The countryside is being concreted over to make way for modern communities without the hassle of real rural life.

No group captures the spirit of the 1990s quite like The Prodigy. Their prime mover tells Ben Thompson how they've done it

John Knopp was an innovative electronics manufacturer who came to public notice as a principal in the "Aspire" consortium which, as the first step in a programme to put a British rocket into space, last October launched a seven-foot rocket 2,500 feet in the air from Thetford, Norfolk.

A sex attacker who indecently assaulted two boys could strike again, a senior detective warned. Police said scientific evidence proved the same man was responsible for the attempted rape of an 11-year-old boy in Newmarket, Suffolk, in September and the rape of a 14-year-old near Braintree, Essex, in March.

The Department of Transport was thrown into complete confusion yesterday by a ministerial "announcement" of an pounds 87.5m road scheme for Essex. John Watts, the Minister for Roads, issued a press notice on "Conservative News" notepaper, announcing the scheme during a visit to the county, in which the Tories are defending three key marginal constituencies.

The Conservative election campaign in Essex will today receive a boost with the promise of an pounds 87.5m road improvement scheme funded by the taxpayer.

`The trade unions recognise the link between lifelong learning and economic success'

Non-League notebook

The most expensive player in non-League football, Carl Alford, was yesterday placed on the transfer list by the Vauxhall Conference side, Rushden & Diamonds, just seven months after his pounds 85,000 move from Kettering Town.

Frustrated scientists tell Ian Burrell that the UK's space effort is pathetic

Non-League notebook

Sir: Glenda Cooper's article "Twelve confused men and women" (30 September) reawakens an anxiety that I have had since doing jury service some time ago.

Football: Non-League notebook

From Mrs V. A. Dunton