DAVENTRY Town Ladies got the better of Mansfield Town on Sunday at Communications Park in a top-of-the table clash.

They knew defeat would all but end their title challenge.

The Town defended well as a unit to limit Mansfield to a handful of chances.

The best chance of the first-half fell to Nicole Evans as she volleyed over from close-range to give a 0-0 score at the break.

Daventry came out of the blocks in the second-half creating several chances.

The deadlock was broken when a through ball found Kerry Luckett. She drew the advancing keeper and squared the ball to Lauren Roberts to score.

Mansfield pressed but Daventry scored a second on the break as Nicole Evans slotted the ball past the advancing keeper.

With 10 minutes left a defensive error from a corner enabled Mansfield to get one back. They hit back at the town full of confidence and another error gifted them the equaliser with three minutes remaining.

But Daventry did not give up and Evans found herself in penalty area.

She calmly turned the defender and placed the ball between the legs of the keeper.

Laura Coulson pulled off a match-winning challenge as the goal beckoned for the Mansfield striker.

Up next is an away trip to Mansfield with the Town still believing in the treble.

A FREE event aimed at encouraging families to spend more time together was held at a Daventry church last week.

The Messy Church day featured a variety of craft activities, games and music followed by a short celebration and meal.

Around 32 children and 20 adults attended the event, which was held at the Methodist Church in Golding Close.

Organiser Helen Bowen said: “Messy Church is about families meeting together for a couple of hours to have a fun time together

“It was important that the adults helped the children with the activities so all were involved working on the theme, which this time was about how everyone is important to God.

“There was no charge but contributions to costs were accepted, and many commented on the good time they had.”

The date for the next Messy Church event is Friday, May 18 at 4.30pm.

For more details, call Helen Bowen on 01327 262500.

A SHORTAGE of cider at Daventry Football Club led to a violent attack.

The victims were so traumatised after the assault that they have now moved away from the area.

Danny Wheeldon, 25, and Marc Freeth, 34, were out drinking at the club bar in Browns Road on October 29, 2010 when the cider ran dry.

Rebecca Wade, prosecuting at Northampton Crown Court, said the pair were drinking Strongbow and Sambuca shots when they ordered two pints of cider. But as a barmaid was pouring their drinks the cider ran out.

After being told there was no more cider available the pair became abusive towards the bar staff until a woman stepped in and told them to stop being insulting.

As she was shouted and sworn at, husband Trevor Green also stepped in to intervene but he was attacked.

The court heard he was repeatedly punched and kicked and suffered a cut to the back of his head.

Judge Richard Bray was told the Greens were left so traumatised they have now moved away.

Wheeldon, of Hemans Road and Freeth, of Highfield Road pleaded guilty and admitted inflicting actual bodily harm.

Both men were sentenced to 50 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years and must pay £400 compensation each to Mr Green. Wheeldon must also do 120 hours’ community service while Freeth will be subject to a four-month 8pm to 8am curfew.

EIGHT pupils from Daventry’s secondary schools took over a college’s cafeteria.

Four Year 11 students from both William Parker and Danetre schools spent Thursday last week behind the serving counter in the cafeteria at Northampton College’s Daventry campus.

The pupils are undertaking the ABC Level 1 in food service at the College’s Badby Road site as part of the school link programme.

As part of their course they had to run the college’s busy cafeteria from 9am to 1pm.

During their stint behind the serving counter the pupils’ roles included taking orders from college students and staff, and maintaining a usual level of service all while under the expert eye of catering lecturer, Richard Curtis and the cafeteria’s usual staff.

Mr Curtis said: “This is an essential part of their learning.

“Dealing with real customers in a real-life setting will be an eye-opener and require them to apply everything they have learned in the classroom up until now.

“The experience will be invaluable and the skills they pick up will prepare them for the world of work, whether that’s in catering or any other industry.”

The food service course looks at the catering industry, and deals with how to prepare and serve food and drink, food safety, healthy eating and customer service.

The link between the town’s secondary schools and the college allows pupils to stay at school, but get vocational qualifications from the college.

