A park protection group has raised concerns after a traveller community moved onto Manor Road Park at the weekend.

Members of Friends of Manor Park– the group behind refurbishments to the park completed in March– has reported that seven caravans on Sunday morninghad become thirteen by Monday.

A traveller community previously moved onto Manor Road Park last year and remained for two weeks until being forced to move.

James Stevens, of Friends of Manor Park, told Luton News that last time travellers took up residence in the park ‘it took a lot of time to clean up the rubbish’.

Chairman of the group and Bailey Street resident Bill Burton, 71, added: “People have been going to the toilet underneath the play areas, so children cannot use them”.

Both were concerned that the travelling community in the park could undo the work put into the refurbishments, which came by way of a £50,000 grant from the Big Lottery Community Spaces fund.

Refurbishments included resurfacing of the pathways, installation of new benches and the improvement of the Victorian rose garden.

Upgrades led to Manor Park being given a Green Flag Award, recognising it as one of the UK’s leading green spaces.

Mr Burton added: “They should be moved straight away.

“We’ve spent all this money on a community park, but now people can’t use it”.

Mr Stevens, 83, said: “When it rains and the wheeled vehicles drive across, it leads to big ruts in the ground.

“Why, with the council cuts, should so much money be taken away from social services and paying residents, and spent on the legal cost of removing the travellers and cleaning up the mess they leave behind?”

Mr Stevens added his desire for a byelaw which would prevent four wheeled vehicles from staying in the park.

A Luton Borough Council spokesperson confirmed that the legal process to evict the travellers has begun.

Luton shoppers are invited to vote for their favourite shop in the Mall, with the winning store being crowned with the coveted much coveted Shoppers Award at The Mall’s Retailer Awards this summer.

Last year Greenfields restaurant took the glory as top of the shops for their excellent customer services and overall experience the cafe provides.

This is your chance to vote for your top three stores in The Mall Luton. Shoppers should base their decisions on the following criteria.

> The staff are friendly and do they provide a good standard of customer service?

>Is the store welcoming, clean and tidy?

> Do you leave the store having had a good shopping experience and wanting to continue shopping there?

There are six other awards up for grabs on the night, including Best Retail Presentation, Best Independent Retailer, C&R Safe Award, Environmall Award and Best Involvement in Marketing Initiative.

Plus the winner of the overall best retailer of the Mall Luton will also be entered into a national competiton to become Best Retailer of the Mall Group 2014.

A spokeman for the Mall said: “All our shops truly value the Shoppers Award.”

Use the coupon on the right to make your choice.

Luton Sixth Form College students completed a two week stint on Radio LaB 97.1FM on Friday, having taken over the University of Bedforshire station for two weeks.

First year BTEC radio sub-diploma students hosted their own hour-long shows between 9am and 4pm for the second year in a row, as part of an ongoing linkup between the college and the university.

Jay Taylor, one of the students involved, said: “It’s been a fantastic experience and I have enjoyed every single minute of it.

“I hadn’t done anything like this at all before, but it will hopefully lead on to more experience at local radio stations.

“I really hope to do this in the future as a full-time job.”

Andy Waterfield, the college’s media course manager who hosted a daily breakfast show as part of the takeover, said: “We broadcast getting on for 80 hours of live radio over the two weeks, and it has been incredibly successful.

“The students have shown great determination, expertise and professionalism, and their personalities have really come out.

“And they’re only 16 and 17 – that’s what is really amazing.”

He added: “I hope we can continue the close relationship with Radio LaB into the future.”

Extra work to soundproof the £90m Luton and Dunstable Busway could set taxpayers back more than £15,000, it has been confirmed.

Following complaints from residents that the route had been causing a racket, Luton Borough Council sought the advice of noise consultants.

It was agreed that gaps between the beams are the most likely cause of the noise, so contractors were taken on to plug the gaps with a flexible material.

