A CCTV image of a suspected robber who raided a shop in Northampton armed with a metal barbell pole has been released by Northamptonshire Police.

Officers are re-appealing for information about the robbery in which cash, alcohol and cigarettes were stolen after staff at the Little Billing Convenience Store, Little Billing, Northampton, were threatened.

The robbery took place on Saturday, January 4, between 6.55pm and 7.10pm, when two men, both carrying metal poles, entered the shop and threatened a member of staff, demanding money.

The robbers stole cash, lottery scratch cards, alcohol and cigarettes, dropping some of the property as they left the shop. It is believed they ran off in the direction of Glade Close.

The two men were both white and aged about 19-years-old. One of the men is described as being about 5ft 6in, with a slim/average build. He was wearing dark clothing and had a black scarf over his face.

The second man is described as being about 5ft 7in. He was wearing a dark hooded top and also had a dark scarf covering his face. Both men were carrying silver barbell poles.

The man in the photograph is wearing a distinctive top which detectives hope someone will recognise.

Anyone with information, or witnesses to the incident, are asked to contact Northamptonshire on 101. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Images have been released of two men police would like to speak to after a robbery in which a taxi driver was told he would be stabbed unless he handed over money.

The robbery happened in Brixworth after a minicab driver picked up two men at the private hire firm’s base in Northampton and took them to the village.

The men were asked to pay the fare up front, which they did, but once they got to Brixworth, the driver was directed to Froxhill Crescent and asked to pull over.

One of the men, who was in the back of the cab, pushed an object into the driver’s back and threatened to stab him unless he returned the money they had paid. The driver handed over the money and the men got out of the cab.

The robbery happened on Saturday, December 27, between 2.20am and 2.45am.

Witnesses to the incident or anyone who recognises either of the men pictured are asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Coin dealer Giuseppe Miceli died after suffering multiple head and facial injuries, most likely inflicted with “severe force” using a mallet, a court has heard.

The 71-year-old was found to have a total of 18 injuries when his body was discovered at his home in Bants Lane, Duston on July 13 last year.

A jury in the murder trial of Mark Ellson heard Mr Miceli suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, and that “repeated round areas of bruising” on his body pointed to a mallet being used.

Ellson, aged 41, formerly of Wellingborough, denies murder. He sat emotionless as the harrowing details of Mr Miceli’s injuries were disclosed.

Dr Michael Biggs, a forensic pathologist at the University of Leicester, examined Mr Miceli’s body at the crime scene.

Giving evidence at the trial, Dr Biggs said his initial investigations led him to believe Mr Miceli’s death was suspicious.

He said: “I identified a total of 18 injuries, the majority of which were on the top of the head and left side of the face.

“They were not consistent with a fall or a number of falls. Overall, they are typical of blunt force injuries.

“The injuries to the top of the head are suggestive of multiple impacts with an implement.

“This was a 71-year-old male who sustained blunt force injuries, probably from the use of a weapon.”

Dr Biggs told the court a mallet would have been a “very good candidate” for the weapon used, due to the round bruising on Mr Miceli’s body.

A doctor who later examined Mr Miceli’s body said he would have been alive for “several hours” after the attack, the court heard.

The time of his death was estimated between the evening of July 12 and the morning of July 13.

The trial continues.

Drug dealers who trafficked £1.3 million of cocaine between Northampton and Hampshire have been jailed for a combined total of more than 100 years.

Joseph O’Neill, who owns Ice Lounge in Northampton, has been jailed for 20 years after he was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs following a nine-week trial at Leicester Crown Court in October and November.

The court heard that O’Neill was the head of a criminal gang in Northamptonshire that sourced an estimated 28kg of high purity cocaine from Cambridgeshire-based criminals that was then sold to an organised crime group on the south coast.

O’Neill’s second in command, Sean Byrne, aged 48, of Purser Road, Abington, Northampton, has been jailed for 15 years.

Micah Walfall, aged 29, previously of West Cotton Close, Northampton and John Monteith, aged 27, of Stockholm Close, Corby, have both been sentenced to ten years in prison after they admitted helping O’Neill to distribute the drugs.

