A VILLAGE fundraiser has handed over a cheque to Danetre Hospital.

Andy Shaughnessy, from Welton, handed over a cheque for £600 to the Cawthorn ward at Danetre Hospital.

The money had been raised with a series of fundraisers at the White Horse pub in Welton, and was the second amount raised by the pub and its patrons in a year.

Mr Shaughnessy said: “This was raised with a curry night and a skittles knock-out competition as well.

“The landlady Margaret Elcock has been fantastic. Without her help we wouldn’t have been able to do it. Since she took over last year we’ve raised £1,200 for the hospital.

“I’d like to express my thanks and gratitude to all the people who came along and supported the events, from the village and Daventry as well.They’ve all contributed to making this such a donation.”

After his wife Pat passed away in 2008 Mr Shaughnessy has organised regular fundraisers for the ward in recognition of the care they provided his wife and others.

THE county saw the second biggest spike in arson attacks in the whole of the UK last year after Northamptonshire recorded its first rise in deliberate fires for eight years.

Figures show Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has managed to reduce the most serious arson incidents year on year since 2004, but in 2011/12 the numbers shot up by 17 per cent, which is the second highest in the UK behind Cornwall.

In 2010/11 there were 295 major deliberate fires, but in 2011/12 this number rose to 345, and with the service seeing falls in false alarms and building fires last year, its chief fire officer has pledged to keep arson attacks down.

Martyn Emberson said: “It’s an ongoing issue for us and we’re not going to stop. We have seen vehicles become targets for arsonists, but deliberate fires have come down continually over the last eight years.

“It can have a devastating impact on the person and we have seen cars targeted for their value. But last year could just be a blip.”

Plans have been unveiled to help councillors report environmental crimes with state-of-the-art technology.

Councillors at Daventry District Council (DDC) could be given GPS cameras or use a new smart phone application to help record and report environmental incidents such as littering, graffiti and fly-tipping.

Enterprise, the company that delivers environmental services on behalf of the Daventry District Council, is investigating ways in which councillors can help report incidents in their ward.

The initiative is designed to help ensure that reports and feedback of environmental issues can be dealt with quicker and help improve the quality of service, and was originally agreed as part of the contract with Enterprise when they took over the service last year.

DDC leader Cllr Chris Millar said: “We think this scheme is a good idea and will allow councillors to take up issues on behalf of the residents in their ward by quickly and accurately reporting any incidents they spot.

“Although the initiative is only being rolled out now and the exact technology has yet to be decided, it does form part of the contract we entered into with Enterprise last year and is another way that we can help to keep our district clean and tidy.”

Simone Wade, Partnership Director at Enterprise, said: “It is our aim to deliver the highest levels of service and customer satisfaction and we are delighted to be able to provide the Councillors with GPS cameras or smart phone applications that will enable them to respond positively and quickly to our customers issues as they arise.”

A 35-YEAR-OLD man has died following a crash on the A45 on Friday night.

It happened at around 11.30pm between Weedon and Dodford when a black Crysler Voyager driven by a 37-year-old man collided with James Quinn of Ashton Vale, Bristol who is walking along the road.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed this incident. Anyone with information or who witnessed this incident is asked to call the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615.

Environment Agency officials are waiting on the results of a series of tests after the death of 1,000 fish at Drayton Reservoir.

National fisheries manager, John Ellis, has confirmed that a huge quantity of roach had been affected and, although the deaths peaked last week, fish are still dying.

An investigation has been carried out but the cause of death remains a mystery.

Mr Ellis, of the Canal and River Trust (formerly British Waterways), said: “The investigation has so far ruled out any contamination from parasites, pollution and poisonous algae.”

He added that the possibility of ‘low dissolve’ oxygen has also been tested for and dismissed.

Experts believe an internal bacterial infection or a virus spread between the fish are the most likely causes. Both are still under investigation.

Mr Ellis added: “It could have been a spawn related issue - the water may not have been warm enough for the fish to lay eggs.”

Low water temperatures can cause the fish to die because they simply can’t give birth. Mr Ellis explained inconsistent weather this summer could have been contributory factor.

The full results of the tests carried out on the reservoir by the environment agency will come within the next fortnight.