This work was carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday night at a cost between £5,000 and £6,000– while if the work was expanded to other areas of the busway which have attracted noise complaints the council would need to foot a bill for another £10,000.

This spending is not part of the busway’s budgeted annual maintenance, a spokesperson confirmed.

Cllr Dave Taylor indicated additional work is likely.

He said: “If this solution is successful and reduces the noise experienced by residents living close to the busway, we will be installing filler on other sections of the busway as appropriate.

“We know this filler has been used successfully in multi storey car parks stop to plug expansion gaps in the concrete decks and stop noise problems- so we are hoping it will be just the ticket for the busway.”

Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Community Rehabilitation Company (BeNCH CRC) has appointed Neil Moloney (left) as its new Chief Executive.

Neil joins from West Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company, where he was Director of Operations, and takes over from Tessa Webb.

Originally from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, Neil studied Sociology at Birmingham University and worked as a residential officer in a voluntary Hostel.

After seven years at the Hostel, he returned to Birmingham University in 1993 to take up Probation studies.

On qualifying as a Probation Officer, he joined Warwickshire Probation Service in 1995 and then West Yorkshire Probation in 2001 where he held a number of senior posts including Assistant Chief Officer in Bradford and Head of Leeds Probation.

When West Yorkshire Probation Trust was dissolved on 31 May 2014, Neil became Director of Operations for West Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company.

As the new Chief Executive of newly formed BeNCH CRC, Neil is responsible for delivering services that reduce reoffending and protect the public across the four counties of Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

The long-awaited expansion of Luton Airport will take flight after the council signed off final details on the plan.

The £100m development will take the airport’s annual passenger capacity from 12 million to 18 million by 2031 and is forecasted to create 5,000 jobs in and around the town.

Following a drawn out planning process the expansion was agreed this week, after affordable housing fees (section 106) were agreed.

The biggest change will be a vast expansion of the airport terminal, which will be remodelled and modernised.

Once complete it will be equipped with a new two storey pier, 15 immigration passenger screening lanes, up to eight international and one domestic passenger reclaim belts, increased retail, catering, circulation and seating areas and up to 20 security passenger screening lanes.

A number of changes will also be made around the terminal.

A new parallel taxiway will be built to increase the capacity of the existing runway for an additional six million passengers a year.

The road from the Holiday Inn Roundabout will be dueled and a newly configured road system will be put in place to the front of the terminal area.

A new multi-storey car park will also be built.

The project has commenced with the launch of a procurement process for contractors to deliver the substantial works involved.

Clive Condie, airport executive chairman, said: “This marks the start of an exciting new journey for London Luton, as we begin the process of transforming the Airport to deliver a great experience for our customers, Luton and the surrounding regions.

“Our vision is for a vastly improved Airport which plays a major role in providing more capacity in the London system.”

Sophie Dekkers, easyJet commercial director, added: “We welcome the news that final planning consent has been granted.

“Delivering these development plans will not only enable London Luton to meet its full potential, with easyJet offering an even greater range of business and leisure destinations, but also drive economic growth and provide more jobs for Luton and the surrounding region.”

St Mary’s road roundabout will be closed for five nights, between 10pm and 5am from Monday, July 7, for night-time road resurfacing work.

Councillor Dave Taylor, portfolio holder for environment, said: “Resurfacing work is essential to ensure that our roads are kept in good condition for Luton’s drivers.”

Diversions will be in place and delays are expected.

Brace yourselves, there’s another blockbuster Transformers movie out next week.

But while we wait in trepidation for another dose of special effects stupidity, new releases are a little thin on the ground.

Pick of the crop is Tammy, another attempt to lift Bridesmaids scene-stealer Melissa McCarthy into bona-fide star status.

She’s a bit of a misfit who gets fired from her burger bar job – by real life hubby, co-writer and director Ben Falcone – heads home to find her hubby playing away with neighbour Toni Collette, and decides to escape by heading off with bonkers nan on a long-promised road trip to Niagara Falls.

