“Punters and pimps” should be targeted by new laws on prostitution instead of women, according to a report by MP Gavin Shuker’s cross-party group published today.

The Luton Labour MP chairs the group of MPs and Peers which is calling for the government to take action on prostitution, which is a particular problem in areas of Luton such as High Town.

It’s the first major cross-party report on prostitution since 1996 and follows a year-long inquiry.

Mr Shuker, Chair of the All Party Group on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade, said: “The current UK law on prostitution is not working. It sends no clear signals about what we consider prostitution to be; in effect prioritising the gratification of punters, at the expense of often vulnerable women and girls.

“This cross-party inquiry kick-starts what for too long has remained an off-limits debate.”

The report recommends removing soliciting as a punishable offence and instead using anti-social behaviour powers.

It also says prostitution should be acknowledged as a coercive and abusive practice and explicitly recognised as a form of violence against women and girls, as the Scottish Government and numerous local authorities already view it.

The report found that just seven per cent of respondents consider the current laws on prostitution to be effective and it fails to protect vulnerable women and children.

Enforcement of the inadequate laws is further compromised by strict evidentiary requirements and “patchy local practise”.

Loopholes allow men to escape prosecution for abusing girls as young as 13, and women trafficked into the country to be repeatedly raped.

It also highlights “shocking levels of poverty, addiction, and abuse” which are the “day-to-day reality for most who sell sex” and says the law’s failure adequately tackle the demand for prostitution indicates to traffickers that the UK is a lucrative destination for trafficking with the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Fiona Mactaggart, co-Chair of the All Party Group on Human Trafficking & Modern Day Slavery said: “The lack of effective government action to tackle the demand for prostitution draws women and girls across the UK into a vicious cycle of abuse and neglect. It also makes the UK a profitable location for sex-trafficking.

“The inadequacy of existing legislation and policy has created lucrative market conditions which are exploited by criminal gangs profiting from the sale of women. This enquiry makes substantial proposals which could prevent this vile trade.”

Last week the European Parliament voted in favour of a report from the Women’s Rights Committee on measures to tackle prostitution. Amongst the recommendations made was for EU member states to adopt the Nordic Model, which criminalises the client instead of the sex worker.

Two Leighton Buzzard men and a Pitstone man have been cleared of murdering a digital producer in Windsor – but a Luton man has been found guilty of the killing.

Lahin Miah, 26, of Windsor Road, Pitstone was looking for a fight when he and his friends ambushed Sean Noctor, 24, in a park as he made his way home from his sister’s 21st birthday party.

Jordan Lewis Doyle, 21, grabbed a knife to kill Mr Noctor as Miah and Benjamin Brooks, 21, attacked his friends.

One of Mr Noctor’s friends stripped to his underwear to try and staunch the bleeding with his clothes.

He was rushed to hospital after the attack, in Goswell Park in the early hours of Sunday, July 28, 2013, but later died from his injuries.

On Friday, Doyle, of Kimberley Close, Luton, was found guilty of murder after a trial at the Old Bailey.

Miah, and Brooks, of The Chilterns, Leighton Buzzard, were both cleared of the killing. The acquitted defendants wept uncontrollably in the dock as the verdicts were announced.

Brooks had already admitted violent disorder, and Miah and Doyle were also convicted of that charge.

Yesterday, Doyle was jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years, Miah was jailed for two years, and Brooks received a 14-month jail term.

Harry Turney, 20, of Orion Way, Leighton Buzzard, and George Hay, 26, of Jasper Avenue, Hanwell, west London, were both cleared of murder and violent disorder.

Mr Noctor was a former pupil of St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School pupil in Langley, Berks, who was at the time of his death a digital producer for Windsor web design firm Brandwidth HQ.

Members of his family wept in court as John Price, QC, prosecuting, described how he was killed as he made his way home from his sister Fiona’s 21st birthday celebrations.

“It was the tragic misfortune of that group of young men that their paths should have crossed that in particular of the defendant Miah,” he said.

“On that night his behaviour was of a man spoiling for a fight. It didn’t appear much to matter to him with whom he picked one, it is as though he was seeking out violence for fun, as a sport.’