Drayton Reservoir is known to UK anglers as one of England’s premier match fishing venues. It was stocked with 50,000 small carp with some having grown up to 20lb.

Anglers have previously been advised to ensure they have angling equipment that can handle the large fish and that they watch their rods and poles; hundreds of rods and poles have been pulled into the reservoir by fish.

A DANCE school has raised more than £2,800 for two charities with a special performance.

Pupils from the LoveBallet Dance School performed in Dream Light, an Olympic themed show, raising £2,825 for Charity in July.

The show was about individual and collective dreams. It’s about the journey of believing in yourself and successfully reaching and achieving your dreams.

The show was inspired by dances from around the world and depicted the journey of a group of individuals searching for the Olympic torch as their world has been plunged into darkness.

The show included acting, ballet, tap, modern, gymnastics, street dance, and contemporary dance.

Principal Lorraine Day said: “They have been asking me if they can do it every weekend they loved it so much, it’s just such a great fantastic opportunity for them to take part in a show of this scale.

“We had all ages from little ones of three years up to adult tappers, all enjoying themselves, performing on stage and raising a phenomenal amount for charity.

“I’m just so proud of them all.”

LoveBallet Dance School runs classes at Daventry’s Nene Hall on the Grange estate, in Boddington and Long Buckby, plus Southam and other locations.

The show was entirely for charity and we chose to support two charities – Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice in Coventry and Clic Sargent which helps children and young people who have cancer.

THE beach will be coming to town next week when the annual Daventry by the Sea event returns.

Little ones can build sand castles (buckets and spades provided), have their faces painted, enjoy children’s craft activities (provided by Angel Daycare), whizz around on some children’s rides or just laugh at the Punch and Judy show.

Daventry Business Partnership has arranged the event, which will run from Wednesday, August 15 to Saturday, August 18.

Adults who fancy a break from work or shopping may just want to sit back and relax wi– in their very own deck chair, and of course no trip to the beach would be complete without an ice cream.

The Hideout in Sheaf Street will also be serving up Sangria along with an array of tasty coffees.

Sally Halson, manager of Daventry Business Partnership, said: “Daventry by the Sea is always one of the most popular events attracting hundreds of additional visitors into the town centre at what traditionally can be a quiet time of the year for many businesses.”

For more information on the event visit www.daventry.co.uk or call the Daventry Business Partnership on 01327 828391.

TWO vehicles were involved in a car crash in Flore on Monday morning.

It happened on the A45 with the junction of Bliss Lane with police and firefighters called out at 3.50am.

One of the vehicles was overturned but nobody suffered any serious injuries in the incident.

Police are currently investigating the cause and the road was re-opened at 5.30am.

EARL Spencer’s new baby daughter is the first to be born at Althorp since 1793.

Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer was born last week at the family’s ancestral home near Daventry weighing 8lb 4oz.

The baby’s mother is the Earl’s third wife, Karen, a Canadian philanthropist and former model who he married last year.

Earl Spencer decided to name his new daughter in memory of his sister, Diana Princess of Wales.

The Earl described his new daughter as “another feisty little Spencer girl.”

He said: “We hadn’t settled on a first name before the birth, but Charlotte is a name we both loved, and it really suits her.

“We knew that as soon as we saw her. And though it’s been 15 years since Diana died, I still miss her every day and I wanted her commemorated in the naming of our daughter.”

Both the baby and her mother were said to be doing well.

The Earl has six children from his previous marriages, and Lady Spencer has two from her previous marriage.

THE developer behind a 550-berth marina has said the plans will be of benefit to the local community.

The proposed £15 million marina near to Onley has attracted opposition on the grounds of congestion and water shortages. This has led to the owner of Braunston Marina Tim Coghlan launching a campaign against the plans.

However the project’s director believes the new marina has plenty to recommend it.

Joseph Oliver said: “It is perhaps inevitable that competitors would want to orchestrate a campaign against our proposal, but we sincerely believe that this project will make a positive and sustainable contribution to waterways users and the local community.

“The application is the culmination of a significant amount of work since our Feasibility Submission was confirmed as acceptable by British Waterways back in October 2007. We have really gone the extra mile to set new standards on berth and water space, amenities and facilities for boaters.

