Football's coming home to a Northamptonshire pub this year after a village community teamed up to celebrate the "massive heart" in their local.

Teams of all ages from Weedon FC marched through their village to recreate the music video for the hit song surrounding the 1998 World Cup "Vindaloo" by Fat Les.

The video has been posted online as part of the cup celebrations at The Wheatsheaf, in Weedon, after landlady Hayley-Doune Pender organised the shoot.

She said: "We're a small village but we've got a massive football heart.

"Football's coming home to the Wheatsheaf for the summer and it will be great to everyone in supporting the same team during the England games.

"Filming the video was fun. It was good to get the children out together. Although I don't imagine they know who Fat Les is these days."

The video features the under 9s team, the Weedon Veterans' Team and the Weedon FC's first team.

Campaigners fighting the proposed closure of 21 libraries in Northamptonshire have gained a small victory today (June 20) after local politicians voted not to permanently close any libraries until after the result of the forthcoming judicial review is known.

There were scenes of high drama and passion at Northampton’s County Hall this afternoon (June 21) as a motion to put on hold the process was debated by members of the council.

As part of plans to make multi-million-pound savings the authority has proposed to close the libraries and may sell the 12 it owns if local community groups cannot come up with the funds to buy the buildings. The matter will go before the high court at the end of next month (July) after two families questioned the legality of the proposed closures.

Campaigners who spoke at the meeting heavily criticised the way the process of handing over the libraries to be run by community groups has been handled by the county authority.

Marion Collyer, from Deanshanger library, said volunteers had been asked to fill out countless forms; give their vision for the libraries and prove they had finances in place for three years as well as hand over minutes of meetings.

She said: “To you this is about the buildings. We can see the pound signs in your eyes.”

Campaigners have until Monday (June 25) to put forward their full business plans for running their library.

Some members of the ruling Conservative administration spoke out against the closures.

Cllr Richard Auger said: “I would ask for reassurance from the cabinet that we get a grip of this. We need a bespoke department for a short period of time to deal with the libraries.”

Cllr Dudley Hughes, Cllr Wendy Brackenbury, Cllr Robert Gough and  Cllr Sam Rumens also criticised the way the process has been handled and how the volunteers opting to run the libraries had been treated.

Independent councillor Julie Davenport said that the authority was trying to profit from the library closures.

She said: “It is quite scandalous that the Far Cotton library rent is just £40 a year and the county council is asking the Far Cotton library group to pay £23,000 a year. They are trying to make a profit from the taxpayers.”

Council Leader Matt Golby, who took over the top job two months ago, offered some hope to campaigners but was not specific about action.

He said: “We do try to listen. We have spent a lot of time working on the libraries issue.

“We have now got a bit more time before the judicial review and we are  looking at what we can do.”

The leader also said the authority was  bringing in external advice to help with the libraries review.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Chris Stanbra, who originally put forward the motion, decided to vote against it after opposition Cllr Dudley Smith made an amendment. Cllr Stanbra said the amendment ‘negated’ the original motion. The amended motion was backed by most Conservative councillors and voted against by most opposition councillors.

NCC stands to make £3.23m if it sells of the 12 libraries. The authority needs to make £35m worth of savings this year and it also must pay back £12m into reserves. The chief finance officer Mark McLaughlin has warned that this may not be possible.

A former resident of a Middlemore home earmarked by Daventry District Council for sale is considering legal action after he downsized when given two months' notice to leave by the authority.

George Dickinson, 65, was also forced to sell possessions and spend money on moving fees as a result.

After a scrutiny committee's investigation into the sell-off of the 30-home estate was presented to councillors and members agreed to ditch the plan given the seemingly-inevitable creation of a unitary authority in 2020.

Although good news for the families living in Pepperbox Hill, Hidcote Way and Stoneacre Close, for former resident George Dickinson it could signal the start of a compensation claim against the council.

Daventry District Council’s sell-off of 'lifetime' houses may make 30 families homeless
Residents ask Daventry District Council to postpone sell-off of 30 'lifetime' family homes
Decision on sale of Middlemore homes to be investigated by Daventry District Council committee
Mr Dickinson, 65, and his partner Marilena Biggins opted to move out of their three-bed Pepperbox Hill home after receiving a letter from the council informing residents it was going to sell-off homes individually, giving residents two months to make up their minds.