Other dealers from Northamptonshire sentenced included Michael Wilson, aged 29, previously of Cricketers Green, Weldon, who was given a seven-and-a-half year sentence and Adrian Dowling, aged 48, of High Street, Pitsford, who was sentenced to six years, plus one to year to run consecutively after pleading guilty to producing fraudulent documentation.

Christopher Jones, aged 26, of Park Road, Hanslope, Milton Keynes, had also admitted one count each of supplying ecstasy, supplying cocaine and supplying cannabis in addition to the cocaine supply conspiracy. He was sentenced to five years.

The court heard that O’Neill’s network of couriers are believed to have made 158 trips to Southampton to deliver the drugs over a two-year period.

Three police forces initially launched separate investigations into the activity before the probes were linked by Northamptonshire Police and passed to the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, to lead under the operational name of Vanguard.

About 50 search warrants were executed and 40 people arrested during enforcement operations in 2012. Of the 40 arrested, 16 would go on to plead guilty to charges of conspiring to supply class A drugs.

Another six people initially denied the offence, but two of them changed their plea to guilty before the trial began, and a third later admitted to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

Paul Wesley, aged 38, of Foxton, Cambridgeshire was also convicted of a charge of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was described as the head of the criminal gang in Cambridge, which passed the drugs on to O’Neill’s gang in Northampton.

Wesley was jailed for 18 years and Cyrus Kazak, aged 49, of Woodpecker Way, Waterbeach, who was also instrumental in providing the high-purity cocaine to O’Neill’s group, was jailed for 12-and-a-half years.

O’Neill, aged 36, of Jacques Road, Burton Latimer, was decribed in court as someone who “posed as a legitimate businessman using funds from his involvement in the supply of Class A drugs.”

Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Brayfield, said: “This is, so far, a very satisfying outcome to a very long and complex investigation.

“I’m very grateful not only to my team but also to our colleagues in other forces and the Crown Prosecution Service, Complex Case Unit who ensured that we not only undertook successful enforcement operations, but gathered, presented and prepared substantial evidential material that subsequently resulted in the arrest, charge and conviction of the suspects.

“This case demonstrates that determined criminals will find markets for drugs wherever they can and will travel long distances to source and distribute drugs if they have to.

“Our job is to protect the public by identifying this activity and the offenders and then take action to gather evidence, make arrests and bring a strong case to court. We have to bide our time on occasion, but days like today make it all worthwhile and some very significant criminals from three different organised crime groups, and parts of England are now serving lengthy prison sentences as a result.”

Flood warnings are still in place for the River Nene in Northamptonshire.

The Enviroment Agency has a flood alert in place for the River Nene at Billing Aquadrome and nearby business parks including the Riverside Business Park and Crow Lane Industrial Estate.

The agency also has a flood warning for low-lying undefended areas of the River Nene between Daventry and Billing. Its warning added: “Tributaries may also affect Daventry, Weedon, Badby, Nether Heyford, Bugbrooke, Blisworth, Collingtree, and Moulton.”

Paul Mustow, Flood Risk manager at the Environment Agency, said: “We’re preparing for yet more heavy rain, which is falling on already saturated ground following the wettest January on record.

“We urge people to stay safe and not to walk or drive through flood water which can be dangerous.”

A fertility clinic in Northampton is backing a woman’s legal battle to extend the storage of her late husband’s sperm .

Beth Warren and husband Warren Brewer, who lived in the Northampton area, decided to have his sperm frozen at the Care Fertility clinic, in The Avenue, when he was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour in 2005.

Mrs Warren, who uses her late husband’s first name as her surname, said she is not “emotionally, physically or practically” ready to decide whether she wants a baby using the sperm.

However, the consent for it to be used runs out next April and Mrs Warren has gone to the High Court in London to have the period extended.

Lynn Nice, laboratory manager at Care Northampton, said the company had no logistical or ethical difficulties with keeping Mr Brewer’s sperm and would be prepared to keep it longer if the High Court ruled in his wife’s favour. She said: “We are very sad to hear of her situation and we fully support her wishes. We hope the authority gives her the permission she is seeking.”

The maximum period consent can be given for sperm storage is 10 years. After that, the law says both a medical practitioner’s letter and another signature from the donor are needed for the consent to be extended.

