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A yellow weather warning has been issued for thunderstorms – and it is in place across most of Northamptonshire.

The warning has been issued by the Met Office and relates to Saturday (June 7) from 9am until 6pm.

In place across Northampton, Towcester, Daventry, Wellingborough, Kettering, Rushden and most of the south of England, the warning says “heavy showers and thunderstorms may lead to some disruption to transport and infrastructure”.

The Met Office warns that there is a good chance driving conditions will be affected by spray, standing water and/or hail, leading to longer journey times by car and bus, as well as the possibility of some damage to a few buildings and structures from lightning strikes, delays to train services and some short term loss of power and other services.

Weekend forecast

In Northampton, according to the Met Office, there is between a 30 and 60 percent of chance of rain today (Friday June 6) until 6pm. Temperatures will see highs of 19C and lows of 10C.

On Saturday, rain is forecast for pretty much the whole day, with the worst periods between 1am and 6am and then again between 11am and 6pm. Temperatures will see highs of 16C and lows of 9C.

Sunday (June 8) looks like the best day of the weekend. There is a 40 percent chance of rain at around 4pm, but the rest of the day looks dry, with sunny intervals. Temperatures will see highs of 18C and lows of 11C.

The forecast in Kettering is much the same, with rain expected most of the day on Saturday.

A regeneration project leader has been describing how workers removing a wall found heads, legs and bodies - of mannequins.

The scheme involves the demolition of Northampton's BHS and Marks & Spencer stores as well as a job centre, to be replaced with housing, shops and leisure facilities.

The inside of the structures has now been cleared of trading equipment ready for the excavators to move in.

The project leader, Wendy Thompson, from West Northamptonshire Council, said the process was "a complicated jigsaw".

Northampton lost two of its major stores on Abington Street when BHS closed in 2016 and M&S followed two years later.

The two companies accounted for about 150,00 sq ft (13,935 sq m) of retail space.

Ms Thompson, West Northamptonshire Council's head of major projects, said the process of acquiring the buildings and clearing them ready for demolition was "a long journey".

"It's such a complicated jigsaw bringing a site to this stage, ready for the deconstruction works to start," she said.

She added: "There were rooms that were full of racking. We were taking down walls and finding heads and arms and bodies of mannequins.

"To prepare for demolition, you have to remove the electrics, the water and the gas supplies. We've had to remove two sub-stations from the site."

Once the buildings have gone, the site will be turned into flats with some shops and leisure facilities on the ground floor.

Mark Fenning and his team from Colemans demolition will now be taking over to begin the task of clearing the structures.

He said: "Initially, we'll have robotic demolition, quite small, and they're going to be brought in from the service deck. They'll do all the delicate work around the live structures."

That part of the process will be followed by heavy excavators.

"We'll then be making our way sequentially through the structure, segregating materials as we go," he added.

Substances like hardcore and brick will be crushed on site and used in the construction project.

'Potential'

Asbestos is present in the buildings so that has to be dealt with according to strict rules.

Another challenge will be the presence, next to the old BHS store, of a functioning mobile phone shop.

Mr Fenning added: "We have to make sure that we get the propping in place [there] to support the structure while we're doing the demolition work."

The council said this phase of the project was scheduled for completion in early 2026, and would "unlock the potential of the town centre".

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Details of how a thorough review of council finances will be undertaken in North Northants have been revealed for the first time.

And Reform’s shakedown of council spending at NNC could be rather different from the shock-and-awe approach that appears to have been taken at other authorities.

Last night (Monday, June 9), the council published the agenda for the first executive meeting of the Reform-led council since May’s elections. The executive is a group of ten senior Reform members who each take the political lead on an area of the council’s spending.

As expected, the very first item on the agenda is an ‘efficiency review’ – which encompasses a through look at virtually all areas of council spending. It was one of the party’s key election pledges.