Nan is a hard-drinking, foul-mouthed Susan Sarandon, and also cropping up are the likes of Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd and Kathy Bates.

You could sum it up as a sort of Thelma & Louise on Sanatogen, and the quality cast make the most of the material. Can McCarthy carry a film on her own? Probably not, but she doesn’t have to, and there are laughs enough along the way.

Good luck booking tickets for The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window And Disappeared on an automated box office – based on the worldwide bestseller by Jonas Jonasson, it’s another tale of old folk behaving outside their Saga and slippers stereotype – in this case a dynamite expert escaping from the old folk’s home on his 100th birthday, having all sorts of adventures and looking back on his complicated life. Weird, but interesting.

Also released is low-budget sci-fi flick The Anomaly in which former soldier Noel Clarke – who also directs – is taken captive and has to try and work out why, even though he seems to be zoning in and out of his body. It’s ambitious, unsettling, and shows that you don’t need a fortune to make smart sci-fi.

Luton offers the cheapest price for private GP consultations, according to private healthcare search engine whatclinic.com.

Patients can expect to pay £30, which compares favourably with other areas of the UK, Belfast residents face fees of £155.

The practice manager for Luton’s Dr Ronald D’Silva Private GP Clinic, Darrel Gregory, said: “I’m really pleased, it is hard for us to know what other clinics are doing. We feel ours is a competitive price for what we give, and at the end of the day its the patients that we care about”.

The competitive prices may have contributed to a doubling in demand for private GP consultation in the town last year.

Caalen King, chief executive of whatclinic.com, said: “The UK is home to a fantastic national health service but it’s under increasing pressure from rising patient numbers and funding cuts. Our data shows there are huge variations in the cost of a general consultation from one surgery to another”.

A selection of gardens will be open around the Aspley Guise village on Sunday 13 July from 12.30pm-5.30pm, giving the chance to re-visit at a different time some that were open in May as well as other gardens now in full bloom for Summer.

Admission to all gardens is just £4.00 with children under 14 going free, if accompanied by an adult.

There is a concession rate of £3.50 for pensioners. Light lunches, teas and plants are for sale in the Village Hall from 12noon where there is also plenty of free parking. All proceeds in aid of the upkeep of the Village Hall.

Aspley Guise is very easy to reach from across the county as we are literally five minutes from J13 on the M1. For more details, call 01908 583307.

A consultation on children’s services in the area needs feedback on four possible options.

Since the last reorganisation of children’s centres in Central Beds in 2011, there has been an increased focus on early help and intervention, with services targeted at those families who need them the most.

These can include intensive parenting support, working with Job Centre Plus to provide training and employment opportunities to help parents into work, and other measures to better tackle child poverty and reduce health inequality.

The four options outline who will be able to access services and what sort of support will be provided.

All services will be delivered from the existing nine children’s centre hubs. They are:

• Option 1 – existing model offering universal services to children aged 0-5 and their families

• Option 2 – offering services to children aged 0-3 and their families within areas with the highest need

• Option 3 – offering services to children aged 0-5 and their families within areas with the highest need

• Option 4 – offering universal services to children aged 0-3 and their families

Universal services like weighing and baby clinics, breastfeeding support, two year-old checks, speech and language drop-ins and others will continue to be offeredat all hubs.

The consultation runs until August 14, you can have your say online at www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/consultations.

The feedback from the consultation will be considered by the council’s Executive at their meeting on 14 October where a final decision will be made.

The author of a book about his family’s sporting hero is confident it will be turned into a film.

Only Gold Matters, the biography of Cecil Griffiths, an athlete who won an Olympic gold medal, but was denied the chance to become even greater, has just been published.

The remarkable story was written by Studham man John Hanna, whose wife, Vanessa, is the granddaughter of Cecil, one of only four Welsh track and field athletes to gain Olympic gold.

John was inspired to tell the story having discovered that there was little record of him compared with athletes who found fame in the 1924 ‘Chariots of Fire’ Olympics.