Mrs Nice said: “The relevant Act already allows for posthumous reproduction so the issue is only the time span after death.”

A ruling will be delivered on an as-yet-unfixed date.

A cousin of Francis Crick has said he would like to see the ‘double helix’ statue moved to Northampton’s Market Square when Abington Street is opened up to traffic.

Brian Dickens, who runs Dickens Brothers, in Kettering Road, said he had been contacted by Councillor David Mackintosh, leader of Northampton Borough Council, to ask his view on where the statue should be positioned if it has to be moved.

Francis Crick was the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and attended Northampton school for Boys as a lad.

Mr Dickens said he had told the council leader he wanted the statue to be where it was most visible.

Mr Dickens said: “I am concerned the statue may be moved to an office building or the university campus where not many people will see it. It should be in the town centre and the most obvious place would be the Market Square.”

Councillor David Mackintosh said he was consulting with the Crick family on the future of the statue but said no decision had been made.

He said: “The changes to Abington Street will mean that the Francis Crick statue will have to be moved, and I think it is an opportunity to relocate it to an appropriate and fitting place.

“We have spoken to, and consulted with, a number of people but the final decision will be taken in March. It is very likely the statue will remain somewhere prominently in the town centre in order to fully recognise the importance of Francis Crick.”

The Francis Crick statue was installed in Abington Street in December 2006 at a cost of £100,000, funded by the Lynn Wilson Foundation. The 25ft structure was designed by Lucy Glendinning after her design was chosen by a panel which included Francis Crick’s relatives and councillors.

A public meeting protesting against plans to reopen Abington Street in Northampton to traffic is being held later this month.

Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians say the scheme, which is costing £3 million, has been put through without following procedure and does not have a mandate from businesses, residents or shoppers.

The plan, proposed by Northampton Borough Council, would see the road opened up from between St Giles Terrace and Wellington Street.

Danielle Stone, (Lab, Abington & Phippsville) said: “We think it’s important that people have a chance to make their voices heard on plans that will so drastically impact the future of our town.

“This meeting will give everyone a chance to do that, and to ask questions, and will give the council the opportunity to clarify the justification for going ahead with plans that seem so wildly unpopular.”

Sally Beardsworth, (Lib Dem, Kingsthorpe South) added: “The leadership of the borough council seems unwilling to listen to the people of Northampton – we hope that a public meeting will give the opportunity for a meaningful debate of the plans, and will make the Conservatives sit up and listen.”

James Wishart, of St. Edmund’s Residents Association, said: “It is a clear signal of how dangerous these plans are that political parties are putting aside their differences to try and safeguard the future of our town.

“The council must stand back and contemplate what they are doing with such haste. The scheme will seriously damage the air of calm and relaxation that is at present enjoyed in the centre of our town.”

The public meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 18 at 6pm in the Courtroom at the Guildhall.

The leader of Northampton Borough Council, David Mackintosh (Con, Rectory Farm), said: “I think the opposition parties need to be honest about their motives for calling a public meeting, given that a decision has already been made and work is about to begin.

“The reopening of Abington Street has already been publicly discussed at the borough council cabinet meetings in July and December 2013 and at the borough full council meeting in December 2013.

“It was also publicly debated at the county council cabinet and scrutiny meetings in January after a public consultation and a further consultation on the Traffic Regulation Order.

‘This is another ham fisted attempt by the opposition parties to block a project that will help our local economy and drive Northampton forward.

“Again it proves the Conservatives are the can do party, Labour are the wont do party, the Lib Dems are the didn’t do party and UKIP are the God-only -knows-what-they-would-do party.”

A woman walking through Northampton was grabbed by a man who put her arm behind her back and stole her mobile phone.

The victim was walking along Bedford Road from the direction of the Avon building towards Northampton General Hospital when the attack happened.

She noticed four men had started walking beside her so she walked faster, but they kept pace with her.

One of the men then got in front of her, grabbed her left arm, put it behind her back and stole her mobile phone.

When the woman tried to follow the group of men, they ran away.

The men were all between 35 and 40-years-old, spoke with eastern European accents and were wearing yellow high-visibility work jackets. They were all about 5ft 6in and stocky.

