A woman was rescued from a burning building in Norton this afternoon.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the fire involving a barn and a flat shortly before 4pm today (Monday).

The woman was rescued by ladder from living accommodation in the building.

At first two pumps were sent to the scene but the scale of the fire meant further assistance was called for from more pumping appliances, an aerial appliance and two water carriers.

In attendance are two pumps from Daventry, one from Woodford Halse, one from The Mounts (Northampton), one from Mereway (Northampton) one from Rugby, an aerial appliance from Leamington Spa and a water carrier from Towcester and Olney. The incident was still ongoing at 6pm.

Pleas were made to Northampton Borough Council to object to the winding up petition against the Cobblers at a special meeting of the authority this evening.

More than 50 Northampton Town supporters packed the public gallery of the Guildhall debating chamber for a 30-minute debate around the current situation at Sixfields.

A Labour motion called on the council to “help Northampton Town Football Club and the supporters trust,” to retrieve the £10.25 million loan handed to the club and to ask the audit committee to review the council’s policies “in business arrangements of this nature” in the future.

It was unanimously approved.

But speaking on behalf of the Northampton Town Supporters’ Trust, former general manager of the Cobblers Tony Clarke, said the council had to do whatever it could to stop the League Two side from being wound up for £166,000 of unpaid taxes on November 16.

He said: “I want to know if a deal is not possible in this very short period of time then the council will lodge an objection with the High Court against the winding up petition and call for an adjournment.

“It would be wrong for the HMRC to take the club out of existence for its £166,000 when the council is owed £10.25 million.”

No firm answer was received as part of the meeting, though Conservative leader of the council, Councillor Mary Markham (Con, Park) said the authority is attempting to find out where the £10.25 million has gone.

“We have to understand that as leader,” she said. “My main priority is to protect the public purse and to retrieve the £10.25 million that David Cardoza and Northampton Town Football Club cannot account for.

“I give you my assurances, I will not rest.

“I will continue to badger and seek and find legal explanations to find where that money is.”

During the meeting both Mr Clarke and Labour leader Councillor Danielle Stone (Lab, Castle), who proposed the motion, reiterated calls to include the supporters’ trust and Cobblers staff in any “future negotiations” between the council, the football club and stadium builders Buckingham Group.

Councillor Sally Beardsworth (Lib Dem, Kingsthorpe) also reminded councillors of a cabinet meeting on July 17, 2013, which resolved to “approve the principle” of providing loans to Northampton Saints and Northampton Town Football Club Limited for stadium developments.

A report to that meeting read: “This council owes a duty to the many supporters of both clubs resident in the town to avoid providing finance arrangements to either club that they are not objectively able to repay.”

Councillor Beardsworth said tonight: “It took ten minutes for that paper to be decided. When we talk about these things, we really need to make sure we do the right due diligence.”

While tonight’s proceedings last little more than half-an-hour, Councillor Stone reminded the chamber a second such meeting is due after November 16, to seek more answers as to where the loan money has gone.

“We will be looking to see where the blame really lies at a later meeting.”

Two Northamptonshire inventors that specialise in life-saving gadgets for babies and the elderly are now making wireless thermometers for bottles of wine.

Steve Parker and Simon Parslow of Daventry-based Target Holdings have invented the gadget.

They were prompted by their own research that showed three out of four wine drinkers imbibe at the wrong temperature.

Having forged a career making thermometers, including life saving gadgets for nurseries and the ‘Tom’ thermometer for safeguarding the elderly, Steve decided to apply his expertise to help transform the way the world enjoys its wine.

His thermometer accurately reads the temperature of a bottle of wine when it is inside the fridge and includes a wireless transmission between bottle clip and receiver base.

The invention was showcased at the world’s biggest gadget show, the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where it won an award.

Steve said: “The concept is simple, you wouldn’t dream of eating cold chips or stewed tea so why drink wine at the wrong temperature?

