Set around a private courtyard and amidst five acres of gardens, terraces, and paddocks is this amazing stone country house in the village of Gayhurst in North Buckingham.

The picturesque property is an exquisite new build and boasts a wealth of fabulous features including underfloor heating, a fully integrated sound and lighting system, a pool room, games room and cinema room.

This property is made for those who want the perfect country life, all in one place.

Built by Prestige Homes in 2016, a massive 12,180 sq ft of living accommodation guarantees luxurious living.

Double oak doors open to the reception hall and marble flooring which continues throughout the ground floor.

There are three main reception rooms, including a sitting room with doors to the pool room and heated exercise pool with a decked area for post-workout relaxation.

If you’re more in the mood for lounging, you can enjoy optimum viewing comfort in the leather seats in the cinema room.

Guests will be clamouring to stay and accommodating them won’t be a problem.

There are five ensuite bedrooms in the main house including a beautiful master suite with dressing room, luxury bathroom, steam room and two sun terraces.

Two separate and self-contained annexes provide an additional four bedrooms.

The village’s name - ‘Gayhurst’ - is an Old English word meaning ‘wooded hill where goats are kept’ and the village has a hard-to-beat location surrounded by parkland, woodlands and rivers.

Close to the South Northamptonshire border, Newport Pagnell is only three miles away and the centre of Milton Keynes is a short 15-minute drive - perfect for shopping or fast commuter trains to London.

This amazing home is available through Michael Graham for £3 million.

There are 31 additional acres of land available by separate negotiation.

Central Bedfordshire Council has got tough with travellers after gaining an injunction banning eleven named individuals setting up unauthorised encampments anywhere in Central Bedfordshire over the next two years.

CBC states these individuals and their families have caused “disruption”, “anti-social behaviour” and “large clean-ups” which impacted on local communities.

The 11 individuals come from the Parker, Simms, Loveridge, Smith, Johnson, Whitney, Lewis and Holmes families.

A CBC spokesman said: “Over the last year, Central Bedfordshire Council has undertaken a huge amount of work to secure council-owned land, including installing height barriers, bunding, ditches and strengthening gates.”

Preventative measures have taken place in Dunstable including the Court House, Grove theatre, Skimpot Lane, Brewers Hill car park and Go Bowling areas.

The council has also been advising private landowners on suitable measures to take on their land. Additionally, they have been liaising with Highways England to protect Junction 12 of the M1.

The injunction stops any unauthorised encampments on specific parcels of land in Ridgmont, Husborne Crawley, Brogborough, Salford, Lidlington, Marston Moretaine, Lower Shelton and Wootton.

Cllr Ian Dalgarno, executive for community services, said: “The injunction will help us further by acting as a deterrent but also anyone who breaks the injunction faces the threat of arrest.”

There was cake and bubbly as members of Wrestlingworth WI celebrated the insitute’s centenary - one of only five in Bedfordshire to reach the landmark occasion.

Fifty members, guests, past members who have left the district and three representatives from the County Federation including chairman Sally Ball, enjoyed a sumptuous tea, a piece of celebration cake and a glass of Prosecco, at the event on September 18.

The proceedings, as was fitting, started with a rousing rendition of ‘Jerusalem’.

The two cakes decorated by Yvonne Hall were cut by long standing members Rosemary Chapman and Evelyn Wilding and a rolling computerised presentation of archive photographs prepared by Ron Pickford ran throughout the evening.

The Sandy Ukelele Band, whose skill and musicianship always get everyone singing, completed the entertainment.

A Biggleswade school has seen some major changes over the summer.

Ivel Valley School has undergone a huge transformation across its two sites in the town.

The school was previously set up with the primary school on The Baulk and the secondary school on Hitchmead Road.

The two sites have been restructured, with The Baulk site becoming Ivel Valley College, and the Hitchmead Road site accommodating the school.

The restructure coincides with the launch of a new website, which showcases what Ivel Valley is able to offer pupils, families and the wider community.

The college, which caters for pupils aged 16 to 19, is well placed, being located close to the town and transport links to allow the students easier access to the community.

A school spokesman said: “As a special school, life skills are an important part of the young people’s education.

