A language historian has revealed the best long-lost swear words from Britain - including nippy, tarse and wittol.

Dr Todd Gray MBE has spent years studying insults from history - and has published a list of some of the finest examples that have disappeared.

He unearthed more than 200 colourful vanished adjectives including “bald-arse” and “hollow-mouthed” - indicating a lack of teeth.

Others include “long-nosed”; “gouty-legged”; “chamber pot” and “copper-nosed” from the practice of treating syphilis with copper.

Highlights include “nippy” and “tarse”, meaning penis. and wittol, meaning a husband complicit in his wife’s adultery.

Other old swear words include “polecat” meaning a lewd woman and “cucumber”, which was another word for a cuckold.

A dictionary of insults

Dr Gray, a research fellow at the University of Exeter, spent years trawling through 40,000 documents from the church and state courts in the 1500s and 1600s.

This month, he published his research in the monograph ‘Strumpets and Ninnycocks: Name calling in Devon, 1540-1640’, as well as in the spin-off book ‘How to swear like an Elizabethan in Devon’ - a dictionary of insults.

Many of the documents he found were related to slander cases, in which people would complain that they had been verbally insulted.

Different strokes for different folks

Dr Gray, 58, said: “At the very heart of everything is the need to keep a good reputation.

‘’Reputation had such a big impact on your life and you could lose your job or your home,”

“If a woman had a bad reputation, she could lose her husband. I’ve seen references to men leaving their wives because of gossip, or to women who couldn’t get married because things had been said about them.”

Common themes included illicit sex, low intelligence, dishonesty, witchcraft and disease.

Women were most often called names when they were suspected of having illicit sex, the most common insult being “whore”.

The word whore could be qualified with more than 200 adjectives, including platter-face, bald, scurvy-mouthed, beetle-browed, poxy, copper-nosed or fat-arsed.

Other so-called ‘whores’ were identified by the place in which they were active - hence why some unfortunate women were called names such as “Broom Close Whore”, “Ditch Whore”, “Furse Whore” and “Hedge Whore”.

Men, on the other hand, were more likely to be targeted for dishonesty and lack of intelligence.

Two of the most common insults was “rogue”, meaning a disreputable man, and “knave”. For example: “Thou art a Knave and an Arrant Knave for thou hast attempted my chastity and thou wouldst have had the carnal knowledge of my body”.

A ninnyhammer was “a man whose wife is unfaithful, and he’s foolish with it. He doesn’t realize his wife is running around behind his back”.

Other highlights of Dr Gray’s collection include “nippy” and “tarse”, meaning penis; wittol, meaning a husband complicit in his wife’s adultery; “punk” and “polecat”, both meaning a lewd woman; and “cucumber”, which was another word for a cuckold.

And then there are the scatological insults, which Gray says were often directed at figures of authority.

He said: “S--t is there all the time The word turd is also very common.

‘’But the one they really liked was the word fart. ‘I don’t care a fart for you.’ ‘Bring the mayor to me and I will fart in his mouth.’”

Other long lost swear words he includes are ninnycock, jackanapes and ninnyhammer.

There is also jade, punk, drab, hackney, rascal, varlet, sucker, cockscomb, woodcock, lubber, whoremonger and minx.

Moving with the times

Some of the words and phrases still have the power to shock today, but there are also crucial differences.

“Today we are dominated by three body parts - and if you insult someone, you call people those things. Whereas, back then, swearing was built around bad behaviours,” said Dr Gray.

“If you call someone a bastard today, it means they are not a nice man - but in the past it used to refer to illegitimacy. If children were born out of wedlock, it was a disgrace that stayed with them their whole lives.”

Todd’s book ‘Strumpets and Ninnycocks - Name Calling in Devon, 1540 -1640’’ is available in paperback now.

Millions of Brits have no idea what their home telephone number is, according to new research.

Sixty per cent of the nation only have a landline because they need it for their broadband connection.

And if the phone does ring, a third of people assume it’s an automated or sales call, and 22 per cent never answer it .

Stephen Myler admitted Saints were ‘gutted’ after their disappointing 22-16 defeat to Newcastle Falcons on Friday night.

And the fly-half feels the game at Franklin’s Gardens was one that he and his team-mates should have won.

Saints had Kieran Brookes sent off in the first half, but battled back from 8-3 down at the break to lead on two occasions during the second period.

