Judges for the 2019 awards have whittled the candidates down to 12 buildings across the East Midlands, with Northampton international Academy in Barrack Road and the Learning Hub at the University of Northampton's Waterside Campus both making the final.

Sam Culling, chair of East Midlands RIBA said: “The quality and range of the schemes selected, including several by regionally-based practices, is testament to the exemplary standard of architecture that this region has to offer.”

The Northampton International Academy took on the derelict Royal Mail sorting office and the transformation dreamed up by architects Architecture Initiative has impressed the judges.

With a floor area of 22,000 sq metres the main mass of the existing building remains largely unchanged except for the sports hall that has been inserted into the former rooftop courtyard.

But the award citation praises the fact the existing concrete 'waffle-slab' structure has been used and exposed.

It says: "Vast voids were formed through the existing concrete waffle slab to bring daylight deep into the interior and provide open vertical circulation and visual links between floors."

"New windows in the façades create naturally bright and well-ventilated classrooms."

Open 24 hours a day, the university's Learning Hub is at the heart of the new Waterside Campus and houses the library, shared general teaching areas, specialists’ skills spaces, student administration, academic workspaces and catering.

It's citation says MCW Architects have achieved a beautiful link between the campus and Becket's Park.

It says: "Its openness and transparency connect the riverside through to the centre of the campus and makes teaching and learning highly visible."

This data is based on the latest available information, which tracks reports of violent and sexual offences for January 2019 in each area in Northampton. There were a total of 719 reports of violent and sexual offences reported throughout the whole of the borough in January. Areas listed are a rough guide based on policing districts, and images are for illustrative purposes and do not represent a specific location.

Attempts to create a ‘People’s Plan for Northampton’ appear to have taken a back step until Northampton Borough Council submits its bid for High Street funding.

At its full council meeting in November 2018, a motion was agreed for the council to develop the ‘People’s Plan’ to help a likely new unitary authority prioritise regeneration projects.
But the councillor behind the motion, Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Sally Beardsworth, is concerned that there appears to have been little progress on the idea four months after it was agreed.

In a written question to Conservative council leader Councillor Jonathan Nunn, she asks: “We are now four months away from the stated deadline for producing the plan, and no indication is evident of any start on this council motion.

“Can the leader please provide an update setting out the stakeholders consulted and the progress to date, and provide an assurance that the People’s Plan will be produced by July 2019?”

Responding to her question, Councillor Nunn said: “Since the motion was passed in November 2019, we have also received the details of the government's ‘Future High Streets’ fund, and in order to ensure that there is a way of both capturing the views and aspirations of so many people and groups, and to also ensure that we submit a good Future High Streets Expression of Interest, NBC has recently coordinated a new stakeholder group (Northampton Forward) to further look at the wider regeneration of the town.

“Given the time pressure of the Expression of Interest deadline of 22nd March, and its focus on funding the built environment, the initial focus of this group is demonstrating to government the town’s need and ambition, and beginning to shape a vision and masterplan that will create a vibrant and sustainable future.”

The Future High Streets fund was launched in December, and has put £675million into a pot to bring high streets into the modern age.
Stakeholders in ‘Northampton Forward’ include the University of Northampton, the Town Centre BID, Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce and Royal & Derngate, many of which were expected to be consulted on the People’s Plan.

Speaking about the consultation for the People’s Plan moving forward, Councillor Nunn continued: “This must involve the widest possible consultation, and it is essential this this is not narrow. Therefore Northampton Forward may coordinate consultation, but the process must involve panels or sub groups across different subject areas and to ensure that it takes account of the views of a vast number of sources, from the public, to the council’s forums, and partners across very many other areas such as health, sport, the voluntary sector and community groups.”

Roger Thompson, 48, of Boughton Green Road, was arrested in 2016 after a taxi journey from Northampton town centre to Pitsford ended with the cabbie reportedly driving away 'fearing for his life'.

During Thompson's trial at Northampton Crown Court, the Bounds taxi driver who took him home at around 4am on June 17, 2016, told the jury what he witnessed.

On the journey from Northampton to Pitsford, Thompson reportedly became upset at the rising price of the cab fare.

Then, the driver said, a speeding car overtook the taxi.