OLIMPIC Daventry claimed runners-up place in the Soccer Sevens League with a 3-1 victory against fellow-chasers Inter A.

Lloyd Monger gave Inter the lead early on but goals from Tomasz Zelichowski, Piotr Gorniak and a fine headed goal by David Cadeira sealed the points and second place for Olimpic.

Olimpic then played family United in the final game of the season and came out on top with a 3-2 victory.

Tomasz Zelichowski gave Olimpic the lead but a fine strike from Anthony Hyams from his own half levelled the score at half time.

Jareth Conway gave United the lead early in the second-half but goals from Piotr Zdyb and Mariusz Sawoski earned Olimpic all three points.

The new season starts next week and anyone interested in entering a team contact Ben on 07752750582 or soccersevens@live.co.uk

A GROUP of suspected illegal immigrants was arrested by police after a raid on a lorry in Crick.

Officers were alerted to ‘suspicious circumstances’ at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) by a member of the public on Wednesday last week (January 25).

Eleven suspects, all of whom are male, were taken to a local police station before officers contacted the UK Border Agency.

The member of the public who spotted the suspects flagged down a passing police vehicle shortly before 4pm after spotting them trying to escape from the lorry.

After investigation it was discovered that six of the 11 suspected immigrants are under 18 years of age.

They have now been passed into the care of social services.

Of the other five adults two are from Iran, one from Kuwait, one from Afghanistan and one from Pakistan. Three of the men have claimed asylum and been placed in asylum accommodation while their cases are dealt with.

The other two currently remain in UK Border Agency detention.

A spokesman from Northamptonshire Police said the males tried to flee out of the back of the lorry before they were arrested.

Three of the suspects were arrested straight away and the police helicopter was used to track down the remaining eight.

The UK Border Agency said that if the suspects are found to have no right to be in the UK they will be removed from the country.

A UK Border Agency spokesman added: “When suspected illegal immigrants are found on lorries our officers attend quickly.

“We continue to work closely with police to tackle illegal immigration and immigration crime. Where an individual is found to have no legal right to remain in the UK we will take action to remove them.”

DAVENTRY Ladies maintained their unbeaten run and are still top of the league after beating Wellingborough second string 6-1.

An over-stretched Daventry squad welcomed Anna Kingstone and Jo Dicks who made their first appearance of the season.

This was Daventry’s first game since early December against a Wellingborough side sitting in fourth place in the league.

Daventry settled first with Alex Meek and Zoe Smiley taking control in the midfield. Alison Creaney and Hayley Frost linked up well.

The first goal followed good build up play from Steph Borthwick, who found Zoe Smiley. She crossed the ball into the D for Angela Bartlett to deflect the ball pass the keeper. Wellingborough came up against strong defending from Mandy Thompson and Anna Kingstone.

Daventry were soon two up with great passing between Val McCarthy and Alex Meek who found Zoe Smiley in the D to slot home.

Daventry continued to have the better of the first-half play, but were unable to add to the scoreline before half-time.

The town players started the second-half well and created a few scoring chances but were kept out by some strong Wellingborough defending.

The third came from a short corner from Zoe Smiley, after some good attacking play from Val McCarthy, Amy Dimmet and Hayley Frost.

The fourth came from a driving run from Alex Meek, who pulled the ball back for Angela Bartlett to tap home.

Karen Barlow in goal persisted to keep the opposition at bay until a short corner was awarded, which Wellingborough converted.

Daventry scored their fifth with Angela Bartlett completing her hat-trick. They saved the best until last when Mandy Thompson found Hayley Frost. Her cross field ball set off player of the match Alex Meek who finished with a rocket shot into the corner.

CHILDREN at a village nursery experienced life down under for Australia Day.

Clarecroft Day Nursery, in Long Buckby, celebrated Australia Day on Thursday last week.

Natasha Obee, nursery supervisor, said: “A couple of our families had been to Australia recently so there was an interest from the other kids.

“The families brought some lovely things in like boomerangs, maps and didgeridoos.

“The children had a go at some Aboriginal style art, learnt about Australian animals, and we had an Australian menu as well with damper bread, chilli beef pie, and Anzac biscuits.”