However, a late intercept try from former Leicester Tigers winger Vereniki Goneva won it for the Falcons.

And Myler said: “I’m pretty deflated to be honest and it’s not just me, it’s the rest of the lads and the coaches.

“It wasn’t ideal losing Kieran as early as we did, but we did pretty well to come back into it and we’re all feeling like we are because we should have won that game.

“We’re so gutted about the result because our backs were against the wall, we were down a man and I feel we still did enough to win that game.

“Unfortunately the interception at the end has proven otherwise, but it was a game we could and should have won.

“We need to learn the lessons from it and move on for next week at Leicester.”

Bolton Wanderers manager Phil Parkinson described his side’s 1-0 win over Northampton on Saturday as their ‘hardest three points’ of the season.

Zach Clough’s well-taken first-half goal was the difference between the sides but only after Bolton survived a second-half barrage as Northampton threw everything at their visitors without success.

The win takes Bolton up to outright second in Sky Bet League One.

“It was a great win for us,” said Parkinson afterwards. “This was a dangerous place to come because they were doing really well earlier in the season and were up in the play-offs.

“That’s probably the hardest three points we’ve picked up and my team had to show both sides of their game today. We controlled the first-half and cut Northampton open with some of the football we played but we couldn’t get that second goal.

“We had a lot of possession around the box but couldn’t quite get it. If you can’t get that second goal you have to make sure you don’t concede and that’s we did in the second-half.

“Northampton went more direct with their two strikers and we didn’t have our biggest back four out today. We were under a lot of pressure but there was some good decision-making out there.

“It wasn’t that we decided to sit back in the second-half it was because Northampton were looking to hit [Alex] Revell and [Marc] Richards at every opportunity.

“You have to fight for everything all over the pitch to get points in this league and the players have done that.

“We now have a 16-day break to our next league game so it was important to go into it on the back of a victory.”

Northampton’s worryingly steep descent down the League One table took another turn for the worse on Saturday, but one thing is for certain: if they can reproduce this type of performance on a weekly basis, the only way is up.

Bolton Wanderers may have left Sixfields with the spoils to claim outright second but they only did so after calling upon all of their fighting qualities to withstand a second-half barrage as the league’s best defence just about held firm.

The Cobblers huffed, puffed and did almost everything apart from score, although their failure to create true clear openings and force Ben Alnwick intro strenuous action should be noted because, ultimately, it was their downfall.

After taking a while to warm up in a first-half that was both intriguing and entertaining in equal measure, Bolton gradually clicked into gear and improved to the extent that they just about deserved the half-time lead given to them by Zach Clough’s smart movement and cool finish.

Clough, with his quick feet, direct running and intelligent movement, was the game’s outstanding player and it was apt that his goal turned out to be the match-winner.

It condemned the Cobblers to a third 1-0 loss in the space of eight days and a fourth straight league defeat in all – the first time that has happened in almost two years – but with three of those coming in tight games against three of the current top six, it’s not time to sound the panic bells just yet.

Nevertheless, Saturday’s result will only encourage the murmurous of discontent to grow louder and understandably so because this is a results-based business and unless Northampton turn the corner sharply, they will find themselves in a relegation scrap that they should be nowhere near.

And in truth, the bare facts do not reflect kindly on Rob Page or his team, and when all is said and done, performances are irrelevant if the results do not follow.

It’s now 330 minutes since their last goal and 11 league games since their last clean sheet, and Saturday also became the ninth time already this season that Northampton have gone on to lose after conceding first.

So that’s a struggle for goals, a failure to keep clean sheets and an ability to come from behind. Three fundamental aspects of football that are imperative for any team worth their salt, let alone a successful one.

The problem Page has it that he’s almost working from scratch.

The key of making a success out of promotion is continuity; using and harnessing momentum from the previous season into the next one and continuing that upward curve.

But, whether it’s been forced or out of choice, Page has not had that luxury, and the upheaval at Northampton over the last six months can be highlighted in the fact that only one player who started against Bolton on Saturday was part of the team that played at Portsmouth on the last day of last season.

Not only did Northampton lose their manager, they also lost two key players in Nicky Adams and Ricky Holmes, as well as the likes of Danny Rose, James Collins and John Marquis.

So it’s been a case of revolution not evolution under Page who’s almost wiped the slate clean and started from scratch which, naturally, will take time and he must be given that time to mould his own team because whilst results continue to agitate fans, the performances, in the main, should not.

