It’s wonderful that we have here art that’s not in an unapproachable gallery, it’s art for real people.”

The container was supposed to come to Northampton Market Square but the borough council blocked it on Saturday.

The council has been asked for a comment.

A headline-grabbing religious organisation set up by the former Northants Police Crime Commissioner looks like it will be quietly shelved by the new PCC.

The controversial Northamptonshire Police Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives was launched two years ago in a fanfare by former PCC and committed Christian Adam Simmonds.

Its role was to “nurture, equip and enable” religious organisations to help reduce crime in the county.

But a month after his tenure ended it is believed the OFBCI director Helen Boardman has left her post and the organisation’s website has been shut down, although PCC Stephen Mold’s office have said they will not comment today on the issue.

Community groups involved with the taxpayer-funded organisation, based at the University of Northampton, have been told that the office no longer exists, although it is thought that there may be some ongoing support for faith-based groups on a much smaller scale

The OFBCI director Helen Boardman was paid between £35,000 and £42,000 per year. In its first year the organisation handed out £63,000 to faith-based groups. In its second year it is not known exactly how much was handed out although the grants detailed on the PCC website total £32,000 to groups including the Kettering Muslim Association, the Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council and the Northamptonshire Somali Women and Girls Association.

One of the groups that benefited from funding was the East Northants Faith Group, an umbrella organisation that aims to tackle crime, homelessness and social issues with its partners that include the Sanctuary Night Shelter, Recovery House and Rushden Food Bank.

Trustee Reverend Mark Lees said it was a disappointment that groups such as his had been left without a link with the police.

He said: “The OFBCI allowed us to work alongside the police in a really effective way.

“It was a chance for us to really talk to senior officers and build a good link.

“We have done countywide surveys to show religious groups are putting tens of millions of pounds into supporting our community in prevention of crime, fear of crime, working with people with criminal backgrounds and tackling anti-social behaviour.

“That’s our bread and butter. We can have a really big impact in those areas.

“But now it seems the police are saying that they don’t see us as being a part of that in the future.

“I understand that Stephen Mold will have different priorities but a police officer on the street will only very rarely catch a criminal in the act whereas we do a lot of prevention work and our volunteers are probably worth hundreds of police officers.”

Reverend Lees added that he had 3,500 volunteers that all helped prevent crime in different ways just in East Northants - a situation replicated in each borough in the county.

He added: “I met Stephen Mold and I told him that I, just one man, was probably saving him a million pounds a year in crime prevention through the work I do and there are many, many more like me who do the same.

“But it seems there is no recognition of that.

“The money we got from the organisation was peanuts really. But it’s not about the money, it’s about the relationship that the OFBCI has allowed us to have with the police, the chance to meet with senior officers.

“I’m not sure we’ll have that now.”

The office received a backlash from the National Secular Society which raised concerns about the appropriateness of funding groups with a specific religious focus. It was also criticised in its first year for awarding grants only to Christian organisations.

Former PCC Adam Simmonds stepped down last month after deciding not to run for a second term.

Corks are being pulled and glasses filled in anticipation of the open day to celebrate the first anniversary of a county vineyard.

The family run Brynne Vineyard in Brixworth is inviting wine enthusiasts to attend a celebratory event marking its one year anniversary.

At the event they will launch of the vineyard’s first wines of 2016.

The joint celebration will take place at Brynne Vineyard on Saturday July 9 from 10 to 4 and is free to attend.

Visitors will be able to enjoy a scenic walk around the vines, ask questions about wine production and sample a glass of wine with the owners.

Owners Julia Bennett who owns Brynne Vineyard with husband Mark said: “We are very excited to unveil our first selection of wines.

“We have carried out a great deal of work on the site and the tasting barn so we are looking forward to welcoming the public for the first time.

“Everyone is welcome to join us for a chat to see what we’re up to, or come and just enjoy the scenery with a glass of wine.”

The couple spotted the vineyard in 2015 and instantly decided that the venture was just what they had been looking for.

One year and a lot of hard work later, they have just completed labelling up the first delivery of wines, all whilst still pursuing their respective accountancy and engineering jobs.

Very much a family run business, one of the vineyard’s wines Georgie Girl is named after Mark and Julia’s six-year-old daughter.

A set of wine label designs have been commissioned for the launch to reflect the delicate blended flavours that have been created in the different wines.