“Mr Noctor did nothing to provoke the attack, the court heard, but was ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’.

“He lost his life in the course of a violent incident, one that was not of his making,” said Mr Price.

“In the early hours of that morning in a park in Windsor he was stabbed and in front of six of his friends he bled to death. His friends tried all they could in an effort to save his life, one of them stripped down to his underwear so that his clothing might be used as tourniquets in an effort to try and staunch the flow of blood but it was to no avail.

“Jordan Doyle was the man who stabbed Sean, he used a knife to do so.”

Mr Noctor’s pal Charlie Boyle told the jury how he was punched in the face during the ‘manic’ brawl, and said it came totally out of the blue.

Of Miah, he said: “Crazy eyes was definitely looking for a fight.” When the fight broke out, Doyle ran to Turney’s car to retrieve the knife that he stabbed Mr Noctor with.

“Sean has been stabbed under the left armpit, the blade of the knife which killed him penetrated to a depth of 17cm,” said Mr Price.

“It almost completely severed a major blood vessel situated close to the armpit.”

After their arrest, the group started to turn on each other, with Doyle insisting he had seen Brooks deliver the fatal blow.

A man was punched in the face in the Telford Way underpass after two men asked him for the time.

He checked his phone to tell them the time and was then punched. Both offenders fled the scene with his phone.

The incident happened at 3.42am on February 16.

Call Beds Police 101 with information.

Work is getting underway on the Marsh Farm redevelopment scheme this month.

Over 100 new council homes, an improved road layout and a revamped retail centre are all part of the long-awaited project.

The initial phase of the work involves making improvements to Northwell Drive by removing the large roundabout outside the school and creating a two-way single carriageway.

There will be a new mini roundabout built to service Futures House and the proposed new retail units which will be built on the site of the former Purway Close flats.

These works are expected to continue until the end of March and speed and parking restrictions along Northwell Drive in front of the school and leisure centre will follow in due course.

Pam Garraway, Corporate Director for Housing and Community Living, said: “After almost two years of planning we are excited that this important development in the Marsh Farm area is underway.

“One of the most significant aspects of this project has been that residents have been part of the project working group and have helped shape how it is going to look. We are also using local labour where possible.

“There is likely to be some disruptions while the work is being carried out so we will be keeping residents informed throughout the project.”

Luton Borough Council’s own architects are currently doing the detailed design work for the second and third phases of the scheme.

The work on the retail centre will commence later this year once the design work is finished and contracts are in place.

The final phase of the development will be when 111 new council homes are built on the estate.

Soil investigations are currently taking place where boreholes are being dug in the area to determine the type of construction and foundations that are needed for the development.

A man had to be released from a flatbed van after it left the road and landed on its side in a ditch in Streatley Road, Sundon.

The incident happened just after noon yesterday (February 3).

Two rescue pumps from Dunstable attended, as well as a rescue unit and pump from Stopsley.

A fire service spokesperson said: “A male casualty was trapped by his injuries.

“He was released and taken to hospital by ambulance.”

What can we conclude from the news that people living in the 21st century, with all its faults, plump for the Victorian age as the period of history they’d pick at a pinch?

Well, all I can surmise is that people don’t really know their history.

They’re probably looking at the past through the rose-tinted spectacle of TV costume dramas and kidding themselves, like everyone does, that if they somehow found themselves transported back in time to that supposedly golden age they’d be part of that tiny minority who had it easy.

According to the magazine which commissioned the survey, people were attracted by the sense of excitement, wonder and possibility in the days when Britannia ruled the waves and much else.

Fair enough, it’s a wiser choice than the other popular options which included Ancient Egypt, medieval Britain or Wild West America.

But by any rational judgement, the only sensible thing to say to any genie who pops up and offers to transport you to the period of your choice is to pass and, if pressed, get yourself transported back in time about a fortnight having first had the foresight to take with you a list of recent winning lottery numbers.

There is absolutely no doubt, however depressing it may be to the carpers and the grumps, that there has never been a better time to be alive if you’re lucky enough to live in these parts.

The Victorian era may seem attractive but only if you’re prepared to take the chance that you won’t have any need of a health service, most other forms of social support, and the vast bulk of what passes these days for entertainment.