And performances, more often than not, are a better gauge of a team’s long-term future because a team which is consistently performing well will eventually be rewarded, whereas it’s not sustainable to keep playing badly and grinding out 1-0 wins

Saturday was another display, like the one at Gillingham or against Peterborough, that deserved more.

The final scoreline often doesn’t tell the full story and that was certainly the case here.

But against the meanest defence in the league, one which has conceded a miserly 12 goals in 19 games prior to Saturday, Northampton could ill-afford to fall a goal down, especially as they themselves have yet to come from behind and win this season.

Yet the impressive Clough ensured that was the case, and despite throwing everything at their visitors thereafter, Bolton’s resilient rearguard action just about won the day and thwarted the battling efforts off Northampton.

The improvement in Town’s play stemmed from giving more support to Alex Revell in the lone front role, which in turn allowed the Cobblers to play higher up the pitch and push more bodies forward.

The absence of Brendan Moloney’s attacking influence from right-back was keenly felt despite Aaron Phillips’ decent performance, while Sam Hoskins impressed when moved to the right side of midfield after half-time.

Page has often been criticised for his mid-game changes – or lack of changes – since taking the reins but here his decision to introduce Marc Richards and go to 4-4-2 was a wise one.

It meant Northampton could spend more time on the attack as they pinned Bolton back for large spells, and but for a tight offside decision, Page might have been rewarded for his gamble.

In the end, Bolton’s superior physicality and aerial prowess ultimately kept Northampton at bay but perform like that on a consistent basis and there’s no doubt that the Cobblers will soon head back up the table.

How they rated...

David Cornell - Give no chance by Clough for the goal but, that aside, was only ever called upon to make routine saves from long-range shots... 6

Aaron Phillips - Moloney’s injury presented him with a rare opportunity to impress and he had a good game in the main. Carried out his defensive duties competently but lacks the attacking threat of his fellow full-back... 7

Gabriel Zakuani - Clough’s clever movement left him in a daze for the game’s only goal, and had a good running battle with Madine throughout.... 7

Lewin Nyatanga - Another stylish display from the Welshman whose timely interventions negated Bolton’s threat for much of this game as he mopped up any potential danger... 8 CHRON STAR MAN

David Buchanan - Terrific performance. Had his hands full against Ameobi but nullified him for large periods, and endeavored to get forward whenever he could.... 8

Jak McCourt - Struggled to keep tabs on Clough who found pockets of space in his area of the pitch, including for the goal. Perhaps squandered his side’s best chance when failing to play in an unmarked Revell... 6

Matty Taylor - Hit the post prior to Bolton’s opener but not his best day, especially his set-piece delivery which was consistently disappointing... 6

Sam Hoskins - Quiet first-half was followed by an excellent second during which he presented a constant threat, particularly on the right where he put in some wicked crosses that could very easily have brought a goal or two on another day... 7

Paul Anderson - Has a knack of getting into good areas with his smart movement but doesn’t always make the most of the space he finds... 6

Kenji Gorre - First league start in over two months and started brightly, his nimble footwork almost set up Taylor for the opener. Rather typified the overall team performance by finding decent positions but then wasting it. Became a peripheral figure as the game progressed... 6

Alex Revell - Enjoyed more support from his team-mates which helped no end. Chances still not flowing for him though as his narrow failure to meet McCourt’s cross was the closest he came to scoring a first goal in 10... 6

Substitutes

Marc Richards - 6

John-Joe O’Toole - 6

Alfie Potter - 6

A popular music group will be bringing its Christmas concert to Preston Capes.

The JuditSingers, led by their well know conductor and soprano soloist Judit Felszeghy are performing their annual Christmas concert at St Peter and St Pauls church in the village on Saturday December 10.

The program will see a number of traditional carols sung by the choir, some old and new Christmas songs and some solo performances including Torches!, For Unto Us a Child is born and O Come all ye Faithful.

The concert will be raising funds for the NSPCC and a contribution towards the upkeep of the church that is hosting the concert.

The concert starts at 6.30pm and tickets, including light refreshments in the village hall afterwards, are £8 for adults. Children will be admitted free.

To book tickets or for further information call 01327 361298, 01327 312433 or 01327 361386.

Northamptonshire Police have taken on their first superintendent not to have risen through the ranks.

