A rickshaw driver from Northampton accused of causing up to £20,000 of damage to the Houses of Parliament during an eight hour stand-off on the roof appeared in court today.

Braydon Liam Anderson, 23, of Portland Place, Northampton, sparked a major security alert when he scaled the building on Saturday night.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that he allegedly smashed a stained glass window, broke an ornamental crown and a CCTV camera, and pulled valuable brickwork and masonry off the centuries-old Gothic building.

When asked how he had scaled the building, Anderson replied: “By magic”, the court heard.

Prosecutor Izolda Switala-Gribbin: “Police were called as there were serious concerns about Mr Anderson’s safety.

“Two police officers gained access to the roof, where Mr Anderson was in the process of smashing windows and causing criminal damage.

“When he was asked how he gained access to the roof, he simply stated ‘by magic’ to the officer.

“He indicated if the officers approached, it would not end well and went on to say ‘today’s the day’.”

Eventually when Mr Anderson fell asleep, the officers attempted to restrain him and managed to arrest him at 5.15am on Sunday.

Ms Switala-Gribbin said the masonry was the most expensive part of the damage.

Heavily-tattooed Anderson is charged with criminal damage and trespass on a protected site.

Anderson, who works in the West End of London as a rickshaw driver was remanded in custody until tomorrow, when he is due to see the court’s in-house psychiatrist.

The judge also said consent had to be sought from the Attorney General for the charge of trespassing on a protected site to be brought.

When he was told he would be remanded in custody for the night, he shouted out: “It’s my right to protest” as he was led away to the cells.

He has not yet entered any pleas.

A Northamptonshire roofing firm has been handed more than £15,000 of fines for serious safety failings after a worker died falling through a rooflight.

Experienced roofer Mark Cooper, 46, from Kettering, passed away three days after the accident at a commercial unit on the Earlstrees Industrial Estate in Corby on June 11, 2011.

Northampton Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday that Mr Cooper was working for JBS Roofing Ltd and had been instructed by the company to investigate a roof leak.

Though he was told to investigate the problem from the ground only, Mr Cooper had decided to replace a rooflight while he was at the premises.

While on the roof of the building, Mr Cooper fell six metres through a fragile surface to the concrete floor below.

He suffered a fractured skull and died in hospital on June 14, 2011.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found control measures such as fall protection over fragile rooflights, and safe access from the roof, were all missing.

JBS Roofing Ltd had also failed to properly plan the roof refurbishment project and had not coordinated with the customer.

The firm, of Rockingham Road, Kettering, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Yesterday it was fined £10,000, ordered to pay costs of £4,987 and was handed a £1,000 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Samuel Russell said: “Tragically, a worker died in what was a preventable incident.

“This case shows how important it is to have the correct safe systems of work in place for the entire duration of the project.

“It is not acceptable to use lesser standards in work methods or safety equipment in any situation, but especially when the work requires more permanent solutions for the longevity of the work.

“The company was experienced in the roofing industry and had undertaken more complex and difficult projects before. Its actions placed roofing workers at great risk.

“Working at height is still the biggest killer in the construction industry. HSE expects all stakeholders in the roofing industry to work to required standards to prevent further tragedies from happening.”

For further information and guidance on working at height, and specifically work on a roof, go to http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/roofwork.htm

A man from Northamptonshire died six weeks after he was knocked unconscious during a fight in the street a court heard, as the trial of one of the men charged with his death got underway.

Marc Sturgess was 41-years-old when he died in July 2013, about six weeks after the incident in Barnwell Street on the evening of June 1.

Ryan Turner, 19, from Poppy Fields in Kettering, is facing charges of manslaughter following the incident.

Two other men, Jason Loake, 44, from St Matthew’s Road, and Barry Denney, 43, from Edgar Road, are also facing charges of violent disorder relating to the same incident.

Their joint trial got under way at Northampton Crown Court yesterday.

Prosecution barrister Luke Blackburn told the court that the origin of the fight was an incident a month earlier in Mojo’s bar in Kettering, when Ryan Turner’s brother Josh and Loake had a fight that left Loake with an injured hand.

Mr Blackburn said that fight led to Loake, Denney and Mr Sturgess turning up at the home of Josh Turner a month later.