The robbery happened between 3.15pm and 3.40pm on Wednesday, January 22.

Anyone with information can contact Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Three more members of an organised criminal gang that trafficked £1.3 million worth of cocaine from Northampton to Hampshire have been sentenced to a total of more than nine years in prison.

Thomas O’Brien, Daniel Shrubb and Steven Payne all worked as drugs couriers and helped to sell on an estimated 28kg of high purity cocaine to another crime group in Southampton.

Shrubb, aged 33, of Henry Bird Way, Northampton, has received a prison sentence of three years and four months, while O’Brien, aged 30, of Bugbrooke Road, Kislingbury, was jailed for three years.

Payne, aged 45, of Weedon Road, Nether Heyford, has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.

The sentencings on Friday followed the jailing of nine other men involved in the conspiracy on Thursday for a total of 104 years.

The longest sentence was handed to Joseph O’Neill, aged 36, of Jacques Road, Burton Latimer, who was jailed for 20 years after he was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs following a nine-week trial at Leicester Crown Court in October and November.

The leaders of the organised crime in Southampton which had formed links with another O’Neill’s gang have also been sentence.

Darryl Sims and Daniel Taylor headed up the group based in Southampton and Taylor was in direct contact with O’Neill, often contacting him by text message.

Assisting Sims and Taylor to collect and deliver the drugs was Sims’ father, Mark, who met up with members of the Northants gang and also allowed his house to be used to store the drugs.

Mark Sims was heard by police officers to boast on one occasion that he could “supply kilos of it” an inference to the cocaine being supplied by his group.

A network of couriers was also used by both the Hampshire and Northamptonshire groups to transport the cocaine on a 220-mile round trip between the two counties.

One of the Southampton couriers, Paul Hatcher, made the journey at least 43 times.

He was arrested in February 2011 after returning from one of the trips. Officers searching his car found a quantity of cocaine and two mobile phones, one of which clearly linked him to Sims and Taylor.

Hampshire Police had been investigating the activities of Sims and Taylor’s group when colleagues in Northamptonshire linked their investigation of O’Neill’s group and an inquiry that was underway in Cambridgeshire.

The combined investigation was passed to the East Midlands Special Operations Unit and named Operation Vanguard. The operation resulted in the arrest of 40 people and the execution of 50 search warrants.

After their arrest, Darryl Sims, Daniel Taylor, Mark Sims and Paul Hatcher all pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

They were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Friday.

Darryl Sims, 30, of The Gardens, Bishop Waltham, was sent to prison for 12 years and nine months and Taylor, also 30, of McNaughton Road, Southampton, was jailed for 12 years.

Mark Sims, aged 50, of St Catherines Road, Southampton, was sentenced to eight years in prison and 33-year-old Hatcher, of Abercrombie Gardens, Southampton, to four years and ten months.

Murder suspect Mark Ellson is said to have visited Giuseppe Miceli’s house on five separate occasions around the time the coin dealer was killed, a court was told.

CCTV taken from various cameras in the area shows a man, believed to be Ellson, arriving and departing the house, four times in daylight and once at night.

On all but one occasion the man is seen with a laptop bag over his shoulder, and on the other occasion, he is seen leaving the house without it.

A short while later, he is seen to return to the property, and emerge with the laptop case five minutes later.

Last week, the jury heard that a laptop case was seized from Ellson, and a forensic investigation revealed spots of blood on it were Mr Miceli’s.

Mr Miceli, aged 71, died of head injuries some time between 11.10am on Friday, July 12, 2013, and 12.30pm the following day, at his home in Bants Lane, Duston.

Ellson, aged 41, formerly of Wellingborough, denies murder.

The jury was shown footage from July 11, when a figure believed to be Ellson is seen visiting a telephone box in Dallington Road at 12.25pm, from which it is said he called Mr Miceli.

The man is then seen going to Mr Miceli’s house at 2.14pm, before leaving at 3.39pm, and calling him again from the telephone box at 4.50pm.

The next day, July 12, Ellson is said to have called Mr Miceli from the telephone box at 11.39am, then entered Mr Miceli’s house at 2.19pm, leaving at 3.50pm.

Ellson is believed to return to the house again at 4.46pm, and leaves at 5.36pm, without the laptop bag over his shoulder.

