Motorists face delays on the M1 spur road at Luton until early June.

A contraflow system was put in place yesterday (Tuesday) as part of works for Luton Borough Council’s long-awaited £30 million scheme to improve reliable journey times through Junction 10a. Motorists using the area en route to and from London Luton Airport and Luton town centre are advised to allow extra time for their journeys.

From the same date, westbound exit lanes at the M1 J10a roundabout will be reduced from three to two, and off-peak two-way traffic lights will be in operation in London Road from 9.30-3.30pm. A temporary 24-hour 30mph speed restriction is also already in place through the works.

The westbound carriageway will be completely closed overnight from Monday 10 March until Wednesday 12 March from 8pm-6am.

During these times traffic will still be able to leave the M1 at J10 but will not able to join, instead being diverted via Junction 11 (A505, A5065, A505).

A man in his 80s has been injured after his bike was in collision with a vehicle in Luton earlier this afternoon.

The man suffered a lower leg injury from the impact after falling while cycling on Sundon Park Road at around 3.40pm.

The road has been closed by Beds Police officers causing long delays for drivers.

More than 120 Luton people over 50 enrolled in a back-to-work scheme co-funded by the European Social Fund and Luton Council.

MEP Richard Howitt met some of them on Friday to offer his congratulations, as well as to the organisers, The Learning Partnership.

It’s a tricky step for any hot young actor to make the transfer from TV star turn to big screen big hitter.

Many have tried and many have ultimately failed, and we’re not just talking about the stars of Friends here.

Whether cinema is the big step up it once was, given the strength of series drama being produced for the box in the corner, is open to debate – but it certainly doesn’t stop them trying.

The latest to have a go is Aaron Paul, and at first you might be asking Aaron Who?

But we’re talking about the seedy sidekick from Breaking Bad, hailed as the finest TV series of all time and a worldwide hit with the sort of people who devour box sets and then bang on and on about them. You know, Game Of Thrones watchers.

There are some familiar names like Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper, and Michael Keaton backing him up in Need For Speed, but the real stars are the cars.

It’s as predictable as a traffic light sequence, but movie fans will have fun spotting the scenes lifted – sorry, subject to respectful homage – from earlier high-octane classics like Bullitt and Cannonball Run.

It’s drenched in testosterone and gasoline, but it only hangs around for just over 100 minutes so can’t be accused of outstaying its welcome.

You certainly can’t accuse director Terry Gilliam of being predictable, even if his output is wildly variable.

He’s back with The Zero Theorem, and one look at some of the darlings in the company tells you a lot about where we are going – Christoph Waltz, David Thewlis, Tilda Swinton? Oh, and Matt Damon...

The plot is perplexing but marks a return to the dark and comic sci-fi themes explored in Brazil and 12 Monkeys.

Waltz is a troubled genius searching for the meaning of life at the behest of a corporate giant, Damon is the heartless boss driving him on while French hottie Melanie Thierry gets to wear some fab frocks. Baffling and barmy in parts, but undeniably individual and engaging.

Excitement was sky high when Luton Today visited Bramingham Primary School yesterday morning.

The Luton school is celebrating its 21st year and to mark the special occasion pupils formed the number 21 for this fantastic souvenir photograph.

Further excitement planned for today includes ex-staff and pupils turning out for a special assembly, a balloon race, talent show and evening reunion party.

The school originally opened on September 7, 1993 to 147 children, aged five to nine years old.

Homes were evacuated after a fire broke out at a Luton workshop where cylinders containing oxygen, propane and acetylene were stored.

People living on Westbourne Road, Selbourne Road and Leagrave Road were told to leave their homes as firefighters continued to tackle the fire and cool the cylinders.

The fire began at the workshop on Leagrave Road at around 11.30am this morning at a motor repair workshop when a man was burning waste in a large metal dustbin.

An ember landed on the cover of a motorbike, which caught fire and partly destroyed both the bike and a nearby van.

