Two televisions and a Playstation 4 were among items stolen from a house in Kingsley last week.

Thieves broke into the property in Kingsley Road through the front door and stole various items, including a Playstation 4 and two black Samsung flat screen TVs, one with a 32” screen and the other with a 40” screen.

Two or three people were seen near the property around the time of the burglary, possibly wearing tracksuits.

The burglary happened sometime between 8.25am and 9.25am on Wednesday, November 16.

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

Download our app by clicking here to download from Google Play or clicking here to download from Apple’s App Store

The Chron reported this morning how eight officers were in attendance in Greendale Square, Ecton Brook, this morning and had cordoned off an alleyway to a nearby park, to the puzzlement of neighbours.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police has said the presence came after a drugs raid in Greendale Square on Friday. However, officers did not find everything they were looking for and have widened the search to the alleyway and the surrounding area.

It is understood that, as of this afternoon, no drugs or weapons have been found, although other items have been seized.

A police spokeswoman said: “Officers attended Greendale Square, Ecton Brook, Northampton, on Friday, 18 November, as part of an on-going drive to tackle drug-related violence.

“A warrant was executed at a property and officers have remained in the area during the weekend where searches have continued to take place as part of the investigation."

Anyone with concerns, or who may have any information that could support the investigation, is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 111 555.

Northamptonshire Police are continuing to try and trace a man missing from Northampton.

Keith Gregory, aged 62, went missing from Duston, Northampton, at around 10.15am on Monday, November 14 and officers now believe he is in London.

Mr Gregory was seen arriving at Euston Train Station shortly after going missing last Monday.

He has not taken medication with him and is believed to be vulnerable.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police said: “We are continuing to appeal for the public’s help in tracing missing man Keith Gregory, who we believe is in London.

He has links to London, specifically the Brick Lane and Golders Green areas and it is believed that he may have travelled to those areas.

We are appealing for people to let us know if they have seen him in the last week.”

Keith, pictured, is white, 6ft 2ins and was wearing a navy shirt and black trousers when he was last seen.

People are advised not to approach Mr Gregory directly but to call police immediately on 999.

Download our app by clicking here to download from Google Play or clicking here to download from Apple’s App Store

Northampton is one of the most entertaining places in the UK, beating the likes of Birmingham and Liverpool, according to a new study.

The survey ranked towns on the number of cinemas, bars and restaurants, theatres, stadiums, gigs, things to do and overall happiness.

Northampton came 29th with a total score of 23. Oxford was first with 46, Inverness second with 45.5 and Bath third with 44.7.

Below Northampton sat Sheffield with 22.6, equal with Liverpool, Birmingham with 21.8 and Leeds with 21.0.

Northampton scored highest for stadiums and theatres with an average level of overall happiness.

The survey was compiled by MrGamez.com

A decision to carry on with a contractor to provided environmental services in Northampton has been "called-in" by opposition councillors.

Northampton Borough Council recently decided to continue with a private sector firm once Enterprise contract runs out in 2018. The contract has, at times, been controversial with a number of criticisms over the quality of bin collections, grass-cutting and upkeep of cemeteries.

Now, the leader of the Labour Group at the borough, Councillor Danielle Stone, says they want the services brought back in-house.

She said: "It is my strong preference for environmental services to be brought back in-house or at the very least for the Borough Council to set up an arm’s length company to manage and oversee it. An arm’s length management company would be owned by Northampton Borough Council, similar to Northampton Partnership Homes.

"Seven years ago Northampton Borough Council decided to outsource waste collection and a quantum leap in service performance was promised whilst delivering great value for money to taxpayers. That simply hasn’t happened and many residents feel that the service has actually deteriorated in recent years. We now have many untidy neighbourhoods with piles of rubbish.

"It hasn’t worked and so I am opposed to using a private sector contractor to deliver environmental services. I have submitted this call-in in order to try and get the Conservative Cabinet to see sense and change their mind.