Emily Vernon is the force’s first ever direct entry superintendent, entering the role having not served as a police officer until now.

Traditionally police officers start out as constables on the beat and rise through the ranks over the years, but in recent years direct entry has been created through the national College of Policing.

But rather than being a new face parachuted in to the upper ranks, Supt Vernon views the process more as a condensed version of what other officers go through.

She faces months on the beat with PCs followed by time back at the college, then more time spent with sergeants and inspectors, before yet more time in college. And she undergoes continual assessment.

She said: “If all goes well I take my exams in 2017 and then in 2018 I will be a qualified superintendent with my own portfolio.”

But just because she is still training, does not mean she lacks powers. She said: “I attested as a constable the other week, so I can arrest people now. It’s now learning how to use those powers effectively.”

Although she is new to being a police officer, her love of the criminal justice system stretches far back. She has a degree in law, and a post-graduate qualification in crime and criminal justice.

Supt Vernon said: “After university I worked for the National Crime Squad, and Cambridgeshire and Staffordshire police in civilian roles. I spent eight years at the National Police Improvement Agency - which went on to become the College of Policing.”

Supt Vernon said she decided to make the move and become an officer because although civilian staff make a huge contribution by supporting officers and helping the public, she wanted to be able to make a difference at times when incidents are happening.

Adding that the new direct entry route meant she could bring her knowledge and skills of a more strategic point of view straight into the police, but that at the same time the training she will receive and the time spent out on the beat will form a key part for her.

She said: “I don’t want to come in and impose ideas from the top.

“I’m looking forward to spending time out on the streets because it will allow me to learn the culture of this force, see how things are done.”

Supt Vernon added: “It’s also important to me to provide positive role models for others, particularly young girls who don’t have that many great role models.”

​

Rob Page remains adamant that his side will start to head back up the Sky Bet League One table as long as they maintain their current performance levels.

Four defeats on the bounce, including three 1-0 losses in the space of eight days, have sent the Cobblers tumbling in the wrong direction and left them 16th, five points adrift of both the top six and the relegation zone.

Their latest beating came at the hands of Bolton Wanderers on Saturday when Zach Clough’s first-half goal sent the spoils back up north despite a dominant second-half performance from the Cobblers.

It’s now 330 minutes since their last goal and 11 league games since their last clean sheet, and Saturday also became the ninth time already this season that Northampton have gone on to lose after conceding first.

But Page is firmly of the belief that their fortunes will improve sooner rather than later.

He said: “The changing room is low, of course, because it’s four defeats, but if we keep performing like that, certainly in the second-half, it’ll turn around for us.

“The supporters showed their appreciation when we came off at the end and I thank them for that because the run we’re on is hurting for everyone at the football club.

“But it will turn and we do that by sticking together.

“As a manager, you want the effort from the players as a foundation and when you’ve got that, you just want something to drop for you and it will turn and we’ve got to make sure we take that into this week’s game.”

Bolton edged a cagey first-half before Northampton dominated the second and that somewhat owed to Page’s decision to bring on Marc Richards and John-Joe O’Toole and switch to a more direct 4-4-2 shortly after half-time.

With Sam Hoskins on the right, the tweak in shape allowed the Cobblers to pin Bolton back and keep the pressure on for much of the second 45 minutes.

“I thought we were the better team in the first-half and I thought we controlled the game,” added Page.

“It was our doing for the goal – we switched off and gifted them the goal – so there wasn’t a lot wrong and I thought I’d give it five or 10 minutes and told them to start fast and go and get an early goal or, if not, I’ll make changes.

“It was as simple as that. I made the changes, we switched the shape and put Sam out wide with Rico up top and played a 4-4-2.

“We rolled our sleeves up and had a go. The substitutions made us better.

“When we’ve been most effective, we’ve had Matty (Taylor) and Sam really control the game for us in the middle of the park so that was the thinking going into the game - to get them back on the ball.

“I thought John-Joe and Rico had an impact on the game and Sam was a threat every time he got the ball out wide and it’s good to have that option.”

Jim Mallinder insists he does not need to lift morale ahead of Saturday’s east midlands derby at Welford Road.

The Saints boss does not feel last Friday’s disappointing defeat to Newcastle Falcons has dented his team’s confidence.

And he believes they can deliver at the home of their fiercest rivals this weekend.

Saints were beaten 22-16 by Newcastle, with prop Kieran Brookes dismissed during the first half of the match at Franklin’s Gardens.