Australia Day marks the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the proclamation at that time of British sovereignty.

I WAS ambling home from a walk through our local park the other afternoon when I spotted a couple of policemen calling at a house near to mine.

They knocked at the door a couple of times. When there was no answer, they began looking around in a somewhat confused manner and then decided to ask me if I knew the people who lived at the house. I told them that I did but they worked during the day and wouldn’t be home until after 5pm.

I was then asked if the man of the house was black. I said no and they said that they had been told that the man who lived at number 23 was black. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that they had been knocking at number 24 because the number was clearly on the front door at eye level!

They briefly discussed the matter and decided to come back in the evening.

This leads me to believe that it might be a good idea if the authorities checked the numeracy of the police before they let them out in the neighbourhood.

I’m afraid that recent experiences lead me to believe that the basic skills are not being taught well enough in our schools.

Perhaps too much time is spent on more frivolous pastimes and not enough on the skills that everyone needs to make their way in life.

Too much is made of the use of computers, which only makes young people lazy when it comes to thinking for themselves.

My mum and dad both came from working class backgrounds. My mum had 11 brothers and sisters and all of them could write a good letter and spell properly when they left school at the age of 14.

They probably lacked some of the finer things in life but good manners and common sense where high on the agenda for them as was ensuring that their own kids got a decent education.

It’s sad to say it but I really believe that we have allowed modern technology to take the place of good old fashioned parenting.

A PREACHER whose convictions for a week-long campaign of rape were quashed by appeal judges will now walk free from prison because no retrial has been sought.

Paul Denton, 47, formerly of Hood Road in Daventry was accused of a string of rapes of a woman.

In February last year, he was jailed for 12 years after he was convicted of four assaults, occasioning actual bodily harm and seven counts of rape, at Inner London Crown Court.

He appealed and saw the rape convictions overturned on Thursday last week. Mr Denton has walked free after no retrial of the allegations will be applied for.

The 32-year-old woman, who can not be named for legal reasons had spoken to prosecutors before making a decision.

Lord Justice Moses, who heard the appeal with Mr Justice Burnett and Judge Anthony Scott-Gall, said an omission in the trial judge’s summing up rendered the convictions “unsafe”.

At the appeal in December, Richard Hearnden, defending, had argued the trial judge should have given the jury a direction on the fact that he had no previous convictions for sexual offences.

“We take the view, reluctantly, that the verdicts of rape in this case were unsafe,” said Lord Justice Moses.

“We say we do so reluctantly because the conclusion we have reached does not reflect upon the credibility of the complainant from whom, of course, we have not heard. The failure of the judge and, for that matter, of counsel on both sides, to make good the omission was no fault of the complainant.”

Mr Denton, who changed his name to “Lord Denton” by deed poll, claimed he was sent by God to save the people of Daventry and described the allegations as “lies from the depths of hell.”

It was alleged that Mr Denton, who now lives in Wembley, beat the woman “as a punishment”.

The Appeal Court heard that, during his evidence, he admitted there had been some physical violence, but he denied raping her and the assaults that were alleged to have taken place.

His lawyers argued that he was unfairly prejudiced during his trial, because the judge failed to give the jury a direction about his lack of previous convictions.

PUPILS at Staverton Primary School got the chance to explore Roman history thanks to the arrival of two special visitors.

Mark Blaymires and Mark Vance turned up at the school on Thursday last week dressed as Romans to teach the youngsters all about their society and culture.

Year Five and Six took part in the Roman day and to find out why the empire invaded Britain.

As well as being given the chance to use some of the weaponry, they also marched in formations.

Children looked at the military strategies used throughout the Roman empire and really got into the spirit by holding the shields and weapons.

In the afternoon, the focus moved to the more cultural side of ancient Rome by looking at everything from the theatre to the fights that took place in the collosseum.

Class teacher Dan Payne said: “All of the children have had a chance to get really involved and there has been a lot of excitement.

“The guys that came in were great with the children and really knew their stuff. They did some great role play activities.

“The children had a fantastic time and it gave them a chance to learn in different ways.”