"In my opinion. the Conservative Cabinet has produced very thin evidence as to why a private sector contractor is the better option.”

Coronation star Mikey North was the special guest at the official opening of the new B&Q store in Northampton.

The actor appeared at a family fun day on Saturday where he tested out his DIY skills against B&Q Northampton's store team.

Mikey said: “I really enjoyed helping to celebrate the launch of the new B&Q Northampton store. I had a laugh testing myself on the DIY challenges and didn’t do as badly as I’d expected! I even got some advice from them to make my own home improvement projects easier.”

Darren Letherbarrow, unit manager at B&Q Northampton, said: “We loved welcoming customers to our revamped store and showing off our improved look to Northampton’s residents. The day was enjoyed by all and Mikey surprised us all in the DIY challenge – he was great!"

Children from a nursery school in Northampton have won first prize in their region in a charity sunflower growing competition run by a virtual garden centre.

www.potterandrest.co.uk asked people to grow the ‘fattest sunflower face’ using special seeds bred to produce larger flower faces in aid of children’s charity Barnardo’s.

Peter Burks, horticultural expert at www.potterandrest.co.uk, said: “We had lots of fantastic entries to our sunflower competition and we decided to award the children at the Camrose Early Years Centre top prize in their region for their brilliant sunflower, which measured 10.5cm across its face.

“The centre has received a £10 gift voucher as well as certificates for the children. It’s brilliant that the children got involved in the competition as it’s always good to see youngsters getting into gardening, we hope it will inspire others to do so in the future.”

The Camrose Early Years Centre is a nursery school and daycare provider with a wide range of Family Learning activities, based in the Spencer, Kings Heath and Dallington areas of Northampton. It helps ensure that children are ready for school and work with parents and carers to involve them in their children’s learning, development and education.

Head of the Camrose Early Years centre, Anette Whitehouse, said: “Our Governors and staff are really proud that the children won this competition. We had all watched the sunflower grow for ages and it just kept on growing and ended up as tall as a beanstalk.

“We are pleased that the children now know that from tiny seeds big flowers can grow. When our sunflower eventually fell over, the children played with the head of the flower and learnt about its structure by exploring it. There were loads of seeds and we hope that more sunflowers will grow in the same spot again next year.”

Northampton’s Christmas countdown continues this weekend, with Father Christmas’ Grotto opening on Saturday November 26, and the first of two Frost Fairs following on Sunday November 27 at Northampton Market.

From Saturday, Father Christmas will be available for visits at his home in Market Walk from 12pm to 4.30pm every weekend until December 18, and then every day until December 23.

Girls and boys can pop in and say hello to Father Christmas for free or they can take a present home for just £5 each. You can drop in at the grotto on open days or plan your visit ahead of time by booking your slot online.

On Sunday November 27, between 11am and 4pm, Northampton Market will welcome more than 70 stalls including a bar offering beer, proscecco and warming mulled wine and cider, and festive foods stalls selling favourites like mince pies and yule log.

There will also be a number of local businesses and crafts people sharing their produce and gift ideas such as flowers, wreaths, bath bombs and soaps, framed pictures and jewellery. Many of the Local Producers’ Market regulars will also be in attendance, these include Saxby’s cider, The Good Loaf, Donnalulu Cooks, Fleurfield Vinyards and Brown’s Gourmet Sausages.

Cabinet member for community engagement and safety, Cllr Anna King, said “Our Christmas programme for 2016 offers many fantastic family-friendly activities for residents and this coming weekend is no exception.

“We hope that the grotto and Frost Fairs continues to attract people into the town centre, as our Christmas light switch on did last weekend, to enjoy what our local traders, crafts people and surrounding shops and restaurants have to offer.”

For more information about Northampton’s Christmas activities and to book slots to visit Father Christmas in his Grotto, please visit www.lovenorthampton.co.uk/love-northampton/christmas

Students from Silverstone UTC hopped, walked, ran and skipped around the world famous F1 circuit to raise money for Children in Need.