When fire crews arrived, they saw three acetylene cylinders that were old and had not been used, which meant firefighters had to identify they had not been overheated by the fire.

Neil Thompson, of Beds Fire and Rescue Service, said: “If you have any old cylinders stored at industrial premises the best thing to do is to dispose of them appropriately and get them off the site because if these cylinders had overheated today’s incident could have been a lot more serious.”

The situation was under control by 2.30pm this afternoon.

> Were you affected by the fire? Get in touch amanda.devlin@jpress.co.uk or @LBOamanda

Photographs which appear to show people smoking in a Bury Park rooftop shisha bar have been sent to the Luton News.

But Arabella Lounge owner Ali Sayes, 49, believes they were taken before he took over the premises in Nadeem Plaza four months ago.

He said: “The council visited us and told us exactly what we had to do to comply with the law.

“We were asked to remove a couple of walls which we have done and now the roof garden is open on one side.”

Mr Sayes, who used to run the Desert Rose in Bute Street, said the Arabella Lounge offers Arabic food and does not concentrate on its shisha side.

A council spokesman said: “Smoking, including shisha smoking, is banned from enclosed or substantially enclosed workplaces. A permitted smoking area needs to be more than 50 per cent open in order to allow smoke to effectively escape.”

He added: “We urge members of the public to think twice before taking up shisha smoking.

“An hour-long shisha session is the equivalent of inhaling up to 200 cigarettes’ worth of smoke.

“Sharing a shisha pipe also puts you at risk of catching diseases like cold sores (herpes), hepatitis and tuberculosis.”

If you’re concerned about whether smoking rules are being followed at particular premises call 01582 510330 ot email environmentalhealth@luton.gov.uk

> For information about quitting smoking go to www.smokefreeeast.co.uk/alliances/beds_luton.html

Police are trying to trace a stolen car which was taken during a robbery on Saturday, March 1.

The incident happened at a property in Wenlock Street between 8pm and 8.15pm when four menforced their way in to the home and took an iPhone and a set of car keys.

The offenders then used the keys to take the victim’s Vauxhall Astra, registration number SB07 AUL,

which has 19” black wheels, all black panelling with red and green stripes down the side and styled to look like a VXR.

Two men, aged 20 and 21 years, were arrested in connection with this incident on March 7 when they were spotted acting suspiciously by traffic officers. The men were followed and found hiding in the attic in a property in Sunningdale before being arrested for robbery, criminal damage and the theft of a motor vehicle. Both have been bailed pending further police investigations.

IO Gary Hales, investigating, is keen to trace the Astra which is still outstanding and anyone who may have information relating to this crime.

He said: “This car is very distinctive and must be parked somewhere. I would ask residents to keep an eye out for a vehicle matching this description and urge them to contact the police if it is parked in their road or if they have seen a car like this being driven in their area.”

Anyone with information relating to this crime or the whereabouts of the Astra can contact IO Hales, at Luton Police Station, in confidence, on 01582 394090, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

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

A 20 year old man was assaulted on Monday (Mar 10) in Ravenhill Way, Luton as he and a friend were walking close to the Nisa shop.

A black car with blacked out windows stopped and a number of men got out before chasing the victim and his friend. They caught the victim and assaulted him with a sharp implement causing a puncture wound to his chest.

All the offenders got back into the vehicle and drove off in an unknown direction.

The officer in charge of this investigation, Detective Constable Gareth Suffling, is keen to trace anyone who witnessed the incident and can help identify those involved.

DC Suffling said: “This incident happened in broad daylight and in a very busy part of Lewsey Farm. I am sure there are members of the public who saw the incident and possibly didn’t realise the seriousness of the situation. I would appeal to these people to come forward and help identify those responsible for this assault.”

Anyone with information relating to this crime can contact Detective Constable Suffling, at Luton Police Station, in confidence, on 01582 394317, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

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

Almost 60% of Bedfordshire and Luton businesses are not ready for any kind of disaster, a survey has found.