“The location of the college enables students to be more independent, especially when taking part in travel training.

“The school site, which provides places for 3 to 16-year-olds, boasts ample outdoor space.

“Primary aged pupils, who previously only had to access to a concrete playground, now have use of a safe green space to play, as well as access to a sensory garden and large sports field.

“The restructure means that the college can concentrate on opportunities for the development of student choice, independent living, social skills and vocational and work-related learning.”

They added: “The post-16 curriculum is designed to celebrate success for all whilst curriculum for the younger pupils can now include a wider variety of outdoor learning, with an area of the grounds already earmarked for development as an outdoor classroom.”

Principal, Joe Creswick, is keen to maintain the rate of progress.

He said: “Following a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating in May this year, we continue to strive towards becoming a Centre of Excellence.

“I am extremely proud of the progress we have made as a school and look forward to building on the links we already have with the local community.”

Visit https://www.ivelvalley.beds.sch.uk/

Savvy parents and parents-to-be in the Biggleswade area can find top quality baby and children’s clothes and other goods at a sale being held in town.

Catering for youngsters aged 0-8 years, there will be toys, bikes and baby and children’s equipment at the NCT nearly new sale.

The NCT Biggleswade, Sandy and District Branch sale is on Saturday, October 13 at Stratton Upper School, from 10.30am to noon. NCT members with a valid card are admitted at 10.15am.

NCT Nearly New Sales offer excellent quality used baby and children’s items and shoppers can look to save up to 75% on the price of most goods.

Families with baby and toddler items they no longer need can ensure they go to a good home through the sale. They’ll make some cash too as sellers keep 75% of the proceeds with the rest being donated to the charity for local and national projects.

A spokeswoman for the branch said: “Our volunteers ensure that the quality of the goods at our sales is excellent and shoppers can bag some real baby bargains. Whether you’re buying, selling or both you can be sure you’re helping to support other parents in the area by funding NCT’s vital work.

“Did you know there’s a feeding counsellor at The Children’s Centre who has helped countless women to initiate and maintain feeding? Did you know that she’s not funded by the NHS, or the council, but by the volunteers at your local NCT?

There is someone local on hand to help if women decide to breastfeed and need a bit of extra help. However, without our sales this valuable local resource would be lost. So, if you’ve ever used her services, know someone who has, or just think it’s a great thing for new parents to have right on their doorstep, please help us make our sales a success.”

The spring nearly new sale consisted of over 50 volunteers throughout the sale sorting through around 10,000 sale items and raised over £2,000 for charity.

Nearly New Sales are open to everyone, not just NCT members, and there are around 400 held annually in the UK. The income generated from these sales helps the charity support parents, fund helplines, provide breastfeeding counsellors, train antenatal teachers and offer many more services.

For more information, visit www.nct.org.uk/nns

A man has died after being hit by a train at Arlesey this morning.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “Officers were called to Arlesey railway station at 7am this morning after a report of a person being struck by a train.

“Colleagues from the ambulance service also attended, however, a 32-year-old man, from Bedfordshire, was pronounced dead at the scene. His family has been informed.

“This incident is not currently being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”

A statement from Thameslink said: “All lines have reopened between Peterborough and London Kings Cross, as Network Rail response staff and emergency services have now tended to the person who was hit by a train on the lines between Peterborough and Stevenage.

“However, train services running between these stations may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised as the service recovers.

“Disruption is currently expected until 12:30.

“You’re strongly advised to allow extra time for your journey this morning, check journey planners and speak with station staff.

“If you are at a station that does not have any staff, please press the help point for assistance.”

All good things must come to an end including our six match unbeaten run which was halted when we lost at home by the only goal of the game against Leverstock Green.

I have always said that the more games you win the closer you are to losing and so it turned out following a match where in truth our performance, particularly in the second half, suggested that we deserved to take something from the game.

But it wasn’t to be and I know we can learn from this defeat. There was certainly no lack of effort and determination from any of our players and I now look forward to seeing us regain our momentum and get back to winning ways as quickly as possible.

Off the pitch we are delighted and saddened in equal measure with the news that, Jordan Rowsell, our Social and Media man will be leaving the club.