The driver told the jury: "I told the passenger 'that was dangerous'. I was just making conversation. He replied 'that wasn't dangerous, you'll see dangerous when we get there'."

At the address in Pitsford, the 48-year-old reportedly asked if he could fetch money from inside to pay the £17.50 cab fare.

But when the driver next saw Thompson emerge from the cottage, he had a gun over his shoulder.

The driver said: "As soon as I saw him, I just drove off. I was scared for my life. My legs were shaking."

Police officers went to the cottage the next day where they found two air rifles, a deactivated shotgun and a deactivated musket.

The court heard how when he opened the door to the police, Thompson said: "I know what this is about. I had it with me when I came to the door."

But last week, the 48-year-old was found guilty by a jury of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear or harm.

At Northampton Crown Court yesterday (March 18), Thompson was jailed for two years and nine months. The firearm in question will also be destroyed.

A Northampton mother and shop worker will not say a word for an entire day next month to raise awareness for autism.

Vicky Stuart, who works at the Bohemian Finds vintage store in Market Walk, will keep schtum for the entire day on April 6 as part of a sponsored silence.

Anyone who finds Vicky behind the till on the Saturday will find she will only communicate with special cards and gestures.

She is keeping quiet from waking up until bedtime in support of her three-year-old son Harry, who is autistic and non-verbal.

Vicky told the Chronicle and Echo: "Harry will face different challenges as he grows up but one of the hardest things he faces is other people not being able to understand him.

"I want to show others you can always communicate in other ways if you are patient."

She will wear a badge showing customers why she cannot talk to them and hopes to show how there are always other ways to express yourself.

Her JustGiving page has already smashed its target and has raised £250 ahead of the day.
Vicky's sponsored silence coincides with Autism Awareness Week between April 1 and 7.

She said: "Autistic people still have feelings, are still funny, are still loving and still have hopes and dreams.

"I want to show people they can still communicate with people they can’t understand."

To learn more, visit Vicky's JustGiving page.

Northampton Borough Council is to consider leasing land to a local football club so that it can build a clubhouse and community centre.

Thorplands Club 81 is exploring a partnership with Thorplands Residents’ Association to create the community space on land the club currently play at in the Round Spinney industrial estate.

But they require a helping hand from the borough council if they want to get external funding to help fund the project, in the form of a long-term lease for the ground at Stone Circle Road, which is just behind the Miller & Carter restaurant on Talavera Way.

Club secretary Colin Lee appealed to elected members to support their scheme at the full council meeting at The Guildhall last Monday (March 11).

He said: “We are looking for support in developing a clubhouse or community centre that will attract more people and get even more involved. Thorplands and Southfields don’t have any facilities like that and the idea is to build it for a large room of say 130 people, and you could use it for events or Scouts groups as well.”

The council's support would mean a great deal to Mr Lee, who helped form the club and at 79 years of age still occasionally plays himself. Back in 2011 he was dubbed ‘Britain’s Oldest Goalkeeper’ in the national media, and as well as occasionally manning the sticks he also acts as the manager for the Saturday side.

External funding bodies or organisations such as the Football Association tend to only consider funding if clubs own leases of at least 25 years for land they want to develop.

Deputy leader Councillor Phil Larratt told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Thorplands Club 81, which has six adult teams and 10 children’s teams, had approached the council for help ‘quite a while ago’.

He said: “They have got some pitches that they currently use and have done so for a long time. They have been playing up there for years and there’s potential to develop the site and build a clubhouse and changing rooms and all the facilities they would need.

“They are a very successful club who have approached the FA looking for funding, and they asked if we could help them by giving them a lease.

“They envisage a building which could also act as a community centre, so that would be great for the local area.”

Councillor Larratt said the decision to grant the lease would likely be coming to the borough council’s cabinet for approval in the next couple of months, as officers can only be delegated power to grant leases of up to 21 years.

Mr Lee added: “We’ll be looking for funding from wherever we can. If the council can give us the lease it means we can maintain it and move forward with this.”

Customers can take free snaps with their loved ones and enter them into a prize draw to win £250 worth of holiday vouchers this Mothers Day.

The free of charge photo booth will be at Weston Favell shopping centre on Saturday, March 30 and Sunday, March 31 for everyone to use.