One in five are so complacent about the chances of a serious incident occurring that they were doing nothing at all to protect themselves, the survey by Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum (BLLRF) revealed.

Yet incidents as simple as a delivery vehicle being stolen, a key supplier going bankrupt or the recent severe weather could put a company out of business, while preparing for such emergencies could save them.

In Business Continuity Week 2014 (March 17-21) BLLRF have organised two days of FREE one-to-one consultations with professional emergency planners in Bedford and Luton.

Each session lasts 30 minutes and will help companies understand the risks they face and begin planning to reduce them.

Emergency Planner Amie McGrory, the Vice Chair of the BLLRF Business Continuity Group, said: “There’s an appetite for information and a real need for Bedfordshire and Luton businesses to recognise the commercial benefits of planning for disaster.”

“There is a clear business need to prepare for something like a key supplier being out of action because they are in Somerset or the Thames Valley or the roads are blocked by floods and fallen trees.

“Our survey found only half of local businesses are registered to receive alerts and warnings of local emergencies, so 50% will have no warning of severe weather or similar threats. Few currently follow BLLRF on social media despite our frequent updates on local problems like heavy rain, flooding and the transport problems it creates.”

BLLRF’s survey, undertaken during Business Continuity Week 2013, also found that only a quarter of businesses had received any training in business continuity and one third of companies would welcome help in starting to develop their own plan and understanding the kinds of incidents that might affect them.

“To enable local companies to survive we are offering FREE consultations to help them assess their risks and begin preparing a business continuity plan,” says McGrory. “Many businesses in Somerset or the Thames Valley probably didn’t think it would happen to them and now look at the situation there. We want local companies to take action now to protect their business, staff and customers from the future consequences of unpredictable weather.”

The FREE sessions are being held between 9am and 6pm at Bedford Corn Exchange on Tuesday, March 18 and the Tokko Building, Gordon Street, Luton on Wednesday, March 19. Working with professional emergency planners businesses will create a basic plan and leave with a 1Gb data stick containing this and other useful information.

The sessions last about 30 minutes and pre-booking is strongly advised. There are also stalls and exhibitions by major responders from across the county and a company that survived the Buncefield disaster.

To pre-book the one-to-one business continuity planning sessions contact the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce at {http://www.chamber-business.com/events/chamber-events|www.chamber-business.com/events/chamber-events} or call 01582 522448 (you do not need to be a member of the C of C or FSB to attend).

To get started why not check out the 10 minute checklist on the BLLRF website to assess your businesses’ readiness to react to disaster and use the online resources to HYPERLINK “https://www.bllrf.org.uk/content/?area_id=5” begin creating your own business continuity plan - HYPERLINK “http://bit.ly/1bl9vD1” bit.ly/1bl9vD1

You can join {http://www.facebook.com/whatwouldyoudoif|BLLRF’s Facebook page} and follow them on Twitter #BCAW2014 and #BusWWYDI.

Young leaders of the future pitched for money to support social action campaigns in a Dragons’ Den style challenge.

The UpRising Leadership programme hosted its Bedfordshire Dragons’ Den at Putteridge Bury campus, Luton on Monday, March 10.

Four groups of young people successfully pitched their social action campaigns to a room of more than 100 education, media, council and business leaders across Bedfordshire.

The winning team were Luton-based group, Open Avenue, who presented their campaign to bring alternative careers advice for students in Years 9 to 11.

Three Bedford groups pitched exciting campaigns – all three runners-up all got £200 toward their projects and received lots of interest and support from those who attended the evening.

Blood Party are looking to promote blood donation to young people in Bedford.

Bedford Empowering Enterprise will be bringing The Teenage Market, an initiative started in Stockport by brothers Tom and Joe Barrett, to Bedford with community entrepreneur and editor of The Clanger, Erica Roffe.

Three cultural cohesion events will be run by the Empowering Community and Education group; all members of the group have different cultural heritages but were born and bred in Bedford and have a passion for increasing cultural integration in the town.