"We had to downsize massively," said Mr Dickinson, who now lives in a two-bed in Monksmoor where he has little room for his belongings. He currently has to squeeze belongings into his shed.

"We thought 'right, there's going to be 30 families going on to the local market which is already stretched. We might find our opportunities are limited and prices are high'.

"We felt we had to make the move."

In the wake of the council's letter, residents grouped together to fight the decision. Their efforts culminated in the scrutiny committee agreeing to investigate their situation and temporarily postpone the sale.

"We had no inclination there would be appeals," said Mr Dickinson.

"We contacted councillors but we didn't know how it would pan out."

"We were told there was virtually no chance of a reprieve. We were told to go and that's what we did."

In order to downsize Mr Dickinson had to give away "thousands of pounds" of property and possessions.

On top of that, the situation was taxing to him both physically and mentally particularly as he moved out in March when snowfall hit the area.

"The stress of it all is still affecting me now. I almost feel like it's a PTSD thing," he said.

Now Mr Dickinson is seeking some kind of compensation for the loss of furniture and property from the downsizing, as well as the moving costs.

He is considering taking his case to the county court where he believes his case will be solidified by several of the Middlemore families expressing the same belief that they were marketed the houses as 'homes for life'.

The scrutiny committee's report did recognise there had been some confusion around the term and expressed its frustration at not being able to access the TDECL website, which is no longer live (it's currently a shoe selling site).

"We wouldn't have taken the property if we knew it was a short-term thing. We planned to be there for many years and we were led to believe that would be the case," said Mr Dickinson.

"I know a lot of people in the estate so I can't have bad feelings towards them but I have had bad feelings towards the council and TDECL."

"I would not have taken that tenancy if there was any chance of them going up for sale," he added.

The app allows people to set up notifications to remind them which bins to put out and features handy guides showing what can be put in each bin.

Available for free from Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store, it can also be used to access the latest news from Daventry District Council as well as information about local facilities, services, shops, bars and restaurants.

Councillor Wayne Howard, Access and Communications Portfolio Holder at Daventry District Council, said: “The 1-2-3+ service is a major change for our residents, so we wanted to do all we could to help people adjust. With a new system of recycling and a new collection day for every household, it can be easy to forget which bins to put out and when.

“A key feature of the app is the ability to set a reminder which will tell you which bins to put out, which people are finding really useful. The app also contains advice about what can be put in each bin, which we hope will help people to make the most of the new service and recycle more.”

Almost 3,000 people have downloaded the app since its launch at the beginning of June, when Daventry District switched to the new 1-2-3+ collection service.

Delivered by Daventry Norse, the new service comprises a weekly food waste collection, a fortnightly, mixed recycling collection in a new blue-lidded wheelie bin, a three-weekly black bin collection, and an optional fortnightly garden waste collection.

A fault affecting nearly every exchange in the county means some homeowners have been without broadband or the ability to make landline phone calls since around 10pm last night (June 21).

The outage has reportedly been caused by damage during roadworks on the A5.

A tweet by the SkyHelpTeam at 10.20am today (June 22) reads: "Update: Northampton and Milton Keynes. Engineers remain onsite & testing solutions to restore service. Damage to cabling was caused by roadworks on the A5 / A508 / A422. Due to the location, accessing the site is harder than normal. Engineering work ongoing. Updates to follow."

A new conservation area has been designated in a Daventry village following a review of the village’s architectural and historic interest.

The new conservation area becomes the 25th of its kind to be designated across the district after it was approved by Daventry District Council (DDC) during a full council meeting last month.

Designation as a conservation area puts in place tighter planning controls for anyone seeking permission to alter or demolish a building, or carry out work to trees, in order to maintain the special interest of the area.

In Flore, the boundary of the area covers the majority of the historic settlement, including land in Flore Park to the west.