I’ll happily bet the bank that anyone who did have the chance to slip back to the days of bustles and beards would be banging on the door of the time machine after less than a day, or even sooner if they started to sniffle.

But what can you expect from a survey group that nominated Shakespeare, Churchill and Elizabeth I as the top dinner guests from history?

If afraid that’s indicative of a lack of knowledge again.

Elizabethan nobles used to dread the Virgin Queen dropping in for a bite to eat – not only was she a nasty cow, by all accounts, but she would expect you to bankrupt yourself to serve up the sort of spread she regarded as her royal due.

Churchill would also have been an expensive option as a dinner party guest – that man could stow away the sauce, and it’s unlikely that you could fob him off with special offer supermarket wine and brandy. Those big cigars don’t come cheap, either.

And as for Shakespeare, the top choice? Have you seen what passes for jokes in a Shakespeare play? A gloomy Brummie might be your idea of an ideal dinner companion, but I beg to differ.

A bus was stolen from Arriva’s Dunstable Road depot in Luton in the early hours of Saturday morning. The vehicle was recovered and returned with no damage and police have arrested those involved. CCTV is being downloaded to assist with investigations.

One iron rule of Hollywood is this: If a movie puts money in the till, it’s worth pumping out a sequel, a reboot, an homage or whatever else you want to call a calculated attempt to part the punter from more of their hard-earned.

So while you might think that body-oiled battle epic 300 was a self-contained slice of combat cinema, here it comes again.

The presence of a colon in the title is a dead giveaway, so you know what you are getting with 300: Rise Of An Empire.

This is actually a prequel, which is just as well as pretty much everyone in the original ended up in a bloody heap of body parts by the time the final credits rolled.

It’s Greeks versus Persians on water, set 30 years before the first film, starring nobody you have ever heard of and following the frantic graphic novel feel of its predecessor.

Escape From Planet Earth is a mildly bonkers serving of family sci-fi, with a voice cast of familiar, if not quite A list any more, names including Brendan Fraser, Jessica Alba, Sarah Jessica Parker and even Ricky Gervais.

The daft plot is all about amiable aliens being lured to our planet where crackpot general – William Shatner, I kid you not – puts them to work in a slave labour camp in Area 51.

It’s junk food animation with far too many additives and could leave you mildly nauseous.

Arty offer of the week is The Grand Budapest Hotel, billed as a quirky period comedy – that is, there aren’t many laughs in it – from Wes Anderson with Ralph Fiennes the smooth concierge at the hotel in question, scheming to keep hold of a valuable painting he’s been left by a grateful client.

Ed Norton and the obligatory Bill Murray are among the big names happy to let a little of that Anderson intellectual cachet rub off on them.

Admirable, if not that enjoyable.

Elderly care beds are earmarked for closure so medical care can be moved into the community, in a shake-up of the discharge system at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital.

The Better Together programme , which involves Luton Borough Council, the L&D and Luton CCG aims to prevent unnecessary stays in hospital and introduce a new way of caring for elderly people.

They are all “signed up to the idea” of closing at least 60 elderly care beds and moving medical expertise into the community, with the ward closure saving a potential £1 million a year.

A spokesman for the L&D said: “We know that hospitals can be the right place for acutely ill older people however we also know that inappropriate admissions and unnecessary long periods in hospital can be harmful.

“L&D consultants with specialist knowledge in elderly care are working in partnership with local GPs in Luton and Beds to ensure that elderly patients can be treated, when it is right to do so, in the patient’s own home or in a community setting.

“When it is necessary to be admitted to hospital the new coordinated approach will ensure the patient’s discharge from hospital is not delayed.”

The spokesman said it will reduce the number of avoidable deaths and enable quicker recovery for elderly patients.

In practice it will mean elderly care physicians based at the L&D will have a caseload outside the hospital building.

Working with patients outside of hospital will help the practitioners to identify those patients who need nursing and those who need social care.

This is described as a “seamless and holistic service” which will mean all the patient’s needs are considered, including health issues like diabetes or dementia and social needs like housing, income, and mobility.