“Temperature affects the taste and improves it 100 per cent, our gadget makes that process simple and easy for everyone to use. “

Kelvin creator Steve added: “Your wine will taste twice as good and we vow to make that £10 bottle of wine taste like a £20 bottle.”

A red mountain bike has been stolen from outside a charity shop in Northampton town centre.

The Trax bike was taken from outside the British Heart Foundation shop in Abington Street sometime between 2pm and 3pm on Sunday, October 25.

Officers investigating the theft have asked any witnesses to contact them and urged cyclists leaving bikes in Northampton town centre to be vigilant.

Witnesses, or anyone who knows anything 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.7

The leader of Northampton Borough Council has responded to calls for a public inquiry into the Cobblers £10.25 million loan fiasco, by saying “there is no hidden agenda.”

In an interview with the Chronicle & Echo, Councillor Mary Markham (Con, Park) also defended the borough’s reasons for giving Northampton Town a £10.25 million loan in he first place and has claimed that weekly requests to ask Cobblers chairman David Cardoza where the loan money have gone have never yielded a “satisfactory answer.”

When asked whether she would support a public inquiry into the whole saga, she said: “There’s no hidden agenda here.

“We have already sent in financial advisors a week ago to take over at the club and look at the finances- so we can get a true handle on exactly what the finances at the football club look like.

“Now that doesn’t sound like somebody who is trying to make a cover up.”

She went on to say she is making attempts to find where the loan money has gone.

“If I knew where the money was I would share it with the people of Northampton,” she said. “But I, like the people, have no idea where that money is or was and the only person who can answer that question is David Cardoza at Northampton Town Football Club.”

“We have asked him through legal representation for many weeks now that same question - where is the money? And we haven’t had any satisfactory answers.

“We will continue to pursue, to ask them. It’s my job to make sure we get back that money.”

Councillor Markham said the financial advisor, sent into the football club last week to look through its finances, is set to produce a report on the findings.

However she could not say when that would be.

The council has, over the past few weeks come under fire for continuing to hand chunks of the loan to the football club in “tranches” of up to £1.5 million through 2013 and 2014, even though work on the stadium appeared to be stalling.

At last night’s special council meeting, Councillor Danielle Stone (Lab, Castle) asked the authority: “Why was so much money given to Northampton Town Football Club without them sufficiently progressing with the development?”

When Councillor Markham was asked whether she felt the council was “confident” such a sizeable loan could be repaid by a club sitting in the fourth tier of English football she replied: “We were confident yes.

“We had regular checks done - all of which they passed

“Make no mistake we didn’t just hand over 10.25 million pounds - this money was handed over in tranches as the development progressed, as different trigger points were reached.

“This was all monitored.”

“In fact on one occasion we didn’t pass on the money because the paperwork that came through didn’t satisfy the criteria needed, so we withheld the payment.”

She later went on to say it was David Cardoza who had not supplied the paperwork.

She added: “As a local authority - this council was subject to rigorous internal and external audits.

“We didn’t just give this loan six months ago - this loan has been through two of our internal and external audits we were audited more rigorously than any company I know - so all of those procedures were all in place.

“In handling the taxpayers money I don’t think there was much more we could do.”

However Councillor Markham said her immediate concern is trying to reach an agreement with the Kelvin Thomas-led consortium looking to take over at Cobblers and any developer interested in the land around the stadium.

The council has previously said the outstanding debt would only be paid back to them if that land - which the authority owns - could be developed.

Current Cobblers chairman David Cardoza has also urged the council to give Kevin Thomas’s consortium some leeway on repaying the loan and using the proceeds from a land development to do so.

But while Councillor Markham would not talk about the finer details of the ongoing negotiations, she said: “I could phone you tomorrow and say everything is sorted, it could be next week, but there are so many twists and turns.

“It can if everybody is sensible and gets round the table - it’s the same as selling a house.

“It depends how much you are willing to negotiate.

“The difficulty is we are working with taxpayers’ money. We want to realise that money, that is my big priority, but I would like to work with the supporters’ trust and with Kelvin Thomas in maintaining a football club.”

