Midsummer Place shopping centre in Milton Keynes have announced events to mark 25 years since opening.

The shopping centre will be hosting a 25th Anniversary Celebration that will take place on Saturday 27 September from 10am – 4pm.

Shoppers, families, and the local community are invited to join in to mark the occasion, with multiple free activities planned for visitors to the site.

Activities planned include:

• Face painting with colourful designs for children
• Stilt walkers delivering high-energy fun and spectacle
• Live music to set the perfect celebratory soundtrack
• Plus, plenty more surprises throughout the day

A special ceremony will also take place for everyone who shared their story with the Umbrella Project, where they will be presented with their very own umbrella from the art display as a thank you.

Simon Martin, Centre Manager at Midsummer Place, said, “We’re incredibly proud to have been part of Milton Keynes for 25 years.

“This celebration is our way of saying thank you to the shoppers, retailers, and community who have made Midsummer Place such a special destination. We look forward to welcoming everyone on 27 September for a day full of fun and festivities.”

The event is FREE to attend and open to all.

MK Dons were beaten 5-1 at home by the West Ham U21s in their first taste of the EFL Trophy this season.

Preston Fearon gave the visitors the lead, with the same player later doubling the away side’s lead. Laurence Maguire’s own goal then added to the Dons’ miserable first-half.

Aaron Collins scored a penalty in the second half, but a goal by Callum Marshall ended any hopes of a Dons comeback. Marshall then added a late fifth with the final shot of note just to add further misery to the Dons’ rough night.

With the Dons’ league form slipping to a run of just 1 league win in their last 5, Paul Warne’s side looked for something better in their first appearance in this season’s EFL Trophy.

Warne opted to ring the changes for a contest against West Ham’s academy side, with all 11 starters from the weekend’s draw at Chesterfield dropping out.

Inclusions in the side were Collins and Maguire after absences with injury, Jon Mellish after a suspension-induced absence and multiple academy graduates, including 3 making their first competitive starts in Simone Troso, Chase Medwynter and Kobe Sinclair-Linton.

West Ham had some early half-chances with Mohamadou Kante and George Earthy having shots blocked in the box.

The visiting academy side would then duly open the scoring in the 12th minute. Earthy, who spent last season playing for former Dons boss Liam Manning at Bristol City, ran into the box. The attacker teed it back for Fearon, whose low shot arrowed beyond the reach of home keeper Connal Trueman.

The Dons started slowly but began to offer a little more, with veteran keeper Lukasz Fabianski denying Will Collar’s half chance and then saving Chase Medwynter’s effort from outside the box.

But the Dons struggled to build momentum in search of an equaliser, and they conceded a second in the latter stages of the first half. Space opeend up for Mohamadou Kante down the West Ham left and he laid the ball in to Fearon, who scooped a low shot into the same corner he found with his first goal.

Things then got worse a few moments later when the West Ham kids scored again. Chukwuemeka Adiele’s first cross was blocked, but the West Ham man got space to try again and his second cross deflected in off Maguire to extend the West Ham side’s lead.

This gave the away side a comfortable lead at half-time and they nearly extended it when Callum Marshall was denied by Trueman when one-on-one in the opening minute of the second half.

MK Dons would have a snapshot when Collins’ drive from range was tipped away by Fabianski.

West Ham U21s then had a brief flurry of chances, with Marshall denied by Trueman and the Dons keeper making a flying stop to keep out Ryan Battrum’s goalbound strike from outside the box.

MK Dons then had a few chances of their own, with Fabianski denying Will Collar before West Ham just blocked a strike by Mellish on their own goal-line.

Fabianski then made another save to thwart Jonathan Leko, while young sub Revin Domi had a strike blocked by his own teammate Medwynter.

A foul on Collins then saw MK Dons awarded a penalty, which Collins duly converted to make it 3-1.

But any hopes of a Dons comeback lasted a matter of moments, before the visitors grabbed a fourth as Marshall turned in Adiele’s cross.

Marshall would grab his second and West Ham’s fifth right at the end of proceedings, with a slick finish from Regan Clayton’s free-kick to complete a heavy defeat for the home side.

The Dons’ attentions now turn to a league match against Accrington Stanley on Saturday, with their next dose of the EFL Trophy coming in the form of a trip to Reading in early October.

MK Dons: Trueman – Sinclair-Linton, Maguire (Domi 61), Mellish – Tripp, Collar, Lewis-Burgess (Thompson-Sommers 71), Troso (Guzynski 82) – Medwynter, Collins, Leko

Subs not used: Finch, Kelly, Singh-Hurditt, Burke

Goal: Collins (pen 67)

Booked: Lewis-Burgess, Mellish

West Ham U21 goals: Fearon (12, 39), Maguire (og 43), Marshall (71, 90+8)

A man from Luton has been arrested following reports of a voyeurism incident in a shop in Milton Keynes.

The incident happened around 1.05pm on Wednesday 25 June, when it was reported by a member of the public that a man had been seen taking inappropriate photos of a woman whilst she was shopping at Sports Direct in Midsummer Place in Central Milton Keynes.

As part of an investigation into this incident, Thames Valley Police have confirmed that an unnamed 29-year-old man from Luton has been arrested on suspicion of voyeurism and has been released on conditional bail while enquiries continue.

Investigating officer, Police Constable Alister Milne, said, “We are appealing for the victim of this offence to come forward so that we can speak to them and make sure they are ok. We also think they may be able to assist our investigation.

“If you think that you may have been the victim of a crime of this nature in Sports Direct, Midsummer Place, in June, or have any information, we would ask that you please call us on 101 or make a report online, quoting reference 43250316549.

“If you do not wish to speak to the police directly, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via its website.” 

The 2026 British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be hosting the F1 Sprint format.

Ahead of British Grand Prix tickets going on sale later this week, F1 have confirmed that Silverstone will host a Sprint race for the first time since hosting the debut of the F1 Sprint format in 2021.

The tweaked format, which is different to when F1 last hosted a sprint race at Silvestone in 2021, sees one practice session before a sprint qualifying session on Friday. A smaller race held at third-distance is then held on Saturday morning, with full grand prix qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

Points are awarded to those who finish in the top 8 in a sprint race, starting with 8 for the winner and counting down to 1 for 8th.

Silverstone is due to hold the race on the first weekend of July 2026, with the F1 Sprint race being held on 4 July and the British Grand Prix itself on 5 July.

The British Grand Prix is one of six races selected by F1 to host sprint events next year. The races in China, Miami, Canada, the Netherlands and Singapore will also host the other 6 sprint races dotted throughout the 2026 F1 calendar.

Next year’s F1 season will also see a major change in regulations, with engine and car design changes coming for next year.

Silverstone has confirmed that tickets for the British Grand Prix will go on general sale from 10am on Friday (19/09).