He then is seen to go back at 6pm, and leaves at 6.05pm, carrying the laptop bag.

Further CCTV shows a man believed to be Ellson in Bants Lane at 2.40am on July 13.

But William Harbage QC, defending, disputed this.

He said: “It is extremely difficult to tell anything about the person. It is of poor quality and there is only an inference that it is Mr Ellson.”

Further CCTV then showed Ellson arriving at Northampton railway station at 6am on July 13, before getting off a train in Nottingham just after 8.30am, and checking into The Cotswold Hotel in the city just before midday.

There, he is said to have paid the £105 bill for two nights’ stay with two brand new £50 notes.

He returned to Northampton by train on July 15, and was arrested at 5am the following day.

The trial continues.

Two planned long closures on the railway line serving Northampton have been scrapped after a “detailed review” revealed they were not necessary.

Network Rail had originally planned a 16 day closure of the West Coast Main Line at Watford in August 2014 and a seven day closure in February 2015, as part of an £81 million programme of works.

But following feedback from passengers and discussions with industry partners, it will instead carry out the work over three weekends in August and two weekends in February.

Network Rail says there will still be disruption for passengers, but less than if it had gone ahead with the original plan.

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail route managing director, said: “There is never a good time to close the railway and removing these two significant closures means we will have to carry out the work over five weekends which will still impact on journeys. However, the feedback from passengers suggested this was a preferred situation.

“We will now liaise with the train companies to plan for the work and to provide passengers with information in advance and during the work in order to minimise disruption.”

Patrick Verwer, London Midland managing director, said: “Our passengers who commute into London on a daily basis were extremely concerned about the impact of the initial blockade dates, and I am confident they will welcome this decision.”

Guy Dangerfield, from independent watchdog Passenger Focus said “Passengers will be enormously relieved that the West Coast route will not now be closed at Watford for days on end in August 2014 and February 2015.”

Network Rail says the number of trains using the West Coast main line has doubled in the last 15 years, increasing the pressure and wear and tear on the infrastructure.

During the work, all signalling between Kings Langley and Bushey will be renewed, and more than 15km of new track will be laid. There will be an upgrade of the overhead line equipment and platform 10 at Watford Junction will be modified to allow longer trains to be stabled.

The previously announced closures of the railway in the Watford area on May 3 to 5 this year; December 25 to 29 this year, and April 3 to 6 next year, are still planned to go ahead.

Plans to build a new £43 million head office for Northamptonshire County Council in Northampton town centre are progressing well, a report has said.

The scheme, dubbed Project Angel, will see the county council move all of its operations and 2,000 employees into Angel Street.

The authority says the move will save it up to £54 million in future building maintenance costs, and relocating staff will boost trade in the town by up to £12 million.

A report, which will be considered by the authority’s ruling cabinet today, says the design process has been completed, and will enable a “robust, detailed planning application.”

It goes on to say that work will now start on the procurement and award of the contract for the job, and that it is still on target for completion by the end of 2016.

A recent in terms of ‘delivery confidence assessment’ is amber/green, which is defined as: “Successful delivery appears probable, however constant attention will be needed to ensure risks do not materialise into major issues threatening delivery.”

The report says: “At this stage of the project this assessment rating is highly encouraging with the prospect of moving into green highly probable.”

An independent review called the plan a “well-managed scheme which continues to make excellent progress,” with “evidence of a strong approach to risk management and appropriate mitigation actions.”

A public consultation was held on the plans last month, and responses will be included in the planning application.

Mark Ellson told police interviewers he had nothing to do with Giuseppe Miceli’s death, before complaining he had lost “30 hours of his life,” a court heard.

A jury at Northampton Crown Court heard the transcript of Ellson’s interview, in which he admitted making a number of visits to Mr Micelli’s house, to discuss the sale of his old Royal Navy medals.

Mr Miceli, aged 71, died of head injuries some time between 11.10am on Friday, July 12, 2013, and 12.30pm the following day, at his home in Bants Lane, Duston.

Ellson, aged 41, formerly of Wellingborough, denies murder.