She added: “I can’t give you any assurances we will get a deal through with the football club what assurance I can give is that the officers and myself are working to tirelessly to make sure we can realise the development, that we can realise the taxpayers money and at the sane time working extra hard with the help of the supporters trust to try and find a buyer.

“We lent the money to progress the football club - how sad would it be if that was its demise in the end and that would be no fault of this council.”

A disabled woman has been left “very distressed” after she was attacked by a man who threw her mobility scooter across the road in Northampton.

The woman was shopping at Booth Stores in Booth Lane, Boothville, when she noticed a man was jumping on her mobility scooter, which was parked outside the shop.

She went out to challenge him, but he became abusive, threw the scooter across the road, punched the woman, then pushed her over the scooter.

She was left with cuts and bruises and was very distressed by the incident.

Northamptonshire Police today released the details of the incident which happened at about 9.50pm on Thursday, September 24.

The attacker is described as white, in his early 40s and between 5ft 10in and 6ft. He had short dark hair, was clean shaven and was wearing a long sleeved polo shirt and blue jeans. The victim said he may have had an eastern European accent.

Witnesses, or anyone with information, are asked to 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.

A CCTV image has been released of a man police would like to speak to in relation to an incident in which a man suffered a broken wrist after he was assaulted outside a Northampton pub.

The 33-year-old victim was outside The Bantam Cock pub in Abington Square when he witnessed an altercation between two other men, one of who suddenly pushed him into the road, causing him to fall to the floor and break his wrist.

Northamptonshire Police today released details of the incident that happened between 3am and 4am on Monday, 24 August.

The offender is described as white with short hair, in his mid to late twenties wearing dark trousers and a light top.

Officers have released a CCTV image of a man they would like to talk to in connection with the incident.

Witnesses to the incident, or anyone with information, should 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.

Concerned Cobblers fans are being called to a further public meeting in Northampton tomorrow to put questions to the supporters’ trust.

The event, billed as an opportunity to meet the trust board and other members who have been helping it out over the past few weeks, is set to take place at the Park Inn on Silver Street from 7.30pm, tomorrow (Wednesday, November 4).

The meeting will take the form of an open Q&A session and will last “as long as possible.”

A spokesman from the Northampton Town Football Club Supporters’ Trust, said: “We would encourage as many fans to attend and we would be happy to meet lots of supporters, and crucially we want anyone who wants to volunteer their time to the trust cause to come along and say hello.

“Some have already done so and their support is greatly appreciated.”

The trust is also asking anyone who can offer their help over the crucial next few weeks for Northampton Town to come to the meeting.

The spokesman added: “We want people to come forward if they feel they can offer us anything.

“Whether it is another body to help collect bucket donations, someone who can help us out on social media or just has a good idea they think we should consider.

“We also want volunteers who can offer professional advice. We need the advice of lawyers, accountants, insolvency experts and campaign fundraisers.”

As of this afternoon there have been 490 pledges made to the supporters’ trust in its bid to raise £100,000.

So far close to £19,000 has been raised with many of the donors claiming to be fans of other clubs wanting to help out.

To donate to the trust head to https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/ntfctrust.

Police are appealing for witnesses after an alleged assault in Northamptonshire which left a woman with a broken nose.

The woman was in Horse Market, Kettering, at about 3.20am on Sunday, October 11, when the incident took place.

Three men were sitting on a wall eating pizza when they became involved in a disagreement with two women.

It is alleged one of the men hit one of the women, knocking her to the ground and leaving her with a broken nose and facial injuries.

The second woman also had a bottle of water thrown over her and was punched.

Witnesses, or anyone with information, are asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A shoplifter racially abused a member of staff in a Northampton supermarket after being challenged while he was trying to steal alcohol.

The man went into the Wellingborough Road branch of Tesco at about 6.45pm on Monday, October 19, and hid two bottles of Pimms under his hoodie.

Staff challenged him and recovered the bottles, but the man then became aggressive and racially abused a member of staff.

