Fiona Beal, 50, changes her plea mid-trial over the fatal stabbing of Nicholas Billingham, 42, in 2021

A woman has pleaded guilty mid-trial to the murder of her boyfriend, who she buried in their back garden.

Fiona Beal, 50, was on trial at the Old Bailey in London for the murder of Nicholas Billingham, 42, whose partly mummified remains were discovered in March 2022 four-and-a-half months after he was last seen.

Continue reading...

• Quarter-final marred by Bulls leaving 13 players in Pretoria
• Leinster host La Rochelle, Exeter travel to Toulouse on Sunday

On paper the Champions Cup quarter-final between Northampton and the Bulls from Pretoria is a rugby fantasist’s dream come true. The Premiership leaders against the only South African side to claim a Super Rugby title. The 21-year-old fly-half Fin Smith pulling strings in the face of meaty forwards. Franklin’s Gardens under lights. This should be club rugby at its best.

In reality the spectacle has been marred by a logistical nightmare that has jeopardised the sense of occasion. Jake White, the Bulls coach who was in charge of the Springboks when they lifted the 2007 World Cup, has left 13 of his regular starters at home. World champions Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie and Kurt-Lee Arendse, as well as fellow Boks Wilco Louw, Marcell Coetzee, Gerhard Steenkamp and Johan Goosen will be watching from the Highveld. The official line is that many are nursing injuries with White also emphasising the need to rotate his squad. But another explanation, one that White dismissed on Friday, has garnered attention.

Continue reading...

• Northampton 41-30 Saracens
• Ramm scores twice as hosts extend Premiership lead

If there were any lingering doubts over Northampton’s ability to sustain their title push they can be unequivocally put to bed after a mighty victory over Saracens. Five tries, an intensity that went missing last week and a masterclass at fly-half from Fin Smith tightened their hold on top spot of the Premiership and gave their sell-out crowd reason to believe this will be their year.

Saracens were off-colour with ball in hand but they stayed ferociously competitive to the end in what was a breathless encounter, and as a result Northampton will take such confidence from their victory. They had won 10 straight matches before the league’s lengthy pause but last week’s humbling can be considered an anomaly given the resilience they demonstrated here.

Continue reading...

• Forwards were selected in last year’s Rugby World Cup squad
• Bristol prop Sinckler has 68 caps, Saints flanker Ludlam 25

England forwards Lewis Ludlam and Kyle Sinckler will join Toulon at the end of this season, ruling them out of selection for the national team.

Prop Sinckler, who has 68 England caps, will leave Bristol Bears and Northampton flanker Ludlam, who has made 25 England appearances, will sign three-year contracts with the Top 14 club, the BBC reported.

Continue reading...

Collyweston Palace, home of Henry VII’s mother, found despite ‘no money, no expertise, no plans’

When a group of amateur archeologists set out to find the buried remains of a Tudor palace in their Northamptonshire village five years ago, they knew the odds were against them.

“Many of us were bought up in the village, and you hear about this lost palace, and wonder whether it’s a myth or real. So we just wanted to find it,” said Chris Close, chairman of the Collyweston Historical and Preservation Society (Chaps) which made the discovery of the Palace of Collyweston in a back garden this year.

Continue reading...

Johnny Brady, 19, ran away from a mental health hospital on New Year’s Eve and three rubbish bag fires have been reported since

A 19-year-old convicted arsonist may have started three separate fires since he ran away from a mental health hospital on New Year’s Eve, Northamptonshire police said.

Johnny Brady fled the grounds of St Andrew’s healthcare facility in Billing Road, Northampton, at about 3.30pm on Saturday. He was serving a hospital order following convictions relating to serious assault and arson offences, the force said.

Continue reading...