The event, which is organised by the Year 13 Business and Events students as part of their course requirements, raised more than £1,000 with donations coming from students, teachers, parents and local businesses. The final tally is expected to exceed that raised last year.

"We are lucky to have the track on our doorstep and be able to use it for such a worthy cause," said Kennedy Okeke, one of the organising students.

All students and staff were encouraged to dress up in fancy dress costumes and make a small donation to take part in the fun run. Silverstone donated an hour of time on the iconic track and participants could cover the1.62-milee route on foot, scooter, unicycles or skateboards.

"Our students think of very inventive ways of getting around the track, and this year we saw Swegway hoverboards and unicycles," said Kennedy.

Prizes are given out to students for their outfits and simply for participating and this year they were donated by McDonald's in Towcester, Wagamamas in Milton Keynes, Red Bull Racing, Bounce in Milton Keynes, Whittlebury Hotel and Spa, Towcester Racecourse, Poynters bus company and Taylor Made Beauty Salon in Buckingham.

Neil Patterson, principle of the UTC, said the annual event served as a real team building exercise for the students and that they looked forward to it for months in advance.

"Each year this event gets larger and larger with students going to more trouble to be creative and humorous," he added.

The UK’s largest inflatable Santa returns to Northampton this week ahead of a charity event in December.

An enormous 39ft Father Christmas is set to land in Abington Park on Wednesday, November 23 for the second year running to raise awareness for the Santa Run and Walk next month.

The giant inflatable Santa made an appearance last year at Franklin’s Gardens and is starting to become a Christmas tradition for the town.

Event organiser, Chris Dolan, said: “We want the Santa to be a sign of Christmas for Northampton and to let people know that it’s not long until the Northampton Santa Run & Walk. It’s a great time to start fundraising for our chosen charities.

“Christmas isn’t known for being inexpensive, so we invite people to come down to see the Santa for free.”

The family-fun Northampton Santa Run and Walk event will be taking place on Sunday, December 11.

This year’s chosen charities will be Cynthia Spencer Hospice, The Lewis Foundation, Northampton Health Charitable Fund and The Rotary Club.

Delivery vans belonging to Amazon are blocking public spaces en masse near its Northampton warehouse, neighbours have complained.

The multinational company said it will investigate after people living in Grange Park became weary of vans parking from as early as 5am in spaces intended for supermarket, GP and dental surgeries, shops and a nursery.

Some days have seen only three spaces left come 9am.

One neighbour said: "No one can park in the supermarket car park during the day sometimes and they line the surrounding roads.

"Amazon will not allow them to park on site.

They are also parking around the Harvester, Holiday Inn Express areas and anywhere without double yellows.

This has been every day for the last week or more. it's unacceptable."

A spokesman for Amazon said it would look into the complaints.

He said: "We take seriously any concerns raised about congestion around the building and are working to resolve any issues as quickly as possible."

It is understood parish councillors have been in touch with managers at Amazon warehouse who said they are looking at alternative arrangements based in the Sixfields area.

Police officers and the Northampton CCTV control room witnessed Millenium Pizza and Kebab, in Abington Square, serving food to customers after hours on five separate occasions in August and September.

On the first occasion, the takeaway shop was spotted on CCTV open at 6.04am even though the licence only allows for business until 4am at the latest.

Then, after the shop had been caught open post- 4am three more times, PC James Atter actually walked into the shop at 4.27am on September 17 and recorded himself on his body camera warning the staff, who continued serving in front of him and after he left.

PC Chris Stephens said: "[The premises licence holder] has wilfully broken licensing laws and placed financial gain above operating on a compliant basis.

"The problems in relation to this premises have come from the poor and illegal management from the top down and there can be no confidence that the licence holder will stop putting profit before the law."

The licence is up for review by councillors next Tuesday at the Guildhall.

Committee papers in the public domain show it is the second time in less than two years that Millenium Pizza and Kebab has had its licence reviewed.

The previous review, which led to opening hours restrictions and a compulsory bouncer, came after a member of staff attacked a customer with a kebab knife, inflicting "GBH injuries".

