Village leaders are hoping to have a village pub registered as an asset of community value.

Tring Rural Parish Council has applied to Dacorum Borough Council for The Half Moon in Wilstone to be added to the register, which will make it harder for the pub to ever be sold off into private hands.

Parish council chairman Michael Tomlinson said that there are no plans to sell the pub at the moment.

But he said the registration would give the community more of a say about what happens to it in the future.

He said: “It stops somebody from coming along and doing the dirty on us.”

A tractor towing a trailer carrying hay bales caused traffic chaos this morning after the trailer overturned on London Road in Tring.

Police closed the roundabout at the junction with the A41 and the A4251 just after 10.15am while they cleared the hay from the road.

The delay caused tailbacks into the town centre.

Herts Constabulary spokesman Sarah Spence confirmed that paramedics were also on the scene. She said: “Thankfully no one was injured, but we informed highways as there was damage to a street light at the roadside.”

A spokesperson from the East of England Ambulance service confirmed paramedics were called to the scene just after 10am but no one was treated for injuries.

The road was reopened by 11am and traffic is now flowing freely.

Medical chiefs at Watford General Hospital have been told that improvements need to be made in four out of five national standards by a health watchdog.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited in December and said that care provision, cleanliness staffing and standards of management needs to be improved.

Concerns were raised about cleanliness and infection control across four departments that were visited and in one case dried blood stains were found on the floor.

A shortage of staff was discovered in the Acute Assessment Unit and it was found that the records of care provided to patients were not well maintained.

The inspector’s report said: “In two cases we saw that papers in the records related to other people. For example we found blood test results and a request for a scan in the records that were not for the person whose records were being examined.”

The hospital was found to be meeting the standard of treating people with respect and involving them in their care.

Hospital chief executive Samantha Jones said: “We welcome the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report into Watford Hospital following a routine unannounced inspection. “The feedback we received from the Care Quality Commission highlights many strengths, including that our patients are treated with respect and are involved in discussions about their care and treatment. They also said that our patients are able to influence how services are managed and that the organisation is well run.

“In addition, the CQC reported good feedback from the patients they met, with often very complimentary remarks about the attention and attitude of our staff towards them.

“Unfortunately, the CQC have raised a number of minor concerns, including in relation to staffing, the control of infections, record keeping and the way in which we manage risk.

“As a result, we have recently submitted a detailed action plan to the CQC which will also be shared with our trust board and partners.

“We were already aware of many of the issues raised by the CQC and work was underway to address them. This includes a decision taken by the Trust Board last summer to spend an additional £3.9 million a year to recruit 160 extra nurses.

“We were also in the process of making significant changes to the way we prevent and control infections, with a specific focus on ensuring our cleaning teams meet the highest possible standards. We have also put in place new training for our staff and our senior nurses undertake formal spot checks to ensure our wards and clinics are clean.

“We are committed to providing our patients with the very best care and we will ensure that our action plan is implemented in full and will share feedback with our patients, local people and partners.”

>Read the full Care Quality Commission report by {http://www.cqc.org.uk/node/316215#icon_modal_green|clicking here}

A sinkhole expert says the one that appeared in Hemel Hempstead on Saturday should be filled with special concrete.

Seventeen homes were evacuated after it was spotted at about 7.30am. It measures 35 feet wide and 20 feet deep and has now begun swallowing up the road.

Leading sinkhole expert Dr Clive Edmunds visited the Oatridge Gardens sinkhole yesterday and advised the main owner of the housing estate to fill it with special concrete.

Hightown Praetorian and Churches Housing Association – which commissioned construction company the Jarvis Group to build the estate in 2008 – says the work is due to begin on Friday.

There are 24 two-bedroom apartments and 24 two, three and four-bedroom houses in Oatridge Gardens. Twelve houses are rented and 36 homes have been sold through shared ownership.

Hightown spokesman Emma Crump today said: “Once the structural engineers on site are satisfied that the immediate site is stable, the whole of the estate will be monitored and probed.

“Hightown is continuing to support residents by arranging hotel accommodation for households who are unable to stay with family and friends, ensuring they have somewhere to stay until next week, when the situation will be reviewed.

“We have informed six households who will not be able to return to their homes in the short term, that our insurers will be working with them to find suitable temporary alternative accommodation.

“The situation is changing all of the time and we are communicating directly with residents to keep them updated.

