It’s official - trusting your gut instinct is the way forward for major life events.

A poll of 2,000 Brits revealed that instinct is the best judge when it comes to making big decisions such as buying a house or taking a job.

One in three admit setting aside logic and advice and ‘going with their gut’ on important life choices.

The survey also found three quarters believe their gut instinct usually leads them to a correct decision.

On average, the nation has had to trust its inner decision-maker four times per year - with three of those choices turning out to be the correct ones.

Nearly every Brit polled believe there is such a thing as gut instinct - with 93 per cent admitting it exists.

Correct decisions

A spokesman for online casino Casumo.com, which conducted the study, said: “It’s amazing how many Brits believe in gut instinct, and the perception that going with your gut usually leads to correct decisions.

“Our poll found that Brits are usually confident in going with their guts, and many people will go with their initial instinct despite advice otherwise.

“Almost all of us have, at one point or another, trusted our gut when it comes to a decision - whether it was a big one or a small one.”

The most common areas for us to trust our gut instincts are in relationships, at work and deciding on whether to become friends with someone.

Most found trusting their instincts paid off in other ways.

One man booked a once-in-a-lifetime trip for himself and his wife, who was unwell, to the USA. It proved to be their last trip together before she became too ill to travel.

Nightmare scenario

Another interviewed a candidate for a job who on paper appeared to have all the right attributes.

The employer’s gut instinct, however, said to pass. That candidate then went to work for a rival company, and turned out to be a nightmare.

Many suggested their gut instincts had paid off when making a bet, with one coming up trumps with a 250 to 1 winner in a horse race.

One in five Brits has had their gut instinct proved right by following their internal reactions despite advice telling them to do the opposite - although a tenth say this didn’t turn out well for them.

Half of the population believe people who have a habit of listening to their gut instinct are typically happier than those that don’t.

And when we have a really big decision to make, gut instinct is the second most important factor to help us decide - after seeking advice from partners.

It usually takes a week’s deliberating over a big decision like buying a house, a car or taking a new job, with smaller decisions like buying clothes reached in under two days.

The Casumo.com spokesman added: “Gut instinct is such a difficult thing to define. It’s just something within you that feels right or wrong.

“Some respondents described it as feeling like a compelling force, guiding the right direction - most usually coming from the pit of the stomach.

“And although gut instinct doesn’t always steer us in the right direction, the overwhelming majority of Brits think that their gut is trustworthy enough to follow, most of the time.

“Gut instinct can be an important part of reaching a decision - but make sure that you take on board advice from friends and loved ones as well.”

A cyber-attack on Electronics retailer CeX has compromised the personal data of up to 2 million customers, the company has confirmed.

Hackers walked away with names, addresses and phone numbers of 2 million CeX customers but no financial details were stolen.

In an e-mail to affected customers on Tuesday, August 29, CeX confirmed that they had suffered an online security breach that compromised personal data belonging to millions of customers.

Hackers behind the cyber-attack could not get their hands on any financial data but managed to compromise encrypted data from expired credit or debit cards that CeX stored prior to 2009.

Data compromised by the hackers includes first names, surnames, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers of registered CeX customers. Following the breach, CeX admitted that even though they had a robust security programme in place, additional measures were required to prevent such a sophisticated attack. The same have been implemented by the retailer with the help of a cyber-security specialist.

CeX has advised all registered users to immediately change the passwords for their webuy online accounts and to ensure that the old passwords weren’t used in any other accounts.

“Although your password has not been stored in plain text, if it is not particularly complex then it is possible that in time, a third party could still determine your original password and could attempt to use it across other, unrelated services. As such, as a precautionary measure, we advise customers to change their password across other services where they may have re-used their WeBuy website password,” the retailer said.

The retailer is now working with the police and other relevant authorities to find out who conducted the cyber-attack and exactly how much data was stolen.

A young woman was racially assaulted as she walked in Northampton last Friday.

The 19-year-old on Lorne Road, Semilong, between 4pm and 4.10pm, on Friday, August 25, when two men approached her from behind and started shouting racial abuse at her.

One of the men then pushed her before ripping a veil from her head.