Professor Mary Malcolm, University of Bedfordshire Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), said: “This was a fantastic evening – showcasing the talents of Bedfordshire’s young leaders, and demonstrating the support of community organisations across Bedfordshire for the work of this important charity.  As a University that places great value on the development of leadership skills, the University of Bedfordshire is delighted to be one of UpRising’s key partners in this region, and it was wonderful to see the strength of commitment and real potential shown by this latest cohort of UpRisers.”

The HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Helen Nellis presented the prizes and said: “I was extremely impressed with the quality and enthusiasm of the young people who presented to the Dragons’ Den.

“They have clearly benefited from the support of UpRising and are developing into a powerful group of future leaders.”

All prize money for the social action campaigns was donated by the Rotary clubs Bedford, Luton and Biggleswade who attended the event.

This year’s UpRising Bedfordshire programme will have 45 places available from October 2014, increasing from 30 in 2013.

The programme is open to any young people aged 19-25 with an interest and a passion for social action and personal development. The UpRising Bedfordshire programme is funded by The Harpur Trust as part of their grants programme and by the University of Bedfordshire.

For further information contact the Bedfordshire and Luton Programme Coordinator, Alex Wrack on alex.wrack@uprising.org.uk.

With two successful years under their belt already hundreds of youngsters had a hard act to follow for the Sainsbury’s School Winter Games last week.

More than 1,000 youngsters, aged between seven and 18 years from across Bedfordshire and Luton, took part in the event on March 7 at Inspire: Luton’s Sports Village.

Teams from schools across the county competed in a variety of sports including swimming, dodgeball, tag rugby, table cricket, Boccia, hockey, basketball and gymnastics.

Peter Waterfield, Olympic silver medalist and Tom Daley’s Olympic synchronised diving partner, gave the opening address at the Games.

There were special performances by pupils of Harlington Upper School and Streetfield and Gilbert Inglefield Middle Schools.

Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the winning teams and individuals on the podium during the day.

As well as competitors there were also a number of young people taking on the roles of school games makers, young officials, young press officers and volunteers.

The games are organised by a local organising committee of headteachers, school games organisers, Team Beds & Luton and the University of Bedfordshire.

Gill Morrow, school games event manager, believes that the School Games are a fantastic opportunity for young people to be involved in the continuing legacy of London 2012 bringing culture and sport together.

“Each competition taking place is the county final of that sport.

“Teams have had to compete in their School Games Area first before making it to the finals on Friday. There were also a significant number of young people there from the special schools and inclusion units competing across four different events.”

Luton and Dunstable families affected by diabetes are invited to a weekend away.   

Diabetes UK is holding a residential weekend events for families who have a child with diabetes and places are available for families from the Bedfordshire area.

Around 6.4% of Luton population have been diagnose with diabetes , at a cost of around £4.5million a year.

The weekend events are taking place in a variety of locations this year including Ashford, Kent, on 4- 6 April. They are open to families with children of all ages and offers information, advice and plenty of fun for those affected by diabetes, which is a lifelong condition.

During the weekends, parents attend relaxed, supportive and informative discussion groups, covering diabetes issues such as what care to expect; what annual reviews and appointments look like; and how to eat healthily. They will also have the opportunity for one-to-one time with Healthcare Professionals.  Children enjoy their own programme, which includes fun activities, a trip out, a tea party and educational sessions.

A maximum of 25 families can attend each event and places can fill up fast. The events cost £140 per participant aged 14 and over, and £90 per child under 14. All prices include accommodation, activities, trips out, food and snacks. There are various funding options available for families who cannot afford to pay.

Sharon Roberts, Eastern Regional Manager of Diabetes UK, said: “Our Family Events are a fantastic way to meet other children and families living with diabetes. Families get to share their experiences in an informal environment and are given a huge amount of support.