Mallinder’s men will now need to bounce back in style as they bid to win at Welford Road for the first time since 2007.

And the director of rugby said: “We’d been doing well up to Friday, winning some good games.

“It’s a massive disappointment to lose at home, but it happens and we’ve got to just dust ourselves down again and look forward to going to Leicester this weekend.”

And he added: “It’s not a question of lifting morale. Morale is good in the side.

“We’ve got a real good side and we’ve been playing well over the past few weeks.

“The lads have been enjoying playing alongside each other, with the younger lads coming in and taking their opportunities.

“Morale is definitely not a problem.

“We need to keep working and improving our performance and we’ll have some internationals back and that will be a massive help.”

Winger Paul Anderson is convinced Northampton’s recent performances have given sufficient encouragement to believe that better results will soon start to follow after their barren run continued against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

In the space of two weeks, the Cobblers have sunk from seventh to 16th in Sky Bet League One thanks to four consecutive defeats against Gillingham, Peterborough, Bradford and Bolton.

But with all four of those losses coming by the odd goal and three inflicted by teams in the current top six, all is not lost for Northampton who, according to Anderson, have provided enough evidence to suggest that it’s only a matter of time before they head back up the table.

“If you look at the previous four games that everyone will go on about, Bradford were probably the better side, but other than that, you think of Gillingham, Peterborough and Saturday against Bolton and all of those games could have gone either way,” said the former Swansea City man.

“It was horrible to lose in the fashion we did against Peterborough but they’re one of the better footballing sides in the division and the same could be said of Bradford and Bolton.

“We’ve been just as good, if not better, in two of those three games and I think we’ve got to take all of the positives because we’ve been doing well.

“The fans clapped off on Saturday and as a team, everyone went out there and showed heart and absolutely battled our way through it and on another day we could have won that game.

“We can only perform the way we perform and the results will come.”

Despite his positivity, though, Anderson has warned his team-mates that they can’t rely purely on luck to turn their fortunes around.

Northampton dominated much of Saturday’s encounter against Bolton Wanderers but were unable to turn pressure into goals as they were punished for one piece of lax defending which allowed Zach Clough to score the game’s only goal.

“We’ve got to be better and we’ve got to be more clinical,” added Anderson.

“We can’t keep creating chances and then coming off every game and saying ‘oh we’ve made one mistake and we’ve been punished yet we create 10 half chances and don’t finish one’.

“Fans can be patient but it’s just as frustrating for us and you can see the disappointment in the boys when they give absolutely everything every week yet you come away with nothing again.

“We go again. We’ve got the FA Cup so that’s a break from the league and hopefully we can get a positive result there and then get back to the league.”

On Bolton’s winner, Anderson continued: “I think it was preventable. Myself and Jak McCourt spoke about it afterwards.

“Their players have changed over and we’ve both gone with the other player and somehow there was a great touch past Gabby and he was in on goal.

“I think we could have maybe blocked the runners or stopped him getting in behind us, but again they’ve only had one clear chance.

“I can’t remember David (Cornell) making a save and it’s one of those things at the minute and when it feels like the weight is on your shoulders, unfortunately those things go against you.”

There were mixed emotions for the fans who gathered at Silverstone to watch the final F1 race of the 2016 season.

The circuit screened Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in its iconic Wing building.

Dozens of fans went along to watch the race, and judging by the flags and t-shirts, many were supporting Lewis Hamilton in his attempt to win his fourth Drivers’ World Championship.

But the odds were stacked against Lewis, and despite him winning the race, the title went to his fellow driver at the Brackley-based Mercedes AMG F1 team Nico Rosberg.

While many Hamilton fans may have been disappointed by the outcome of the championship, he did win the race; and their local team Mercedes added the Drivers’ Championship to the Constructors’ Championship they secured back in October following the Japanese Grand Prix. Mercedes have now won both the constructors’ and drivers’ championship for all three seasons of the hybrid engine era.

Daventry Town’s unbeaten run came to an end in Saturday’s NFA Junior Cup tie.

Wellingborough Whitworths beat the UCL Division One leaders 5-3 in Saturday’s second round tie.

A poor performance from Town added to the disappointment of an early cup exit.

Whitworths had the game’s first chance, Cavell Jarvis shooting straight at George McClellan, James Tricks also had a chance for Town which was easily saved by Lee Baxter.