The man was then escorted out of the building by other members of staff and walked away in the direction of the town centre.

A police spokeswoman said the man was in his late 20s, about 5ft 10in, slim and clean shaven.

He was wearing black jeans, black trainers and a black hoodie with a white skull and crossbones on the back. He also had a “Northampton accent.”

Officers investigating the case have released the attached CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the incident.

Witnesses, or anyone with information, are asked to call the force on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 11.

A man who made sexual comments towards a woman at a service station in Northamptonshire before trying to touch her is being sought by police.

At about 11.30am on Wednesday, October 28, a man approached a woman in the northbound services at Watford Gap on the M1.

A police spokeswoman said he then made a “sexual comment” towards her and attempted to touch her, but she managed to avoid him.

The man was white, about 5ft 6in, medium build, with black hair which was short at the back and sides and flat on the top.

He was wearing a black jacket, blue top, a neat jacket, dark trousers or jeans, and white trainers.

The man was described as being in his mid 20s to early 30s, with an olive skin complexion and may have been eastern European, the spokeswomam said.

Witnesses, or anyone with information, are asked to 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.

A county breast cancer charity has had a successful month raising awareness and funds during October.

Crazy Hats, based in Wellingborough, raised more than £16,000 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month by holding stalls at shopping centres across the county, as well as a fashion show and vintage tea party.

Charity founder Glennis Hooper said: “October has been incredibly busy and a very successful month.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed being out with the public in the county’s shopping centres, where the support and generosity has been overwhelming.

“We sincerely thank everyone who came along to see us.

“We are also grateful to schools, companies, medical centres and individuals who have organised pink themed events for Crazy Hats and to everyone who supported our fashion show and our vintage tea party.

“With more donations to come in over £16,000 has currently been raised!

“The fashion show at the Pemberton Centre in Rushden raised £4,200 and the vintage tea party raised £550.00.

“Other donations have been given from cake sales, pink days, and pink themed events all over the county.

“After one weekend off we are ready for a Christmas rush with many events planned for us and by us.”

The next of these is the Christmas hand-made craft fair at the Tithe Barn, Wellingborough, from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, November 28. Admission is free and there will be refreshments on sale.

Shopping centre collection totals

Wellingborough Swansgate £3,354.36 (two collections)

Kettering Newlands £1,443.57

Corby town centre £1,523.73

Northampton Grosvenor £1,454.55

Weston Favell £ 719.95

The co-owner of a village pub which has recently reopened says the public response has “been a dream come true”.

Nick Bonner owns the Tollemache Arms in Harrington with colleague Joe Buckley, which opened for business again on October 16 after being shut for three months.

After attracting more than 150 visitors on its opening night, business has gone from strength to strength – and Nick says the response has been amazing.

He said: “Since we’ve opened the trade has been incredible, far better than we could have hoped for.

“It’s always been a beautiful building and we wanted to keep it looking lovely and its reputation intact.

“We want to keep this as a real village pub where people pop in for a drink and it’s taken some extensive building work.

“It’s really nice to be appreciated by the villagers as well.”

The pub has received high praise for its restaurant menu, which focuses on local ingredients.

Nick and Joe have looked at restaurant trends in London, such as gourmet burgers and steaks, and brought them to the pub.

Nick added: “We source the freshest local ingredients and make everything here from scratch.

“Our meat comes from a local butchers and we let our dough prove for two days here.

“We recently had 100 covers for Sunday lunch and that speaks for itself.”

A planning application for 39 homes in Earls Barton has been given the go-ahead by the Communities Secretary – on the same day residents voted for a Neighbourhood Plan which wanted the land protected.

Voters in Earls Barton went to the polls last Thursday to decide on the question: “Do you want Wellingborough Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Earls Barton to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

The result was 1,071 yes votes and 80 no votes. The turnout was 28 per cent.

This means that the plan, which sets out a framework for the village including new housing, local employment, transport, leisure, health and education facilities, will be taken into account when proposals for development are considered.