Julia added: “Working together as a family to achieve something has been the best part of the whole project.

“We’re lucky to have had so much support from our friends and family who have helped with everything from harvesting to tasting – we couldn’t have done it without them.”

For details go to www.brynnevineyard.com

A student from Northampton High School has been shortlisted in a national competition to ‘invent the future’.

Run by Your Life, Lara Pieckza is one of just six entrants with her invention, a ’Collapsible spacer device for asthmatics’, making it to the shortlisting stage from 140 entries nationwide in total.

Your Life is the organisation dedicated to boosting the uptake in post 16 study of Maths and Physics and the competition saw teenagers across the country come up with ideas for new inventions, with the shortlist announced this week, with Lara’s invention turned into a video being promoted on Your Life’s You Tube channel in a live public vote running until next Monday, June 13.

The shortlisted entries in two categories from 11-13 and 14-16 year olds have been turned into videos by Your Life’s digital content team and with 20 percent of votes coming from a public vote and 80 percent from judges’ scores. Entries were judged on their innovation, creativity and practicality.

The two winners are being announced at the Velodrome on June 21 by Your Life’s Patron Beth Tweddle at Your Life’s event during London Tech Week, ‘Fast Track Your Future’.

According to the head of the judging panel and Your Life non-exec director, Dr. Ros Rivaz: “Judging this year’s competition has been tough with the entries of a really high standard. It is so encouraging that top of young people’s concerns are solutions within health and also how to use renewable energy.

“These are two of mankind’s biggest challenges and it is really heartening that these are the areas that are challenging the next generation. Studying Maths and Physics can provide the foundation to enable some of these brilliant creative ideas to become reality.”

East Hunsbury Primary School pupils and staff welcomed the Mayor of Northampton as he officially open their new Forest School ‘Mud Shack’.

Cllr Christopher Malpas the Mayor of Northampton ably assisted by his guide dog Verity, accompanied by Mayoress Lynne.

Rita Arundel, Headteacher, said: “We were so delighted when our Forest Leader, Ali Fortuna, successfully bid for Big Lottery Funds to install this forest facility.

“We now have a perfect place to gather the children at the beginning and end of a session, store all our wellies, waterproofs and tools. This will be enjoyed by all the community.

A Northampton schoolgirl’s invention has been shortlisted in a national competition with her innovative new design to help asthma sufferers.

The contest run by Your Life - an industry-led and Government-supported campaign showcasing careers using science and maths, is voted for by the public.

Lara Pieckza, aged 16, from Northampton High School, one of just six finalists, invented a collapsible spacer device for asthmatics, making it to the shortlisting stage from 140 entries nationwide.

Your Life’s competition saw teenagers across the country come up with ideas for new inventions, with Lara’s invention turned into a video being promoted on You Tube for the public vote.

The shortlisted entries in two categories from 11-13 and 14-16 year-olds were turned into videos by Your Life’s digital content team and with 20% of votes coming from the public vote and 80% from judges’ scores - entries being judged on their innovation, creativity and practicality.

Two winners will be announced on Tuesday June 21 by Your Life’s patron Beth Tweddle at Your Life’s event during London Tech Week.

Head of the judging panel and Your Life non-exec director, Dr. Ros Rivaz, said: “Judging this year has been tough with the entries of a really high standard. “It is so encouraging that top of young people’s concerns are solutions within health and also how to use renewable energy.” Other finalists include a horse heat detector and a carbon capture chamber.

Two friends have waded through mucky pools, were splattered with handfuls of dirt and crawled under filthy nets all in aid of charity.

Ella Latimer, from Blisworth and Ash Walsh, from Market Harborough competed in the Pretty Muddy Run in memory of their granddads, who they both lost to cancer.

The women who work together at The Roebuck public house and restuarant in Market Harborough have thanked everyone who helped them collect £380 for Cancer Research UK.

The pair said: “We would like to thank all of our friends and our Roebuck regulars for digging deep for us.

“We had an amazing time and almost doubled our original fund-raising target. We hope we’ve done our granddads proud.”

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Ashandella18?

A Wellingborough man who left his gay lover to die was given an extended sentence of 13 years and nine months on Thursday afternoon.

Thomas White was in a rage because shortly before his boyfriend Ashley Gillard was taken ill, he had admitted he was HIV positive.

When haidresser Ashley became ill due to the cocktail of drugs he had taken, White ignored his distress and left him to die in his flat.