However, several of Josh Turner’s friends and his brother Ryan also arrived at the scene. Mr Sturgess was attacked by Ryan Turner and another man called Jake Freeland, who has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which left Mr Sturgess unconscious.

Six weeks later, Mr Sturgess died.

Mr Blackburn said that when they were arrested for their parts in the incident, Denney and Loake said in interview they had been in Barnwell Street on the night in question but had only been there as they were walking to a nearby Tesco, that none of them had banged on Josh Turner’s door, and that they had been attacked by a group of men.

In court on Monday, witness Jordan Spolton said he had been smoking a cigarette outside the former Challenge Arms pub in Eskdaill Street when he saw three men, one of who he knew was Marc Sturgess, arrive at the pub. The other two men were Loake and Denney.

Spolton said he had been drunk at the time but said Mr Sturgess said they were looking for Josh Turner and it was said as if they “wanted a fight”.

Spolton phoned Josh Turner to warn him when the men left but could not contact him. He also phoned Ryan Turner and another friend but could not get through to any of them.

Another witness, Brett Davis, was with Spolton at the time but told the court he could only remember Loake and Denney arriving at the pub. He told the court that Denney, who he said appeared “irate”, said they were looking for Josh Turner.

Mr Davis was challenged about his recollection of Denney’s mood that evening by defence barrister Rebecca Herbert, but Mr Davis he had a clear memory of the brief meeting.

The trial is expected to last at least two weeks.

The nine missing sex offenders from Northamptonshire are believed to be living abroad, a police spokesman has said.

Figures released by 39 forces under the Freedom of Information Act show 394 sex offenders in England and Wales are currently wanted because their whereabouts are unknown.

Registered sex offenders are required to keep in touch with their local force and inform them of any change of address so they can be monitored.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police said it took the management of sex offenders “extremely seriously.”

He said: “Of the nine sex offenders whose whereabouts are currently unknown, the vast majority are either believed, or known, to be living abroad - with a number having left the UK to return to their home countries.

“Changes in national legislation which came into force on Sunday, March 8, will make it possible for police forces to apply for orders to ban sex offenders from travelling abroad. It is hoped this change in the law will make the system even more robust.”

A loud siren will sound around Northampton shortly before 2,200 explosive charges reduce Greyfriars bus station into a mound of rubble.

Final ‘enabling’ works are currently being put in place before the former bus depot is demolished on Sunday.

DSM Demolition project manager Billy Young confirmed today that a warning siren will sound out five minutes before the demolition takes place - and another one minute before - to warn townsfolk that the building is set to be brought down.

Mr Young stressed today that there will be no public viewing area for people to watch the demolition and has asked that members of the public do not talk with the stewards posted around the exclusion zone on the day.

“The exclusion zone is in place for two reasons,” he said. “Public safety and public safety. We ask that people let the stewards do their job.”

An exact time for the demolition is not known as it will depend on how fast the surrounding area is evacuated.

From tomorrow and over the next few days a third party engineer will be visiting Greyfriars to check the enabling works.

A specialist consultant employed by Northampton Borough Council and the Health and Safety Executive will give the demolition the all clear after a thorough assessment of the site.

As soon as the building has collapsed a team of 40 workers will move onto the site with street sweepers and pressure washers.

Operatives will remain on site to July, clearing away the rubble, but Mr Young said that noise will be no more than its present level.

He said: “We have four to five months here, we want to remain as a good neighbour.”

Mr Young said DSM has heard from nearly all of the 414 properties in the exclusion zone now.

But the demolition expert, who presided over the implosion of Leicester’s 1970s built council office a fortnight ago, said he was glad to be reaching the end of a lengthy demolition project.

“Some buildings that we have knocked down are architecturally beautiful,” he said. “But sometimes they are just unsafe and no longer fit for purpose.

“It’s passed its sell by date and it’s time this building moved on.”

Click here {http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/greyfriars-demolition-webcam|WEB CAM|} to view the Chron’s live web cam which will broadcast Sunday’s demolition.

Professional dancers from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing were on the judging panel to watch Northampton-based Barclaycard employees tango and waltz their way through a series of set routines in a charity show held at the town’s Deco theatre.

Aljaz Skorjanec, who lifted the famous glitter ball trophy with celebrity partner Abbey Clancey in the 2013 BBC TV show, and his real-life partner and fellow Strictly pro dancer, Janette Manrara, who partnered Jake Wood from EastEnders in the 2014 series judged the 18 couples in Strictly Barclaycard.