Councillor Alan Chantler, Daventry District Council’s strategic planning portfolio holder said: "We are very fortunate in Daventry District to boast some of Northamptonshire’s most picturesque villages, and our Council is committed to protecting and enhancing them for future generations.

"Conservation area designation recognises the special local character of an area and provides an opportunity to manage sensitively that character through the planning system.

"We are very pleased to work in partnership with communities such as Flore to ensure the necessary controls are in place to protect and preserve their identity and heritage."

It takes in what is believed to be the earliest part of the settlement, between the 13th Century church and the mill as well as the village’s characteristic historic street pattern of ‘finger-like’ lanes, and its many historic buildings.

As well as designating the boundary of the conservation area, councillors agreed to adopt the Flore Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan (May 2018) as a supplementary planning document, which will now be used to determine planning decisions affecting the conservation area.

That plan includes a number of proposals for ‘Article 4’ directions, to protect historic features in specific locations, as well as identifying a number of properties which should be added to the ‘Local List, meriting them further protection.

The new designation in Flore was made as part of a wider review of Daventry District’s conservation areas being carried out by the Council. Existing conservation areas in Harlestone, Moulton, Daventry town centre and Brixworth have already been reviewed and modified, and a number of other reviews are planned or in process.

The newly adopted appraisal and conservation area boundary can be viewed at www.daventrydc.gov.uk/ConservationAreas.

The commissioners appointed by the Government to oversee the running of Northamptonshire County Council have come under fire from councillors.

Tony McArdle and Brian Roberts were parachuted into the failing county council last month (May) after a damning Government report found that the council was not operating properly or offering value for money to residents.

However the experienced pair, who have many years of local government experience, have been criticised by councillors from all three of the political parties that make up Northamptonshire County Council.

They say the commissioners are not making themselves available to those who want to speak with them and say they should attend important council meetings.

Neither attended yesterday’s (June 21) full council meeting at County Hall, which saw many heated debates as the councillors rowed over the future of the libraries service and also motions about crime and a new school opening in Northampton later this year.

Labour Cllr John McGhee, who represents Corby’s Kingswood ward, said: “I fail to see how they are helping us when we are in such a financial mess.

“How much are we paying them?

“They are not helping us yet, are they?”

Conservative Andre Gonzalez de Savage said the commissioners should have attended so they could understand the issues and the passions surrounding the future of the council.

Liberal Democrat councillor Dennis Meredith said he had asked to meet the commissioners.

The councillor, who represents the Talavera ward in Northampton, said: “I’m very disappointed.

“I have had an email reply to say they can meet me for 15 minutes as they are very busy.

“I’m a busy councillor.”

Leader of the Labour opposition Bob Scott also questioned whether the commissioners had any plans to meet all councillors as a group.

Council leader Matt Golby said “The commissioners’ door was not always open but could be opened on appointment.”

The two commissioners are currently working just two days a week at NCC.

Mr McArdle, who comes to the role after leading Lincolnshire County Council for many years, is being paid £800 a day and Mr Roberts is being paid £700 a day.

The number plate "UK6" will be sold at Whittlebury auctioneers Humbert & Ellis Ltd on June 28 at 11am and is expected to go for over £45,000.

It was first issued by the UK government in 1910 - just seven years after number plates were first introduced - and has been in private ownership for over fifty years.

Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert said: "The market in private and cherished number plates is very much on the up and we have high hopes for this quintessentially British number plate.

"It has both a United Kingdom attribution and a very low single number and such an early and historic plate too."

On the day, the firm is also offering "1RAN" for an estimated £40,000.

Humbert & Ellis recently sold the license plate "TAX1" for £92,000.

Ryszard Ochab, 37, has lived in the town since 2005 after moving to England from Poland.

Next month he will once again be cycling in two races including the 100-mile Prudential RideLondon during which, three years ago, he was knocked off his bike by a man running away from police officers.

Ryszard began cycling as a bit of fun in 2014 with some friends and did his first big ride a year later.

"When I started progressing in training I did the Prudential RideLondon in 2015," said Ryszard.

"But unfortunately at the beginning, around five miles in, I collided with a person who was being chased by the police.

"I ended up in the hospital with a dislocated shoulder."