But a court heard this afternoon he returned to the flat several days later to set fire to it to cover his tracks.

White barricaded the front door with a heavy chest of drawers to frustrate any rescue attempts, disabled the smoke alarm and removed the door handle.

Then as the fire took hold he left the property by climbing 80 ft down a rope from the balcony of the third floor flat.

Today at Luton Crown Court White, 26, of Bibury Close, Wellngborough, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 31-year-old Ashley Gillard on the basis of gross negligence.

He also admitted arson being reckless as to whether the life of others was endangered as well as charges of theft and fraud, a further arson offence and two charges of taking vehicles without authority.

Passing sentence on him Judge Richard Foster told White: “You and Ashley Gillard engaged in sexual activity during the course of which Ashley was tied up. He had taken two types of drugs - Mephedrone and GHB. When the police came to arrest you a few days later what you had to say was captured on body worn audio and visual recorders.

“From this it became clear as to what had actually happened. Ashley Gillard had told you he was HIV positive. Whilst he was tied up he had a fit probably induced by the drugs. You told officers “I just sat there and watched him.”

The judge then said White had told the officers: “I didn’t untie him because he was fitting and because he told me he’d got HIV. I just though ‘**** You kind of thing and I didn’t really think about it. I should have tried to help him.”

The judge said when Ashley suffered his fit, White had only thought of himself and he was angry because of the possibility he had been infected with the virus.

“You intentionally did nothing to help a fellow human being in what was a life threatening situation,” he told White.

Ashley is thought to have died on the night of Friday June 5 last year at his flat in Trevithick Court, Wolverton, near Milton Keynes.

Over that weekend White had Mr Gillard’s phone and replied to messages he was getting to make make it appear he was still alive.

He also stole cars, a fork lift truck, and other property, and was seen on cctv visiting other friends, going to service stations, and even buying the the petrol he needed to start the blaze back at Ashley’s flat.

White was originally charged with murder, but the prosecution accepted his guilty plea to manslaughter by gross negligence.

Today the prosecution said they would be offering no evidence on the murder charge which was dropped.

Mr Gillard was found dead in his flat in the early hours of June 9 last year.

Graham Smith, prosecuting said: “The pathologist was unable to identify a definitive cause of death. He could rule out shooting, stabbing or blunt force trauma, and could confirm the man was dead before the fire was started.”

He said the two men had been in a gay relationship, and that night had taken illegal recreational drugs to a very high level.

That night White learned for the first time he had HIV.

Mr. Smith said: “The defendant was furious and got into a rage and turned the flat upside down trying to find medications that would confirm what he had been told.

“He was later to tell his brother that he knew his friend needed medical attention but he did not help him, and put a duvet over him to shut him up. He said at that moment he hated him and wished him gone,” said the prosecution.

After starting the fire, by pouring petrol on curtains and cushions, he went to his mother’s home and confessed to his brother and later repeated his account to his mother and then his father, who lived nearby.

He said he wanted to pack a case and leave the country but his brother had alerted police who arrested him at the house.

Mr. Smith said: “This is a very very serious gross negligence case. He could have acted to get help and he did not. He knew the man had ingested a lot of drugs and was vulnerable and at the time he wished him gone.”

In addition to manslaughter and arson he has also pleaded guilty to stealing clothing and credit cards from Mr. Gillard and another man, fraud by using one of the cards at Tesco, arson of a Peugeot car belonging to Mt. Gillard, theft of a generator, and taking a pick up truck and a BMW without consent, and two charges of possession of Class B and Class C drugs.

Before White was sentenced today his barrister Amjad Malik QC told the court it was a cocktail of drugs taken by Mr Gillard that created a toxic situation in his body which had led to a seizure.

He went on “Ashley Gillard died not by the commission of an offence, but by the omission to act when Ashley was in very vulnerable circumstances caused by the toxicity not only not only the drugs but a further drug he had been taking for erectile dysfunctional problems”.

The barrister said the news that Mr Gillard was HIV was a “massively provocative piece of information” for White.

“He failed to act because of anger. He didn’t want him to die,” said Mr Malik.

White was given an extended sentence because of the risk he posed to the public by committing further serious offences.

He was given an extended sentence of 13 years and nine months by Judge Foster.

White was told that the custody element of the sentence was nine years and nine months and the period he would be on licence following his release would be four years.