Police have released an image of two people officers wish to speak to in connection with a criminal damage incident in Milton Keynes.

The appeal relates to an incident that happened between 2am – 4am on 14 July. During the incident, two people pulled flowers and overturned ten large planters belonging to a business in central Milton Keynes.

Investigating officer PC Jacob Eckles said, “I am appealing to anyone who witnessed this incident to please come forward.

“I am also appealing to the people in the image as they may have vital information to assist our investigation. If you recognise them or if either of these people are you, please contact us.

“Anyone with information should call 101 or make an online report via our website, quoting reference number 43250353359.

“Alternatively, for 100% anonymity, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Paul Warne was pleased his MK Dons team adapted to injury issues to beat Gillingham, though admitted he would’ve liked a slightly more comfortable conclusion after 2 late concessions.

The Dons were able to take a three goal lead against the high-flying Gills, with a Sam Gale own goal followed by second half goals from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Callum Paterson helping the Dons to a 3-2 win.

Gillingham did score two late on through Seb Palmer-Houlden and Jonny Williams, but it was not enough to deny victory for MK Dons as they moved back into League 2’s play-off positions.

Speaking after the game, Warne said he was pleased to take the three points, particularly after seeing Rushian Hepburn-Murphy pull out through a training injury the day before and Scott Hogan suffer an injury in the warm-up. He did however admit the two late concessions had him on edge.

He said, “It’s a good win against a really good team. We had to defend a lot of set-pieces, crosses and second balls and for large parts, we did that really well with a threat, which really pleased me.

“It was a put-together team – we lost Scott Hogan in the warm-up, lost Rushian Hepburn-Murphy yesterday, which was disappointing. It’s the first home game we’ve probably gone into where we may be the underdog if that makes sense, so we had to show a different side to us, but our work ethic today was really good.

“At 3-0, it looks like its ok, but I’m experienced enough to know if they get the next goal, nerves play a part, then they throw the kitchen sink at us. Fortunately, we had just enough to hold on.

“On another day, I’d like us to have a lot more control of the ball in the second half, as we just give it away, but that’s what pressure and nerves sometimes does to you. But I’m still pleased with the result, and on the back of winning last week, winning at home is a good feeling.”

The late withdrawal of Hogan saw him replaced in the team by Laurence Maguire, with the Dons moving from a planned 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 at the last minute. Warne said this was a reversion to the system deployed against Shrewsbury the week before, and that he was happy the team of players he had was good at taking on information.

He said, “We did play that system last week so it wasn’t too difficult for them, but it is good. I joke about how coaches can overcomplicate the game at times but the shape is only one part of it. You’ve still got to run, tackle, pick a pass, mark your man on a set piece and all that, but it’s impressive. They are really good students.

“I do feel like they retain information really well from last week and they should take massive credit from today.”

The goal that saw the Dons make it 2-0 came after a spell of Gillingham pressure, and Warne said he was pleased that his side were able to take the game’s momentum away from the Gills at a crucial stage of the contest.

He said, “There’s no bad time to score a second, but that’s a big part of it. If you look at the waves of the game, we were on top, they were on top, and we scored right at their peak when they were on top. If they get their goal and it’s 1-1, that changes the outlook of the game. I thought we missed a few other really good opportunities which would’ve taken the lead a bit further away from them, but it was a good time to score and helped settle us down a little bit.”

Victory saw the Dons return to winning ways at Stadium MK after losing their previous 3 games in League Two at home, and Warne added he felt it was a deserved victory for his side.

He said, “It does seem a long while. Initially, when we were 3-0 up, I was heartbroken we lost our clean sheet and then all of a sudden it goes from that to only 2 minutes left.

“They score one and suddenly it’s completely different. But it is good to win, and good to win at home. We’ve been reasonably good on our travels but disappointing at home and today, which really pleases me, it was when it was a bit of psychological warfare. If they sunk in themselves and thought it was not our day playing at home or its all going against us, they could’ve easily sunk and thrown away points. But they didn’t. They stood up, took it on the chin and deserved the 3 points.”

Police are releasing a CCTV image of a man officers wish to speak to in connection with an assault in Milton Keynes.

The CCTV image release and associated appeal relates to an incident that happened at approximately 10pm on Wednesday 9 July at The Moon Under Water pub on Marlborough Gate in Central Milton Keynes.

During the incident, the suspect smashed a glass on the side of the victim’s head, who was a man in fifties, before throwing a chair at him.

The victim sustained cuts to the face and required stitches. He was taken to hospital but has since been discharged.

Investigating officer, PC Lily Thornton, said, “I am appealing to anyone who witnessed this assault or has information that may assist us to please get in touch.

“If you recognise the man in the image, or if this is you, please contact us as we think this person may have information to assist our investigation.

“If you have any information relating to this incident, please call 101 or report it online via our website, quoting 43250344961.

“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via its website.”

Luton Town have confirmed the departure of the club’s Head Coach Matt Bloomfield, who leaves after 9 months in charge.

Bloomfield had taken charge at Luton in January after leaving his previous club Wycombe Wanderers, but the 41-year-old has been dismissed following a slow start to the season.

After 11 games of the League One season, Luton find themselves in 11th place in the third tier table, with the Hatters having lost 3 of their last 5 games.

Along with Bloomfield, his assistant Richard Thomas, first team coach Lee Harrison and first team analyst Ben Cirne have also left the club.

Bloomfield had moved to Luton in January as a replacement for Rob Edwards, who had left Kenilworth Road with the Hatters fighting against consecutive relegations.

However, despite a run of just 2 defeats from 11 games ahead of the final day, a defeat by West Brom on the final day of last season saw Luton suffer back-to-back relegations, falling out of the Championship a year after being demoted from the Premier League.

The Hatters had invested to try and make an instant return to the second tier, but following their slow start, the club will now seek their third Head Coach of 2025.

Luton confirmed that academy coach and former player Alex Lawless, aided by Paul Benson, Kevin Foley and Kevin Pilkington, will take control of the team for the interim period, starting with Tuesday night’s Vertu Trophy trip to Cambridge United.

In a statement, the club said, “Luton Town Football Club has today parted company with manager Matt Bloomfield.

“Matt joined the Hatters in January from Wycombe Wanderers and despite overseeing a run of just two defeats in 11 games leading into the final day of the 2024/25 season, was unable to prevent relegation from the Championship following defeat at West Bromwich Albion.

“Performances and results from the opening 11 matches of the current campaign in League One have fallen below the levels expected, and the Board of Directors has taken the difficult decision to relieve Matt, his assistant Richard Thomas, first team coach Lee Harrison and first team analyst Ben Cirne of their duties.

“The Board wishes to thank Matt, Richard, Lee and Ben for their efforts during a difficult period for the Club and wishes them the very best for their future careers.”

Luton also stated that a committee involving members from the executive team, recruitment, football staff and the board has been set up to seek the next manager.