Both men were Asian, around 5ft 5in, of thin build with short hair. One of the men was wearing a black jumper, dark jeans and dark trainers. The other was wearing a blue hooded top and jeans.

Witnesses or anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Police were called to Vernon Close at about 8.40pm, following reports of a collision involving a moped, believed to be stolen.

Officers attended a nearby house and an 18-year-old man, 23-year-old man and 22-year-old woman were arrested in connection with various offences, including theft of a motor vehicle, burglary, possession of an offensive weapon, drugs offences and obstructing the police.

All three are currently in police custody and the investigation is ongoing.

The 23-year-old man was also arrested in connection with a suspected acid attack that happened in Park Leys, Daventry, in the early hours of Saturday, August 26.

A witness said police had used a flashbang at one point during the evening, though this has not yet been confirmed.

Officers were at the scene for some time with some nearby residents taking photos past midnight.

The incident happened between 4.15pm and 4.45pm on Monday, 17 July, at the One Stop Shop in Gladstone Road.

Officers are keen to speak to the people pictured, who they believe may be able to assist the investigation, and are urging them or anyone who may recognise them to get in touch.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 08000 555111.

A pedestrian was involved in a road traffic collision in Northampton this afternoon.

Slow moving traffic has been reported on the A428 Bedford Road both ways following the incident.

Traffic in the town centre reportedly "hasn't recovered yet".

The incident was first reported at around 2:55pm today (August 30).

An inquest heard how two people were killed on a Northamptonshire road when a motorbike travelling at 118mph struck a car.

Steve Atkins, 51, from Coventry, died “almost instantly” when his motorbike collided with a Skoda driven by Shirley McClements, 60, outside Jacks Hill Cafe on the A5 in Towcester on Mothers Day (March 26) this year.

Shirley, from Nether Heyford, was killed after the car burst into flames on impact with the bike. She was on her way to a Mother’s Day lunch with her son.

A coroner ruled the two “tragic” deaths were accidental at an inquest on August 30.

Families gasped when evidence revealed Steven’s motorbike had been travelling at nearly twice the speed limit before the crash.

Paul Gorman was out riding with Steven on the day of the accident at around 12.30pm.

In a statement read out by the coroner, he said: “We were travelling on the A5 when Steven overtook two cars in front of us. I didn’t follow.

“I heard an extremely loud bang and saw a plume of black smoke. I saw Steve’s bike up against a car in the road. It was on fire, and Steve was lying on the opposite side of the road.”

Shirley was turning out of the car park of Jacks Hill Cafe when Steve crashed into the driver’s side door.

Evidence showed the bike could only have been visible to Shirley for around three seconds before it hit her car.

Another motorbike rider, Roy Davies, was also waiting to leave the junction and witnessed the impact. He said: “It was clear when the Skoda exited into the road.

“He drove straight into her. The bike burst into flames.

“I rushed over to the car. Flames were pouring out. I tried to open the door but the flames drove me back.”

Despite efforts by a policeman and a member of staff from the cafe to fight the fire with an extinguisher, nothing could be done.

Shirley was a mother of four and had two granddaughters, one of whom was born on the Wednesday before her death.

Speaking in the days after the accident, her eldest son Ian said: “To us, she was just ‘mum’, but clearly to a lot of people she was a bit special and we took her for granted a bit. She was a great mum and grandmother.”

She had been on her way for Mother’s Day lunch with her family when she died.

Ian said: “She was clearly taken to soon. For the family, it’s devastating - she’s here one day and gone the next.

“She was always up to something with the grandchildren. There are lots of memories to share.

Steve’s father Leslie Atkins said: “Steven was an engineer and was very well regarded by his colleagues and boss. Everyone from his workplace came to his funeral.

“He will be dearly missed by his partner, family, and many friends and colleagues.”

A Northampton man drowned in the River Nene after slipping between his boat and the river bank while intoxicated, an inquest heard.

Stewart Young, 52, was found in the water by police on March 14 after he was reported missing by friends and family in the days before.

He had been living in a large boat moored near to the Carlsberg Factory and the B&Q in St James Retail Park.