John, of Dunstable Road, told the Gazette: “I intend to bring this story to the attention of film and TV producers. I am confident that it will make the screen.”

Cecil was just 20 when he was a member of Great Britain’s winning 4 x 400metres relay team at the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium. His brilliant opening leg run was a major factor in their triumph.

But Cecil was banned by athletics authorities from competing in subsequent Olympics. They declared that he was a professional runner, having accepted prize money totalling £10 in wartime charity carnivals in and around Neath in 1917.

Yet Cecil continued a successful domestic athletics career, winning four AAA Championship and ten Welsh Championship titles.

“He was a supreme athlete, respected by all and loved by many,” said former Luton postman John. “However, his treatment at the hands of the athletics authorities, hardship and personal tragedy were all blights on his life.”

John and his wife displayed a flag showing a Welsh drag outside their home and flew it at the Olympic Stadium during the 2012 Games in London.

Cecil was only 45 when he diedsuddenly of heart failure at Edgware Tube Station in 1945. His family later left Wales and settledin Monks Close, Dunstable.

The book launch in Neath was attended by several international sportsmen and local MP Peter Hain and Cecil’s gold medal was on display.

> Only Gold Matters is published in paperback by Chequered Flag Publishing, priced £11.99.

Work on a new multi-million pound inner ring road in Luton remains on track, the council has confirmed.

The expansive Luton Town Centre Transport Scheme is set to be completed this summer, a year after it was commenced last July.

At the centre of the scheme is a new two-way, single-carriageway link road which runs from the junction of Hucklesby Way and Old Bedford Road, as far as a new signal-controlled junction with Church Street and Hitchin Road.

This section of the route runs between Midland Road and the railway line, and passes under the station multi-storey car park.

The completed inner ring road will then continue into Crescent Road to another signal-controlled junction with Crawley Green Road, and from there the next section is to be dual carriageway as far as St Mary’s roundabout.

The scheme also includes a new bridge, which crosses the mainline railway and Luton Dunstable Busway, and also a shared cycle/pedestrian route.

Both ends of Midland Road have now been permanently closed to traffic, with a new access road serving Midland Road from Gillam Street now open.

Guildford Street will be closed to through-traffic when the new road is opened, while a new one-way system for Guildford Street and Cheapside comes into effect in May.

The scheme is the completion of an inner road project that was started in the 1970s but was abandoned after the completion of the southern section.

In December 2011 Luton Borough Council secured Government funding of £15.85m to progress the scheme, with the balance of £8.15m to come from third party contributions and identified savings on land, design and construction costs.

Colin Chick, corporate director for environment and regeneration, said: “Not only will this scheme provide additional vehicle capacity but traffic modelling shows there will be a significant reduction in congestion that will make the town centre more attractive for pedestrians and cyclists.

“It delivers major benefits for Luton’s retail sector and greatly improves prospects for delivery of major regeneration projects including mixed-use developments at Power Court and High Town Village and extensions to The Mall shopping centre.

“It could also further help release much-needed funding for the improvement of Luton station.”

Chaul End Children’s Centre Nursery was presented with a Communication Friendly Setting award on Friday, June 27.

The award to the Dunstable road nursery was given because they create an environment that encourages and supports children in their efforts to communicate effectively.

The accolade was developed by the council’s special educational needs service, to encourage pre-schools and nurseries to consider how they interact with children and how the physical environment impacts on the children’s development and communication skills.

Shagufta Anwar, manager of the Nursery said: “How we talk to children makes a huge difference to their development. Teaching them how to become good communicators from a an early age, gives them a fantastic start in life as it helps them to learn, interact better with others and helps to develop positive relationships. I’m really proud of what my team have achieved.”

Staff at the centre were presented with a certificate, logo and £100 in vouchers by Tracy Spence, Senior Advisory Teacher, Prevention and Early Intervention Service.

Scarlett Johansson is truly mesmerising as an alien taking on the form of a dead womand seducing local men in Scotland in UNDER THE SKIN (15: Studio Canal).