The contestants, who were partnered with professional and semi-professional dancers from Step by Step Dance School in Northampton, had to perform either a waltz or tango in front of the judging panel and then impress the judges and 780-strong audience with a freestyle routine.

The evening was won by Larissa Mann, change delivery manager in Barclaycard Risk Change and her professional dance teacher Gabriel Gospodin, and the event raised more than £35,000 for Wellingborough-based charity Niamh’s Next Step.

Strictly Barclaycard organiser, Caroline Pugh, said: “I am overwhelmed how much commitment and enthusiasm everyone in the show put in. We have raised such a fantastic amount for Niamh’s Next Step and everyone did so well!

“Each year the show gets bigger and bigger and more people want to be involved. This year we had more than 60 employees apply to take part and we even had 15 men from one team in Barclaycard ask to do a Dolly Parton line dance to raise more money on the night!

“Janette and Aljaz from BBC’s Strictly have been so supportive too and it was fantastic to have them judging for us for a second year running.”

A driver has been taken to hospital after he drove his Jaguar into a garden wall in Northampton this morning.

Police were called to a house in Kingsthorpe Grove, Kingsthorpe, at 11.40am after members of the public reported the incident, which left the car balanced on two wheels for a number of hours.

A police spokesman said the vehicle went through the front garden wall and made contact with the house, though no one in the property was hurt.

Then driver of the car was taken to Northampton General Hospital for treatment.

Police recovered the vehicle by 1pm and left the scene at 1.40pm.

A motorcyclist has been taken to hospital with leg injuries after a crash with a car in Northampton.

Police were called to the incident in Robert Street, behind Campbell Square police station, in the Mounts just before 8am this morning.

Ambulance were also closed but the man’s injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

The street has since been reopened to traffic.

More than 700 married people in Northampton are seeking affairs on an internet dating site, new figures have revealed.

The figures have been released this week by IllicitEncounters.com, the UK’s largest married dating site and shows the number of people having affairs in every area in the UK.

In Northampton 701 people are looking to have an affair, ranking it the 134th most adulterous town in the UK, according to the interactive website www.infidelityindex.co.uk, with 0.33 per cent of the population joining IllicitEncounters.com,

Beeston in Nottinghamshire is the most unfaithful with 2.54 per cent of the population of the town having an affair.

Claire Page of IllicitEncounters.com said: “It’s no wonder the traffic to the site is so high.

“People are dying to see how many people are having an affair on their street, village or town - who wouldn’t want to know if they live in a cheating hotspot?”

Thousands of people are checking the Illicit Index to see how many people in their area are having affairs.

She added: “I think it’s great that Beeston is the most unfaithful town of 2015. People think you’d get more life in a graveyard than in Beeston but the Illicit Index proves one thing: it’s always the quiet ones!”

Psychologist Lucy Redford said: “There are many reasons people have affairs in small towns like Beeston – feelings of frustration, isolation and loneliness can be contributing factors as well as the limited options in marriage.” “Discretion is usually the main priority in extra-marital affairs.

“If secrecy wasn’t important, the individual would seek a divorce before an affair.

“Often when passion has left a relationship, but people don’t want to fracture their home status or disrupt a family unit, and they’re not willing to compromise their sex lives, an affair becomes tempting for their situation.”

To see the 2015 rankings visit www.infidelityindex.co.uk.

According to the site here are the numbers of members seeking affairs in our area:

Wellingborough 895

Daventry 758

Northampton 701

Desborough 574

Higham Ferrers 552

Burton Latimer 542

Corby 389

Irthlingborough 382

Brackley 278

A Labour Party candidate has launched a campaign to renovate derelict play areas in a Northampton estate and bring them back into use.

Terrie Eales (Lab, Kings Heath) has raised concernes about the state of children’s play areas in the Ryehill estate, which contain swing sets with no swings, decommissioned slides and seesaws and unsafe concrete flooring.

She has arranged meetings with residents and council officers to discuss improvements that can be made to the areas, including Chadwick Gardens, Lennox Walk, Mitchell Close, Mordaunt Lane, Perceval Close, Montague Crescent/Siward View.

Mrs Eales said: “These areas have been terribly neglected for too long, there are many children on the Ryehill estate that need and deserve safe places to play.