Asked in interview if he was responsible for Mr Miceli’s death, Ellson said: “No I am not. I wasn’t anywhere near him. I’d had dealings with Giuseppe, but I did not kill him.

“I have had dealings with him for the last six weeks. He bought some of my medals. I’d seen him about five time in four weeks.

“I had never had a cross word with the man. He is quite a gentle soul.”

Ellson then began asking questions about how long he could be detained for, adding: “Time is ticking”.

He later said: “It is nothing to do with me. None of it is anything to do with me. I have had 30 hours of my life taken from me.”

The trial continues.

Football fans are being warned by Northamptonshire Police about the dangers and criminal penalties of bringing in smoke grenades, flares or fireworks into Sixfields Stadium.

In the past two years, there has been seven incidents of a ‘pyro’ being used at the Cobblers’ home ground, which is also used by Coventry City.

Nationally, there is a growing trend of football supporters taking smoke grenades or flares into football matches in the belief their use creates a more exciting atmosphere and a ‘buzz’ around the ground.

PC Nick Price from Northamptonshire Police has launched a campaign against the pyros, which will include a ‘pyro amnesty’ trial at four games at Sixfields Stadium between April 21 and May 3.

Mr Price has been working on the campaign with lawyer Alison Gurden, a specialist in football supporter law and football policing from Gray’s Inn Square Barristers’ Chambers, Northampton Town and Coventry City football clubs, the Football Supporters Federation and colleagues from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue.

He said: “We’ve been increasingly concerned about the growing use of ‘pyros’ at football games across the country and, although we’ve only had a few incidents at Sixfields, we want to prevent more from happening.

“We need people to understand the potential dangers and also realise that possession and use of ‘pyros’ in a public place is a serious criminal offence that could even result in a prison sentence.

“We’ve noticed discussion on social media about the difference between a smoke grenade and a flare or firework. The general view of supporters appears to be that smoke grenades are a ‘bit of fun’ whereas there is a general acceptance that the use of flares in a stadium environment is dangerous. However, smoke grenades can also be dangerous and to set them off in a public place is illegal.

“It is also an offence for anyone under the age of 18 to be in possession of ‘pyro’ in a public place and there is some evidence to suggest young people are being bullied into taking smoke grenades into football games against their will.”

“If they are caught, they risk getting criminal record and even a caution will stay on their record, meaning it could affect their employment prospects for years to come.”

Mr Price said he would be highlighting the law relating to the possession and use of ‘pyro’ at football matches, through leaflets and social media.

Bins will also be placed outside the stadium to allow supporters to safely dispose of any ‘pyro’ on a ‘no questions asked’ basis.”

Since the start of the 2012/13 season there have been seven incidents of ‘pyro’ being used at Sixfields Stadium – three at Northampton Town matches and four at Coventry City games.

A 77-year-old woman had £122 stolen from her purse after she was robbed by a man in the Semilong area of Northampton.

The woman had just returned to her home in Gordon Street after picking up her pension sometime between 9.10am and 9.40am on Tuesday when she was pushed over by a man as she opened the front door.

The attacker pulled at her handbag, which was over her shoulder, and then opened it and took the woman’s purse.

He then pushed her again and ran away in the direction of St Andrew’s Road.

The purse was later found in nearby Salisbury Street, but with £122 missing.

The man was slim, about 5ft 6in and was wearing a dark coloured woolly hat. He spoke with a foreign accent and was dark skinned.

The woman was not injured during the robbery.

Anyone with any information about the robbery can call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A gang of masked men forced their way into a home and demanded money from the homeowner before escaping in a car when neighbours heard the disruption.

The robbery happened on Tuesday night between 10pm and 10.20pm in Battle Close, Wootton.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police said: “Five men wearing masks forced their way into a house in Battle Close.

“They demanded cash and searched the property, but were disturbed by neighbours who heard noises coming from inside the property.

“The gang then fled the scene in a dark coloured BMW.”

Anyone with any information can call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A body has been found near a cycle path in the Hunsbury Hill area of Northampton.

Police were called to the path, between Sixfields and Hunsbury Hill Avenue, at 3am this morning after a man’s body was found in an area of wasteland.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police said: “The cycle path between Sixfields in Northampton has been closed to allow for the investigation of an unexplained death of an unidentified man.”