Director of Age Concern Luton, Colette McKeaveney said: “Quite a lot of elderly people don’t want to be in hospital so if they can be cared for at home instead that is good. However the homes they are going back to must be suitable and we need the community care to be expert.

“There are a lot of very specialist skills in the hospital and at the moment there’s a big gap between the care you get in the community and the care you get in hospital.

“If that community care is improved, many elderly people will benefit from being at home instead as they can feel very anxious and frustrated staying in hospital.

“Most people will smile when they are told they can go home.

“However, we do need reassurance that those who need beds in hospital will be able to get a bed once these 60 or so have closed.”

The L&D could not say when the changes might take place but said they had been working on the premise “for many years”.

The scheme was discussed at the council’s Health and Social Care Review group meeting on Monday.

A person has been hit by a train at Leagrave station.

Trains between Bedford and London St Pancras International are currently delayed by up to 60 minutes.

There are also overhead line problems at Bedford and Flitwick which is adding to the delays.

An East of England Ambulance Trust spokesperson confirmed they are at the scene.

A passenger who was at the platform at the time said the incident happened “right in front of me”.

UK Railway Chaplains tweeted: “Thoughts with staff and the person involved and their family, very sad for everyone.

“Please remember all the railway staff, ambulance and passenger caught up in this awful tragedy today.”

First Capital Connect said Leagrave station has now re-opened. Trains will now call at the station however there will be on-going disruption.

An angry commuter tweeted: “Unacceptable information at Luton. Poor platform staff had no chance.”

More information as we get it.

If anyone witnessed the incident at Leagrave and needs to talk they can contact Samaritans on 08457 909090.

@LutonNewsConnie

A former Barnfield College governor has said Sir Peter Birkett “tried to run the college like Tesco”.

Jim Thakoordin, former equality and quality manager of Barnfield College said Sir Peter’s method was to “stack students high and sell them cheap”.

He slammed the governing body as “a social club for drinking and dining” and criticised them for not challenging Sir Peter during his reign –something which government reports published on Friday also noted.

Mr Thakoordin, who worked at the College from 1993 to 2005, said: “I am not surprised to see the College in difficulty. The governing body were just a drinking and dining club. They would have very lavish lunches at the students’ restaurant and have a great time then be sent off happily on their way. They did very little to question what was going on.

“They are supposed to be the purse holder of the public, guarding the public and the students against misappropriation of funds but they failed.”

Government reports by the Skills Funding Agency and Education Funding Agency found “irregular and improper” expenditure including thousands of pounds spend on staff parties, alcohol, “significant quantities of chocolate”, gifts for staff and marble plaques to commemorate Sir Peter’s knighthood.

The damning reports criticised “lack of oversight” by the governors, the failure to hold timely formal Board meetings or provide budget approvals and forecasts.

Mr Thakoordin, a former councillor, said: “There were professional people like bees round a honey pot. The status of being a governor of one of the most successful colleges was very appealing. But the causal staff and teachers would be screwed over even though they were doing a fabulous job.”

During his time at the Federation Sir Peter awarded significant salary increases to senior members of staff in Barnfield Education services (BES) with no independent oversight or appropriate authority.

Conflicts of interest were uncovered - for example a local firm with which the Chair of Barnfield Academy Trust was involved, carried out work for the Federation which was not subject to procurement processes.

Mr Thakoordin said: “I feel angry that Mr Birkett and his team have brought what I thought was a great college into such disrepute.”

Mr Thakoodin’s contract at the College was terminated shortly after Sir Peter’s arrival in 2005.

Sir Peter said he has signed a confidentiality agreement which means he could not comment on questions put to him by the Luton News concerning his pay-offs, expensive failed projects and the college culture.

He said: “It is pleasing that the lengthy investigation has come to an end allowing Barnfield to build on these recommendations and prepare itself to again provide great opportunities for the students.”

Sir Peter resigned from the Federation in July last year. A new interim CEO, Dame Jackie Fisher, has now been appointed.

A man in his 50s who was hit by a train in Leagrave has life-threatening injuries.

The man was trapped on the rails by the train at 11.30am and emergency services worked to free him before administering advanced treatment.