Councillors later said they judged the cause of the attack to have been severe fatigue on the part of the member of staff.

Madi Mahaboudi, 33, was convicted for the April 2015 attack on Violet Price, aged 80.

He had previously served eight years in prison for an unlawful killing after strangling a woman in 2005.

Mahaboudi attacked Mrs Price at her home in Dordgone in south-west France - where she had moved from Northampton - after she had been for a meal with family and friends. He dismembered her body and discarded it in a field.

A French court heard he was arrested with victim's name and 'date she was killed' tattooed on his arm.

Price's family left the court room while the examiner read out the full list of injuries inflicted on the 80-year-old, which were particularly brutal.

Mahaboudi, who described himself as being addicted to cannabis and pornography and had a history of mental illness, was the brother of Mrs Price's daughter-in-law.

Both Price and Mahaboudi had previously attended a barbecue attended by friends and family of the victim in a neighbouring village on the night of the murder.

Mahaboudi reportedly went round to Price's home hoping to find his ex-girlfriend, whom he had recently split up with. The court heard how she had left him due to his heavy drink and drug use, as well as occasions of sexual violence believed to have been inspired by porn films.

During the trial, the courts heard that once inside, Price offered the defendant a cup of coffee. At one point, Mahaboudi described how he "grabbed her by the neck and squeezed", adding that "something stronger than me came over me".

He was eventually arrested after investigations found his DNA on the coffee cup that Price gave him.

Mrs Price, originally from Northampton, had moved to France in 2012 with her husband - who has since passed away- to be closer to her son, Paul.

Kettering’s disused magistrates’ court would be better off as flats, according to the council’s regeneration portfolio holder.

The courthouse shut on June 30 this year as part of a national cull of ‘inadequate’ facilities with 86 closed, including Corby Magistrates’ Court.

Kettering’s closed court in London Road is a prime town centre location - and Cllr Mark Dearing (Con, Desborough Loatland) says he would love to see it converted into flats.

He said: “We’re in talks about the courts in Kettering and what we’re looking to do and what we’d like to do is produce places where people can live.

“We want to bring people to live in the town centre.

“I believe it was offered out to local councils so we’re in talks on that.

“It’s an early plan but what we would like to see, even if the council themselves didn’t get it, is it being turned into living accomodation for people.”

The Northants Telegraph understands that options for the future of the site are still open and that no decision has been made yet.

Cllr Dearing says converting the court would help with its bid to get more people living in the town centre.

He said: “The whole point is you’ve got to think far ahead.

“When you think about things like Rushden Lakes you’ve got to drive out to it, but nobody lives there.

“When you take something like Kettering as a town centre, it’s got the cafes, the cultural side, and if people are living in the town centre then it’s a natural thing to come out of your flat and walk around town.

“That’s one of the visions we have that would bring people to live here and that’s what we want to do.

“The more people who are living here, the more people will spend their money.”

An HM Courts and Tribunal Services spokesman said: “We have a world-leading legal system and are investing over £1bn to reform and digitise our courts to deliver swifter justice.

“Closing underused and dilapidated court buildings will allow us to reinvest in the justice system and make the best use of technology.

“This will improve access to justice and improve the experience for all court users, in particular vulnerable victims and witnesses.”

A charity has bought a holiday home to offer short breaks to breast cancer patients and their families.

Glennis Hooper and Marilyn Clapham from Crazy Hats have just returned from Norfolk after the charity decided to buy a holiday home in Hunstanton.

The idea is that breast cancer patients will be able to stay there and take some time out to relax away from their treatment and hospital appointments.

It is hoped that the holiday home will be up and running by late February or early March next year.

Glennis from Wellingborough said: “We have bought a caravan in Hunstanton on a lovely site.

“We are working towards giving breast cancer patients, couples and families a break from the routine of treatment and hospital appointments.

“We have seen so many families that we know would benefit from it.”