Matty Judge brought a good save out of McClellan before the game’s first moment of controversy. Tricks’ attempted 35 yard lob appeared to be caught outside the area by Baxter but, despite the loud appeals, no free-kick was awarded.

Remy Brittain twice went close for Wellingborough as they started to apply some real pressure and the breakthrough came in the 35th minute. A corner wasn’t cleared and James Gorman nodded the ball into the net.

But Town were level straight from kick-off, Tricks finishing well when one-on-one with Baxter. Tricks and Ross Harris went close before the break and McClellan denied former Town player Ryan Archer.

Wellingborough started the second period the strongest, with McClellan pulling off a superb save to tip Dean Hall’s header on to the bar. Jarvis also went close while Harris headed over after in a goalmouth scramble following a corner.

Wellingborough restored their advantage in the 56th minute when Brittain turned on the edge of the box and volleyed past McClellan, despite loud appeals for a foul in the build up.

The hosts extended their lead three minutes later in calamitous circumstances. A long ball from Baxter bounced over McClellan and ended up in the back of the net.

With Town shell-shocked, Wellingborough made it 4-1 in the 70th minute. McClellan saved Brittain’s shot but the rebound fell straight to Jarvis who made no mistake.

Sam Heavey’s good run ended with his chip going just over the bar but the unmarked Hall made it 5-2 with seven minutes left, turning in a cross at the far post. Alex Andrews pulled a goal back in stoppage-time but it was too little too late.

Saints prop Kieran Brookes faces an RFU disciplinary hearing in Leeds on Tuesday night.

Brookes was sent off a minute before the break in last Friday’s 22-16 defeat to Newcastle Falcons at Franklin’s Gardens.

He was red carded by referee Andrew Jackson after charging into a ruck and striking Falcons hooker Scott Lawson in the face.

Brookes has been charged with charging into a ruck and will appear before a three-person disciplinary panel chaired by Mike Hamlin.

A Newcastle player will also be in Leeds on the same evening, with lock Calum Green cited for striking Brookes with his forearm.

If Brookes is banned, it would be another blow for Saints, who recently lost Calum Clark to a three-week suspension for striking with his elbow in the win at Worcester.

Clark’s ban runs until December 13, meaning he misses Saturday’s derby date at Leicester and the Champions Cup home game against Leinster.

Staff at a Northampton company that makes signs for the likes of Asda and Tesco have reported a spate of redundancies in what could be the end for the 150-year-old firm.

Hawes Signs Limited, which was established in London following the Second World War and moved to Northampton in 1982, has roots in sign-making stretching back to the Victorian era.

But last year the Moulton Park-based company announced it was laying off about 60 workers after losing £3 million worth of business in under two years.

It was bought out by a parent company, HLD Group, and the firm entered into an agreement to pay back around a third of its £5.4 million debt.

But reports from members of staff this week show a raft of further redundancies having taken place in the last month.

Some workers contacted the Chron to say they had received redundancy letters on Friday (November 25) and that operations in the factory and warehouse were being brought to a close.

At the last count, there were around 160 staff at the company, but it is not known how many employees are left today.

Two sources told the Chron the parent company HLD has transferred many of the current contracts over to Sign 2000, a company it has acquired in Tonbridge, Kent.

Hawes Signs management have yet to confirm this is the case.

But several staff have taken to a Facebook group called “Have you ever worked at Hawes Signs” to express sadness at the job losses.

“Well that was some morning at work,” said one man on Friday. “Have been made redundant from Hawes Signs with immediate effect after 32 years service man and boy.

“Thanks to everyone who has helped me over the years. Will miss some fantastic colleagues and friends.”

Several others expressed their anger at the demise of the firm.

One wrote: “Getting talked into coming back once they had new owners was the worst decision I have ever made and I will regret it forever, pretty much ruined everything I have strived to build and achieve in my life.”

Both HLD Group - which is registered in Malta - and Hawes Signs have been contacted for comment.

The company, which was established by Kenneth Hawe, has manufactured signs for a number of high-profile clients including big banks like Lloyds TSB and NatWest. It was also involved in the rebrand of over 4,000 sites for car-makers Nissan across 17 European countries.

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Changes are being proposed to update the way people are given priority on the district’s social housing waiting list.

Daventry District Council’s allocation scheme is being reviewed to keep it up to date with housing legislation and local circumstances.