But unlike in Kent, where former Reform Chairman Zia Yusuf announced his DOGE team would be coming to town in a letter warning staff they would be guilty of gross misconduct if they didn’t comply with their demands, here in Northants the review is starting as all new local government initiatives normally do – in the open, in the council chamber, in the glare of public scrutiny.

There’s no mention in the report of DOGE – a dupe of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from the USA, which has stuttered since it was revealed that its claims of saving two trillion did not add up, and Mr Musk and Donald Trump had an explosive public uncoupling.

When Nigel Farage came to Northamptonshire before the election he promised that Reform-led councils would each have a DOGE department.

Since then, a band of unelected Reform volunteers have visited Kent Council, promising to uncover council misspending and waste.

On X, as an example of ‘confirmed council fraud’, Zia Yusuf pointed toward £2.8m of wasted public money that had been previously uncovered by the council’s own audit team and widely covered in the local press.

Lawyers were called in by Kent County Council officers to ensure that what Reform was doing was above board, and the Local Government Chronicle said that Reform’s intervention was ‘beyond insulting’. Another Kent Council leader said that staff had been treated ‘appallingly’ by Reform’s leadership. And questions were asked over whether Reform had any legal right to look at any documentation that wasn’t already in the public domain.

Almost all of Kent County Council’s public meetings have been cancelled or postponed this month, leading to accusations of a lack of transparency.

Political commentators raised eyebrows at Reform’s ‘discovery’ of £350m in spending on ‘recruitment advertising,’ which actually turned out to be a national framework agreement open to every local authority, NHS and public body in the country.

Then on Thursday, just hours before leader Nigel Farage had been due speak to journalists and his new executive members in Corby, the men who had been running the DOGE project, Reform Chairman Zia Yusuf and tech bro Nathan Fried both resigned (although Yusuf later returned in a different role).

Yusuf has announced that West Northamptonshire and Lancashire County Councils are next on the list for his DOGE audits. But no indication has yet been given of when their bus could roll into North Northamptonshire.

Reform’s NNC Leader – and former Tory Wellingborough Council leader – Councillor Martin Griffiths who perhaps has more experience in local Government than many of his Reform counterparts around the country, has already said that his council will not be run from Westminster, and has said that he does not like the term ‘DOGE’.

The elected members of North Northamptonshire are getting on with delivering the promises they made to the electorate well ahead of the DOGE show pulling up beside the Corby Cube.

It looks as though Cllr Griffiths and his executive are determined to put local government finances under the spotlight, with or without party interference.

They will discuss their plan to review financial management and procurement as the opening item on their first ever executive meeting next Thursday (June 17).

The officer’s report crucially does not mention the external Westminster DOGE team. It describes how a review will be carried out over the summer that ‘will shape the budget setting process for next year, identifying in-year efficiencies and improvements to strengthen value for money arrangements across the council’.

It says there will be a ‘renewed focus on transparency’ and will ‘improve communication with residents’. It will take place alongside a major new residents’ survey and will report back to the executive in the Autumn.

The report also goes says that the review will be conducted by a team from within the council including hand-picked executive members as well as the scrutiny committee.

The timetable and scope of the review will be decided by the council leader, the executive member for finance Cllr Graham Cheatley, and the authority’s own chief executive Adele Wylie and S151 officer Claire Edwards.

The report sets out clearly which parts of council finances will be reviewed and why it’s going to benefit local residents.

It says its aims are to ensure that the council is spending public money in an efficient way; that there is strong governance with high levels of transparency; to promote openness and honesty and to improve services in a financially sustainable way.

It will look at all spend over £500, as well as payments to contractors. It will scrutinise planned capital spending as well as contracts with outside companies that provide council services.

The report says that the review will be funded from existing budgets – although there is no mention of how it may duplicate the regular and intensive internal and external audit work already carried out by the council as part of its statutory obligations.

On the face of it, it’s a world away from how things appear to have been done in Kent.

That lighter-touch approach may even garner cross-party support, and crucially, the backing of council officers, which Councillor Griffiths has long been keen to promote as part of a fresh start for staff he promised at the council’s AGM last month.