“Myself and local residents desperately want the small play areas restored and brought back into safe usability. Also, on a bigger scale, we want to see the slide and swings in Tresham Green brought back into use and the old tennis court converted into a games area for football or basketball.

“Further meetings with council officers and residents groups have been arranged to discuss the issue and any external funding that could be sought to get this work done that will enhance the area.”

The Friends of Delapre Abbey are ‘thilled’ that a huge restoration project to bring new life to the listed building had finally started.

Builders have moved onto the site in Northampton to begin work on the £6.3 million project which will see the Grade II listed Delapre Abbey buildings transformed from a derelict site into a tourist attraction.

Dee Whitehouse, chair of The Friends of Delapre Abbey, said: “The friends and the wider community have fought long and hard over the years to save the abbey and we are relieved and thrilled to see that at long last the restoration work is now commencing.

“We are pleased to see this important project commence and look forward to working with DAPT, the borough council and other partners on the start of a new chapter in the life and history of Delapre Abbey.”

In January Robert Woodhead was announced as contractor for the project, which is being funded by Northampton Borough Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

HLF has pledged £3.65 million for the project, which will be rounded up to £6.3 million by Northampton Borough Council and other sources.

Chris Weiss, project quantity surveyor for Woodhead Heritage, said: “The first activity on site will include the set-up.

“Our cabins have now arrived on site, and the hoardings have been installed and will be decorated over the next few weeks.

“We will then begin to adapt the scaffolding surrounding the main abbey, which will enable us to progress the stone cleaning, masonry work and window repairs.

“This is an exciting project for Woodhead Heritage and a testament to the hard work put into the project by all parties to date.”

The project forms an important part of the Northampton Alive programme of regeneration, which aims to respect the town’s heritage while ensuring progress takes place.

Cllr David Mackintosh, leader of Northampton Borough Council, said: “Delapre Abbey is steeped in history.

“It started its life as a Cluniac nunnery and has been gradually added to by successive generations, giving it a unique character.

“The grounds were also the site of the Battle of Northampton, one of the most important clashes in the Wars of the Roses, and what is perhaps the oldest surviving cannonball in England was recently uncovered.

“In fact last July, the cabinet confirmed the council’s commitment to creating a Wars of the Roses Centre at the abbey, which will have national significance.”

Roofing work was completed last year thanks to a £200,000 grant from English Heritage, work which was required before the main restoration could start.

Rod Giddins, chairman of the Delapre Abbey Preservation Trust (DAPT), said: “The trust is delighted that restoration work is now starting in earnest, following months of intensive preparations to reach this stage.

“We look forward to continuing our close partnership with the council over the coming months as we work on the detailed operational plans.

“It will be fabulous to be able to open the Abbey to visitors and to explain its long history in a wonderful new exhibition, and to transform the whole complex into a first-class heritage attraction.”

Residents campaigning for two alleyways in Northampton to be gated off to prevent anti-social behaviour say they are “disgusted” after being told they can only be given one.

The alleyways between Baring Road, Newcombe Road and Symington Street in the Spencer area have been hot-spots for fly-tipping, drug use and drinking for several years, residents living nearby said.

One Newcombe Road resident, Vanessa, said: “Almost as soon as we clear the alleyways, they are full of mattresses, food debris, toilets, and beer cans.

“There are currently three bags of used syringes outside my back fence, human excrement, and I have challenged people “jacking up” outside my gate and drinking.”

However, with only enough funding to install a single gate to block access to one of the alleyways, some residents face disappointment.

Vanessa said: “A community police officer came knocking on doors to ask who would pay £5 per year for alleyway gates and it seemed that an end to our misery was in sight.

“But when I enquired why no one knocked on my door, I was told there is only funding for one side of the street the alleyway backs on to.

“I am absolutely disgusted. I appreciate that money is not plentiful but, with all residents experiencing the same issues day in day out, at what point was it decided that one side of the street was more important than the other?

“We are all trying to protect our children and ensure they grow up in a safe environment where they are free from harm.”

Councillor Gareth Eales (Lab, Spencer) has been involved in consultations with residents from the Community Safety Team and will meet next week with Northampton Borough Council leader David Mackintosh to find a way to fund gating for both alleyways.