“Over 4km of new footpaths are also proposed which we hope, along with the facilities of the marina, will benefit the local community.”

A planning application submitted to Daventry District Council will be determined in the near future.

UNION members are fighting the closure of Daventry Ambulance Station, arguing that the decision is ‘too extreme’.

Last month East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) recommended that 65 stations across the region are closed and replaced with 13 ‘hub stations’.

That would leave Daventry with no station and only what EMAS is calling ‘tactical deployment points’ - places where ambulances will be strategically placed to respond to emergency calls.

There is due to be a full consultation in September and a town campaign to keep the Daventry station open was signed by 2,000 people.

For more on this story, see tomorrow’s (Thursday) Daventry Express.

A DAVENTRY woman is one of the volunteers who are helping at the Olympics.

Cathy Brown from Lang Farm has a background in sports development and decided to volunteer as a games maker.

In October she found out she was pregnant with a due date of June 27 – a month before she started her role at the football in Coventry.

She said: “My due date came and went, at 10 days overdue I attended games maker training, three days later, on the July 10 our daughter Alice was born weighing 8lb 11 oz.

“I absolutely loved being part of the Olympic Games; I have met some wonderful people, everything was so well organised and games makers were treated so well.

“Alice became a bit of a celebrity as my story was told in the games maker news letter. I have achieved both my dreams of 2012.”

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Plus all your other news, sport, property and motors.

PEOPLE have been warned to look after their bikes following a series of thefts in Daventry recently

The first of these took place on The Medway on the Grange estate on Wednesday August 1. This was a silver and red mountain bike which was taken from a garden.

A grey and black 17- inch mountain bike was stolen from a garden on Charlecote Way on the Middlemore estate on Sunday, August 5.

Another mountain bike was taken from The Cherwell, also on the Grange estate, overnight on Monday, August 6.

Police officers have warned people to keep their bikes secure.

There have also been thefts from Ashby Road and Middlemore.

Paul Valentine, temporary inspector for the Daventry Safer Community Teams, said: “We are not ruling out any connection between these thefts but given there has been three mountain bikes taken within a week it is a bit of a concern.

“In all of the cases, these were bikes which were left unattended and insecure out in gardens, so I would suggest to people to just look after the items.”

He has warned people to keep their bikes secure.

Insp Valentine added: “If you have got a garage, I would urge people to put them in there. Or failing that, just make sure they are out of sight as this will deter thieves.”

Anyone with information about any of the thefts can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 08000 555 111.

THE new control room for Daventry’s CCTV network has been officially opened.

The camera network had been run by DDC and monitored from a room in Northampton.

The district council said in April 2011 that in 12 months it would stop funding the project and asked others to step forward, leading to Daventry Town Council taking it on in April this year.

Initially the council planned to monitor the cameras from Daventry Police Station, but a new control room has now been set up on a town industrial estate.

The service will be run by a private firm which specialises in CCTV systems.

The Daventry Express was there at the launch – for the full story see the paper on Thursday.

NEW signs have gone up at Daventry’s Browns Road waste recycling centre to prompt visitors to think if their waste can be recycled.

New signs have been put up in Northamptonshire County Council’s household waste recycling centres aimed at deterring people from sending waste to landfill.

The new ‘Waste For Landfill’ signs have replaced the ‘General Waste’ signs by the relevant containers at all 10 of the council’s recycling centres throughout the county.

The signs are designed to prompt people to think whether they have recycled as much waste as they can.

NCC says the current annual price of sending waste to landfill in the county is about £12 million – which equates to about £86 for every tonne.

Each tonne of waste that is landfilled costs £68 in landfill tax with the rest being comprised of a gate fee paid to the landfill site owner.

Cllr Ben Smith, county council cabinet member for environment, said: “We need to get the simple message across that unless we pre sort our waste and place it in the appropriate recycling container it goes to landfill.

“That costs us a lot of money and is not good for the environment. I hope these new signs will convince people who are not currently recycling that it really is cost effective and good for the environment.

“This is just one of many different methods we are trying at the council to improve our recycling targets and it is our hope that small measures like these will have a large impact.”

The landfill tax cost is set to rise by £8 per tonne per year.