Saddened because Jordan has been the most vital part of our media team brilliantly helping to raise the profile of Biggleswade United primarily because of his love for the game and the club, but also to help him further his experience and bolster his CV so as to give him a vital head start when applying for a similar full time job.

We are all therefore delighted to hear his efforts have been rewarded and that he has been taken on in a similar role at West Ham United where I understand he will be responsible for promotion on social media of the club’s Under 23 and women’s teams.

Our loss is West Ham’s gain and I couldn’t be happier for him because it couldn’t have happened to a nicer, more dedicated person and he leaves us with our very best wishes for the future and warmest thanks for everything he has done.

All of which means of course that we now have a vacancy for a Digital Content Manager and while we are unable to pay a king’s ransom we can, for the right person, offer some remuneration plus a platform to help the successful applicant gain experience and also hopefully, help kickstart their careers.

To apply please submit a CV, covering Letter and any previous examples of your work to info@biggleswadeunited.com

Back to business and on Saturday we travel to Hadley in the league before Wembley visit us on Tuesday.

The latest court news from Luton Magistrates court

On August 24

> Miss Carla Cummins aged 30 of Albone Avenue, Arlesey, was fined a total of £470 and received three penalty points for misuse of a parking space in St Neots on May 4, 2017, and speeding on the A1 at Sandy on June 19, 2017.

On August 28

> Caroline Wilkinson aged 39 of Albone Avenue, Arlesey, was fined a total of £195 and received four penalty points for speeding on Hanscombe End Road, Shillington on February 15.

> Ralf Wilsher aged 76 of Reynolds Close, Biggleswade, was fined a total of £335 and received three penalty points for speeding on the A1 at Lower Caldecote on February 20.

On August 29

> Gary Davidson aged 49 of High Street, Sandy, was fined a total of £187 amd banned from driving for six months for for speeding on Lovell Road, Oakley on two occasions on November 7, and one occasion on November 24.

On August 30

> Jamie Fletcher aged 32 of The Grange, Caldecote, was jailed for six months and fined a total of £115 for a string of offences in Sandy, Biggleswade and Bedford. He pleaded guilty to stealing 12 steaks and three joints of meat from the Sandy Co-Op on June 30, three bottles of vodka from Asda in Biggleswade on July 7, three bottles of aftershave from TKMaxx in Bedford on July 31, failed to surrender to bail, stole alcohol from Sainsbury’s in Bedford between August 6-8, was found with a kitchen knife on Castle Mound in Bedford on August 28 and was found in possession of drugs on August 28 in Bedford.

> Aaron Briggs aged 29 of Vickers Close, Biggleswade, was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and fined a total of £20 for damaging a doorway at an Aragon Housing property in Biggleswade on August 10, and resisting a policeman, He was also given a 50 day suspended custodial sentence, for non payment of fines.

Bedfordshire Police has arrested two men following the discovery of a cannabis factory in Chicksands this morning (Friday 5 October).

The factory was discovered by heat source detectors on a police helicopter and a warrant was executed by officers at 9am.

Sergeant Rachael Welch, who led the team, said: “We found almost 70 plants in the property which were ready for cropping and we are really pleased to have removed the plants before they reached the drugs market.

“As a force we take offences involving possession and supply of drugs very seriously and are committed to stopping drug supply before it can have adverse effects on our community.”

Central Bedfordshire Council will be providing its community safety and traffic and parking officers with new body cameras.

The cameras will be used from Thursday, October 11, and any offenders will be warned that the video evidence may be used in future prosecutions.

The introduction of body cameras will help to improve evidence gathering, inspection and monitoring procedures, and increase the safety and well-being of council staff. The cameras will be worn on overtly on a lanyard or fitted to the officer’s jacket, but will only be activated when necessary.

The camera has a screen that is visible to the person being spoken to, and displays the live footage being taken by the camera lens. The public will also be advised by the officer that a recording is being made. The cameras will be used in public and in private premises, and they record both sound and video.

Councillor Ian Dalgarno said: “We have invested in cutting-edge technology to help us serve the communities in our area better, and to keep them safer.

“The cameras will allow front-line council officers to gather first-hand video and audio evidence of an incident.