He was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in a life-threatening condition.

Ross Brand, from the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), said: “The man, who we believed was in his 50s, suffered life-threatening head and chest injuries. He was extricated from underneath the train, before being anaethetised at the scene by critical care paramedics.

“The fire service, police, our hazardous area response team, two ambulances, Hertfordshire Air Ambulance and Network Rail all worked closely together to give the man the best chance of survival.”

A British Transport Police (BTP) spokesperson said officers from BTP and Bedfordshire Police attended the incident, which is currently being treated as non-suspicious.

He said: ““Officers are now working to identify the man and inform his family.”

Victims of domestic violence are being urged to come forward by Beds Police.

On Sunday as part of International Women’s Day officers handed out information in Bedford about help and support available and on Monday the force played host to a meeting of the new Domestic Abuse Scrutiny panel.

The aim is to encourage more people living with domestic abuse to seek help.

Chief Constable Colette Paul said the force is pulling out all the stops to enhance the service the force gives to victims of domestic abuse. She said: “Nationally it is an under-reported crime and the more we can do to encourage victims to come forward and get the protection they need, the better.

“It could, quite literally, save a life.”

“The emphasis in Bedfordshire is all about providing ‘wrap-around care’ to ensure victims have everything they need at every stage of the process. That includes keeping individuals informed,” Colette Paul added.

National police lead Assistant Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe said: “Improving our response to domestic abuse is a priority for the police.

“The service victims of domestic abuse receive has greatly improved due to police investment in specialist officers, training call handlers to better assess risks and building working partnerships at local and national level with charities representing and supporting victims.”

Anyone who is a victim of domestic abuse can seek help by calling 101 in confidence.

A controversial scheme to build up to 1,050 homes east of Wigmore in Luton has been put on hold.

North Herts District Council (NHDC) has agreed at a request of Bloor Homes, to delay the determination of their planning application for the development.

NHDC had scheduled a special meeting of the planning control committee on March 27 when it would have determined the application.

The scheme will affect the greenbelt countryside adjacent to Luton’s border near Cockernhoe, Mangrove Green and Tea Green and had raised concerns of residents at Stopsley and Wigmore.

Luton Borough Council had already spoken out about the adverse impact on the highway network around Stopsley and Wigmore, and because the scheme fails to address employment, community, education and infrastructure required to support the development.

A report by the council’s head of planning and transportation in October last year says: “The development represents a piecemeal form of development that fails to address fully the impact of the development on the infrastructure of the area. It relies on existing infrastructure and fails to provide sufficient to mitigate the impacts.”

NHDC said this week that by agreement of the applicant and the Council the planning control meeting has now been postponed and a new date for the committee has not yet been confirmed.

Everyone who has commented on this planning application in writing will be informed of any new date for the Planning Control Committee at least 10 working days in advance of the Committee date.

Luton Sixth Form College has warned students to be aware after a 16-year-old boy was attacked by a gang of robbers in an alleyway.

Safety advice has been issued after the attempted mugging at 5.45pm yesterday (Wednesday, March 5).

The victim had just left the college site and was walking along the path between Bradgers Hill Road and Elmwood Crescent when he was confronted by three men, who were all wearing hoodies.

They demanded his mobile phone and then beat him with knuckle dusters when he refused to hand it over.

Students, who had just returned from a regional cricket tournament in Milton Keynes, and staff ran to help the victim, and the attackers fled. Emergency services were called and the boy was taken to hospital. His condition is not known.

Minutes before the attack, the gang had carried out another robbery on the footpath between Bradgers Hill Road and St Thomas’ Road. They threatened an 18-year-old man with a stick and stole his mobile phone and iPod.

The offenders were all wearing dark-coloured coats with the hoods up. One was black, another Asian and the third of mixed race.

Police are currently investigating both incidents. Anyone with information should call the non-emergency number 101. Students can also report information to college security staff.

Estates manager Tony Whitehead called on students to be extra vigilant when walking to and from college. “Be street wise,” he said. “We advise students to keep their phones well hidden and to avoid using the alleyway if possible. If you have to walk down it, do so with extreme caution and keep in large groups.”

