Cineworld have confirmed that their branch in Northampton is set to be closed down.

The cinema chain confirmed its branch at Sixfields in Northampton will be shutting down on January 19th 2025.

Sites in Castleford, Leigh, Middlesbrough, Poole and Weymouth are also closing down, to go with branches that were previously closed earlier this year in Glasgow, Bedford, Loughborough, Yate, and Swindon. It has not been disclosed how many jobs will be cut as a result of this move.

The move to close the Northampton branch sees the closure of a branch that has been operated by the cinema chain since 2005.

Closing the Northampton branch among others is part of a restructuring plan at the cinema chain, which is recovering after declaring bankruptcy in the United States in 2022 and entering administration in the United Kingdom in 2023.

The company was severely affected by the collapse in cinema attendance induced by the covid-19 pandemic and the consequent inflationary bubble.

A restructuring plan was previously announced in July, which was aimed at reducing costs.

The company will remain operating 89 Cineworld-branded cinemas, with the nearest to Northampton being branches in Milton Keynes, Rugby and Rushden Lakes, along with 25 Picturehouse-branded cinemas.

Javier Sotomayor, president of Cineworld International, said in a statement, “The successful completion of our restructuring plan, achieved with the crucial support of our landlords, protects thousands of jobs across the UK and provides us with the financial stability to continue investing in delivering extraordinary experiences for our valued customers.

“This milestone sets the stage for a brighter future, enabling Cineworld to continue sharing joy in communities across the UK for many years to come.”

Police is appealing for witnesses to an aggravated burglary in Milton Keynes, in which five people forced entry into and robbed a property.

The incident happened at around 8.40pm on Thursday (5/12), when the five offenders forced entry into a property in Tansman Lane in Old Farm Park.

They threatened people inside the property with knives, a hammer and a firearm and they demanded money, before fleeing on foot.

There were five victims, a nine-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl, a 17-year-old boy, a 20-year-old man and a 26-year-old man, they did not sustain any injuries.

As part of their appeal, Thames Valley Police have confirmed that a 20-year-old man from Milton Keynes has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary of a dwelling and has been released on bail.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Chris Smart said, “I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed or has any information relating to this incident.

“I am also appealing to anyone who has dash-cam, doorbell or mobile phone footage of the incident to please get in touch.

“If you have information, please call 101 or make an online report, quoting 43240589369.

“Alternatively, you can provide information anonymously to the independent charity, Crimestoppers, by calling 0800 555 111 or via its website.”

Northampton Town defeated local rivals Peterborough 2-1 at Sixfields thanks to a double by Cameron McGeehan.

In the first game after Jon Brady quit following over three years in charge, McGeehan scored a winning goal six minutes from time after his first goal had been cancelled out by Peterborough’s Malik Mothersille.

Victory was the Cobblers’ first since beating Crawley in late October, while a second home win in a row over Peterborough means Northampton are now level on points with their rivals, albeit having played a game more.

The Cobblers were overseen by Ian Sampson, who was taking caretaker charge after the surprise resignation of Brady after a midweek reversal at Stevenage.

On a Monday night in front of the Sky cameras, Northampton made the brighter start but the first major chance fell the visitors’ way as Archie Collins saw a drive from outside the box denied by Nik Tzanev.

A chance presented itself for McGeehan just after, with the former Luton man denied by visiting goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic.

Northampton then broke the deadlock in the opening minutes of the second half. From a Mitch Pinnock corner, McGeehan ended up stealing a match at the back post to flick a finish past Bilokapic.

The Peterborough keeper claimed he had been fouled by Sam Hoskins in preventing him from reaching it, while replays suggested the ball may have touched McGeehan’s hand as part of his control of the ball, but the referee declined to penalise either offence and Northampton had the lead.

Posh, however, would equalise within ten minutes. Cian Hayes’ cross was flicked on by Ricky-Jade Jones under pressure from a defender to fall kindly for Mothersille, who tapped the ball in at the back post.

In the early stages of the second half, Mothersille would force a stop out of Tzanev as the home side had a bright start to proceedings.

With just over 20 minutes to go, the visitors missed a big chance to take the lead when Jones blasted a shot over the top from close range after being played in by Joel Randall in a great position to score.

Northampton then stunned the Posh with an 84th minute winner, as Tyler Roberts received a ball into the box before teeing up McGeehan to poke the ball in the back of the net.

The Cobblers were duly able to pick up the points, as they ended their winless run and provided fans a tonic following Brady’s exit.

The team are next in action on Saturday, when they play Rotherham in South Yorkshire.

The final race of the 2024 F1 season was a frustrating one for Red Bull, who took a couple of points but no podiums.

Max Verstappen finished 6th while team-mate Sergio Perez was unable to finish his first lap, ending what has been heavily rumoured to be his last race with the team with no points.

Both drivers had their races hurt by collisions on the first lap, with Verstappen handed a ten second time penalty for colliding with Oscar Piastri at turn one on lap one and Perez’s car damaged by a hit from Valtteri Bottas later on in the first lap.

Perez’s first lap exit confirmed that the Milton Keynes-based team would be unable to catch Ferrari in the Constructor’s Championship, with the team finishing third in their lowest finish in these standings since finishing third in 2019.

Verstappen ended the season as champion in the Driver’s Constructors for the fourth season in a row, ending the campaign with 437 points – a 63 point lead on Lando Norris, for whom victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix confirmed he would finish as runner-up.

The Dutchman is the first driver since 1983 to win a Driver’s Championship while driving for a team that finished outside the top two in the Constructor’s field.

Perez, meanwhile, ended the season in 8th place, a full 285 points behind championship winner Verstappen. Rumours over the last two weeks have claimed that despite having a contract for 2025, Perez could be pushed out following his difficult 2024 season.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix got off to a dramatic start for Red Bull, who saw both cars involved in incidents.

First, Verstappen had made a fast start from 4th on the grid and challenged Piastri into turn one, but a misjudgement saw the Red Bull and McLaren collide at the corner, spinning both cars around. Verstappen would later be given a ten second time penalty for his part.

Later on in lap one, Perez had been passed by Kevin Magnussen after the Haas driver made a divebomb into the turn at the end of the long straight and as he turned, he collided with Bottas’ Sauber.

The collision lead to a failure in the car, seeing Perez pull over and out of the race.

While Verstappen was able to recover by passing midfield cars and then pass others after his pit-stop, he ultimately couldn’t catch up with the top 5, meaning a championship winning season for Verstappen ended with his first failure to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2019, having won the previous four events at Yas Marina.