“They will give staff confidence when dealing with confrontational individuals, and will help to increase public confidence in the way we collect evidence.

“Body cameras are increasingly used by the police and by other local authorities. They are not intended as a replacement for other methods of evidence-gathering, but are an additional tool to support our investigations.

“Footage can help to clearly show the impact and extent of antisocial behaviour, which can otherwise be difficult to describe in a written statement.”

A man has admitted intentionally driving his car at an on-duty police officer in Sandy, resulting in her breaking her leg.

Jack Mitchell, 19, of Kingsmoor Road, Harlow, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving with intent to cause serious injury in relation to an incident in Sunderland Road on April 24, at a Luton Crown Court hearing on Friday (October 5).

Police had initially been responding to reports of concern for the welfare of an 18-year-old woman, with the support of the National Police Air Service.

Whilst dealing with the incident, two officers in a marked vehicle encountered a black Audi A5 in Sunderland Road, which they then approached as part of their enquiries.

The Audi drove at the officers, who attempted to take cover in the police vehicle before the two collided. The collision caused serious injury to one of the officers. The second officer was unhurt.

After evading officers and leaving the county, Mitchell was eventually detained in Essex in August.

He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of dangerous driving related to an incident in Essex on 26 June and has been remanded ahead of being sentenced for both incidents later this month.

Detective Constable Jo Barkat, who led the investigation, said: “No-one in any job should go to work and come away hurt, let alone a police officer who was simply doing her job, and I’m glad we were able to trace Mitchell and bring him to justice.

“Officers regularly put their lives on the line as part of their job, and it is testament to the officer involved that she has been able to get back to her work to keep communities across Bedfordshire safe.

“It goes without saying that intentionally driving a car at someone is one of the most dangerous and perilous things a person can do; in this instance it is fortunate the officer will recover from her injuries.

“This is also a stark warning for anyone intending on harming members of the emergency services; it’s not acceptable, won’t be tolerated, and you will appear before the courts.”

The weather in the South of England this year has been topsy-turvy, with the summer’s heatwave preceded by one of the coldest winters in years due to the Beast from the East.

This summer saw the UK enjoy its biggest heatwave in years and summer is now returning to give us one last blast this week.

The South of England is set to experience some unseasonably warm weather this week, as temperatures begin to climb.

Today and tomorrow will see temperatures begin to increase, with some areas of the South of England basking in unseasonably warm weather by Wednesday.

Tuesday will generally see temperatures of 16/17C, before Wednesday reaches a peak temperature of around 20C in some areas, which will be as warm as global hotspot Madrid.

The South of England will then stay warm for the rest of the week, with both Friday and Saturday forecast temperatures of around 19C.

Portsmouth will see a peak temperature of around 19C over the weekend, while Milton Keynes will reach 20C on Wednesday.

According to the Met Office, “there will be long sunny spells on Wednesday, accompanied by very warm temperatures”.

“There will be a little more cloud and wind on Thursday, but mainly dry. However, it will be very windy and cloudy on Friday with a scattering of showers.”

However, temperatures will still be warmer than usually, seeing a considerable rise from last week.

Looking ahead, there is an increasing chance that the weather towards the end of October will turn more settled as high pressure re-establishes, according to the Met Office. This would bring lighter winds and some sunshine by day but cold nights with frost and fog.

As the UK heads towards the start of November, confidence is lower but there are signs it may turn more changeable again.

Temperatures will probably be close to normal overall, but in more settled weather it is likely to be colder than average, especially overnight.

Two abusive passengers who were aggressive towards gate staff at London Luton Airport have been sentenced for racial hate crimes.

Matthew Delahunty, 49, of Sangley Road, London, was found guilty of racially aggravated public order at Luton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, October 4.

He received a community order to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work and to pay a total of £705 in costs, compensation and fees.

The court heard that on 20 March, Delahunty was not allowed to fly when he tried to board an easyJet flight to Mallorca due to his level of intoxication.

After being advised to sober up he confronted a member of the ground crew by being racist in an extremely insulting and threatening manner.