Mr Whitehead added: “I would like to thank the students and staff who went to the lad’s aid, and also a neighbour who had heard the commotion from her garden and came to offer her help.”

Villagers and local businesses have rallied round Toddington Scouts and donated money after a shocking case of vandalism at their headquarters.

The yobs smashed windows, scrawled obscene graffiti on walls and furniture and started a fire in the hut in Station Road over half term.

At the Explorers meeting on Tuesday night, locals including The Playstop Gym in Toddington and ex-Scouters John Smith and his wife from Luton presented the Explorer Scouts with donations.

Group Scout Leader Karen Calder said: “We now have confirmation that the building is so badly damaged that it is beyond repair and has to be demolished. This is a building that has withstood the war but unfortunately this is now a danger so has to be removed.”

The group had been fundraising for a new hut but had recently decided to refurbish the current hut instead as they couldn’t afford an entire new one.

Sweet Perfection in Toddington is raising money with a ‘name the bunny’ competition in the shop.

Childcare charity in Toddington was also targeted by vandals days after the Scouts.

Staff found toys thrown across the playground, rude words and drawings on the children’s blackboard and a canopy torn down.

Head of Year 5 at Parkfields School in Toddington, Steve Purdom, is organising a bring and buy sale to raise money for the Scouts and Childcare.

Mr Purdom said: “It may not be much, however I was more impressed with the amount of Year 5 children who have come to see me last week to tell me how sad and angry they were about it and wanted to do something to help.

“So many of them are either Cubs or their parents use the childcare services. I just felt it was important for the children to do something and stand up to such mindless acts and feel they are supporting the community and its organisations.”

If you would like to donate go to www.toddingtonscoutgroup.org.uk/

Yet another car ended up on the Luton and Dunstable Guided Busway on Tuesday.

It is not known how the motorist managed to drive on to the busway at 12noon but he is by no means the first person to make the mistake.

A Luton Borough Council spokesperson said there were two to three vehicles a week getting on to the busway before a matrix warning sign was installed in January.

The spokesperson said: “This was mainly at the New Bedford Road entrance to the guideway. However, since the sign’s installation there have only been two instances.”

The sign, which is a temporary measure to help drivers who “are still not paying proper attention when driving” so they can “get used to the idea that a guideway is clearly not somewhere you should try to drive your car” costs taxpayers £600 a week to rent.

The spokesperson said: “There is simply no excuse for attempting to drive along the busway and anyone who is looking where they are going would see that there is no road to drive on. Most of the recent problems have occurred because people come along the ‘bus-only’ road in front of the station and straight ahead behind the Galaxy before carrying straight on to the guideway.

“The bollards near the station, once working, should resolve this problem.”

The latest motorist incident closed the busway for around two hours.

The £90million busway was opened in September last year and since then there have been numerous issues with motorists inadvertently ending up on the busway after becoming lost or using their sat navs.
Two people suffered minor injuries when a bus hit a fence on part of the Dunstable section of the guided busway on February 19 and in November a motorist crashed into the fence from Hatters Way.

Anyone who ignores the warning signs faces prosecution, endoresements to their licence, a fine and an order for compensation for any damage.

Car traps on the busway can also cause considerable damage to vehicles - one driver who accidentally drove on the busway told the Herald & Post it was going to cost him £1000 to replace tyres and wheel rings.

Your reaction on Twitter:

Chris Hubbard ‏@hubbardcj “At what point do you think ‘hmmm...I’m sure the normal road doesn’t have big chunks of concrete either side of my wheels’?!

Richard Armstrong ‏@habbyhatter “what is wrong with people??”

Steven Manfredi ‏@sman3d “I think the council underestimated the sheer stupidity of the general public

Stu ‏@HitmanHatter_35 “Whopping great big 10ft illuminated signs saying buses only”

‏@HungryHatter “It does seem to happen an awful lot though, you have to admit. Do drivers think they can use it as a shortcut?

Chris Lennon ‏@christofflennon “might see if I can set up a new tyre business, either end of the busway. Would rake it in!”

Residents in Bury Park have received fake letters about bins being left out on pavements.