A key change will be allowing existing social housing tenants to join the housing register to enable them to move, even where they are currently adequately housed. This means people can try to downsize if they are in a property with extra bedrooms, and the council says should mean more efficient use of the district’s social housing stock.

Another change will see the level of housing-related debts that an applicant can have without being prevented from applying increase, subject to having a payment plan in place, from £250 to £1,000.

The last major changes to the allocation scheme were made in 2013 which included new criteria for applicants based on family or employment connections to the district and enabling people age 60 and over to register for houses as well as bungalows.

Daventry District Council’s housing and health portfolio holder, Cllr Mike Warren, said: “We continue to see significant changes to national housing and welfare policies, and local circumstances, so it’s important that ensure our housing allocations scheme is kept updated to respond to these.

“All the comments we receive as part of the consultation will be considered and help to shape the final version of the allocations scheme, so I would encourage everyone with an interest in these issues to feed back.”

Consultation on the draft allocation scheme runs until 5pm on Monday, January 23.

People can read the document and give their views via www.daventrydc.gov.uk/consultation.

The document can be viewed in the reception of Daventry District Council’s Offices in Lodge Road, Daventry and at Daventry, Brixworth, Moulton and Long Buckby libraries.

Figures show that Daventry’s CCTV network was used almost 10 times a day during last month.

The figures have been released by Daventry Town Council, which funds the network of cameras that cover the town centre.

The data covers the month of October, when the cameras were used for 285 incidents, which are in turn broken down into a series of headings.

Although the cameras were used 285 times in a month, it does not mean there were 285 criminal acts, just that the authorities believed there were possible incidents or people they should keep an eye on.

The largest category was for anti-social behaviour when the cameras were used 69 times – 24 per cent of the cameras’ use.

Closely following was drunk and disorderly incidents with operators using the cameras 63 times.

The cameras were used 54 times to track ‘persons of interest’ who were either known to camera operators, the police, or were acting suspiciously. A further 18 uses were classed as ‘suspicious persons’.

People’s welfare was the reason given behind 22 uses of the cameras, which covers missing persons, homeless people, accidents or people needing an ambulance.

Other categories are shoplifting 9, theft 2, assault 20, underage drinking 13, traffic incidents including parking 13, and drugs 6.

A new training facility and gym could be built by Northamptonshire Police in Kettering - despite the force facing a huge financial deficit this year.

Police and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold wants to build the facility at a plot adjacent to its new northern HQ and police investigation centres, which are being built in Cherry Hall Road off the A43.

The proposed two-storey, 1,588 sq m building will feature a staff training centre, office accommodation with flexible classrooms and meeting rooms, a sports hall to double up as lecture theatre with retractable seating for 80 people, a fitness suite and gym.

It is not known how much it is likely to cost.

The first indication of the planned new training centre scheme came when plans were submitted to Kettering Council last week.

No formal public consultation into the plans has yet taken place, although they are at an advance stage in the design process. Local businesses have been informed for planning consent reasons.

The force is currently facing a £3.1m financial black hole - although £700,000 of this is described by the commissioner’s office as being ‘planned overspend’.

It is not yet known how the training facility will be paid for, although it is likely to come from cash reserves which are thought to stand at about £7m once this year’s deficit has been plugged.

The existing plans for the northern HQ were originally planned to cost £16.2m, but these are already £4.3m over budget, taking the overall cost to more than £20.5m.

PCC Stephen Mold said: “I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that Northamptonshire is served by a first-class police force. There is a pressing need for a new Northamptonshire Police training facility in light of the move away from Wootton Hall and as such we have submitted a planning application to Kettering Council for a possible centre near to the new Northern Hub.

“However, at this point no final decisions have been taken and we are working hard to ensure the best possible value for money is achieved for the public. We will of course announce plans in due course when anything is finalised.”

You can view the full plans here.

Read more: Work begins on new Kettering police hub

Cobblers boss Rob Page is confident the goals will start to flow again despite it now being over 330 minutes since his side last found the net.

Since John-Joe O’Toole’s first-half header against Gillingham two weeks ago, Northampton have failed to score against Peterborough United, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers, losing all three games 1-0.

Despite dominating much of Saturday’s game at home to Bolton, Northampton rarely forced visiting goalkeeper Ben Alwnick into drastic action with clear-cut chances few and far between.