He said: “Only gating one alley would act as a divisive measure, where half the residents feel disenfranchised. I understand officers can only act within their budget allocation and the reality is there is only funding available to gate one side.

“However, if you gate off only one, all the anti-social behaviour gets magnified into the remaining open alleyway and that will cause more mayhem for those residents.

“I intend to wholeheartedly pursue this and I am prepared to fund half the money needed - around £2,000 - from my Councillor Empowerment Fund to make that happen. I hope the borough council find a way to match that commitment.”

A woman was forced to hand over a substantial amount of cash after two robbers wearing balaclavas broke into her Northamptonshire home.

The robbery happened at a house in Willoughby Road at about 6.45pm on Tuesday, March 10.

Once inside the property the two men demanded that the woman give them a substantial amount of cash. They then fled, leaving the woman in the property.

Detective Inspector Philip Mills, who is leading the investigation, said: “Incidents like this are fortunately very rare, but this was a nasty robbery which has obviously left the victim very shaken.

“I would urge anyone who knows anything about this incident to contact us as soon as possible.”

A police spokesman said the two men have been described by the victim as aged between 20 and 40 and possibly may have had eastern European accents.

One was between 5ft 6in and 5ft 7in while the other was between 5ft 9in and 5ft 10in.

Witnesses, or anyone with any information about this incident, can call Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or use the anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

Council officers sometimes flout the law on giving extra help to Northampton people with nowhere to live by ignoring homelessness applications, a charity has claimed.

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau that covers the town, said it knew of a number of people who wanted to become officially homeless, but had been denied the chance by Northampton Borough Council to make the application.

In law, the council is supposed to at least assist people who submit an application and, if they are a priority case, they should then house them.

Martin Lord, of Central and East Northants CAB, which deals with 400 homeless people a year, said: “Do we have problems with the way councils deal with these people? I would have to be honest and say, yes, in many cases we do.

“Sad to say, too often it can be difficult to get an authority to accept an application.

“Some clients have reported that, without any meaningful enquiries, they’ve been turned away without any record being taken of their application.”

The CAB said the issue was not unique to Northampton and acknowledged that it can be difficult for local authorities to know if an applicant is genuine or is merely looking for a quick route into a new home.

But Mr Lord said it was important that the law was followed.

He said: “The point with these laws is they have been put in place by Parliament through our democratic system, and if a council deviates from them – either to avoid the eventuality of housing someone or for statistical reasons – it flies in the face of what was intended by Parliament and that is what should make people concerned just as much as the effect it might have on vulnerable people.

He added: “In respect to homelessness issues in particular, when people are sent away simply to end up as someone else’s problem, where’s the saving?”

Statutory protection for homeless people began in 1977 with the passing of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act.

It gave councils the legal duty to house homeless people in priority need and to offer advice and assistance to those who were not a priority.

Because of client confidentiality, the CAB is unable to pass on details of specific people who have been denied the chance to make a homelessness application,

As a result, the borough council said it was unable to say whether the CAB’s claims were true.

A spokesman for Northampton Borough Council said: “It is impossible for us to look into this as the Chronicle & Echo is unable to provide any details for us to investigate or respond to.

“If someone is homeless or feels they are at risk of becoming homeless, they should contact our homelessness team so we can look at how we can help them.

“They can visit us at the Guildhall or call 0300 330 7000.”

A teacher at a Northamptonshire girls’ school who took raunchy photographs of pupils has been banned from teaching.

Michael Diggle, 39, has been banned for at least two years in a decision taken on behalf of Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.

The ban follows disciplinary panel findings that he was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.

Diggle started work as head of drama at Southfield School for Girls in Kettering in September 2006, and was promoted to head of creative arts in September 2012.

The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) professional conduct panel said in its findings that: “In late 2012 it was decided that students at the school taking A-level drama would perform a provocative play Crave outside of their usual studies.

“During the performance, some audience members were to be shown pictures of students, in provocative poses, such as those that some young women post on Facebook.”

The panel ruled that Diggle acted in an “inappropriate manner” by conducting photo sessions with one girl, Student A, in which he was alone in the room with her, moved her nightie to expose her legs, moved one of its straps from her shoulder and instructed her to remove her bra because its straps were showing.

The panel said: “There was no need for Mr Diggle to move Student A’s clothing himself, rather than asking Student A to do it.