A MEMORIAL bench has been installed at a burial ground in memory of two teenagers who died in car accidents.

Christopher Lawson and Jason Eaton, who were both from Crick, died in separate accidents.

Friends and relatives gathered at the village’s burial ground to unveil the bench on Sunday.

Jason, 17, of Oak Lane, died in October 2010 when he was the passenger in a Toyota Corolla which hit fencing and a hedge on the road between Watford and West Haddon.

Christopher Lawson, 19, died after accepting the offer of a lift from an acquaintance back in November 2008.

The car was travelling along the A428 between West Haddon and Crick, when it crashed head-on into a Mazda MX5. Christopher was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jason’s mother Marina said: “The memorial bench has come about because a lot of people in the village have got behind it and supported fundraising initiatives that we have held.

“I think there were a lot of people who wanted to help because these were two young lads both from the village who lost their lives in very similar circumstances and it will be nice to remember them.”

Other money that has been raised has been donated to the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and Brake, the road safety charity which supported the Eaton family after the accident.

Christopher’s mother Elaine told the Daventry Express: “I love the new bench and I am really pleased with it.

“There has been a lot of hard work carried out by people to raise the funds for the bench and from people in the area.

“Christopher was a wonderful son, he was full of life and absolutely lived for the moment.

“He would have been thrilled by the bench.

Ty Deakin, 28, of High Street, Yelvertoft, was imprisoned in January 2010 for six years after pleading guilty to causing the death of Christopher by dangerous driving. He is also banned from driving until 2017.

George Robinson, 18, of Naseby Road, Clipston, was sentenced to 18 months’ detention and banned from driving for two years last month after admitting causing death by dangerous driving of Jason Eaton.

TOM Berwick has started a third spell with Daventry Town after a grand tour of the West Midlands which took in brief sojourns at Nuneaton, Leamington and Redditch United.

The Rugby-based striker scored more than 80 goals for the Communications Park club in the past two seasons having helped the Town to win both the UCL Division One and Premier Division titles in runaway fashion.

Not surprisingly he then hankered after a shot at the big time but was given little chance at Blue Square League Nuneaton before failing to dislodge Jacob Blyth and David Kolodinski at Leamington.

Berwick (pictured left) who still works for Daventry chairman Iain Humphrey’s Shebang mobile phone company, then tried his luck at Redditch.

Third time around at Daventry Berwick faces a daunting task as Mark Kinsella’s men failed to score in more than eight hours of league football going into Tuesday night’s home match with struggling Bedfont Town.

In Saturday’s match against Northwood, Berwick twice fired inches wide as well as having a shot cleared off the line.

But he was ultimately unable to resume his normal goal-scoring habit.

This time too there will be no Russell Dunkley to act as front-running playmaker.

A touch of magic in front of goal would not go amiss this weekend either.

Daventry Town are due to visit Central Division championship favourites St.Neots whose recent 9-2 hammering of Aylesbury included hat-tricks from both Stefan Moore and Shane Tolley.

Two seasons ago Daventry won the UCL title by seven points even though the Saints did the double over them.

Last winter St.Neots followed suit and have since taken the Southern League by storm.

Even more firepower has been added by the signing of former Leamington marksman Ben Mackey as the Saints have laid down a serious challenge to sleeping giants Slough Town in the chase for the Central Division title.

A LONG BUCKBY firm has been nominated for an architectural award after converting a water tower into a residential property.

The extension, designed by Long Buckby-based architects Baynes and Co, has been shortlisted by The Architects Journal for Best Small Project for 2011.

The awards recognise projects under £250,000. The Water Tower near Kettering is a home, art gallery and performance space for Ros Stoddart, founder of Fermynwoods Contemporary Arts.

The project required the relocation of an existing spiral staircase outside of the water tower to release space for a bedroom, bathroom, study and entrance foyer.

Architect Adrian Baynes said: “It was converted into a house in 1995 but the one thing that wasn’t used at that stage was the tower itself because it had the stair case inside it and there wasn’t any room left.

“What we have done is we have moved the staircase outside the tower into the extensions.”