Shoppers are invited to take pictures with any of their family member to capture a special snap, and once it has been taken they will receive two instant prints to take home.

A £250 Thomas Cook voucher is also up for grabs.

Shoppers simply need to stick one copy of their photograph to the Weston Favell 'Wall Of Photos' and they will be automatically entered in the prize draw.

Weston Favell’s Centre manager, Kevin Legg, said “We wanted to give our loyal customers an opportunity to have a bit of fun this Mother’s Day and to say a big thank you to the special lady in their lives.

"The photo booth is a chance for our shoppers to make some happy memories and we are looking forward to seeing all of these being shared on our Wall Of Photos.”

WED2B, the wedding dress retailer who has a store on Wellingborough Road, has been named as 193 among the fastest growing companies in Europe.

Published earlier this month, the third annual Financial Times 1000 recognises companies in Europe that have achieved the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue.

WED2B claimed the 193 spot, followed by other nationally recognised companies such as Boohoo Group and Pitchup.com.

Todd Cassidy, managing director of WED2B, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have our efforts recognised by the Financial Times.

"It truly shows that our proposition, which puts the needs of brides-to-be at the heart of everything we do, is paying off.”

The company, which was founded in 2009, has grown to be the UK's largest and fastest growing bridal retailer and is recognised as one of the top companies in the UK for 'brick and mortar' retail, which refers to businesses that have physical, as opposed to online presence.

WED2B now has 36 stores nationwide, from Edinburgh to Brighton, and another six in wider Europe, including Dublin, Gent and Rotterdam.

All of their dresses are designed in the UK, limited edition and available off-the-peg, so brides-to-be can take home their dream dress on that same day.

She has embarked on the FridgeStreet project to sketch as many of the town's iconic buildings as possible, with the art being sold in the form of fridge magnets at Vintage Guru in St Giles Street. With more than 60 sketches to choose from, we have selected some pubs, restaurants and other night-time venues. How many can you name? (We'll publish the answers tomorrow).

A water company has taken extra safety precautions to cover large manholes with screens after three boys were pulled from the town’s sewer system last July.

A multi-agency operation involving fire crews, police office and the ambulance service saw a rescue plan get underway in Northampton in July after three boys became lost and trapped in the town's drainage system.

The boys were eventually found and rescued in the Kingsthorpe area during the operation and road closures were put in place in Kingsthorpe Road and Washington Street.

READ MORE: Huge emergency operation to find three boys lost and trapped in Northampton's drainage system
An Anglian Water spokesman said: “Whilst the urban explorer trend is popular, it can be extremely dangerous.

"A group of young explorers became stuck in our sewer network in Northampton last year. Luckily, they were rescued without harm, but the situation could have ended differently.

“Although most of our sewers are not big enough for people to enter, they all contain wastewater and operational equipment which makes them dark and dangerous - not a place to explore.”

"We evaluated all of our assets and decided that the largest ones were the most important ones to cover first and they have been fitted with screens to prevent access."

Urban exploring, sometimes called urbex, is the exploration and scaling of man-made structures, usually abandoned buildings, often with the aim of photographing them.

The growth of urban exploring on social media and an increase in people seeking out dangerous or exposed locations has led to concerns that young people could be injured or killed trying to emulate what they have seen online.

Is Urban Exploring illegal?

While trespass is generally a civil matter, criminal charges of causing alarm and distress can be made against those climbing structures if they cause onlookers to fear they may fall.

Damage caused by a trespasser may be considered a criminal offence.

Criminal behaviour orders can also be made prohibiting activities such as the climbing of man-made structures or accessing specific sites.

A village near Thrapston was hit by a series of overnight thefts.

Between 11pm on Sunday, February 24, and 7.30am on Monday, February 25, a number of vehicles in High Street, Twywell, were broken into and items were stolen.

Officers investigating the incidents would like to speak to two people captured on CCTV in the area at the time and have released an image of one of them.

A police spokesman said: “One is described as a white man, possibly in his early 20s, of slim build.

“He wore a hooded top with the hood pulled up and had a light coloured hat on beneath it.

“The other had their face covered.”

Witnesses and anyone with information about the incidents are asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Northamptonshire County Council will ask the Government for an extension to sort out its early years funding problem.