“In the absence of such necessity, touching Student A so as to expose more of her legs was inappropriate.”

Diggle also instructed another girl, Student B, to remove her bra during another photo shoot and told a third, Student C, to shave her legs.

NCTL official Paul Heathcote said that while Diggle’s actions were not sexually motivated, and that he had a previous good history, public interest considerations – the protection of pupils, public confidence in the profession and declaring proper standards of conduct in the profession – outweighed his interests.

The ban can be reviewed after two years and means that Diggle is prohibited from teaching in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.

Diggle has a right of appeal to the High Court.

Northamptonshire parliamentary candidates promised to change the 9.30am start time on free bus passes during a hustings event for people with learning disabilities.

During the event by the Northamptonshire County Council-employed Learning Disability Partnership Board, all five candidates said they “could not understand” why the passes were not valid before this time in the morning.

The event involved audience members putting six carefully chosen questions to each candidate to answer within a time limit as part of a new training programme to engage people with learning disabilities in politics.

Debbie Allen, the board’s partnership and involvement manager, said: “The people who use these passes go out to work and college or have to collect benefits early in the morning, just like anyone else, so the time limit causes a problem there.

“The candidates unanimously agreed that they would change this, and none of them could understand why that restriction was in place.”

Candidates who turned up on the day included David Mackintosh (Con), Tony Clarke (Green), Abigail Campbell (Lab), Angela Patterson (Lib Dem) and Marion Turner (Green).

Other questions they answered from the programme trainees included how they would help disabled people get access to employment, health care and housing, as well as what the word “accessibility” meant to them individually.

Mrs Allen said: “There was a varied degree of understanding among the candidates about the importance of these issues, but they each contacted us afterwards to say how much they enjoyed the event.

“About 30 people turned up and they all had a fantastic day. It was very interesting to see how passionate they were and how much inspiration it gave them to talk to their own MPs and local organisations to get involved in making changes.”

The course was set up with the help of a parliamentary outreach programme after the Board received questions and concerns from disabled people about voting and their role in the election process.

Mrs Allen said: “This has effectively been a pilot programme and it has been so successful that we would like to expand it so that we can involve more people in Northamptonshire with learning disabilities in politics.”

The number of young people not in education employment or training has dropped by more than 3,000 in Northampton in just over a year as a result of the Alive project, a town MP claimed today.

Around 40 projects have been attributed to the regeneration scheme launched by Northampton South MP Brian Binley in March 2012, including the town’s new train station, the Waterside university campus and the new county council headquarters dubbed Project Angel.

But giving one of his last addresses as an MP to around 100 business representatives at the Guildhall today, Mr Binley claimed figures showed the various regeneration schemes had helped reduce NEETS (young people not in education, employment or training) from 4,600 to around 1,500 since this time last year.

He said: “We can’t afford for our young people to spend six years on the dole.

“It’s not good for their quality of life and it’s not good for the society they live in.

“The number of NEETs is now well down below 1,500 and Northampton Alive has played a sizeable part in that.

“Northampton Enterprise Zone alone has created more than 1,000 jobs.”

Mr Binley said that he said that in the beginning of 2014 the Alive project members created ‘Challenge 2016’, a policy to try and get 2,000 young people into employment or training before 2016.

But he said the scheme has been more successful than envisaged.

“We set that figure because we felt that NEETs figure was much too high.

“What the Alive programme has done is create jobs.

“We’ve been in contact with businesses encouraging them to take apprenticeships and there has been a general employment growth through the Enterprise Zone.”

The exhibition at the Guildhall today saw the leaders of the Northampton borough and Northamptonshire county council give updates on the 40 projects underway so far under the Northampton Alive brand.

Such projects have included the building of the new centre of excellence for motor racing experts Cosworth, which was part financed by Northampton Borough Council, and the expansion of Church’s footwear on St James’ Road.

Borough council leader Councillor David Mackintosh (Con, Rectory Farm) also announced three new projects today.

He said that both a Starbucks coffee house and pan-Asian restaurant chain Cosmo are set to take up units in Market Square in Northampton.

A free wi-fi scheme will be launched on Abington Street form the end of March also.

Speaking after the meeting Mr Binley said that Northampton Alive is the thing he is ‘most proud of’ since taking the Northampton South seat in 2005.