In a separate incident on 26 September, Toomas Tepper, 47, of no fixed address, was deemed too drunk to travel by staff at the departure gate to a Wizz Air flight to Warsaw.

After being refused boarding he was aggressive and racially abusive towards staff who were upset, angered and offended by the language used towards them.

Tepper pleaded guilty to four counts of racially aggravated public order at Luton Magistrates’ Court on Monday, October 1. After being remanded in custody he received a community order and was ordered to pay a total of £1,145 in costs, compensation and fees.

Inspector Ian Taylor, of the London Luton Airport Unit, said: “We are pleased to have received positive sentences for these offences which highlight that hate crime and disorderly behaviour within the airport will not be tolerated.

“Individuals need to be aware of their conduct when entering the airport. Abusive passengers will be dealt with positively as everyone has the right to live free from fear or harassment, especially when carrying out their job assisting members of the public.

“We also urge people to drink responsibly whilst at the airport, if passengers are deemed to be too intoxicated staff are obliged to prevent them from entering the aircraft.”

Clare Armstrong, Head of Passenger Services at London Luton Airport, said: “Abusive and disruptive behaviour will never be tolerated at the airport.

!We welcome the news of these convictions and will continue to work in partnership with Bedfordshire Police and the wider airport community to ensure the airport is safe, secure and enjoyable for all who use and work at the airport.”

I’m only too aware that when people hear about the work that Central Bedfordshire Council does, some will think first about services like fixing the roads and collecting their bins – but the reality is that there’s so much more that we do.

Did you know that we provide more than 600 services? And like so much in life, when someone goes the extra mile it really makes a difference. But often these things get overlooked.

So, we thought we would share some of these stories with you. Some of you on social media may already have seen them.

The #CBCMakingADifference campaign highlights the instances where our residents and service users have told us how we are doing just that.

There’s the story of Pat who had to go into one of our care homes and had to put her dog Benji into kennels.

She hadn’t seen him for three months but then two of our carers adopted Benji and now Pat gets daily updates and he comes to visit her regularly.

Or, newlywed couple Mr and Mrs Field, who said: “I would like to say thanks to everyone involved in helping to make our wedding day at The Limes so special.”

We conduct more than 700 weddings each year and it’s one example of the fabulous feedback we receive.

Another resident, Jeffrey, told us how his daughter, spending just two days a week at Silsoe Horticultural Centre, has seen her blossom, “made her more confident” and given him “peace of mind”.

The centre gives adults with learning disabilities the chance to weed, plant, water and harvest produce which are made into jams, chutneys, cakes or hanging baskets.

These are then sold in the café there, by the people who have grown them.

We’ve also supported 1,489 people to stop smoking over the last year and Lisa was one of those that thanked us.

She said: “I started smoking at 15 but before long I was addicted.

“I’m so impressed the Stop Smoking Service… [they give] tremendous support, understanding and no judgement.

“Now I love the fact that I’m spending quality time with my family instead of sitting outside chain smoking.”

So, while we still deal with roads, bins, budgets, reports, facts and figures, it is also these stories, and the many like them that we will continue to tell, which drive us on to keep delivering better services and improved outcomes that really make a difference for our residents.

Despite the very hot summer over the summer the standard of entries in the Best Kept Competitions in Sandy was very high.

The Sandy Enhancement Group (SEG) has announced this year’s winners in a number of categories.

Best Pub was awarded to the Bell by judges who said they make a tremendous effort every year to make their Station Road frontage a delight to pass.

The All Seasons Boutique in the High Street won the award for Best Shop Front. “Their displays show a great deal of thought and are always very well presented.”

Once again Ann Browning of Coopers Close won the award for Best Floral Display. “On a very small area Ann gets the maximum amount into her small front courtyard and it is well worth a small detour from St Neots Road to view it.”

The Best Small / Courtyard Garden was won by Mr and Mrs T Cox of Laburnum Road who won the Osborn Cup for their efforts.

Mr and Mrs M and Barbara Carter of Rivermead Gardens won the Large Garden Trophy, the Alan Kettleborough Rose Bowl.

Presenting the cups and certificates was well known world traveller and author Michael Bartlett who has several entries in the Guinness Book of Records for his remarkable achievements in flying to over 170 countries all around the World.