DRIVERS who used their mobile phones to film and photograph a serious crash on the M1 near Daventry have been written to by police.

Police officers attending the scene of a serious injury road traffic collision photographed 80 motorists using their mobile phone while they went past on the opposite carriageway.

Officers from the Collision Investigation Team took the footage of motorists using the northbound carriageway of the M1 on June 14, as emergency services were responding to a serious collision which left the road closed for 11 hours.

The collision took place at 6.20am and involved a lorry being driven by a 21-year-old woman who was trapped in the vehicle for four-and-a-half hours.

While the other emergency services were working to free the driver, police officers noticed that a lot of motorists on the opposite carriageway were taking footage of the scene of their mobile phones.

So they set up a camera to record the motorists going past and found 80 used their mobile phone to take pictures of the scene, while driving.

Officers have now written to the owners of all of those vehicles to explain the person driving the vehicle at the time was found to be committing an offence and highlighting the dangers of that offence.

Sergeant Nick Gray from the Collision Investigation Unit, said: “After completing our investigations at the scene of the collision, we were astonished to see so many motorists using their mobile phones to capture an image of what was a horrific collision.

“Because of how badly the driver was trapped, we had a period of four hours before we could continue with our work and after witnessing the number of people using mobile phones decided to use a camera to film motorists travelling on the opposite carriageway. During those four hours we filmed 80 motorists using their phones to capture images of the collision.”

Sgt Gray added: “We have written to the owners of the vehicles where the driver found was using a camera and a formal record, including photographic evidence, will be retained.

“In a number of cases where the motorist was using a vehicle belonging to their employers, the employers have contacted us requesting more information so they can take internal disciplinary action.”

Sgt Gray said the force had taken the decision not to prosecute the motorists in a bid to educate them about the consequences of using a mobile phone while behind the wheel.

Sergeant Gray added: “Using your mobile phone while driving can and does lead to serious injury, and sometimes fatal, road traffic collisions. The drivers photographed showed a total disregard for the law and the devastation which would be caused to their own or another family in a fatal road traffic collision. Many of the drivers photograph would class themselves as ‘professional drivers’.

“I am astounded that people not only use their mobile phones to talk on while driving, but would also use them to take pictures, especially at the scene of such a serious road traffic collision.

“It is every motorists responsibility to make sure they follow the law and no phone call, picture or text message is important than risking your own, or other road users lives.”

IT was fun of an Olympic scale at a Daventry nursery with a host of activities going on.

Children at Caring Kindergarten in London Road, Daventry, had a week of activities inspired by the London Olympics last week.

The youngsters did sponsored activities including egg and spoon races and obstacle courses.

They also got medals and certificates for their efforts.

Money raised from their sponsorship went to the Whizzkids charity.

Miss Georgina, senior of the area, said: “We wanted the children involved in the Olympic activities and promote physical play in a fun way.

“We have been able to raise a great deal of money to go towards the Whizzkids charity and the event was thoroughly enjoyed by all.”

FUNDING has been secured to ensure the Northamptonshire School Games can continue for another three years.

In July, around 1,000 young athletes aged five to 15 competed in the inaugural games.

The Olympic and Paralympic style event saw children and young people from schools across the county take part in 17 different sports, including five disability sports.

Participants had already competed to secure their place at the games.

The event was organised by Northamptonshire Sport and funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Sport England.

Further funding from the government has now been guaranteed to continue the games until 2014/15, giving thousands more children the opportunity to take part and get involved in competitive sport.

Cabinet member for customer services and chairman of the Northamptonshire Sport Executive Board, Cllr Heather Smith said: “London 2012 has shown us all just how inspiring and rewarding getting involved in sports can be.

“The first school games event was a tremendous success - Moulton College was a fantastic venue and it was great to see so many young people take part.

“I hope schools who couldn’t take part this year will now feel inspired to include their pupils next year.”

A ROAD was closed for a time this morning (Tuesday) after a fire in a bin lorry.

The bin lorry, run by a private firm, had been on the Low March and was driving out of the estate when at around 7.20am smoke was noticed billowing from the back.

Two fire engines from Daventry were sent to the scene and the road was closed for around 30 minutes.

The fire was under control by 8.20am and the road has since reopened.