Glennis said the holiday home is a project she and the charity trustees have talked about for a long time and they are delighted it is now coming to fruition.

Since the charity was launched 15 years ago, it has given almost £2 million to support projects for equipment and resources at Kettering and Northampton general hospitals as well as Leicester Royal Infirmary.

While the Wellingborough-based charity will continue to raise money for projects at the hospitals which treat patients from the county, the holiday home project is just another way for it to support people undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

The Crazy Hats team is also continuing to try and find bigger and better premises so it can open a breast cancer haven in the county which would mean people could drop-in and access a range of support from the charity.

Glennis added: “The holiday home has the facilities that we know will help people to escape and relax.

“Over the next couple of months we will be finalising paperwork, doing all that is necessary to get this service up and running, as well as striving to secure bigger and better premises nearer home to enable us to keep up with demand.”

For more information about Crazy Hats, its work and its fundraising, click here

Last week, we revealed that charges for using council-run car parks in Kettering would be reviewed next year.

The council’s regeneration portfolio holder Cllr Mark Dearing said it was “important to listen to what the people say”.

We asked our readers on social media what they thought of the current charges - and the majority have called on the council to slash, or even scrap, parking charges.

Pauline Mayhew said: “For the price of two hours parking in Kettering I can drive to Northampton, have two hours free parking in the week or all day Saturday and Sunday and enjoy a much wider variety of shops.”

Stewart Bailey said: “The only shops I go to in Kettering are the ones that I can get to, and get back to the car in an hour so that I don’t pay too much for parking.

“If I know that I will be spending longer than an hour, then I go elsewhere.”

Kelly Brown said: “We have many cars parking outside our house daily because they work in town etc. and don’t want to pay.

“It’s expensive so I can’t blame them but it means we have to park a few streets away from our own home because we can never get parked. It’s getting ridiculous now.”

Dan Parkinson said: “I think the town has made some good steps towards redeveloping itself, but clearly people aren’t getting the opportunity to see that hard work.

“Further development won’t happen if these smaller steps don’t take off, and we need to get footfall in to Kettering to show potential investors that it is worthwhile.

“I think reducing parking would help, maybe even making some parking free.”

Krista Norris said: “Parking in Kettering is expensive!

“Wellingborough is free and other bigger towns have cheaper parking. Sad that people don’t go but parking could be a big factor.”

Currently, parking for more than three hours in any of the council-run car parks costs £6.

The review will take place next year, potentially in March or April.

Drivers who kill have been sentenced to an average of just four years in prison with dozens escaping jail altogether, an investigation has revealed.

Not a single person has been handed the maximum 14-year sentence for causing death by dangerous driving since Parliament lengthened the sentence from 10 years in 2004.

Figures show that between 2006 and 2015, 111 people convicted of causing death by dangerous driving walked free from court. Seventy-nine were given suspended sentences, with 14 given community service, 10 people dealt with through a fine and two given a conditional discharge.

Three got an absolute discharge and three others were dealt with by other means.

The average sentence given in that time to those who were jailed is four years and one month.

Many other motorists who kill on the roads are prosecuted under the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving which bereaved families view as an insult.

Today, this newspaper launches our Drive For Justice campaign to call for changes in the law to make sentencing fit the crime for those who kill or seriously injure people on our roads.

Around five people are killed on the roads each day and families who lose a loved one in such a sudden and violent way describe their loss as feeling “like they have been murdered.”

However, the vast majority feel they do not get justice from the legal system in the UK.

The Drive For Justice campaign aims to give these families a voice and we are lobbying the Government to re-work guidelines so judges can use the powers that exist as well as tackling loopholes and imposing tougher sentences for the worst offenders.

You can sign our Change.org petition here and share it using #DriveForJusticeCampaign

What we are lobbying for?

Drive For Justice is seeking to give families affected by the anguish of road deaths as a result of reckless and criminal driving a voice to bring about change and better justice.