Mr Bartlett made a short speech in which he congratulated the winners and spoke of his travels to may varied and interesting places. He said many of them have little or no regard for their environment and care little about improving their outdoor living space. It was always a joy to return to England and admire the great efforts made by residents to improve their homes with immaculate gardens and floral displays.

SEG maintain various sites around the Sandy including the front of the sorting office, the buffers feature at the station and the garden on Potton Road.

They are an aging group of retired men who would very much appreciate some younger, fitter people to join them in their efforts. If you would like to help please call the chairman Nigel Aldis on 01767 691333.

A traditional red telephone kiosk in Sandy’s twin of Malauney has been turned into a children’s library.

The kiosk is in The Place de Sandy which has undergone a facelift. Paving and lighting have been modernised and it is intended the group that visit the town in France next May will be given a tour of the new site.

The mayor of Malaunay, Philippe Coutey, unveiled the telephone box library.

Youngsters at Busy Bees nursery in Biggleswade had a visit from firefighters earlier when they had a chance to learn about fire safety.

Two members of the team from Biggleswade Community Fire Station visited the nursery, on Bantock Way, to have some fun and talk to the children about the important work they do in the community.

The children took it in turns to look around the fire engine and learn about the different pieces of kit the fire service use on a daily basis. They also tried their hand at being firefighters by trying on the helmets and putting out imaginary fires with the water hose.

Nursery manager, Sandra Bonfield, said: “We’re really grateful to the fire service for taking time out of their day to visit our nursery and teach the children about their role. They all had a fantastic time pretending to be firefighters and squirting the water hose and they learnt so much in the process.

“Learning through play gives children the key skills to develop the foundations for learning so they can continue to achieve as they move into school life. It’s great for them to get hands-on and have some fun while learning new things as this is something we really promote as part of giving them the best start in life.”

Visit www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk/nursery/biggleswade

If you want to give nature a helping hand, you could help out at the RSPB nature reserve in Sandy.

The RSPB is holding a volunteer recruitment day at The Lodge in Potton Road on Saturday, October 20, between 11.30am and 1pm.

The charity is looking for visitor information centre volunteers, car park management, garden guides and shop asssistants.

A spokesman said: “If you are friendly, confident talking to the public and able to inspire our visitors about the work of the RSPB and supporting us as a charity, then we want to hear from you.”

Visitor Information Centre volunteers: Working in the visitor centre, you will give a warm welcome to visitors and introduce them to the reserve. You will be able to enthuse people to support the RSPB as new members, and talk about the birds and wildlife found here at The Lodge. For this role the RSPB are especially looking for help at weekends and people who can cover at busy periods, such as school holidays, but weekday roles are also available.

Car-park meet and greet and traffic management weekend roles: a friendly face on arrival, you will be confident in helping visitors on their arrival and directing and managing th flow of traffic at peak times.

Garden guides: In 2019, the RSPB are planning to have guides in the garden, informing visitors of the work the head gardener and his team carry out.

There are also weekend opportunities for flexible part time volunteering in the busy and friendly shop.

Full training will be given and a uniform supplied for all of these roles.

Call in and meet the RSPB team at the shop, near the reserve entrance, anytime on the day, have a chat over a cuppa and biscuit to find out more.

If you can’t make this date but are interested in volunteering for one of these roles at The Lodge, please contact Mark Brandon, Visitor Experience Manager, The Lodge nature reserve; mark.brandon@rspb.org.uk 01767 693253.

The RSPB is the largest conservation charity in Europe. It has over 13,000 fantastic volunteers across the country, and they come from all walks of life. Between them, they contribute over a million hours each year.

Until I became seriously involved with Biggleswade United, I never really understood just what was required to ensure the efficient running of a football club at whatever level they compete at.

It is for that reason that as part of my work with the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) I have invited our chairman, Gareth Davies and Secretary, Tracey James to talk to the students about just what is needed so our club - any club - can function on a weekly basis.

A two hour seminar is only ever going to be long enough to scratch the surface but if we can get the message across that it isn’t just about playing 90 minutes plus added on time on any given Saturday and much more about day in, day out, perspiration rather than occasional flashes of inspiration, then hopefully they’ll get the idea.

