diff --git a/changelog.d/4698.misc b/changelog.d/4698.misc
index d17b19bec5..9dea5dd2be 100644
--- a/changelog.d/4698.misc
+++ b/changelog.d/4698.misc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Better checks on newsfragments
+Better checks on newsfragments.
diff --git a/changelog.d/4750.misc b/changelog.d/4750.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3bb9c48f1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4750.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Better checks on newsfragments.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts-dev/check-newsfragment b/scripts-dev/check-newsfragment
index 5da093e168..e4a22bae61 100755
--- a/scripts-dev/check-newsfragment
+++ b/scripts-dev/check-newsfragment
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
 set -e
 
 # make sure that origin/develop is up to date
-git fetch origin develop
+git remote set-branches --add origin develop
+git fetch --depth=1 origin develop
 
 UPSTREAM=origin/develop
 
@@ -25,11 +26,15 @@ if git diff --name-only $UPSTREAM... | grep -qv '^develop/'; then
     tox -e check-newsfragment
 fi
 
+echo
+echo "--------------------------"
+echo
+
 # check that any new newsfiles on this branch end with a full stop.
-for f in git diff --name-only $UPSTREAM... -- changelog.d; do
+for f in `git diff --name-only $UPSTREAM... -- changelog.d`; do
     lastchar=`tr -d '\n' < $f | tail -c 1`
     if [ $lastchar != '.' ]; then
-        echo "Newsfragment $f does not end with a '.'" >&2
+        echo -e "\e[31mERROR: newsfragment $f does not end with a '.'\e[39m" >&2
         exit 1
     fi
 done