The extension is designed to look as if the tower’s wall has been hinged out, and the new building plugged into the old. There is even a ‘water line’ inscribed into the render.

He added: “It is a prestigious award because it means, for projects under £250,000, it is one of the best buildings for 2011.”

“Telekinesis: The ability to move, lift, vibrate (that’s my favourite), spin, bend, break or impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means.”

You want to see some ‘direct influence’? Go and see Chronicle, is a pitch perfect tale of three high school kids who acquire telekinetic superpowers from a strange possibly alien artefact.

So what are these young guys going to do with the power to move things, fly and attack people just with their minds?

At first the three lead characters – troubled Andrew (Dane DeHaan), his nice-but-dim cousin Matt (Alex Russell), and slick Steve (Michael B. Jordan) — go out and have fun.

Pranking shoppers, pulling off jaw-dropping talent show routines, checking out girls’ underwear, playing football in the clouds (a truly grin- inducing sequence) – you know, just the average lads kind of stuff.

But before you can say ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ at least one of the group is exploring his dark side which sets up the most thrilling super-heroic battle climax to grace the big screen in years.

Chronicle is a great film, it deconstructs the standard super hero genre in a similar way to the excellent Kick Ass or Super 8 did and manages to play it both for laughs and packs a darker undercurrent.

My teenage son loved it and proclaimed it to be ‘awesome’ which is high praise for a relatively low ($15m) budget film.

Some might not like the idea of Chronicle being a ‘found footage’ flick – most of the shots are taken from the hand held camera Andrew carries around with him. It works though and adds a fun element of effectively capturing the changing moods of the characters.

First time director Josh Trank uses the hand held cinematic device to good effect, especially when Andrew causes the camera to float using his powers.

There is also some social commentary on the very reasons people choose to record what they do.

Chronicle is a refreshing blast of teen angst channelled through super-powered urban destruction – this is a ‘must see’ film for anyone who enjoys superhero flicks and it even leaves the door open for what would be a welcome follow up.

Dark, unsettling and brilliant, Chronicle will rock you and leave you breathless – highly recommended viewing.

A FIRE crew from Long Buckby attended a road traffic accident in the village on Saturday morning.

The incident happened along Grasscroft, just off Station Road at 8.15am. The fire service assisted one person from the vehicle.

A GLORIOUS musical will be coming to the Royal and Derngate from tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

The King and I will feature This Life’s Ramon Tikaram as the King of Siam and promises to be a lavish grand scale musical. It will be performed on the Derngate stage until Saturday February 11.

Tickets – priced between £14 and £34.50 – can be booked by calling the box office on 01604 624811 or online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk.

DAVENTRY District Council has warned there may be difficulties collecting bins today (Monday).

The authority has said recycling collections crews have set off as normal and while the main roads are clear of snow and ice, it remains in the side streets.

Collection vehicles may have difficulty accessing the side roads.

If the waste collections are missed, people are asked to leave any black bins and sacks out, take brown bins back inside if not collected and put it out on the next scheduled garden waste collection day.

People are also advised to take recycling boxes and food waste bins in and they will be taken on the next scheduled collection day.

For further details, visit www.daventrydc.gov.uk/your-council/news/waste-and-recycling-collections-in-snow-and-icy-weather/

A MAN was punched several times during an assault in Daventry.

It happened on Saturday between 2.30am and 3am in Sheaf Street when he was approached by a group of young men. The victim was punched around the head several times causing bruising, scratches and a cut to his right eye.

The group are described as all white, in their 20s around 5ft 8ins tall and of slim build. One of the males was wearing a black look leather jacket and dark blue jeans with a tattoo on his neck which appeared to be writing of some type. He had short dark gelled hair.

A second male was wearing a sky blue hooded jacket and had short dark hair.

Witnesses can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

THE next meeting of the Daventry and District Diabetes Group is set for Monday.

The group will hear from Chanda Bhogaita, a diabetes specialist dietitian, who will talk about ‘eating well with diabetes’.

The meeting takes place on Monday at the seminar room at Danetre Hospital, London Road, Daventry, at 7.30pm.

New members welcome. Contact Colin Davenport on 01327 702055 for more.