In a statement read out by the coroner at his inquest yesterday, a close friend of Stewart’s, Jemma Mottee, said: “I hadn’t heard from him in days. He lived alone in his boat and me and my partner began to worry about him.

“He sometimes visited the Oasis House in Ash Street. We went there and saw he hadn’t signed in to the visitor’s book for a long time.

“It was then we called the police and reported him missing.”

Jemma went to Stewart’s boat but could not find him.

Inside, she found a note she had left for him three days earlier in the same place she put it, and Stewart’s dog on its own.

A police officer from the Missing Person’s team, PC Allen, was dispatched to Stewart’s boat on March 14.

PC Allen said: “Myself and a colleague searched the boat and found [a body] sticking out of the water between the boat and the nearby path.

“Further investigations showed no signs of violence.”

A post-mortem identified the body as Stewart. He had been more than twice over the limit when he died and had also taken amphetamines.

It is believed Stewart had slipped between the boat and river bank and struggled to get back out as he was intoxicated.

His death was ruled as accidental by the coroner.

Stewart’s brother, Raymond Young, paid tribute to his younger brother in a statement read out by the coroner.

He said: “Stewart was an introvert and selected his friends carefully. He loved animals, especially dogs, and had many pets. He also loved dancing and music.

“He had his own way of doing things. He was a soulful figure who will be sadly missed.”

The incident happened metres away from the crossing opposite the Saints ground in Weedon Road, St James.

An air ambulance crew landed shortly after 8am, though eyewitnesses say the collision occurred at around 7.30am.

Councillor Suresh Patel (Con, New Duston) runs the Costcutter opposite Beacon Bingo, praised the emergency services for their swift response. He made the 999 call at 7.30am.

"Paramedics were here very quickly," he said. "I was very impressed."

Weedon Road is still closed in both directions (as of 10am) with a diversion currently taking traffic around the Scottish streets in St James.

The Pride in Northamptonshire Awards have been launched and are a perfect opportunity to celebrate the very best in our county.

We are asking readers to nominate those who always go the extra mile to improve their community, or who have overcome personal challenges to succeed.

One of this year’s categories is Excellence in Hospitality Service, which is being sponsored by Whittlebury Hall, a hotel, spa and conference centre near Towcester.

A spokesman for Whittlebury Hall said: “Whittlebury Hall is delighted to be sponsoring the ‘Excellence in Hospitality Service’ award at this year’s Northamptonshire Community Awards.

“We share in the awards’ passion for the local community and feel that it is of paramount importance to celebrate those people and businesses making substantial contributions to Northamptonshire’s reputation.

“We are proud to be located in such a picturesque and thriving county and offer visitors to Northamptonshire a fantastic place to stay, play and relax.

“Those visiting us can explore everything the local area has to offer as well as enjoying our incredible selection of award-winning facilities including 254 bedrooms, an on-site restaurant, fully-equipped meetings and events facilities catering for up to 3,000 delegates, 36 holes of championship golf and one of the UK’s largest day spas.

“In addition to our extensive facilities, we pride ourselves on our stellar customer service and so it is an honour to be celebrating and supporting other local hospitality businesses who share this ethos.

“We wish all those entering the ‘Excellence in Hospitality Service’ award the very best of luck and look forward to celebrating the winner’s success.”

This year’s other categories are Community Award, Inspire a Generation, Hard Work and Determination, Courage and Kindness, Unsung Hero or Heroine, Apprentice of the Year, Service With a Smile, Young Achiever, Volunteer of the Year, Carer of the Year, and Fundraiser of the Year.

Nominating an individual or group could not be easier, simply visit prideinnorthants.weebly.com and follow the ‘How to Nominate’ link.

Pep Forgione, 50, and Mario, 47 - who had no first aid training at the time - were at their business, Michael’s Golden Chippy on September 17, when 18-year-old Beth Nicholls suffered a cardiac arrest.

Now, one year on from the incident, the pair has been chosen as British Heart Foundation finalists for the Heart Heroes ceremony - set to take place on September 27 in Leciester - after supporters pledged their votes on social media.

Mario said: “We lost her twice, she actually died in front of us, literally in my hands, Pep was there and she took her last breath.