The rouge-lipped siren roams the streets of Glasgow and lures her suitors to a nondescript van to meet an horrific fate worse than death.

She mysteriously consumes them, but as she observes the human race, her detachment begins to slip and she develops empathy with the people she encounters.

This is only the third feature film director Jonathan Glazer has made in 14 years (after heist thriller Sexy Beast and New York psycho-drama Birth) and is closer in abstract style to his surreal work in TV commercials.

It opens with a jaw-dropping cosmic sequence and sets an otherworldly tone sharply at odds with the footage of a grey, rainy city and its inhabitants.

I’m not a big fan of sci-fi, but Under The Skin delivers startlingly original imagery amid the Scottish landscapes and finds queasy horror everywhere. Like Johansson’s unearthly visitor, the film loses its way occasionally, but it’s an experience you’ll not forget in a hurry.

> An heroic alien space explorer travels to our planet in response to a distress call in lightweight animated tale ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (U: Entertainment In Video).

The film introduces two blue-skinned brothers from the planet Baab. Scorch Supernova (voiced by Brendan Fraser) is a famous astronaut and both reckless and egotistical. By contrast, Gary Supernova is head of mission control and a nerdy and timid button- pusher.

When Scorch’s bravado leads to his capture by the military and imprisonment in the infamous Area 51, it falls to his brother to man up and save him.

The movie takes a while to get going, but eventually peps up, and although it doesn’t break new ground, youngsters will enjoy the colourful design. And parents might like some period sci-fi references and the vocal presence of William Shatner and Ricky Gervais (as a computer).

> It was only a matter of time before those endless football violence and Brit gangster movies were parodied.

They’re mercilessly sent up in THE HOOLIGAN FACTORY (15: Universal), a cartoonish and frequently funny comedy about the ugly side of ‘the beautiful game’.

Young Danny is taken under the wing of hardman Dex, recently released from prison and determined to re-establish his ‘firm’ as the top dogs of terrace thuggery.

The film’s affectionate spoofing takes pot-shots at the genre’s stereotypes and a succession of familiar-face cameos bolster the gags.

There are references to other films, like Goodfellas and The Shawshank Redemption, but the beating heart of the story is the ludicrous, larger-than-life Dex, who elevates the anti-hero to rarely seen levels of idiocy.

> Music documentary GIMME SHELTER (15: 20th Century Fox) looks at the Rolling Stones’ infamous 1969 US tour, during which the band gave a free concert in Altamount, northern California, in front of 300,000 fans.

It turned out to be one of the darkest days in rock history and the flip side of the decade of love and peace, with the murder of a black spectator by a Hell’s Angel bouncer during Under My Thumb and the violence that followed pervading the film.

There is an increased likelihood of raves this weekend. according to Beds police.

The police are reminding all owners of land and rural businesses to check their property and ensure that all buildings and gates are locked over the weekend period. If it is not possible to secure land with a gate, it is suggested that entrances are blocked temporarily to prevent unwanted vehicle access.

Should you find any signs of suspicious activity or see vehicles arriving, please contact the Police by dialling 101.

Your support and involvement is vital in preventing instances of public nuisance from occurring.

Residents have been evacuated from their homes in Luton after a construction worker drilled through a gas pipe on Crawley Green Road.

Contractors have been working on the site to create the second part of the town’s inner ring road, though work stopped this morning due to the incident.

Fire crews were called at 11.35am to the corner of Crawley Green Road and Crescent Road, with police arriving shortly after.

Homes on Crescent Road and Hart Lane have been evacuated while work is undertaken to control the leak.

Police have cordoned off a 200m radius around the pipe.

A Beds Police spokesperson told Luton News restrictions would remain in place for ‘at least’ two hours.

A cyclist was doused with ‘urine’ from a high powered water pistol while travelling on Russell Street, Luton, yesterday.