Ryszard collided with the man while travelling at 28mph but the 37-year-old came off worse as the police were unable to catch the fleeing man.

The 37-year-old injured his left shoulder and he was worried that the accident had damaged the pacemaker he has had since 2001.

He eventually recovered from his injury and took part in the 2016 Velothon Wales.

The father-of-two has since ridden in other London Prudential Cycle Ride and he admits that he slows down and pays extra attention when passing the point where the acciddent happened.

"As you can imagine my wife wasn't happy about going again after the accident," he said.

Ryszard is raising money for Children with Cancer UK by taking part in this year's 80-mile long Velothon Wales and the 100-mile Prudential RideLondon.

More than 1,000 people came together yesterday (Sunday) to celebrate the centenary of the Northamptonshire County Federation of Women’s Institutes.

Members from WIs around the county joined the celebrations at Althorp House with a picnic and parade of banners.

Federation chairman Sue Kendall, who is part of the Rushton Village WI, said: “It was brilliant, it was incredible seeing so many people.

“It’s been in the planning for nearly two years.”

The federation has a link with Althorp as the current Earl Spencer’s grandmother, Cynthia Spencer, was their second president.

There are 124 WIs in the county from Gretton and Glapthorn in the north of the county to Aynho and Charlton in the south.

To see our picture special from yesterday’s celebrations, click here.

Pictures by Alison Bagley.

We are set for a heatwave this week, bringing shining sun and warm weather.

While it is fun to spend the day outside during the fine summer conditions, it always poses the risk of sunburn especially when the UV levels are ‘very high’ as they will be over the coming days.

And it can be easy to forget to slap on the suntan cream before rushing outside when the sun begins to shine, leaving you at risk of being sunburnt.

What is sunburn?

Sunburn is when the skin is damaged by ultraviolet (UV) rays. It usually causes the skin to become red, sore, warm, tender and occasionally itchy for about a week.

The skin will normally start to flake and peel after a few days and will usually fully heal within seven days.

While sunburn is often short-lived and mild, it’s important to try to avoid it, because it can increase your chances of developing serious health problems, such as skin cancer, in later life.

And it can be easy to underestimate your exposure to the sun, as the red skin does not develop for several hours - by which point it is already too late to prevent sunburn.

How to treat sunburn?

Here is what the NHS says you should do to treat sunburn - as soon as you notice that you, a family member or your child has sunburn you should find a shady area or get inside ASAP.

Mild sunburn can usually be treated at home, the following advice may help to relieve your symptoms until your skin heals:

- Cool the skin by sponging it with cold water or by having a cold bath or shower – applying a cold compress such as a cold flannel to the affected area may also help.

- Drink plenty of fluids to cool you down and prevent dehydration.

- Apply a water-based emollient or petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) to keep your skin cool and moist.

- Take painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol to relieve any pain – aspirin should not be given to children under 16

- Try to avoid all sunlight, including through windows, by covering up the affected areas of skin until your skin has fully healed.

- Apply after sun lotion and cream to the areas of the skin affected by sunburn.

While these are the NHS approved treatments, others have their own home remedies to cure suburn which include tea bags and yogurt...

Tea Bags

Some people swear by the use of tea bags, claiming the tannins found in them help to reduce the inflammation of the skin - according to the remedy, you should drop a tea bag in a lukewarm cup of water, leave it for a minute or two and then gentle apply it to the sunburnt area, leaving it in place for several minutes to let it do its magic.

Yogurt

Yet another home remedy is to use yogurt to cure sunburn - apply plain unflavoured yogurt to the burnt areas and leave it for at least five minutes until the pain begins to subside and then gently wash it off with cool water.

Baking Soda

This home remedy says you should toss a handful of baking soda into a cold bath and then soak yourself for 20 minutes - bicarbonate of soda is said to soothe skin inflammation and reduce itching.

Vinegar

Apparently ordinary white vinegar is said to be way of treating sunburn because it contains acetic acid, which is also in aspirin, and can help relieve the inflammation, pain and itching caused by sunburn. The remedy says that you should soak paper towels in vinegar and apply to the sunburnt skin, leaving them until they are dry.