Nurseries and childminders were extremely angered over the weekend when the authority’s plans emerged to cut subsidies to the tune of £1.8m.

The proposal would have largely impacted on the best and most qualified early years providers as it would have taken £1m away from quality supplements.

The schools forum was due to make a decision on the funding cut yesterday (March 21) but decided against it after a backlash from the early years providers.

The authority will now go to the Department for Education to ask for more time to get its budget together. It should by law submit the budget to the DfE by March 31.

The council’s deputy director of children’s services Sharon Muldoon told providers: “We will speak to the DfE to see if we can get an extension. We have the budget proposal and that is not going to go away. We should have done this before now, but we are where we are.

“Next year we will make sure we have a forward plan to avoid this scenario. We need to do this with you rather than just look at what works for us.”

The council will now look at other ways to save the £1.8m from the early years budget. It says it will have overspent by £1.5m in the current 18/19 financial year.

The original plan, which was to keep the base rate the same, which is £3.66 per hour per child for three to four years olds and £5.10 for two year olds.

The council was proposing to reduce the quality supplement, which can add an extra 50p per hour for providers. There was also to be subsidies taken away from those who look after children from deprived areas and those who look after children with special educational needs.

The early years funds are passed down to the council from the government. The early years budget has had a three per cent central government cut but the cash-strapped authority is imposing its own further reduction. Overall £45m is spent on early years services in the county. A total of 10,485 children are looked after by 600 providers.

At the meeting headteacher of the Parklands Nursery School in Northampton Sarah Brooking said: “This proposal will close us. We have looked at our budget and if the quality supplement is taken away it will cost us £60,000 per year.”

Sam Evans, who owns nurseries in Corby and Northampton, said that in the previous consultation early years providers had been misled as it had implied there would be a base rate increase, which is why some providers had said they would be happy for the council to remove the subsidies. The council then proposed to remove the subsidy without raising the base rate. She said the settings had been encouraged by the council to train staff to a higher level, but would now not be paid for that and have to cover the cost themselves.

Joint head of Pen Green Children’s Centre in Corby, Angela Prodger, said: “We have not had time to speak as a sector. The papers came to us at Friday lunchtime.”

There will now need to be an extraordinary schools forum meeting convened to agree the early years budget.

This is the latest issue to face Northamptonshire County Council’s children’s service department. Ofsted found it was failing in November with more than 250 children without an allocated social worker and failures at the ‘front door’ of the service, where child protection issues are often first raised.

Children’s commissioner Malcolm Newsam was sent in by the Government to sort out the department. A report into his findings is yet to be published.

The early years providers have also had almost two years of ongoing financial problems because the council has not being able to run its computer system properly. This resulted in hundreds of providers being paid wrongly or late and is still ongoing.

More than 285 people have died from stabbings in the UK in the past year. Two of them were in Northampton – Louis-Ryan Menezes, 17, and Daniel Fitzjohn, 35.

In the past two weeks, many have calling for more police funding to tackle the issue, and this has led to the Government announcing £100million more to address the issue.

But, as our report this week finds, handing fistfuls of money to the police will not solve the UK’s knife crime problem. In fact, as Northamptonshire’s Chief Constable Nick Adderly puts it: “By the time it becomes a police issue, it’s already too late.”

In short, top police believe that if a young person is carrying and using knives in the street, many more things have gone wrong first.

But lives can be saved in Northampton and the UK if funding is instead found to show young men what the alternative is.

“You’ve got to believe in them,” says Clive Ireson. He works with the young men who come to Spring Boroughs Youth Club. He understands what is driving some people towards crime and knives more than most. “You have to help them outgrow the culture of roaming the town,” he says.

Clive believes the spike in knife crime is rooted in years of dwindling funding for youth services and, put simply, places for teenagers to be.

Excluding problem children from school and eroding their prospects is a factor too. Both have led to listless young men roaming town with no output – a perfect crop to be recruited and groomed by gangs who look glamorous and prosperous by comparison.

And soon after, young men are carrying knives to protect themselves from other young men carrying knives.

Clive said: “They say it’s for their own protection – from other people carrying knives. But they are children as young as 12. They don’t know the consequences.”