“The weekend gives parents and children the opportunity to gain the skills, confidence and knowledge to live with and self manage diabetes. It also provides families access to a healthcare team to discuss all aspects of the condition.”

There are around 29,000 children living with diabetes in the UK and most of them have Type 1 diabetes, which doesn’t have a cure and isn’t related to being overweight. Diabetes UK supports children with diabetes and their families by providing information and advice, by providing options to talk to a range of others affected by the condition, and by campaigning to ensure that all people with diabetes receive the care and support they need.

Other Family Events will be held this year in Telford, Shropshire (25-27 April), Ayr, Scotland (12-14 September) and Darlington, Co. Durham (26-28 September).

For more information go to www.diabetes.org.uk/careevents, email careevents@diabetes.org.uk or telephone 0345 123 2399.

PureGym Luton & Dunstable are offering a free 1-day pass as the club aims to get the public active in line with Sport Relief.

The passes will be available to use over four days, 15th, 16th, 22nd and 23rd March, as Sport Relief 2014 shapes up to be the biggest yet.

This year’s Sport Relief has already seen a number of high profile celebrities undertake gruelling challenges, including Davina McCall and The One Show’s Alex Jones. Now in its 13th year, Sport Relief continues to provide support for people in the UK who have suffered from domestic abuse and provides children abroad with food, water and the opportunity for an education.

The PureGym day pass will provide visitors with access to 220 pieces of new equipment and an array of varying classes to cover everyone’s fitness requirement. The club also boasts excellent changing facilities, modern showers, and functional training zones with Kettlebells, Power Plates and TRX Suspension Trainers.

General Manager of PureGym Luton & Dunstable, Paula Sinfield, says: “Sport Relief is a fantastic charity which does a lot of good work both in the UK and abroad.”

To redeem your free day pass simply go to www.puregym.co.uk and type in the code ‘sportrelief14’.

The housing shortage in Bedfordshire is pushing house prices and private rents out of reach for local workers, according to a new report – with the crisis set to get even worse by 2020.

Home Truths 2014: East of England from the National Housing Federation warns that while the average salary in the county rose by just 27% in the last ten years, house prices rocketed more than twice as fast, by 58%2. A gross annual income of £47,298 is now needed for the average mortgage in the county, double the average salary of £22,6961.

Private rents are also soaring as demand increases from those priced out of buying a home. Rents in the East are expected to rise faster than anywhere else by 2020, up 49%3.

Home Truths 2013/14: East of England also found that:

· Rising housing costs are hitting the public purse, with a 96% increase in working people claiming housing benefit in the East since 20094

· Only half of the homes the region needs are being built, with 28,2115 new households expected to form in the East each year but just 13,9606 homes built in 2012/13.

· A quarter of young adults aged 20-34 in the region are living with their parents.

· The number of households led by over 64s is set to rise by 23% in the East by 2021

· Every home built brings £97,866 into the East of England and creates 2.1 jobs directly and in the wider community.

· Homelessness is becoming more of a problem in the East of England, rising 32% in the past two years.

Central Bedfordshire Council is joining organisations from across the globe to celebrate social workers on World Social Work Day next Tuesday March 18. The annual event aims to showcase the positive impact that social workers have on the lives of the families they work with.

To mark the day the council is running an information stand at its Priory House offices in Chicksands where staff will be on hand to provide information on this challenging but rewarding career. Anyone who is interested is welcome to drop by between 10am and 3pm. If you can’t make it then tweet with any questions you have. Send your questions to @letstalkcentral using #cbcsocialwork.

Speaking ahead of the event, Cllr Mark Versallion, Executive Member for Children’s Services, said: “This is a great chance for us all to celebrate the hard work and dedication of our social workers, who do such an important job supporting families across Central Bedfordshire. We have seen significant increases in recent years for the need for children’s social workers in particular and if we really want to have the effect we want on families that need help, then I encourage everyone to give this vocation the acknowledgement and respect it so clearly deserves.”