“It was horrific, but we feel blessed that she is still alive.

“A lot of customers still ask ‘how is Beth?’”

Just after 9pm that night the brothers were tidying up behind the counter, in the company of Beth.

Mario turned around to speak to her before she collapsed and hit her head.

Beth had suffered a cardiac arrest – she had no history of heart problems and no symptoms beforehand.

Pep said: “It was like, hold on a minute, did she just faint, has she just slipped?

“You try and work out quickly in your head what’s going on. He panicked, I ran to the phone, he tended to her and before you know it I’m speaking to paramedics and he is trying to bring her back round. I think the speed it all happened probably played a big part in her being here today.”

At the time, the brothers were hailed for not only saving Beth’s life, but for promptly starting CPR, which kept her brain oxygenated and prevented it suffering damage.

Since then, the duo, who work on the town’s Headlands estate, have paid for their staff to undergo first aid training.

Pep added: “I think it would benefit everybody, because you never know when it’s going to happen.”

In total that day, Beth stopped breathing four times. Twice at work and twice in the company of paramedics.

Now Beth has had an operation to fit an internal cardiac defibrillator – a device that will act automatically if she ever suffers the same problem.

A four-and-a-half mile stretch of the A5 in Northamptonshire has been closed after a crash involving a car, a lorry and a motorbike.

The major road is closed between Gibbet Hill in Warwickshire and Crick in Northamptonshire.

The three-vehicle collision happened near a truck stop on the southbound carriageway at 6am.

Paramedics are still in attendance at the scene.

A Kettering flat has been closed and the tenant evicted due to numerous complaints of anti-social behaviour.

The property in Dryden Street, Kettering, was boarded up on Tuesday following a closure order granted by Wellingborough Magistrates Court.

PC Teri Turner, from Northamptonshire Police’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team, said: “The flat has been closed due to anti-social behaviour and suspected drug use.

“There have been complaints of people showing up at the property day and night, shouting and swearing and once inside causing further anti-social behaviour problems.

“We’ve had reports of people turning up with bats outside the property and fights going on.

“The occupant has been evicted and the flat has been boarded up for three months which gives Home Group housing the opportunity to apply for possession of the property.

“This is a residential area and this sort of thing can have a big impact on other people who live in the area.”

The order, granted under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, means that it is now a criminal offence to enter the property without police or court permission.

A man wearing dark tracksuit bottoms approached two women in Northampton while waving a knife.

The incident happened in Farmfield Court, Thorplands, sometime between 4.45pm and 6pm last Saturday (August 26), Northamptonshire Police today revealed.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police said: "The offender was white, slim and aged in his late 20s. He was 5ft 5in-5ft 7in with short mousey blonde hair and a short blonde moustache. He was wearing dark tracksuit bottoms and a light- coloured T-shirt."

Anyone with information should call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555111.

Offenders broke into the rear of the property in Plough Lane, Kingsthorpe, via a back door window before carrying out an 'untidy search', stealing a number of items, including sentimental and high-value products.

The incident happened some time between 6.40pm on Tuesday, August 22 and 6.45pm on Thursday, August 24, Northamptonshire Police today confirmed.

According to witnesses, a white van was seen acting in suspicious circumstances on the day and police are keen to speak to anyone with further information on this incident.

Anyone with information should call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555111

Children belonging to a traveller encampment in Northampton are alleged to have “verbally and physically abused” a set of runners as they took part in a an organised event at the weekend.

Several people taking part in the Parkrun Northampton event at The Racecourse on Saturday have reported how children belonging to a camp pitched up there targeted youngsters taking part in the run.

Event director for Northampton, Gabby Deere, said: “One child had his cap stolen, another young girl had her ponytail pulled. It was very distressing for all involved.

“In five years we have never had anything like this.”

The traveller group at the Racecourse had already been the subject of several complaints. Last week the group was criticised for driving quad bikes around Lings Park.

As of yesterday, much of the group appeared to have moved onto the borough council-owned Kingsthorpe Recreation Ground.

Det Supt Dennis Murray of Northamptonshire Police said a colleague had been down to the site to meet with the camp following the reports.

“The parents actually agreed that behaviour was unacceptable,” he said.