But in a decision issued the same day as the vote was taking place, Communities Secretary Greg Clark allowed an appeal against a Wellingborough Council decision to refuse an application for 39 homes on an agricultural site on the edge of the village, ruling that a five-year housing land supply shortfall should trump policies in the nascent Neighbourhood Plan.

In allowing the appeal by Bowbridge Land, Mr Clark agreed with the conclusions of inspector Wenda Fabian, who recommended that the appeal be allowed and planning permission granted, subject to conditions.

Mr Clark’s decision letter said the Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan is “an important material consideration in this case”.

It also said that the Secretary of State agreed with the conclusions of the inspector that the proposal “conflicts with the emerging neighbourhood plan”.

The decision letter explained that the appeal site is “outside the limits for development” set in the emerging plan and is “not allocated for development”, adding that the size and type of proposal does not comply with one of the plan’s policies.

Mr Clark’s decision note said the conflict with the emerging Neighbourhood Plan should be given “significant weight – in view of the very advanced stage that the plan has reached and the evident high degree of local support for it”.

But the letter also said the plan is “not yet made and therefore does not carry full statutory weight”.

It added that, as there is not a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites, “the relevant policies for the supply of housing in the emerging Neighbourhood {lan, including the proposed village development boundary, should not be considered up to date”.

Mr Clark agreed with the inspector that the scale of the proposed development “is sufficiently small not to be premature in terms of jeopardising future development” within the Neighbourhood Plan.

Neighbourhood plans were introduced under the Localism Act in 2011 as a way to help communities influence the planning of the area they live and work in.

For the first time, residents were able to prepare plans with real legal weight which, if they achieved successful local support through referendum, would be adopted by the local planning authority and be used when determining planning applications.

Earls Barton’s Neighbourhood Plan is the first plan of its kind to go to referendum in the borough of Wellingborough.

The borough council will adopt the plan as soon as is practicable.

A woman had her mobile phone and iPod stolen while she was in a Northampton nightclub.

The iPhone 5s and iPod music player were stolen from the woman’s handbag while she was in NB’s in Bridge Street sometime between 2am and 2.30am on Thursday, October 29.

Witnesses, or anyone with information, are asked to 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.

Villagers in Duston are set to cast their vote on whether to adopt a neighbourhood plan for the area as part of a referendum tomorrow.

Ballot papers were delivered to more than 6,700 homes in the Duston area last month.

The parish council has spent the past two years drawing up the plan, which, if adopted, would effectively provide a blueprint for where homes, shops and play areas are built in the village and what they should look like over the next 15 years.

The plan being voted on aims to protect green spaces in Duston from development and ensure that any new building remains in-keeping its surroundings.

Chairman of Duston Parish Council, Councillor Frances Jones,said: “I absolutely do think this plan reflects what people want in Duston.

“Everybody has been consulted and everybody has had a chance to have their say.”

One of the policies states that any new plans for houses or conversions in the Newton Road area should reflect the “tight formal layout of this area,” retaining the good elements of “Radburn” layout which includes small common spaces and pedestrian access to the front and rear.

In Chiltern Way, it states that new building should “reflect the spacious setting of

1950/60s semi-detached and other houses.”

The plan would also discourage the change of use of ground floor premises to non-retail uses, and aim to support businesses through initiatives such as improvement grants and shop-front competitions.

It makes a commitment to providing more parking in Duston and improve cycleways and pathways.

While the plan makes no specific new housing requirements, it does give scope to allow alternate uses for the undeveloped parcel of land once occupied by the Timken manufacturing factory off Main Road.

Polling cards ask the question: “Do you want Northampton Borough Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Duston parish to help it decide planning applications in the Neighbourhood Area?”

Villagers will be required to vote “yes” or “no” at the polling station listed on their polling card tomorrow, November 5.

A family who caused misery to their neighbours with continued acts of anti-social behaviour have been evicted from their Kettering Council property after drugs were found there.