There are the fixtures to coordinate, training schedules to prepare, publicity to get in place, grass to cut, kit to wash, turnstiles to man, programmes to produce, forms to fill, changing rooms to clean, reports to file, food to prepare, complaints to listen to, on-going issues to resolve, and we still haven’t kicked a ball yet.

Then on the playing side is the organisation of the type of game we want to play and the responsibility of hiring the right personnel that can help us implement the style and approach we are looking for. And everything has to be done on a shoestring budget.

The biggest single challenge is getting enough volunteers involved in every aspect of the club, to help us meet the commitments we face on a weekly basis.

And like a child it is constantly evolving. We now, once again, have a ladies first team and while it is still currently a learning curve for all of us, the same general expectations apply as they would to any of our sides in every aspect of its running be it with training, weekly preparation for future matches or whatever is needed to function.

Work commitments meant I have been spending quite a lot of time in Spain recently but what better opportunity to catch up with everyone than an FA Vase day.

Holbeach United are our guests on Saturday as we aim to make it through into the next round of this wonderful competition, the importance of which I never fully appreciated until quite recently. Let’s see if we can get one step closer to Wembley.

A woman from Biggleswade is warning pet owners to be extra vigilant after three of her cats were killed in the space of three days.

Julie Burchell, of Lindsell Crescent, wants to make people aware of what has happened this week after she lost three of her six cats in unusual circumstances.

To add to the mystery one of her neighbours has also found one of their cats dead and another is still missing.

Julie said: “I’m afraid that we may have a repeat of what happened a few years ago where cats were going missing and turning up dead.

“On Monday night I thought my cat, Billy Boy (pictured) had been run over, he was badly hurt, we took him to the vet and he sadly died.

“The next morning I found another of my cats, Tabitha (pictured) dead by the side of my house, not a mark on her and then this morning my neighbour knocked on my door, having found Maizy dead at the side of the road, again, not a mark on her.

“Another lady, who lives down my road, posted on Facebook that one of her cats is missing and another had been found dead – again, no marks on them.

“I had six cats, and have lost three since Monday night, I am so upset, they are like family.

“I want people to be aware of what is happening, please be extra vigilant and keep an eye on your cats, I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.

“I have reported it to the police, I am waiting for them to call me back and I have reported it to the RSPCA.”

Julie’s neighbour, who asked not to be named, said her cats Oli and Obi went out around 10.30pm on Monday, October 8 as normal. However the next morning, they had not returned and she and her family became very worried.

Sadly Obi who is around 9-10 years old (black in colour) was later found dead in their garden. The cause of death is not known.

Her second cat Oli who is ginger and white in colour aged around 8 years old is still missing and she is increasingly concerned for him.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: “We are so sad to hear that these cats have died or gone missing from this one area and it must be truly heartbreaking for their owners.

“While at this stage we do not know if this is in relation to deliberate or accidental incidents we would issue a warning to cat owners in the area to be extra vigilant.

“We would urge all cat owners to keep a close eye on their pets and their behaviour and if they suspect they have been injured or poisoned we would advise they seek immediate veterinary attention.

“As a precaution we would also ask people who are using substances such as anti-freeze to make sure they are extremely careful in their storage of it and how they dispose of it.

“If anyone has any information which can help us with our investigation they should call 0300 123 8018 or contact the police.”

Signs of poisoning can be seen anything from 30 minutes after ingestion to two or three days. This can include some, or all of the following symptoms: vomiting, seeming depressed or sleepy, appearing drunk or uncoordinated, seizures and difficulty breathing.

It is a criminal offence under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to administer poison, dangerous drugs or substances to an animal; and under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 it is a criminal offence to allow a cat to suffer unnecessarily.

A Beds Police spokesman said: “We have received two reports from concerned residents from Lindsell Crescent, Biggleswade, whose cats have died in recent days.

“We have not received any information of suspicious activity in the area and while we appreciate this is a distressing and upsetting time for the owners, we would need confirmation from a vet that the deaths are thought to be caused by poisoning before it becomes a police matter. Anyone who notices any suspicious activity is asked to call us on 101.”