Cllr Carole Hegley, Executive Member for Social Care, Health and Housing, said: “Social work is a truly rewarding career and there a huge range of different roles within it. At the moment both the council’s Adult Social Work and Children’s Social Work teams are recruiting social workers at all levels, so if you are interested in a new challenge and coming to work for an organisation that really values its staff, then why not drop by on Tuesday or visit our website to find out more.”

Finding out about opportunities at Central Bedfordshire Council and why the area is such a great place to live and work couldn’t be easier. For children’s social work visit www.loveyourjobagain.com. For careers in adult social care go to www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/jobs

Icknield High School will bounce, kick and bake their way through next Wednesday (March 19) to raise money for Sport Relief.

The bounceathon and bake sale will take place all day while a penalty shoot out will be held at lunch time. There will also be a FIFA tournament at the beginning of the week.

PE teacher Carly Tarrant said: “We’ve got something for everyone.

“We wanted to raise money for Sport Relief because it’s not only something the pupils are interested but it’s also a very worthwhile charity that does a lot of good for people in the UK.”

More than 30 girls will be taking part in the 12-hour bounceathon from 7am to 7pm. They have been tasked with raising £10 each.

Ms Tarrant said: “We’ve already reached our target of £320, so now we’re hoping to increase it to £400.”

> Sport Relief is an annual event which raises money to help vulnerable young people at home and abroad.

It takes place from March 21 - 23.

As plans to commemorate the anniversary of the start of World War One gather pace, Luton is preparing for the official launch of its innovative interactive website.

Thanks to lottery funding, the story of Luton and surrounding areas from 1914-18 will be available on one site for the first time.

Stories of those who went to war, many of whom did not come back, and life on the home front, will be developing over the next four years.

A £96,000 lottery grant is funding the Luton Culture project, and projects officer Dave Graves is overseeing the creation of the website which will incorporate the memorabilia and memories of life from 1914-16.

With his own army of volunteers he will be digitising diaries, stories, documents, pictures and much more, and putting them into the context of the age.

It could mean that someone with only a brief knowledge of what their great-grandfather did during the conflict could provide enough information for the volunteers who will also be able to add to those stories with details from the vast archive, including the Luton News from the time, to be able to piece his and his family’s life together to create a living history.

And project organisers at Wardown Park Museum want to hear from people who have family stories to tell.

The website, which has been created with the University of Bedfordshire, allows people to upload their own stories.

Among stories already uncovered are the Luton Town footballers who signed up to the Footballers Battalion in the first few months of the war.

The Luton News of 17th December 1914 describes how “members of the Luton Town football club have come forward splendidly to join the Footballers’ Battalion”.

Among them were Hugh Roberts, Frank Lindley, John Dunn, Robert Frith, TT Wilson, Arthur Wileman, Arthur Roe and Ernest Simms.

All those who went to war are ringed in the above picture.

Arthur Wileman was killed in action in April 1918 at the age of 36 and Roberts, Lindley and Frith all survived but never played for the club again.

The rest returned to play after the war.

Former players Ernest Dodd and Frank Glider were also killed, aged 25 and 19.

Organisers are planning a launch of the project at the Mall Luton on March 28, when they will be highlighting some of the uplifting, often tragic stories which have so far been uncovered.

They are also looking for anyone who lives in Luton or who has stories about Luton and its people that relate to WWI.

To find out more about the website, Luton’s Great War, told by its people today, go to www.lworldwar1luton.com.

March 12, 1914 Luton News

An advert for a caretaker for Chapel Street School in Luton received 146 applications.

The job went to Frederick Pipin with a salary of £6 per month.

The Bedfordshire United Temperance Society was going strong at its annual meeting. Members were told one pub chain had surrendered a drinks licence and turned a pub over to become a place of worship.

And four teenagers were fined 2s 6d each for playing street football in High Street South, Dunstable.

And here’s one to send a shiver down the spines of present day utility companies - Dunstable Gas & Water company reduced the price of its gas to 3d per 1000 cubic feet!