The 49-year-old victim slowed down when the driver of a grey Alfa Romeo slowly drove towards him at approximately 5pm.

Thinking the occupants of the car were going to ask for directions the cyclist faced the front seat passenger– who pointed a high powered water pistol at his face and squirted him with fluid, believed to be urine.

The driver of the vehicle drove away from the scene and although the cyclist tried to follow the car, the driver jumped several traffic lights, narrowly missing a collision in a bid to get away.

Investigating supervisor, Gary Maxey, of the force’s crime management unit, is keen to trace anyone who saw the incident or anyone who can help identify those responsible.

Mr Maxey said: “This was a particularly unpleasant experience for the cyclist and was completely unprovoked.

“The men responsible not only behaved in an adolescent manner and put the cyclist in danger but they also put other road users in danger by driving so recklessly.

“I am keen to trace members of the public who witnessed this incident to contact the police, to help ensure we put a stop to this sort of behaviour.”

Anyone with information about this crime can contact Gary Maxey, in confidence, at Beds Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

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

Take time to be sure before you open the door.

That’s the advice from the water watchdog the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) which has published its top tips to help households outsmart distraction burglars.

About nine bogus caller crimes are reported every day in England and Wales with thieves posing as water or other utility company officials to trick their way into people’s homes before stealing money or other valuables.

But that only tells part of the story with an estimated 90 per cent of distraction burglaries going unreported because many vulnerable victims – particularly the elderly - feel too embarrassed or scared to report the crime.

Almost a fifth of the 3,177 incidents reported in 2013-14 involved people posing as staff from a water company or ‘water boards’, which no longer exist.

These callers may appear to be wearing something resembling a water or energy company uniform so, before unlocking the door, CCWater advises people to ask to see their identification and then call their water company - but not using any number provided by the doorstep caller.

For added protection anyone can register a password beforehand with their water or energy company. They can then request the caller quotes this as proof they are from that utility company.

Dame Yve Buckland, chair of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “If you have an elderly family member, friend or neighbour who is particularly vulnerable we’d urge you to share our simple advice with them to help protect them and give you and them peace of mind.”

“This type of crime is very distressing for victims, as bogus callers exploit people’s vulnerability.”

The Consumer Council for Water’s Top Tips to protect against bogus callers:

Keep your doors locked and your windows secure at all times. Only put the door chain on to answer the door.

Ask to see the caller’s identification. He or she should show it to you through the crack in the door, or the letter box. You are entirely within your rights to close the door and have the person wait outside while you phone the organisation the caller says they are from to check their validity. Always keep this telephone number close to your phone.

Check the person is genuine by calling the organisation, but make sure you get the phone number from a separate source, such as the print out from our website (why not do this now and keep it by the phone), the phone book or a previous bill. We recommend that you check their identification even if they appear to be in a company’s uniform.

It’s OK to refuse entry or ask the person to leave at any time if you’re not completely satisfied that the caller is genuine. If the visit is legitimate, they can ring ahead or reschedule.

If the visitor insists they need access immediately or before you carry out the necessary checks immediately call 999.

Consumers can find the contact details for their water company and a list of our top tips to print off at www.ccwater.org.uk

Kriss Akabusi has announced that BBC3 Counties Radio drive-time presenter Roberto Perrone will be the official host at this year’s motivational business seminar ‘In The Arena’

Roberto said: “I am absolutely delighted to be involved in this project with Kriss and his amazing team. The power to change starts with great leadership and this event will make you see your working world in a different light”.

The day-long event will be taking place at Putteridge Bury, Luton on October 1 and is set to be filled with inspiring speeches from top sporting and business professionals, along with one-on-one workshops.

In The Arena is a 100% charitable event in association with The Akabusi Charitable Trust and the i-TANG charity (In The Arena, Next Generation). i-TANG supports young NEET’s from Bedfordshire and the community at large on making their transition into the workplace.

>For tickets visit http://www.akabusi.com/eShop.aspx or tel: 01525 840183