After months of campaigning and overwhelming popular opposition, plans to shut down a popular recycling centre were thrown out.

A consultation was launched earlier in the year recommending the closure of the Elstree Household Waste Recycling Centre in Allum Lane, but the proposals were scrapped after more than 2,000 people signed a petition to keep the recycling centre open.

Hertsmere Council leader Councillor Morris Bright said: “This is a great moment for Elstree and Borehamwood.

“There was a large concern that this was a done deal and that Elstree would close, but we have all come together without politics and worked to ensure that the message of how important this recycling centre is got through to council officers.”

Also in September, flying enthusiasts were shocked after witnessing a helicopter, which was being flown by a trained pilot and a trainee, crash mid-flight at the Elstree Aerodrome, off Dagger Lane.

And a security guard from Sports Direct was sacked after two 11-year-olds were barred from its store in the Borehamwood Shopping Park.

The worker, who was employed by a security firm used by the company, was immediately removed after having told them: “No Jews, no Jews.”

In a statement, the company said: “The guard was deeply offensive and disrespectful to the schoolchildren. We take pride in the lack of prejudice among our trained staff and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”