There’s much more than a spoonful of sugar in the story behind 50-year-old family classic Mary Poppins, but it goes down in a most delightful way.

SAVING MR BANKS (PG: Walt Disney) is saccharine-coated, yet it’s a superlative confection of Hollywood dream and backstage legend.

So how did Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) finally convince author PL Travers (Emma Thompson) that her Mary Poppins character was safe in his hands after 20 years of stubborn refusal?

The tale may well have been embellished, but this comedy drama reveals that the cantankerous Travers hated cartoons, musicals and Dick Van Dyke. She had no intention of signing over the rights – until she faced bankruptcy.

But woe betide Disney if her magical nanny suffered any image damage. Her continual interference caused huge problems with the creative team and this cultural clash is witty and poignant under John Lee Hancock’s direction.

Flashbacks to Travers’ troubled Australian childhood expose her vulnerability and motives for fiercely protecting her character.

Thompson’s performance is stunningly eccentric and lovers of the 1964 film will find it irresistible.

> You’ll laugh and you’ll cry, sometimes both at the same time, in a film that offers some wonderful comic moments but also brings home the tragedy of PHILOMENA (12: Pathe).

Judi Dench is on sparkling form as the titular Irishwoman who was a teenager in the 1950s when she became pregnant. Her child was snatched away by nuns at a time when giving birth out of wedlock was treated as a criminal act.

Fifty years later, disillusioned political journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) represents her only hope of finding her son, who was sent to America to be adopted.

Coogan is suitabily irascible as the former BBC correspondent, initially turning his nose up at the idea of pursuing a “human interest story”.

But Philomena, brimming with religious faith and optimism, is such a force of nature that he can’t help but be swayed. The odd-couple scenario is exploited to great effect in an inspirational movie.

> Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an action man in films like The Dark Knight Rises and Looper, makes his directing debut with DON JON (18: Warner).

This is an eye-opening and somewhat raunchy tale of a modern Don Juan with a mjaor internet porn addiction.

Gordon-Levitt plays Jon, a pumped-up New Jersey gym bunny with gelled hair and sculpted abs who meets his match in the pneumatic Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a beautiful blonde whose escapism is found in Hollywood romcoms. The lothario tries to mend his ways, but the pull of porn is strong.

> While there’s just enough slapstick stuff to keep kids mildly entertained, animated comedy adventure FREE BIRDS (U: Entertainment One) is, at best, only a rainy-day diversion.

Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson provide the voices in this yarn about time-travelling turkeys as a pair of wily old birds with a great desire to avoid the chop. They commandeer a secret government time machine and head back to the 17th century in a bid to take turkey off the first-ever Thanksgiving menu.

Bedfordshire Police are urging witnesses to come forward after a burglary took place at a property in Truro Gardens, Luton on Monday, March 3.

The incident happened between 5pm and 5.30pm when the residents were out and offenders forced their way in to the house through the kitchen door.

One of the residents returned home to find a messy search had been conducted throughout the home and saw three men running from the scene.

The offenders got in to a dark grey BMW three series that belonged to the residents and drove away along the A6, from Luton towards the M1.

Shortly after a member of the public reported that a Honda Civic and a BMW had parked at a roundabout on the A6 and approximately four men were removing the number plates from two vehicles. Both vehicles had then driven off towards Streatley.

Officers searched the area and recovered two safes that had been taken from the Truro Gardens burglary and the broken number plates.

The officer in charge of this investigation, Detective Constable Richard Cunningham, said: “I am keen to speak with anyone who saw the men in the Truro Gardens area of Luton or anyone who saw the men in the Streatley area after the burglary. All information will be used to help find these offenders and they can contact the police and give information in complete confidence.”

Anyone with information relating to this crime can contact DC Cunningham, at Luton Police Station,in confidence, on 01582 394373, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

Alternatively contact the independent crime fighting charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800555 111.