Milk

Cans of evaporated milk, yes that does still exist, are said to be a way to treat sunburn. You should pour some onto a clean cloth and then apply it to the sunburnt areas and it will provide a layer of protein that will lock moisture in and help to heal the skin.

Should you seek medical attention?

You should contact your GP or the NHS 24 111 service for advice if you feel unwell or have any concerns about your sunburn, particularly if you are burnt over a large area or have any of the more severe symptoms listed below.

You should also see your GP if a young child or baby has sunburn, as their skin is particularly fragile.

Signs of severe sunburn can include:

- blistering or swelling of the skin (oedema)

- chills

- a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or above, or 37.5C (99.5F) or above in children under five

- dizziness, headaches and feeling sick (symptoms of heat exhaustion)

Your GP may recommend using hydrocortisone cream for a few days (this is also available over the counter at pharmacies) to reduce the inflammation of your skin.

Severe sunburn may require special burn cream and burn dressings from your GP or a nurse at your GP surgery. Very occasionally, hospital treatment may be needed.

How to prevent sunburn?

Perhaps the most obvious way to stop yourself from getting sunburnt is to lather up with sunscreen, in particular one that stops ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B rays, and also make sure to reapply if you are spending significant time out in the sun.

According to the NHS you should apply around 35ml or 6 to 8 teaspoons of lotion, and do it 30 minutes before going out and again just as you are leaving.

You should also wear suitable clothing when going out in the sun to prevent sunburn, which includes:

- a wide-brimmed hat that shades the face, neck and ears

- a long-sleeved top

- trousers or long skirts in close-weave fabrics that do not allow sunlight through

- sunglasses with wraparound lenses or wide arms with the CE Mark and European Standard EN 1836:2005.

Advice for babies and children

Children aged under six months should be kept out of direct strong sunlight.

- From March to October in the UK, children should:

- cover up with suitable clothing

- spend time in the shade (particularly from 11am to 3pm)

- wear at least SPF15 sunscreen

To ensure they get enough vitamin D, children aged under five are advised to take vitamin D supplements even if they do get out in the sun.

Keen animal-lovers in Daventry are being encouraged to help rescue pets in need this summer.

Pets at Home in Daventry is raising money for Pawprints Dog Rescue to help homeless pets as part of a fundraising event launched by the UK’s largest donor of pet welfare grants, Support Adoption for Pets.

Support Adoption For Pets has challenged Pets At Home stores across the UK to raise over £550K for pet rescue centres this month until July 3.

Throughout June a range of in store fundraising activities has been taking place to raise awareness of the appeal, including the opportunity to buy a £1 scratch card, and the chance to win prizes including the likes of five 50K 4inch HD televisions, 20 Echo Dot’s, National Trust memberships and Love2Shop vouchers.

Amy Wilson, fundraising manager at Support Adoption For Pets, said: “The summer fundraising drive is a great opportunity for people to make a small donation that can make a massive difference to a pet rescue centre.

“We’re always so impressed by the great effort that stores go to raise money for their local rescue, and we can’t wait to see what this year holds.”

Staff at the Daventry branch said they were delighted to be raising money for pets in need.

Last year they raised £551.61 for PawPrints Dog Rescue and this year the team is looking forward to raising even more money.

Support Adoption For Pets is an independent charity established by Pets at Home in 2006. Visit www.supportadoptionforpets.co.uk

Councillors are expected to be given a verbal update on how Ofsted judged Northampton’s children’s services in its latest inspection this week.

The last Ofsted inspection of children’s services during February and March 2016 found that while in the preceding three years services had improved and were no longer 'inadequate', the leadership, management and governance continued to require improvement to be classed as good.

Inspectors carried out a focused visit to Northamptonshire children's services on April 24 and members of Northamptonshire County Council’s children, families and communities scrutiny committee will receive an update on the findings from director of children’s services Lesley Hagger on Wednesday morning.

In a letter sent to Mrs Hagger, from inspector Dawn Godfrey, praise was given to the work going on to ‘change the culture of social work’ in the county.

