Thousands of people signed an online petition in May in support of a new Jewish primary school.

But the campaigners were disappointed after Hertfordshire County Council refused to pay towards development of the school, which would have been in Hillside Avenue.

Organisers of the petition believed there was an overwhelming need for additional Jewish primary school places in the town.

Neighbours of a car accident repair site were shocked after watching fire destroy its staff room.

The blaze, which broke out just before 9.30pm at the Raynor Repair Shop, in Glenhaven Avenue, tore through the garage.

Fortunately firefighters stopped the fire spreading to a neighbouring garage, where a number of cars and equipment were stored.

One eyewitness said: “I came outside and could see thick black smoke coming from the unit and I thought the whole garage was on fire. It is so lucky nothing else went up.”

Also in May, a con man who duped the council and a bar owner was jailed for 15 months for fraud.

Jason Campbell, of Shenley Road, stole the identity of his former lover to become a supervisor at Woods Bar, in the same street.

And the closure of a family-run garden centre which was forced to shut after 55 years was described as a “great loss” to the village.

The Garden Nursery, in London Road, Shenley, closed after the site was sold to developers who wanted to build ten three-bedroom cottages.

Owners were “too emotional” to speak about the closure when the Borehamwood and Elstree Times tried to make contact.

Friends and family paid tribute to George Ray, who worked as a postman in Borehamwood for more than 40 years.

The 85-year-old great-great grandfather, who moved to Borehamwood when he was ten-years-old and studied at Hillside School before serving in the Second World War, was described as a “lovely bloke”.