BBC Local Live: Northamptonshire

Live updates for Northamptonshire have now finished.

Don't forget Northampton Saints take on Sale tonight in the Premiership. If you want to follow that, there is live commentary on BBC Radio Northampton .

Meanwhile if you want to follow Northampton Town taking on Charlton at Sixfields tomorrow in League One, head to our Twitter feed .

We'll be back on Monday at 08:00.

Have a good weekend.

A mainly dry evening, but rain will spread across the whole of the BBC East region later.

It'll turn misty, but feel mild with temperatures falling to 7C (44F).

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A grey and misty start to the weekend, with outbreaks of rain.

It will become drier and brighter by Saturday afternoon, with sunny spells by the end of the day.

Feeling mild, with temperatures reaching 11C (52F).

Visit BBC Weather for more details where you are.

The jury in the trial of Stuart Jenkins, accused of murdering Arthur Brumhill (pictured) at a Northampton pet shop in 1993, has been sent home for the weekend.

They will return to Northampton Crown Court on Tuesday to continue their deliberations.

Mr Jenkins, 41, of Ossett, West Yorkshire,  denies killing the 76-year-old shop worker , who body was found in the basement of Denton's pet and garden shop on Wellingborough Road.

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The British Eventing competition at Aston-le-Walls, between Daventry and Banbury, which was scheduled for tomorrow has been abandoned due to heavy rain.

The event, which includes dressage, show jumping and cross country, was due to run all weekend.

The organisers say a decision on Sunday's competition will be made at 15:00 tomorrow.

Northampton Saints take on Sale in the Premiership this evening.

Director of rugby Jim Mallinder, who spent 15 years at Sale as a player and coach, told me that going back is "always good fun".

Mallinder said it's "a difficult place to play" and the 20:15 kick-off was "quite unusual".

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Mallinder warned that even though Sale "do not have many household names" they are a "tough team to beat... because they all play for each other".

He's also predicted some running rugby, despite the forecast wind and rain, saying Sale bring their backs into the game, and "they don't just play kicking rugby".

The weather hasn't been baa'rilliant, but our BBC Weather Watchers have been busy capturing the wildlife of Northamptonshire this week.

Here's a selection of the pictures that made us smile...

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Cheeky chips, celebrations and managerial sackings - watch 10 magic moments from the first round of the FA People's Cup...... 

You'll be able to watch a highlights programme from the first round of the nationwide five-a-side competition on the iPlayer from 06:00 GMT Saturday, 4 March and on the red button from 14:10 GMT on Saturday and throughout the weekend.

In 1910, on this day, Northampton Saints legend Edgar Mobbs captained England to an 11-3 win over France in Paris.

It would be his final England cap.

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Mobbs retired from rugby aged 30 and later joined the Army to fight in World War One.

He was mentioned in dispatches twice and awarded the Distinguished Service Order, but died while charging a German machine gun in the battle of Passchendaele on 31 July 1917.

Elsewhere in Northamptonshire:

• Clearance work at the site of a major new housing development in Wellingborough is due to be completed this week. However, as the Northamptonshire Telegraph reports , concerns have been raised over some of the work.
• A mad hatter's tea party is being held to help find families for Northampton's homeless rabbits and cats,  says the Northampton Chronicle and Echo .

I think it's safe to say that after five days of pre-season testing, Stevenage's Lewis Hamilton is rather happy with his Northamptonshire-designed car for 2017...

Cobblers manager Justin Edinburgh says there's no panic in the team as they prepare to play Charlton tomorrow.

Defeat to Oldham on Tuesday leaves Northampton Town just four points off the drop zone with 11 games left in the season.

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Edinburgh told me there was "frustration and anger because we should have been securing points when we haven't".

He said the side needs to have "a bit of nous", but added: "That means a change in mindset and [that] change takes more than eight games."

It's been a rather wet day so far.

The rain will start to ease through the afternoon though, with some parts having a dry end to the day, with a high of 9C (48F).

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There are more details on the BBC Weather website .

One of the issues the police watchdog identified in its report about Northamptonshire Police yesterday was "a high proportion of serious and complex crimes being dealt with by trainee detectives".

Chief constable Simon Edens said the workload on his detectives was "quite big and quite demanding".

However, he said it reflected a national problem, and  HMIC warned there was now a "national crisis" caused by a shortage of detectives.

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Mr Edens said it had appointed a new detective chief superintendent, who will be starting with the force "soon".

He also said the police and crime commissioner had found an extra £2m for the force, but when asked if that was enough, and whether he wanted more money, he replied: "No public sector leader would turn away extra resources."

Northamptonshire have announced reduced losses for the financial year ending 30 September 2016.

The club made a loss after tax of £182,119, compared to £391,304 in the 2015 financial year.

Turnover for the year increased by over £100,000, helped by an increase in prize money from the club's victory in the T20 Blast last season.

"I am exceptionally proud of this result and financial turnaround," chairman Gavin Warren  said.

"It is testament to the hard work and belief that has gone on in the past two-and-a-half years by all stakeholders involved with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club."

An update on a proposed share offer will be given at the club's AGM on 30 March, after members voted to make the club a limited company  in September.

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Echoing what the police and crime commissioner told me yesterday, the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, Simon Edens, said there was no "quick fix" to problems identified in the HMIC report, which said the force "requires improvement".

The police watchdog said there were inconsistencies in the quality of investigations carried out by the force.

It said investigating and safeguarding domestic abuse victims also needed to be improved, along with the way it handled organised crime - especially gang violence.

But Mr Edens told me if he brought in changes that just "looked good" or were "cosmetic", then "no-one would forgive me when it went wrong".

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Mr Edens said he was looking at long-term plans for the force, but he was "very confident" he had "the right people in the right places, the right number [of people] and the right skills".

He told me the HMIC "quite rightly set a high bar," but the force was "daily protecting people from harm".

The chief constable of Northamptonshire Police said he "accepts the verdict" of police watchdog HMIC, which yesterday said the force "requires improvement" .

The report said the county force was not making progress in the same way similar forces had.

Simon Edens said Northamptonshire Police was improving, "but not quick enough".

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Mr Edens said resources were an issue.

"We've had to take a huge number of police officers out of the force between 2010 and 2015 to make sure our books are balanced," he said.

However, he added there was "some great work being done" by the force, and he was "working very hard to fill those gaps" identified by the HMIC.