But it is also expected to highlight that child assessments are ‘not yet consistently good enough’, and that this means that ‘children and families do not always receive the right support at the right time’ - while also highlighting high caseloads and the frequency of supervision for social workers.

Cash-strapped Northamptonshire County Council has spent almost £50,000 on flights in three years - including £9,000 on trips to Jamaica.

The council, which was forced to raid £12m of its reserves to balance its books last year, booked six return flights to Montego Bay.

Three of the 12 legs of the near 10-hour flight were in premium economy but a council spokesman insisted it wasn’t a jolly.

The spokesman said: “There are a variety of reasons local authorities purchase flights, including overseas recruitment and travel relating to our role as corporate parent to looked-after children.

“We do our best to get the best value for flights given that this is public money that is being spent.

“These figures are for a three year period up to the end of January this year.

“We have a very strict spending control process in place.

“Any spend has to go before a chief executive’s panel and only absolutely essential spend can be allowed.”

The spokesman was unable to go into further detail about the trips but it’s understood that none of the people who flew to Jamaica were councillors.

Three of the flights were booked for December 2015 with the remaining three booked for December 2017 -just two months after several libraries were earmarked for closure to cut costs.

The data, made public by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, shows the council spent £49,053 on 51 return European trips and 13 return trips outside Europe between January 2015 and February 2018.

Labour’s Cllr Mick Scrimshaw (Northall) said the council’s recording of finances meant it could be difficult to prove the spending was legitimate.

He said: “On the face of it it sounds ridiculous and it’s the sort of headline that sums up the council’s finances.

“But there is a fair question as to how money is recorded and what it is for.”

The only other council in Northamptonshire to spend a four-figure sum on flights was Northampton Borough Council.

They spent £1,354.49 on five return flights to Europe, one one-way flight to Europe and one return flight outside Europe.

Elsewhere Corby Council spent £337.99, East Northants Council spent £150.99 and Kettering Council spent £380.16.

Daventry District Council and Wellingborough Council purchased no flights and South Northamptonshire Council failed to respond to a request for data from the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “For many families council tax is the largest monthly bill to pay, and it’s shocking that their hard earned money is being misspent by some local authorities in this way.

“These local authorities need to find millions in savings in the coming years and with modern technology like video conferencing they needn’t spend large sums of taxpayers’ money on plane tickets.”

Other notable expenditures in the country included Manchester City Council, who had two entries for £12,002 for flights to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific in October 2015.

Liverpool City Council took flights to Kabul, Somaliland, Basra, and Liberia.

And Sunderland City Council spent £26,584 on six business class flights to Tokyo.

The collision took place between West Haddon and Crick, at about 8.30pm last night (Monday, June 25), when the car left the road, landing in "dense foliage".

Sadly, the 70-year-old man driving the car died at the scene.

Officers investigating the collision would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed it or who may have any information regarding it.

Witnesses or anyone with information can call the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174 615.

Police have launched an investigation following a suspicious death in Brackley yesterday (Monday, June 25).

Searches and other enquiries are taking place in the town in relation to the incident in Old Town.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, quoting incident number 259 of June 25.

Anyone with any concerns can speak to their local neighbourhood officers who will be carrying patrols in the town.

Vulnerable people in Northamptonshire will benefit from an ambitious project being rolled out by Central England Co-op.

The retailer has teamed up with FareShare East Midlands to help good causes and reduce waste in food stores.

The project will see best before food items and non-food goods that cannot be sold collected by colleagues from the society’s food distribution centre in Leicester then delivered to FareShare to send out to over 250 local charities.

Those involved in the project say the scheme will help cut food waste by at least 40 per cent and provide over one million meals a year to vulnerable people.

Hannah Gallimore, Central England Co-operative corporate responsibility manager, said: “Food waste is a topic customers and colleagues regularly talk to us about and it is an area that has always been at the forefront of plans at the society.

“We have been looking for a solution to this issue for many years and are now proud to be able to reveal our plan to tackle food waste in a manner that also has a major impact for our communities and our partners.

“This is why, following the success of our pilot project, we are delighted to be able to announce that we are working with FareShare East Midlands and rolling out this project across our trading estate in an effort to drive down food waste and at the same time have a major impact by helping people in need in our communities.”