Despite a court order secured last year banning the tenant, her partner and their children from further breaches of tenancy, drugs were recovered following three searches at the address in recent months.

Kettering Council declined to make the address public.

Neighbours complained to the council and police about the high numbers of people visiting the property, as well as the nuisance caused to them by the behaviour of the children.

The council and Northamptonshire Police have worked closely together to resolve the situation and improve the quality of life for the neighbouring residents.

John Conway, head of housing at Kettering Council, said: “The council will not hesitate to take action against people who make their neighbours’ lives a living hell.

“Drug dealers, in particular, will not be tolerated on our housing estates.”

Insp Adam Ward, Kettering area commander at Northamptonshire Police, said: “There are those that choose to involve themselves in criminality – but often in these situations victims of these people have very little choice.

“Individuals and families alike that choose to make our communities less safe will be relentlessly pursued without exception”.

A Desborough woman has told of her devastation after her prized sheep were attacked and killed by what she believes was a large dog.

Carol Watson and her husband Geoff’s pedigree sheep were savaged at their plot of land in Glendon Road, Rothwell, some time between Friday, October 30, and the following morning.

One of her sheep was killed, two are missing and more than 10 were attacked, while sheep from the next farm were also killed.

And having seen the size of the footprints nearby, Carol is convinced they were killed by a large dog.

She said: “We went down to the land on Saturday morning and went round the turn and realised one of our sheep had been absolutely mauled.

“One suffered a broken leg and damaged shoulder and two are still unaccounted for.

“The dog has bitten them so badly that its teeth have gone through their sinuses and chewed their lips.

“There is no footpath or public right of way there so I think the dog has been let off their lead and ran off.

“My husband is 74 and he has said it was the worst day of his life.”

The sheep, mainly show breeds such as Charollais and Oxfords, have won at many national shows and Carol and Geoff have been breeding them for 25 years.

Carol says she is fearful of what the dog could do next now it has killed once.

She added: “I just want to know where my missing sheep are – it’s like losing a child.

“We only had a few sheep and some were set to be sold, we are losing our income and the expenses on veterinary fees are very big.

“I don’t blame the dog, I blame the owner for losing control.

“Our biggest fear is knowing that the dog has got a sense for killing now and is still out there.

“What will happen if it runs off into a field with children playing in it?”

Northamptonshire Police confirmed they are investigating the incident.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police said: “We were called at about 1.30pm on Saturday to an incident of sheep being killed.

“Our investigations are ongoing and we are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A woman had to be cut out of her car after two cars crashed in Wellingborough last night.

Police were called to Harrowden Road close to the junction with Elm Street shortly after 4.30pm on Tuesday, November 3, after an Audi collided with a Vauxhall Corsa.

A woman in the Audi was removed by the fire service.

Two people were taken to Kettering General Hospital as a precaution and suffered no serious injuries.

Police were able to reopen the road shortly after 8pm.

A woman who was responsible for fatal head injuries suffered by her four-month-old son at her Northamptonshire home has received a suspended jail sentence.

Eloise Burton-Cope, now of Milton Keynes, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court for sentencing today after pleading guilty to manslaughter by reason of lack of intent.

Baby Leon died on March 31 last year as a result of head injuries sustained at his home in south Northamptonshire.

The court heard her son had made a “strange noise” and she had shaken him. As a result, Leon suffered a fractured skull and brain damage. He died in hospital two days later.

Jane Humphryes QC, mitigating, said Burton-Cope had been suffering from depression and sought help from medical professionals but became “lost in a bureaucratic system of funding”.

Ms Humphryes said: “Her devastation is total and she will certainly never overcome that.

“She did seek help from medical professionals. She was lost in a bureaucratic system short of funding. She was passed from department to department, each one thinking the other was looking after her. There was no proper plan.”

Judge Charles Haddon-Cave, sentencing said it was “unfortunate” that her medical condition was not recognised at the time but “no-one is to blame”, adding “it is very easy to be wise after the event”.

Burton-Cope was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.