Two teenagers were “happy and laughing” at school just hours before they took their own lives, an inquest heard in August.

Hertswood Academy pupils Charleigh Disbrey, 15, and Mert Karaoglan, 18, were killed by a moving train just north of Elstree and Borehamwood Station on June 17 last year.

An inquest, held at Hatfield Coroner’s Court on August 19 and led by coroner Graham Danbury, concluded that the couple, who had been in an “intense” relationship for two months, intended to commit suicide so they could “stay together”.

Mert’s friend Christopher Walker said Mert had told him he had met his “soul mate” in CJ.

The deputy coroner said: “In the last five or six weeks, these two came together and clearly were overwhelmed by their feelings for each other. Because of Mert’s background, it seems like a relationship would not have been approved of by the family.”

Also in August, contentious plans for an additional 800 homes in Borehamwood were submitted for Government approval.

The plans are part of Hertsmere Borough Council's Elstree Way Corridor action plan and will face independent examination.

Also this month, horse owner Julie Blake was left distraught after her beloved red and white Shetland foal was stolen.

Cecil, a one-month-old pony, was stolen from his stable at a house in Summerswood Lane, Aldenham, one evening.

Police were investigating sightings of a battered purple car leaving the area around the time the pony was taken, but were unable to return Cecil to his owner.

August was also a nerve-wracking months for teenagers across the country as many awaited their GCSE and A-levels results.

But both Hertswood Academy and Yavneh College saw record-breaking results, with one Hertswood student – Paige Cunningham – off to study at Yale University in the US.