The meeting takes place next Thursday (June 17), at the Corby Cube, and is open to members of the public. It will also be screened live on the council’s Youtube page.

Some politicians told our reporters last night that they would wait and see how the review was carried out, but that they were concerned that Reform HQ would still intervene at some point.

Related topics:North NorthamptonshireKentUSANigel Farage

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A series of cost-of-living roadshows is taking place in a county's libraries, schools and churches.

The events are being organised by West Northamptonshire Council, which says they are "a vital way to connect with residents".

The authority says the roadshows will offer advice on everything from family finances to mental health support.

They start on 10 June and finish a month later.

While a 2024 report found that West Northamptonshire had lower levels of deprivation than the England average, there are some areas where poverty is still a major problem.

King's Heath in Northampton was identified by MPs as one of 225 "left behind" areas in the country in 2022.

The Northampton districts of Talavera and Queensway were also on the list.

Even in rural areas, which are often seen as more affluent, there are pockets of deprivation.

More than 14,000 people in rural Northamptonshire are seen as income deprived, while the town of Towcester shows high levels of food insecurity.

The roadshow will visit four less affluent areas of Northampton as well as two villages.

Laura Couse, the council's cabinet member for public health, said: "We understand that the rising cost of living continues to affect many households, and no one should feel they have to face these difficulties alone. That's why we're bringing together a wide range of local organisations and services under one roof—to make it easier for people to access the help they need.

"These events are a vital way for us to connect with residents and ensure they know what support is available during these challenging times."

The advice available includes energy-saving tips, debt management advice and mental health resources.

The council said its cost of living support hub was also available for people who could not attend a roadshow.

The sessions are:

Match Preview: Lancashire Lightning v Northampton Steelbacks, Vitality Blast Men

Lancashire Lightning v Northamptonshire SteelbacksVitality Blast, North Group Emirates Old Trafford

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Two in-form counties go head-to-head tomorrow.

Lancashire may have been defeated last time out, at home against Leicestershire Foxes on Wednesday evening, but they remain in good shape at the start of the Blast.

Three wins from four. Any county would snap your hand off for that start to a campaign.

The expectation is that seven or eight wins will be enough to reach first base, which is a top-four finish and qualification for the quarter-finals. Then the next goal can be chased - a top-two finish for a home tie in the last eight.

Northamptonshire Steelbacks are in even better shape. They have won all four at the start of the North Group, including away at Worcestershire last night, and sit top of the table.

The Lightning are chasing what would be their 90th home victory in 125 T20 matches since 2003. No county has a better record on home turf.

Opposition

Two-time champions in 2013 and 2016 - beaten finalists by Lancashire in 2015 - Northamptonshire are aiming for back-to-back quarter-finals having reached the last eight last year. And they are well on course.

They finished second in the North in 2024 before being knocked out by Somerset at home.

Captained by former England all-rounder David Willey, they are coached by Australian Darren Lehmann.

Willey was their leading wicket-taker last year, claiming 16 with his left-arm swing bowling.

He has started this season well, too.

South African opener Matthew Breetzke was their leading run-scorer last season with 460, and he is back for another campaign. The Steelbacks have also signed Australian leg-spinner Lloyd Pope as their other overseas player.

Experienced seamer Ben Sanderson is currently the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 13, which included an incredible 6-8 against Worcestershire at New Road last night as they bowled the Rapids out for 159 chasing 191.

He took four of those wickets in one over, a hat-trick to boot.

Ravi Bopara is also the third leading run-scorer in the competition with 167 runs so far.

Opposition player to watch

David Willey is a talismanic figure down at Wantage Road. Captain, potent with the ball, destructive with the bat and a live-wire in the field.

Capped 116 times by England in one-day and T20 cricket, the 35-year-old retired from international cricket in November 2023.

He is closing in on 350 career T20 wickets and 4,500 runs. He is nine away from the former and 81 from the latter.