David Moon, head of business collaboration at Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), said: “We are delighted Central England Co-operative is to expand its programme for surplus food redistribution.”

The UK is set to sizzle this week as a heatwave sweeps across the country but does it ever get too hot to be sent home from work?

The Met Office has forecast that the mercury will reach highs of up to 27C in the UK today and its only going to be slightly cooler on Friday.

Very high levels of pollen and UV mean that hay fever sufferers are in for a difficult time.

Met Office forecaster Mark Foster said it is possible the hottest day for the year for all parts of the UK could be bettered this week.

But how high does the temperature need to go before it becomes too hot to work?

Workers must be protected from the heat

The TUC has called on bosses to make sure staff working outdoors are protected from the sun and the heat.

Workers including builders, agricultural workers and gardeners who are outside for lengthy periods in high temperatures are at risk of sunstroke, sunburn and skin cancer, the union organisation warned.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: ‘We all love to see the sunshine, but working outdoors in sweltering conditions can be unbearable and dangerous.

‘Bosses must ensure their staff are protected with regular breaks, lots of fluids, plenty of sunscreen and the right protective clothing.’

Unfortunately, there isn’t a legally defined maximum temperature for the workplace but the Heath and Safety Executive has issued a number of guidelines.

They have said that, during working hours, the temperature in all indoor workplaces must be reasonable.

The temperature should be at 13C if employees are doing physical work but there is no maximum temperature given due to high temperatures of working in some places, for example a glass works or foundry.

While ‘reasonable’ is rather ambiguous, the law does say that an employer must act if a ‘significant number of employees are complaining about thermal discomfort’.

If this is the case then your employer should carry out a risk assessment.

Risk assessment

There are six basic factors an employee should look at including air temperature, radiant temperature (ie, the temperature radiating from warm objects), air velocity, humidity, and what clothing or insulation workers are expected to wear.

A HSE spokesperson said: ‘As an employer you should be aware of these risks and make sure the underlying reasons for these unsafe behaviours are understood and actively discouraged and/or prevented.

‘The more physical work we do, the more heat we produce. The more heat we produce, the more heat needs to be lost so we don’t overheat. The impact of metabolic rate on thermal comfort is critical.”

Daventry Town Council will be showing its support for Armed Forces Day by raising the Armed Forces Flag on June 29.

The ceremony will take place at the Twinning Area from at 10.30am.

Armed Forces Day is a chance to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community; from currently serving troops to service families, veterans and cadets.

Cllr Lynn Jones, mayor of Daventry, said: "It is great to see that Daventry is marking Armed Forces Day, especially as many of Daventry’s residents currently serve and have previously served with the Armed Forces and it is important to recognise the sacrifices that they have made.

"By raising the flag, it serves as a much-valued morale-boost for Armed Forces personnel and their families."

All are welcome to attend the flag raising ceremony.

Armed Forces Day officially falls on Saturday, June 30.

The individual, who cannot be named, was under investigation after allegations surfaced the officer was pursuing a relationship with a junior colleague, including intimate sexual relations while on duty in work premises.

A private Special Case Hearing held at force headquarters and chaired by the Chief Constable, ruled the officer would have been dismissed for gross misconduct.

The details have been placed on the College of Policing Barred List, which means that he will not be allowed to work in the police service again.

In his summing up, Mr Edens found the officer had breached the standards of honesty and integrity required of a police officer and exhibited discreditable conduct, specifically “behaviour that would bring discredit to the police service if it were discovered (as it has been) and [which] would be unacceptable to the public."

Mr Edens said: “Northamptonshire Police is here to protect people from harm. Whatever role each member of the force has, they contribute to this purpose.

“Officers who are in leadership roles should take personal responsibility for promoting and reinforcing the principles and standards set out in the Code of Ethics.

“The time they spend in work, being paid public money to discharge their duties, should not be spent gratifying their own desires. If any officer finishes their tasks for the day before the end of their tour of duty, they should make arrangements with a supervisor to do other duties.

“They must demonstrate a high degree of integrity as they are role models for inexperienced and impressionable colleagues.”