Ms Deere said the incident will not deter the park run from taking place at The Racecourse, which is regularly attended by 500 or more people.

She added: "Hopefully this was a one-off."

Town centre shoppers have been warned not to get duped by “sleight of hand” games in Northampton town centre after reports of a group has been targeting townsfolk for money.

Northamptonshire Police has been made aware of a series of incidents involving members of the public being asked to take part in a rigged “three cup game” in the town centre.

On Thursday a man was reportedly spotted by the Coventry Building Society in Abington Street asking people to take part in the scam.

The game, which asks people to guess which cup a ball or small item is hidden under is notoriously used by confidence tricksters.

One woman who saw the game being played in Abington Street at around 3.30pm on Thursday (August 24) said: “I have seen them there a couple of times.

“They are getting a crowd of people there.

“It looks as if they are getting people to paying them £5 a ball.

“It’s rigged, you can’t win it.”

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police, said: “We have been made aware that there may be people operating sleight of hand games in the town centre that they are concerned about.

“We would encourage people not to get involved in handing over any money with these sorts of games.

“If you have been a victim of crime report it to us.

“We have been in contact with Trading Standards and the central policing team at to see if they have powers to tackle the issues.”

Seven people will appear in court today charged with the murder of a 17-year-old boy from Northampton.

Liam Hunt was stabbed to death in St George's Street, near the town centre, on February 14 this year.

Aaron Joseph, 20, from London, James Dodd, 18, from Sentinel Road, Northampton, and two other boys who cannot be named due to their age have all pleaded not guilty to his murder at Northampton Crown Court this morning.

Three other boys, who cannot be named due to their age, will appear in court this afternoon.

A six-week trial has been set for February 5 next year

The prosecution alleges the fatal blow was a knife wound to the 17-year-old's neck.

The Light Aircraft Association (LAA) Rally will see up to 1,000 light sport aircraft land at Sywell Aerodrome over three days starting this Friday.

At peak time, a world record could even be broken with more than 100 takeoffs in a single hour, making the Northamptonshire landing strip busier than Heathrow.

The oldest aircraft is likely to be the 1915 BristolScout biplane, built from parts of an aircraft originally flown by owner David Bremner’s grandfather, while among the newest is a Rans S6, built by secondary school students from the West Midlands, which made its maiden flight just last month.

LAA chief executive Steve Slater said: “The LAA Rally is Britain’s biggest annual fly-in event, combining a trade show, exhibition area and static aircraft displays.

“It is not an air show, but with typically over 400 aircraft on-site each day, it is a mecca for aircraft enthusiasts from all over Europe, who take the opportunity to get up close to the aircraft in a manner not normally possible at formal air displays.”

The event this year celebrates "youth in aviation", with a special marquee dedicated to young flyers.

Admission to the event is free to LAA members . £12 for non-LAA members. Parking is free.

The Save Our Queen Eleanor Cross group has welcomed a peleton of charity cyclists, who have supported their cause, to Northampton.

Taking to their saddles, the ninth annual Queen Eleanor Cycle Ride group battled burst tyres, melting roads and blistering temperatures to visit the town.

Raising money for London homeless person’s charity, The Connection at St Martin’s, the group stopped by as they visited the sites of all twelve Eleanor Crosses, cycling the 200 mile distance between them over three days.

The bike tour followed in the footsteps of the medieval cortege of Queen Eleanor who died near Lincoln in 1290.

Her husband King Edward I arranged for his dead wife’s body to be carried to London with crosses bearing statues of the Queen - the Queen Eleanor Crosses - to be erected at places where the procession stopped overnight, before her burial in Westminster Abbey.

The cyclists who have actively supported the campaign to restore Northampton’s cross, were met by the Save Our Queen Eleanor Cross group.

So far the bike ride has raised £4,887 for The Connection.

Charles Woodd, Chair of the Friends of The Connection, said: “The Connection provides vital services to help homeless and vulnerable people get back into society.”

The ride will return to the county next year.

To take part 2018’s 10th anniversary cycle ride register at www.queeneleanorcycleride.org.uk or donate at www.mydonate.bt.com riders