Our campaign aims to:

* Call on the Government to re-work sentencing guidelines and give judges specialist training so they can use the full powers that are available to them when deciding sentences for offenders

* To have tougher sentences for the worst offenders

* Have all culpable deaths treated as manslaughter

* See more driving bans and longer driving bans handed out to those who kill or seriously injure on the roads or risk injury and death

* Close the loopholes that exist such as with hit and runs where failure to stop carries a maximum of six months in prison while drink driving penalties are tougher meaning those who have been drink driving can get a lesser sentence if they flee the scene

* Look at the charges of Dangerous Driving and Careless Driving. Bereaved families feel “careless” undermines the severity of the offence when someone is killed or seriously injured by illegal and risky behaviour.

A concerned dad who claims pedestrians have taken to using head torches is calling on the Northamptonshire County Council to “investigate the dim, inadequate street lighting” in the town.

David Barker, of Kings Heath, is fearing for the welfare of his 12-year-old daughter, following her dark walk home from school on Mill Lane in Kingsthorpe, since the council has introduced a new street light scheme in an attempt to use 40 per cent less energy.

The street lighting Private Finance Initiative (PFI) started in October 2011 and has seen the county council’s lighting stock replaced in a bid to offer uniform, white light rather than the patchy orange glow of ‘traditional’ lights.

But Mr Barker said: “What bothers me is that the council are putting in new LED lighting, low consumption lights, which seem darker. Some areas are absolutely pitch black.

“I’ve spoken to other people in the area who also have concerns. Crime might go up, and people could fall over and hurt themselves. Give it a few weeks children will be walking home in the dark.

“The whole town seems to be plunged into darkness now, which has to have a knock on effect with regards to crime and accidents?

“Some areas have absolutely no lighting whatsoever - particularly the road from the Bants Lane roundabout through to Kings Heath - and pedestrians are taking to using head torches.”

A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said: “Lighting along the 40mph section of Mill Lane, Northampton, was switched off in 2011 and the old lights in some sections have now been removed permanently.

“This has been applied consistently in 40mph areas across all of the county where we are responsible for lighting.

“In 40mph roads, generally lighting is retained only at certain roundabouts and some junctions or where it was provided for casualty reduction reasons.

“Since the street lighting was switched off, although the number of injury accidents has not changed along Mill Lane, the severity has reduced.”

It is understood that the scheme has allowed for contractor Balfour Beatty to replace the lamp units and electronics of all streetlights and allow for the replacement of lighting columns where necessary.

Download our app by clicking here to download from Google Play or clicking here to download from Apple’s App Store.

The Royal & Derngate has announced the opening of a new bar this week in Guildhall Road, taking over the site of Danish inspired, Bar Hygge.

The new watering hole, named John Franklin’s, is set to offer Northampton residents a deli counter with a selection of cheese and cured meat, as well as a choice of traditional and craft beers on draught.

Martin Sutherland, Chief Executive of Royal & Derngate, said: “We are delighted to be opening this new enterprise with Tom Hewer, who we have been working with as a catering partner for the last year.

“Adapting to a changing market, this new partnership with a well-established local business is enabling us to develop a high-quality food and drink offering, for daytime and evenings, for theatre goers and general public alike.”

John Franklin’s is set to play host to customers from 8am and will offer cakes and pastries alongside local coffee from the Roastery in Wellingborough, every morning.

The bar, which has its official opening from 4pm on Friday, November 25, promises a range of toasted sandwiches from a daily changing menu.

The bar is named after from John Franklin, the commissioner of the Royal Theatre and Opera House, and will run as a partnership between Tom Hewer Catering and the Royal & Derngate.

Offenders are believed to have drawn the curtains to a ground floor office room and put a light on before stealing items including a laptop, iPad, sports watches and cameras.

The burglary happened sometime between 8.35am and 4.50pm on Wednesday, November 16, at a property in Gibbons Way, Rothwell.

The offenders entered through the rear garden gate and kicked through the lower UPVC door panel.

Anyone with information can contact Northamptonshire Police on 101 or they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.