The letters claim to be from a ‘Steve Collins’ at Luton Borough Council but a council spokesperson said they are fake.

The letters are photocopied, sent in handwritten envelopes and not on council-headed paper.

A Council spokesman said: “While we do ask that residents remove their bins from pavements after being emptied, residents receiving this particular letter should be assured that it has not been sent by Luton Borough Council and should be ignored. The Council’s street services enforcement team does not employ a ‘Steve Collins’ and has begun an immediate investigation.”

So far, the Council is aware of a number of the letters being received in Avondale Road and Ash Road.

Before I feed you my review of THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (12: Lionsgate), here’s a word of warning.

For those unfamiliar with the first instalment, make sure you do a bit of prep to aid your enjoyment.

The follow-up has an elongated running time of 140 minutes, but the film is expertly executed without a dull stretch. Based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling dystopian fantasy trilogy, it’s a top-flight escapist adventure.

After her victory in a televised death match, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is now a beacon of hope for rebellion against the rich of the Capitol. So President Donald Sutherland forces her back to the arena to fight other, more experienced winners, expecting her to be crushed along with any simmering revolution.

Everything is bolder, bigger and better. The spectacle channels Ben-Hur, the tropical combat zone is a thrilling tangle of exciting traps and plot twists and the designer fashion is higher than before, with a terrific Lawrence as its catwalk Cleopatra.

Additional heavyweight support comes from Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, with director Francis Lawrence blending all the necessary ingredients, such as clever CGI and raw emotion, into a beguiling whole that deftly anticipates the next episode.

> Action veterans Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger join forces in ESCAPE PLAN (15: E1 Entertainment), a prison-set thriller with a technological twist.

Stallone plays a security expert who tests the integrity of penitentiaries from the inside, by getting himself incarcerated and then escaping.

When his latest assignment goes awry, Stallone finds himself isolated in a hi-tech fortress under the watchful eye of sadistic warden Jim Caviezel, so teams up with fellow inmate Schwarzenegger to stage the daddy of all break-outs.

What follows sticks closely to a standard jailbreak-movie template, although director Mikael Hafstrom relishes throwing newfangled gadgetry and sci-fi scares into the mix.

Sly and Arnie are not called upon to do anything they haven’t done dozens of times before.

Their stony-faced verbal sparring and carefully choreographed fisticuffs are just what their legions of fans will want to see, while overlooking the baffling holes in the plot.

> THE COUNSELLOR (18: Twentieth Century Fox) is a curious thriller from Ridley Scott and stars Michael Fassbender as a lawyer who gets his hands dirty in a drug trafficking deal with shady underworld figures Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt.

When a rival organisation hijacks a huge shipment on the US-Mexican border, both Fassbender and his glamorous fiancée Penélope Cruz find their lives in danger as unseen paymasters seek revenge for the loss of their merchandise.

Scott then focuses on a morality tale of love and greed populated by outlandish characters – none more so than Bardem’s predatory cheetah-owning girlfriend Cameron Diaz – which leaves viewers to fill in the blanks.

The original screenplay is awash with philosophical speeches from every main character, which tend to frustrate and baffle rather than move the story along, while the stylish performances and violent set-pieces gloss over a stuttering narrative that only partially delivers.

A man is being treated for serious chest injuries after being assaulted with a metal pole in a warehouse in Church Street.

The victim, 40, had been out drinking in Luton with friends on February 20 when they decided to buy more alcohol.

They then made their way to a warehouse in Church Street where they continued to drink.

At approximately 2am a man approached the victim and his friends armed with a metal pole.

The man hit the victim several times before leaving the scene.

The victim managed to leave the scene shortly after but felt unwell so made his way to the hospital where he remains receiving treatment to a serious chest injury.

Det Con Jhabbar Khan said: “The offender is described as a white man with slim build who was possibly Irish

or Romanian. It is important that anyone who saw the assault or heard the disturbance that night contacts the police. Even if they think the information they have is insignificant it may be vital to the investigation and could help identify the offender responsible for this assault.”

Anyone with information relating to this crime can contact DC Khan, at Luton Police Station, in confidence, on 01582 394081, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

Alternatively contact the independent crime fighting charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.