Though he is stepping down as an MP in May, Mr Binley will remain vice-chairman of the Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership (NEP).

A lump of coal salvaged from the wreck of the Titanic in 1994 is one of many souvenirs from the doomed liner set to attract bids at a Northamptonshire auction next week.

The item is due to go on sale at Towcester based JP Humbert auctioneers on Wednesday, March 18 alongside a host of paraphernalia salvaged form the wreck of the ship, which sunk after striking an iceberg in the Atlantic in 1912.

The lump of coal was recovered from the 1994 Titanic Research & Recovery Expedition and has been authenticated by the president of the RMS Titanic Inc.

Also up for sale is an actual piece of the hull of the Titanic, which a spokesperson for JP Humbert says is a fragment of the 20 ton ‘big piece’ salvaged in 1998 by the French research vessel Nadir.

Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert said: “It is a great honour to offer items recovered from the wreck of the Titanic.

“They are historical artefacts of the utmost public interest and such items are rare by their very nature.

“So many Titanic items have ended up rightly in museums and private collections- to offer such pieces by public auction is relatively rare.”

The piece of the boat’s hull, which Mr Humbert has described as a ‘rusticle’ is a heavily corroded remnant of the original steel hull and is one of only a few such pieces ever to have been offered for sale.

The two lots are being offered ‘without reserve’ alongside a number of other items signed by Milvina Dean, the youngest person to survive the disaster in 1912.

Two men wearing motorbike helmets, one armed with a crowbar, stole a till and cigarettes from a Co-op in Northamptonshire

CCTV images of the men, who entered the Co-op in Northern Way, Wellingborough, at about 10.40pm on Tuesday, March 10, have been released by Northamptonshire Police.

The robbers told the shop workers to lie on the floor while one of the men took the till and the other took cigarettes from behind a shutter.

They then put the cigarettes in a bag they had taken with them and fled.

Both men were white and were wearing distinctive motorbike clothing.

The one who was carrying the crowbar wore a blue and white helmet, motorbike gloves and a dark blue jumper.

The second man wore a red and black helmet and a dark padded motorbike jacket.

Witnesses, or anyone who recognises the two men from the CCTV stills, can call Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or use the anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

Labour’s shadow housing minister says families in Northampton are being forced to squeeze into overcrowded homes because property building has stalled under the Tories.

MP for Wolverhampton North East Emma Reynolds visited Northampton in the run-up to May’s election in order to meet families in the Goldings and Thorplands areas.

Speaking to the Chronicle & Echo after her tour, she said one of the biggest issues facing the town is overcrowding, which she claims has been brought about because of a lack of family-sized social houses in the area.

She even claimed to have met one family today with a young girl forced to sleep on a pull-out bed in a corridor because the house they were living in was too small.

Miss Reynolds said: “We met a woman today that is doing the right thing, her partner is working full-time, but they’re in a two-bedroom flat with three kids.

“Their little girl is sleeping on a bed in the corridor, but for some reason they are not classed as being ‘in need’.”

Miss Reynolds pledged that if a Labour government is elected to power in May, it would increase the number of homes built by 200,000 every year by 2020.

Earlier in the year the Wolverhampton MP claimed that 356 fewer homes are being built every day “because the Tories have presided over the lowest levels of house building in peacetime since the 1920s.”

She said Labour would increase building by a ‘Help to Build’ scheme allowing smaller building firms access to lower-cost bank lending supported by Treasury guarantees.

Miss Reynolds added there would be a requirement for local authorities to include a higher proportion of small sites in their five-year land supply.

And she said she would introduce ‘fast-track planning’ on small sites of less than 10 homes.

She has also pledged to scrap the unpopular ‘bedroom tax’ or under occupancy charge, which Northampton Borough Council’s own Conservative cabinet member for housing admitted was causing a backlog of people on the housing waiting list by forcing families to downsize when there are not enough small and medium-sized homes available.

She said: “If there were lots of different properties available you could make an argument for the bedroom tax.

“But because there is such a lack of housing people are just having to stay put and risk homelessness, or move to a cramped house. There simply are not the smaller properties available.”

Latest figures obtained by the Chronicle & Echo showed there were 3,065 people waiting for a council house in Northampton.

Those with the most immediate need, such as families on the brink of homelessness and people who need to move on severe medical grounds, face an average wait of almost six months for a property.