An eye-witness, who walks along the cycle path every day, said: “I walk to and from work along the cycle path every day and when I got there at 8.20am the area was all sealed off.

“I was told the body was found in wasteland and it is quite eerie wondering how long it could have been there.

“I have never seen so many police cars and vans in all my life.”

The closing arguments have been made in the trial of Mark Ellson accused of murdering coin collector Giuseppe Miceli at his Northampton home.

The jury in Ellson’s murder trial at Northampton Crown Court has today been hearing the finaal arguments in the case, which is now into its ninth day.

Earlier this week, it was accepted by Ellson that Mr Miceli, aged 71, died at his home in Bants Lane, Duston on July 12 last year, when he struck him over the head with a rubber mallet on at least five occasions.

Ellson, aged 41, formerly of Wellingborough, admits the lesser charge of manslaughter, but denies murder.

In hearing the closing arguments, the jury was told it would need to consider what Ellson’s intentions were at the time he struck the blows to Mr Miceli’s head, and whether he intended to kill or seriously harm him.

Christopher Donnellan QC, prosecuting, “Mr Miceli was in his own home when he received a number of severe blows to his head. The man who delivered these blows was the defendant.

“You don’t need to prove he intended to kill. Even on his own account, he says he intended to daze. How exactly do you measure the amount of force to daze?

“If you hit someone with a mallet, there is only one inference. That is to cause serious harm.

“Only two people know what happened. Mr Miceli, who is dead, and cannot speak for himself, and the defendant, who cannot be trusted to say anything that is the truth.

“Mark Ellson is a confident, arrogant, calculating liar, and he has some stamina. Stamina to lie hour after hour after hour in his interview.

“This was not accidental lying. As soon as you give him half a hint, he sees and weaves his way through, giving what he needs to give to avoid the truth. There is no confusion in his mind.

“He said in interview that this was ‘killing him’. What a turn of phrase to use in a case like this.

“He is absolutely a liar, but he has woven in elements of truth. That is how he does it. This is a man who even deluded himself on the truth.

“He has been persistently dishonest throughout his life. There is nothing he is saying to you that can be relied on as truthful.”

William Harbage QC, defending, said: “Some, or most, or all of you may think I am defending the indefensible.

“I am not here to make excuses for Mr Ellson. I am not asking you to like Mr Ellson, and I accept there is much to dislike.

“But like anybody accused of a crime, he has the right to a fair trial.

“I am not asking you to say Mr Ellson is an innocent man. He has admitted he struck probably five blows, and this amounts to the very serious offence of manslaughter.

“This case lies in the requisite intent to kill or cause really serious harm, and he denies that intent.

“Let’s not beat about the bush. He is a convicted fraudster. You may think he is some sort of conman, or sponger. But that does not help on the question of intent at the moment that he swung the mallet, and it does not make him a murderer.

“The use of a rubber mallet is inconsistent with the intent to kill or cause serious harm. A flurry of blows does not necessarily mean intent to kill or cause serious harm.”

Judge Rupert Mayo is delivering his summing up of the case to the jury this afternoon (Thursday). The trial continues.

Three men attempted to break into a house in the Wootton area of Northampton.

The men were seen near a property in Mortons Bush, on Tuesday between 7.30am and 10.15am trying to get into the property through the front door and also through a side gate leading to the back of the house.

The first man is described as white, about 5ft 9in, aged in his fifties, with a medium to plump build and fair hair. He was wearing a light green padded jacket and a hat.

The second man is described as white, about 5ft 9in, aged in his mid-20s, with a slim build and black hair. He wore a dark hooded jacket, dark trousers and a bandana or scarf.

The third man was also white, about 5ft 9in, aged in his mid-20s and wearing a dark hooded jacket, dark trouser and a bandana or scarf.

Officers would like to speak to anyone who may have seen the men in the area on Tuesday morning, either on foot or in a vehicle.

The Mortons Bush crime comes after five masked men forced their way into a home and demanded money from the homeowner on Tuesday night between 10pm and 10.20pm in Battle Close, Wootton.

Northamptonshire Police said they are not linking the two crimes.

Witnesses to either crime, or anyone with information, are asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.