Jay Williams has left MK Dons after 6 months with the club to return to Crawley Town.

Williams had moved from Crawley to MK Dons in January, when the Dons were being managed by Scott Lindsey after his initial move from Sussex to Buckinghamshire.

The midfielder had joined Crawley from Brackley Town in 2023 and scored in both legs of Crawley’s play-off win over MK Dons in 2024, though he struggled for game time after Lindsey left Crawley last September to move to Milton Keynes.

After struggling for game time following Lindsey’s departure from MK Dons in March, Williams has followed Lindsey back to Crawley, moving to the recently relegated Red Devils for an undisclosed fee.

Williams has signed a contract of undisclosed length at the Broadfield Stadium.

The 24-year-old made ten appearances in total in his time at MK Dons, although his appearances were limited by injury.

In a brief statement, MK Dons said, “Everyone at MK Dons would like to thank Jay for his efforts and wish him the best for the future.”

Williams told the official Crawley website that he is looking forward to returning to playing for the club.

He said, “I am delighted to be back at Crawley. I was driving back to the stadium today, and it just felt like home, and that I hadn’t left. I am buzzing to be working with Scott again, and I can’t wait to reconnect with the fans. Our fans are the best that I have ever played in front of, so I can’t wait to see them again.”

Disruption has continued on the West Coast Main Line via Milton Keynes after the derailment of a train in the city yesterday (26/06).

A London Northwestern Railway (LNWR) train derailed at around 12:30pm yesterday between Milton Keynes Central and Bletchley stations, with rear carriages coming off the tracks.

The operator confirmed that no passengers were on board the train at the time of the incident, with the train having been running empty, and nobody was injured.

The derailment blocked 2 of the 4 tracks between the two stations, with the two affected tracks remaining blocked as a result of what happened.

National Rail Enquiries have said they expect the disruption to continue tomorrow (28/06), with time required to move the derailed train and fix any track damage the incident may have caused.

Closure of two of the tracks has meant changes to Avanti West Coast and LNWR services that use the West Coast Main Line via Milton Keynes, with mass cancellations and delays.

Both operators have published travel advice for dealing with the continuing disruption.

Long-distance operator Avanti West Coast, whose services were also affected by an electrical failure in Lancashire yesterday, have advised passengers check before travelling.

Avanti said, “We are strongly advising customers to check their journey before they travel today, Friday 27 June, following a number of incidents on our route yesterday (26 June) that resulted in severe disruption on our network.

“Cancellations and delays to journeys to and from London Euston are expected for the remainder of the day following an incident yesterday involving the low speed derailment of a non-passenger train between Watford Junction and Milton Keynes. Those trains that are running are expected to be very busy.

“If you were due to travel yesterday between London and Scotland or were impacted by the earlier incident of the derailed train, then your ticket dated 26 June can be used on any Avanti West Coast train via the same route until the end of service today (27 June).

“If your train was delayed or cancelled and you abandoned your journey as a result, you can claim a fee-free refund from where you bought your ticket. If you continued with your journey but were delayed by 15 minutes or more, you can claim Delay Repay compensation from the train company you’d booked to travel with.

“We’re really sorry if this affects you and your journey today.”

LNWR said, “A reduced service is in place to/from London Euston today (Friday 27/06). This is affecting both London Northwestern Railway and Avanti West Coast services.

“The amended timetable will mean reduced frequencies and longer journey times between certain stations. Services may also be subject to delay and alteration while works are ongoing to clear the incident.

“Details of the amended timetables and alternative journey options are available on a route by route basis.”

The operator said a reduced service is in operation on the line between London and Northampton via MK, with two all-stations services per hour, while no through services are heading onward to Birmingham.

Both operators have confirmed tickets are valid for other operators, although engineering works planned on the line out of London St Pancras is likely to lead to congestion on East Midlands Railway and Thameslink services to Luton and Bedford.

Milton Keynes City Council have announced plans to award £175,292 to Citizens Advice Milton Keynes (CAMK) to continue delivering homelessness prevention services and advice.

The City Council first partnered with CAMK in 2020 to support local people with housing advice, financial guidance and mediation.

According to City Council figures, this work has helped nearly 40,000 local people, resolving 83,000 individual issues which could have potentially led to families becoming homeless.

The grant ensures that important early intervention services can continue; these help vulnerable residents stay in their homes which is better for the individuals and also helps the city council to reduce long-term spend on providing temporary accommodation, which cost more than £10m last year.

A decision to award the funding is scheduled for next week.

Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Health and Communities, Cllr Donna Fuller, said, “City Council colleagues and CAMK work together to support individuals who are facing difficult times. They do an incredible job to help people avoid homelessness by stepping in early. This funding will ensure vital support continues for those who need it most.”

MK Dons will begin the 2025/26 season with a home match against Oldham Athletic on Saturday August 2nd.

The release of the EFL fixtures for the new campaign confirmed that Paul Warne’s side will start off the new campaign with a home contest against Oldham, who won promotion to League Two last season via the National League play-offs.

The meeting at Stadium MK is the Dons’ first match against Oldham since the 2018/19 season, which was a campaign that also began with a match between Oldham & the Dons in August 2018.

Sky Sports will be broadcasting the game, with the broadcaster showing all EFL matches on the opening weekend of the season.

MK Dons will follow their opening assignment by travelling to Barrow in their first away game of the campaign on Saturday 9th August.

A busy opening month will see MK Dons play six league games in August. They welcome Cheltenham Town to Stadium MK on August 16th, then travel to play a Crawley Town side managed by former boss Scott Lindsey on August 19th.

August then concludes for MK Dons with a match away at Newport on August 23rd before welcoming Walsall on August 30th. That match against the Saddlers is the first of two back-to-back home games for the Dons, with Grimsby Town visiting a week later, subject to international changes.

Over the festive period, MK Dons will play at home on Boxing Day for the fifth season in a row when they welcome Swindon Town. Their last away match before Christmas is at Harrogate on December 20th.

The Dons’ final game of 2025 sees them play Notts County at Stadium MK on December 29th, with their first assignment of 2026 seeing them visit Colchester United on New Year’s Day.

The Easter double header sees MK Dons play the reverse of their opening two games, with the Dons welcoming Barrow on Good Friday (03/04) before travelling to Oldham Athletic on Easter Monday (06/04).

MK Dons’ final game of the 2025/26 season sees them make the trip to play Fleetwood Town at Highbury on Saturday May 2nd, with the Dons’ final home game of the season seeing them welcome Tranmere Rovers to Stadium MK one week before.