Willey has taken eight wickets and has scored 133 runs in this season’s Blast.

He swings the new ball with his left-arm pace and, batting left-handed, whacks it. Watch out in the crowd if he gets going tomorrow afternoon.

Willey has been a regular on the franchise circuit in recent years, playing in competitions such as the IPL, the Big Bash, the Pakistan Super League and the Hundred. He has won a number of titles along the way as well, including for the Steelbacks in 2013.

He was player-of-the-match in that Blast final against Surrey at Edgbaston, hitting 60 and claiming 4-9, including a hat-trick.

Previous meeting

Lancashire and Northamptonshire were due to play each other twice last year but only played once. The first meeting, at the start of July, was washed out at Wantage Road.

A fortnight later, they did face off at Emirates Old Trafford, with the Steelbacks triumphant by four wickets chasing down an imposing target of 202 - and doing it with eight balls remaining.

Northamptonshire replied to Lancashire’s 201-9 with 203-6, the highest total ever conceded by the Red Rose in T20 cricket at Emirates Old Trafford.

Ireland spin-bowling all-rounder George Dockrell top-scored with a middle order 45 off 25 balls, with Liam Livingstone also contributing 36. Seamer Jack White, who has since left for Yorkshire, claimed 3-16 from two overs.

But fair play to Northamptonshire, it was an incredibly impressive chase, with South African opener Matthew Breetzke superb for 76 off 31 balls with five sixes.

It was undoubtedly one of the best visiting innings seen in T20 cricket at this venue.

When Breetzke fell, to the leg-spin of Luke Wells, Northamptonshire were 118-2 in the 10th over. They were ahead of the game but by no means over the line. They did get over the line, though, thanks to Ravi Bopara’s 36 and 26 for captain David Willey.

What they said

Chris Green is confident Lancashire can bounce back quickly from their first loss in four Vitality Blast matches at the start of the competition as they prepare to tackle Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

The Australian overseas all-rounder impressed in a losing cause against Leicestershire on Wednesday, hitting 36 not out and taking two wickets with his off-spin.

Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t quite enough to seal a fourth straight North Group win.

Still, Green refused to get too down about the five-wicket reverse to the Foxes.

“Three from four at this stage of the tournament, we’re sitting pretty. But it’s not a time to rest on our laurels,” he said.

“I think we’re starting to understand our game-plan really well. I think we take a lot of confidence from last year (quarter-final qualification). And looking back at the history of Lancashire in T20 cricket, it’s a strong one.

“It’s about putting these performances together and pushing on for finals cricket.”

Green has returned to Emirates Old Trafford for a second summer, and has penned a two-year contract through to the end of next year, which centres around Blast appearances but also includes the other formats when available.

“I’m loving it,” he said. “It’s a great group to be a part of. The guys have welcomed me in, and I love playing here at Emirates Old Trafford. The crowd is so welcoming.

“I love spending time in England during the summer, and the weather is a lot nicer this time, which I’m very grateful for. It feels like a home away from home.

“And I’m just trying to contribute as much as possible.”

Lancashire suffered a rare home defeat on Wednesday, with Leicestershire breaching fortress Emirates Old Trafford, where the hosts have won 89 of 124 T20 matches since 2003.

There’s certainly a steely determination within the Aussie and the rest of his team-mates to make sure the Leicester loss was a one-off.

Green added: “We have seven home games through the season. Last year, I think we lost one at home. If we can make Leicester the only loss, it sets you up really well for the tournament.”

How’s Stat!

Chris Green, 31-years-old, could reach the 250-career appearance mark in T20 cricket during this summer’s spell with Lancashire.

Green is currently sat on 240 matches since he debuted in the Big Bash for Sydney Thunder at the start of 2015.

The Lightning have 10 more group games to play through to late July.

Should the weather or injury not ruin things, he should get there whilst wearing the Red Rose.

Green has taken 207 wickets and has scored 1,724 runs in his career.