Parents of a disabled son were left in shock when they were nearly denied access to a train on a trip to see the Olympics – because he uses a wheelchair.

Erica and David Marks tried to board the train at Elstree and Borehamwood, but were told 20-year-old Benjamin’s wheelchair posed health and safety issues.

The family stood up to the station worker and said they were still going to board the train, as they had done many times before.

After the incident was published in the Borehamwood and Elstree Times, Network Rail announced it would install lifts at the station by 2013.

August is also the month when exams results are published, but while Hetswood School GCSE students celebrated their results – others were left waiting due to a mix-up with the exam board.

Science pupils were told their final grades were not available on results day, leaving many upset and frustrated.

Meanwhile, teachers and English students were left feeling “crushed” over "disproportionately" high grade boundaries in English, meaning many did not achieve the mark they felt they deserved.

A brief era came to an end when inspectors ordered a towering Diplodocus at a novelty golf course to be made extinct after the owners failed to seek planning permission.

An enforcement notice was served on the Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf Course, ordering the demolition of the 100-foot giant, which could be seen from the A1.

Reporter Emma Innes swapped Burberry for Barbour and headed to Penniwells Riding Centre for the Disabled, in Elstree, to meet Paralympic hopeful Michael Murphy.

The 14-year-old suffers from Dejerine-Sottas disease, which causes severe muscle weakness, but began horse riding at the age of five and hopes to qualify for Rio 2016.

Also in August, a dad pledged to conquer his fear of heights by climbing Kilimanjaro to raise cash in honour of his four-year-old son who was diagnosed with cancer.

Paul Bond and his wife, Hana, were devastated when Josh was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma in the mouth, and pledged to raise £8,000 for Great Ormond Street.

Josh spent ten months in the children’s hospital having chemotherapy but was discharged in late November.