In the second part of the Chron’s annual review of the year, we look back at some of the biggest stories which made the news during April, May and June.
APRIL
April 10
Ashleigh Butler, 17, and her six-year-old dog, Pudsey, impressed Simon Cowell during their performance on Britain’s Got Talent. Pudsey danced on his back legs, threaded through Ashleigh’s legs and leapt into the air, as the pair stayed in sync for the whole routine. Music mogul Simon Cowell, who is a judge on the talent show, said Pudsey was one of the best dancing dogs he had ever seen.
April 13
Tributes were paid to a “legendary” boxing coach who helped to set up six new gyms in Northampton during his 40-year career. Chris Fitzpatrick, aged 67, of Kingsthorpe, died on April 2 after suffering a heart attack. Mr Fitzpatrick started coaching in 1972 and set up Kingsthorpe Amateur Boxing Club two years later. He was then involved with establishing amateur boxing clubs in Kings Heath, Far Cotton and Northampton town centre.
April 21
Laser beams shone from the National Lift Tower in Northampton as part of a trial art installation under the Flow Northamptonshire programme, which is part of the Cultural Olympiad. The programme, a collaboration between artist Jo Fairfax, Northamptonshire County Council, and a laser hire company from London, is being funded by organisations including the Arts Council and Legacy Trust UK.
April 26
Campaigners who had been trying to find a way to save the Northampton Baby Cafe, in Wellington Street, were celebrating after they raised enough funds to pay for specialist workers – who encourage vital breast-feeding skills – for one year. Having approached Northamptonshire County Councillors for donations from their personal empowering councillors funding, the campaigners amassed £14,495.
April 28
The Government pledged to provide almost £500,000 to tackle homelessness in Northamptonshire after the Chronicle & Echo highlighted the problem of homeless camps in the area. The problem was taken up by the MP for Northampton North, Michael Ellis, who appealed for the housing minister, Grant Shapps, to step in. Mr Shapps wrote to Mr Ellis to confirm Northampton would receive £226,000 in funding to launch a project in the town which will be designed to make sure nobody has to sleep on the streets.
April 30
A great-grandmother from Northampton celebrated her 80th birthday by raising a glass to her descendants... all 87 of them. Lily Green, of Kingsthorpe, who has 10 children and 77 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, enjoyed a party at Kingsthorpe Bowling Club on Saturday night. Mrs Green, who has lived in Northampton most of her life, said she was very proud of all her family.
MAY
May 3
Great-grandmother Cristina Kelly, from Northampton, told the Chron how she would mark her 82nd birthday by abseiling down the town’s 417ft National Lift Tower to raise funds for the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance. The pensioner , who lives in Abington, said: “I think the air ambulance is such a good cause and I really wanted to do something big for them.”
May 9
An armed robber, locked up thanks to Northampton’s very own Supergran, was jailed for a further three-and-a-half years after DNA evidence linked him to a £300,000 smash-and-grab raid at Selfridges in London. Michael Sharpe was originally given a six-and-a-half year jail term in May 2011 for the raid at Michael Jones Jewellers in Gold Street, Northampton. He was a member of the gang stopped by handbag heroine Ann Timson. DNA evidence collected at that scene matched that found on a sledgehammer used in a Selfridges raid on December 29, 2006.
May 17
Police uncovered a £100,000 drugs factory after being tipped off when villagers set up a Facebook group calling for a property to be raided. The cannabis haul was discovered during a raid at a house in Barby after gathering intelligence from neighbours who had become increasingly suspicious. A total of 372 plants were discovered when officers raided the semi-detached property.
May 19
Twenty- two schools in Northamptonshire took part in a world record attempt to create the largest simultaneous dance routine. The event, called the Big Dance Schools Pledge, coincided with the same day that the Olympic Torch arrived in the UK. The five-minute dance was choreographed by Wayne McGregor CBE, the resident choreographer at The Royal Ballet. Secondary schools in the Northampton area, including Kingsthorpe College and Campion School, took part in the world record attempt yesterday.
May 25
Prime Minister David Cameron talked exclusively to the Chron to tell readers the job of Police and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire would be “a big job for a big local figure”. He said: “It’s the people of Northamptonshire who know what needs to be done; whether it’s a crackdown on persistent anti-social behaviour in your street or worries over burglaries in your neighbourhood.”
May 26
The Chronicle & Echo printed its last daily edition, before the move to a weekly publication. The Chron was relaunched the following week with a new look.
June
June 7
A schoolboy who saved his six-year-old neighbour from drowning after she fell into a weir was been hailed a hero by his family. Twelve-year-old Luke Pace was out playing with friends near a brook at the back of his estate in Little Billing, Northampton, when he saw Suranne Atkinson slip into the deep water. Seeing she was not able to swim, the quick-thinking youngster jumped in after her, and was able to get the Bellinge Primary School pupil to safety.
June 14
A secondary school near Northampton has banned girls from wearing skirts, insisting they cover up by wearing trousers instead. Moulton Science College wrote to parents saying skirts were no longer acceptable dress and will be banned from September. The school claimed the decision was simply a minor change to the dress code and was a bid to reduce the early sexualisation of children.
The fountain in Northampton’s Market Square was being turned back on soon after the county hosepipe ban was lifted on the morning of June 14. Anglian Water ended what many dubbed “the wettest hosepipe ban in history” at a minute past midnight following a rainy start to the money.
Northamptonshire County Council said it would expand five schools over the coming weeks to provide places for an extra 150 children. But education leaders said longer-term plans would see the authority attempt to secure empty offices and shops in the centre of town so they can be converted into schools.
A mother from Northampton whose incorrect cancer test results almost killed her, only insisted on a life-saving examination after TV celebrity Jade Goody’s fatal illness. Claire Millward, aged 37, from Delapre, endured a string of errors in tests for cancer that had doctors believing she was fine. But after Jade’s death was in the news in February 2008, Mrs Millward pushed for a emergency test. learning later that she would have been dead by June if she had remained undiagnosed.
Ten members of NGH staff were given average pay-offs of £79,000 each after they were made redundant by Northampton General Hospital. A total of 56 staff had been let go, ten of whom were made compulsorily redundant and collected exit packages of at least £100,000 each.
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