Clive has seen how knives destroy young men’s lives. One of the boys his club knew was Kane Allaban-Hamilton – who is now serving a 14-year sentence for the murder of Liam Hunt, 17.

There were no gangs in that case. It was just young men carrying knives. Kane had one, and the court heard some of Liam’s friends tried to ‘tool up’ before the stabbing. It was a brutal attack – one the judge called ‘just short of an execution’ – involving young men who wanted to prove themselves.

Nothing excuses Kane’s actions – but Clive says the murder could have been prevented if someone had helped him sooner. Clive said: “He had a lot of energy, and therefore a lot of potential. If someone had helped him into work or training he could have used his energy there and not on the streets trying to prove himself.”

Funding the police to catch knife criminals is one thing. But some believe that, if more funding for programmes like youth and sports clubs is found, it could help to show young men the alternative to roaming the streets.

And so, in the past week, CIRV - the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence - has come to Northampton. The programme to show gang members the consequences of their lifestyle and ask them to turn their backs on violence has proved hugely successful in Cincinnati, Boston and Glasgow.

Anyone can refer into CIRV - whether that be someone who needs help themselves to get out of ‘gang life’ or someone who is concerned about someone they know.

Chief Inspector Daryl Lyon who leads CIRV, and launched the event at Sessions House in Northampton on Sunday, said: “CIRV has been hugely successful in Glasgow, Cincinnati and Boston and we are hoping to mirror that success here in Northamptonshire.

“The program is not an easy way out for anyone and it requires a significant level of commitment and hard work - those engaged must commit to leaving drugs and violence behind."

Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable: "The very best thing that can happen is an officer stops them and takes the knife off them."

Anyone looking for a ‘quick solution’ to the UK’s knife epidemic ‘will not get one’, says Northamptonshire’s Chief Constable.

The furious debate over knife crime has led to many calling for the Government to pour more funding into policing to tackle the problem.

And last week, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced a £100million funding package against violent crime.

But the county’s Chief Constable Nick Adderley says a lot more needs to be done than just funding the police - and says the UK could face this crisis for as long as six years.

Meanwhile, Northamptonshire faces up to 40 knife crime offences a month.

Chancellor Phillip Hammond at first dismissed calls for funding on March 8 and said police forces would have to use the money they already had.

CC Adderley said: “If the Chancellor is telling the police to prioritise resources to tackle knife crime then we have to move resources away from other areas. That means you can no longer focus on problems like burglary and sexual offences.

“The public then are frustrated because they feel they are not getting the focus they deserve in those areas. Other areas suffer.

“But the problem is, even if the Chancellor handed over £5m and told us to solve knife crime it would not be a big help. More services than just the police need funding to solve this problem.

“This epidemic willl not be solved overnight. It’s a four, five or six year job. If you’re looking to a quick solution you will not get one.”

The number of police officers in England and Wales has dropped by more than 20,000 since 2010.

But to the parents of Northamptonshire, CC Adderley wants them to know the force is there to help and prevent young deaths.

He said: “The very best thing that can happen to a young person carrying a knife is an officer stops them and takes the knife off them.

“If you are concerned about what your child, you can call 101 and a neighbourhood officer will sit down with you and your child to talk about the dangers of carrying a knife.”

Officers have released an image of the 26-year-old man they want to speak to - but have decided not to name him.

A police spokesman said: “Officers would like to speak to the man pictured in connection with an investigation into an assault and anyone who knows of his whereabouts is asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101, quoting reference number 18000624644.

“They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”

A group representing a Northampton park has praised action taken by the borough council to flatten a controversial mountain bike trail.

Mountain bikers who use Cherry Orchard Woods near Hardingstone were aghast earlier this month when dirt jumps and ramps that had been in place for more than 20 years were flattened by on the orders of the borough council.

An online petition by Northampton Mountain Bike Group asking for the trails to be saved has now been signed by more than 1,200 people.

But Delapre Park Friends - whose group represent all the Delapre parkland, including Cherry Orchard Woods - have said they completely support the council's actions and labelled the trails "criminal damage".

A spokesman said: "We are so glad that the council have done what they did.

"It's part of the Delapre Park Land, it's a natural resource, it's there for people to walk quietly around and appreciate.