It’s only two weeks since Northampton sat second in the League One scoring charts, and Page is confident it’s only a matter of time before the goals return.

“It’s definitely something we will work on,” he said. “There’s not a tremendous amount wrong because even only two weeks ago we were the second highest scorers in the division.

“Before Saturday we were about fifth, so we have been capable of scoring goals.

“On two occasions this season we’ve scored seven goals in consecutive games so we’re just going through a little patch at the minute where it’s not quite happening for us.

“Me and the staff will look back at the games where we have created and scored goals and look why things aren’t going for us, and we’ll be working hard to put it right.

“The sooner we learn from our mistakes the better we’ll be and the more games we’ll win.”

Northamptonshire's economy is 'vibrant and thriving' despite fears over economic gloom following the Brexit vote, financial advisers have claimed.

Grant Thornton says its advisory team has secured four major deals for firms in the county to expand and grow.

The team negotiated a £13 million investment from Praesidian Capital to support the merger of Prestige Park & Leisure Homes Limited and Homeseeker Park & Leisure Homes, two of the UK’s biggest names in the leisure lodge and park residential manufacturing industry.

Grant Thornton also worked with Ocee, a leading Northampton manufacturer of commercial furniture, to secure a £10 million investment from the Business Growth Fund to support its acquisition of Danish furniture manufacturer Four Design.

This transaction was followed by the sale of Bakeaway, the Corby-based manufacturer of chilled home baking products, to French company Osaris. The move enables Bakeaway to invest and expand its product range.

Most recently, Grant Thornton also supported Dunkleys, the Wellingborough-based producer of pies and desserts for the food services sector, on its acquisition by The Billington Group.

Mike Hughes, from Grant Thornton’s Northampton office, said: “The Northamptonshire economy is positively alive and vibrant and despite broader concerns about the UK economy following the Leave vote, the outlook here in the county is highly optimistic.

“Over the past few months, we have completed a string of significant deals across Northamptonshire as businesses look to expand through acquisition or secure investment to support future growth. These transactions underline the positive findings from our recent Northamptonshire Limited report which found that our county’s businesses are continuing to prosper.”

With a number of other significant deals in the pipeline, Grant Thornton expects this positive picture to continue into 2017.

Mike added: “Nobody can predict what will happen over the next few months as Britain starts planning its exit from the EU, but businesses with an ambition to grow have every reason to be optimistic. Companies need to hold their nerve, stick to good principles and make decisions based on an awareness of market issues without being paralysed by them.”

A large bowl of Kellogg’s Frosties can contain NINE TEASPOONS of sugar - the same as a can of fizzy drink, a survey shows.

Almost six in ten breakfast cereals (58 per cent) are too sweet - with a shocking difference in levels found in the SAME brand depending on which country it was bought in.

More than one in two (55 per cent) had half the recommended daily intake for a three-year-old in just one serving.

In the UK the product with the most sugar is Kellogg’s Frosties with a whopping 37g in every 100g - over 9 teaspoons.

That’s over half (58 per cent) the recommended maximum intake for a six year-old in a small 30g serving.

Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and Coco Pops - both made by Kellogg’s - had almost as much with 35g.

Then came Nestle’s Lion (29g), Nesquick and Cookie Crisp (both 25g) and Cheerios Honey (24g) followed by kellogg’s Frozen (21g) - the same as Nestle’s Cheerios Multigrain.

WASH (World Action on Salt and Health) said the UK leads the way with salt reduction but still has a way to go with sugar reduction.

It selected 19 products manufactured by Kellogg’s and Nestle/General Mills from 29 countries for comparison.

The cereals with the lowest sugar included Kellogg’s Corn Flakes with only 8g per 100g.

But only two products were still above the government’s 2017 salt target for breakfast cereals.

These were Kellogg’s Rice Krispies and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes at 1.13g/100g - demonstrating the success of the reduction programme.

But 98 out of 291 (34 per cent) of cereals surveyed were above the 2017 UK salt target for breakfast cereals.

A Kellogg’s spokesperson said: “For more than a decade, Kellogg has been committed to reducing the sugar and salt in our cereals while providing positive nutrition and great taste.

“In the UK alone, we will have removed more than 2,000 tonnes of sugar in our cereals by the end of next year.

“As a trusted provider of high-quality foods that contribute to the health of our consumers, we continue to be committed to offering choice through a diverse range of foods, and by educating consumers about nutrition and a balanced diet.”