"They had no right and it's staggering they can't see it's criminal damage."

Posting on the petition website, Tom Robinson of Hardingstone Mountain Bike Group said: "As a group, our focus is to work with the council, to compromise and to enable this positive, healthy activity to be able to continue, to support the younger generation and to offer this wonderful opportunity to people of all age for many years to come."

But Delapre Park Friends says it has not been swayed by the petition, and has questioned how many of the signatories actually use the park.

The spokesman said: "I think a few people have just thought let's have a go at the council, but actually the council have done something good here that needs to be praised. They are a minority."

The serious crash happened at around 7.20am on Saturday (March 16) when a black Volkswagen Polo travelling along Cold Ashby Road, for reasons unknown, left the carriageway and came to rest in a field, between Cold Ashby and the West Haddon/Guilsborough Road junction.

The male driver was taken to University Hospital Coventry by air ambulance with potentially life-threatening injuries.

A spokesman for the East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We sent a paramedic in an ambulance car, a crewed ambulance and the air ambulance. We transported one patient to University Hospital."

Police investigating the single-car collision are appealing for anyone with information to get in touch.

Anyone with information or who witnessed this incident is asked to call the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615.

At around 11.45am on Friday, March 15, three men wearing high visibility waistcoats on top of dark clothing and gloves and plain white facemasks entered the shop in Magpie Road, Sulgrave.

One of the men was armed with a white baton-style weapon and the trio forced the volunteers into a bathroom, before stealing a large quantity of cash from the store’s safe.

One of the suspects carried a black holdall.

Anyone who witnessed the robbery or has any information about it is asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Information can also be shared anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Sometime between 6.05pm and 8.50pm, on Friday evening (March 15), the offender/s broke in through patio doors at the back of the house and stole a safe containing cash.

It is believed they left the property via a neighbour’s garden, Northamptonshire Police today said.

Anyone with information or who may have seen any suspicious activity in the area on Friday evening, is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

It was a year before the former partner of PC Greg Mead went to the police to report her experiences at his hands during their relationship 2018 and early 2018.

But at a misconduct hearing over the officer's behaviour, the 28-year-old told the panel how Mr Mead lost his temper in violent ways on several occasions during their time together.

It included times where Mr Mead hurled a dog lead at her, pushed her into mud and held her against a set of stairs while swearing in her face.

Then, on another occasion, a morning started with him pushing over the breakfast table and storming upstairs in front of the woman and his children.

When she went upstairs to talk to him, he pushed her on to the bed and strangled her, saying: "I want to kill you."

Speaking of the incident at the hearing, the woman said: "It was awful. If his children weren't there he probably would have killed me.

"It was much worse than previous incidents."

She also told the panel their relationships were marked by him 'constantly undermining' her with controlling and demanding behaviour.

After they broke up, the woman later went to the police to report the incidents.

But at the officer's gross misconduct hearing in between March 4 and 7, the panel heard how Mr Mead also was caught inexplicably keeping a set of police spike stinger traps used to stop vehicles in the boot of his car.

There was also an occasion where he reportedly pushed a teenager against a wall during an outreach programme, which amounted to unlawful force.

At the hearing, the panel found all the allegations against Mr Mead were proved.

He was dismissed from the force and will be barred from ever becoming a police officer again.

A robber threatened to stab a man in Kettering if he didn’t hand over his phone or cash.

Police have launched an appeal after the terrifying incident in Cross Street on February 22, with the force releasing details today (March 19).

The incident happened between 2.30pm and 3pm when the victim, a man in his 20s, was walking along Cross Street in the direction of Grafton Street.

He was confronted by a man claiming he had stolen money from his brother and threatened to stab him if he didn’t hand over his phone or £30 in cash.

The victim refused and started to raise his voice to the offender and, as he began shouting, people started to look out of their windows.

The offender then ran off down Cross Street towards Duke Street.

A police spokesman said: “The offender is described as a white man, with a pale complexion, about 5ft 8in, with a slim build.

“He had short, dark brown or black hair, stubble and was aged in his mid to late 30s.

“He was wearing a grey hooded tracksuit jacket with the hood up and grey tracksuit bottoms. “

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information about it is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.