“In recent weeks we have been working with Jarvis Group and Affinity Water to investigate a potential water leak which had caused damage to the porch of one of the houses.

“Just before midnight on Thursday, February 13, a second resident emailed one of our staff to notify us of broken paving slabs on his path. We arranged for a contractor to visit the site to address this on Saturday morning.

“This same resident sent an email to a member of staff at 9pm on Friday evening reporting movement within his house. The member of staff would obviously not be picking up work emails until Monday. He did not contact Hightown’s emergency repairs line.”

Plans by Berkhamsted Golf Club to change the location of a practice area came under fire during a meeting of the town’s planning leaders.

Neighbours say the move will harm trees, wildlife and ancient archaeological feature Grims Dyke.

Berkhamsted Town Council’s planning committee objected to the move during a meeting on Monday. Minutes of the meeting say: “There is an unacceptable safety risk with the potential of golf balls being driven into New Road.”

Councillors raised fears about construction traffic transporting spoil with which to build the new practice area.

The golf club says the move will bring the area closer to its clubhouse, making it less remote – so women and children can feel safer using it.

The course is in the middle of Berkhamsted Common.

{http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/local/berkhamsted-golf-club-green-vandals-leave-note-in-hole-that-says-stop-cutting-down-trees-1-5848248|Berkhamsted Golf Course was vandalised last month by people who are not happy about its managers felling trees}

I’m sorry, but this just isn’t a laughing matter. This sort of crude so-called humour is not acceptable in this day and age, and strong action is needed as a matter of urgency.

Vile Twitter trolls rounding on whichever unfortunate finds themselves in the public spotlight? Stand-ups with no self-control going for gags against vulnerable groups? Mrs Brown’s Boys from start to finish? No, none of the above.

I speak, with the pain that is still sharp after years of suffering, about puns in shop titles.

Now a pun is a lovely thing, and I am very fond of wordplay that provokes a knowing smile or a groan of grudging recognition.

But a pun should be like a snowflake – beautifully-constructed, a delight in the right place and in the right measure, but essentially ephemeral.

Which is why puns in shop titles will never be right, and should be discouraged at every turn.

I can see how the temptation can be hard to resist. You’re a small business trying to make an impact, you come up with what you think is a bright idea that will appeal to punters and make you more memorable, and you don’t have the experience of working with words that would tell you how quickly a quirky catchphrase becomes a tedious yawn.

Hair salons have traditionally been the keenest purveyors of the pun above the door – and in the days before the internet and social mobility they could get away with it.

But we all know that there’s no such thing as an original joke, and nor does the original pun exist.

So anyone who thought that calling their business Fringe Benefits or Curl Up And Dye was purely the result of inspiration on their part is sadly mistaken.

Take, for example, the shop which apparently sports the best pun in the country.

That would be Junk & Disorderly, a supposedly shambolic secondhand store on Market Street in Chesterfield, of course – well, it would be according to an online poll after a shortlist was culled from a database of 700,000 businesses.

Presumably that database mining didn’t flag up the fact that there’s a Junk & Disorderly if not in every town then in every other town in the UK.

Others on the shortlist included Pane In The Glass, Abra Kebabra, World Of Woolcraft, Sofa So Good and Heaven Scent. Oh, my aching sides.

To be fair, World Of Woolcraft is a new one on me – but I fear it will return to haunt me.

If you ask me, all business names should have to be registered with a man in a grey suit in a grey office somewhere, and the registration process should involve lots of repetition of the name on the part of the hair salon, coffee bar or fast food outlet concerned in a bid to make them realise that nothing goes stale quicker than a not particularly ribtickling joke.

A vicious killer has had his sentence extended to a whole-life term in prison after an MP argued that his minimum term of 40 years was “unduly lenient”.

Mike Penning, who represents Hemel Hempstead, wrote to the Attorney General after the Ian McLoughlin ruling in October.

McLoughlin’s judge had then said that he was unable to pass a whole-life term following a European ruling that it could be a breach of human rights.

McLoughlin, who had killed twice before, slit the throat of 66-year-old Little Gaddesden grandfather Graham Buck after being allowed out of jail for the first time in 21 years.

He travelled on day release from HMP Spring Hill near Aylesbury to the Nettleden Road home of elderly paedophile Francis Cory-Wright, who he had met in prison, in July.

Mr Buck interrupted the 55-year-old’s robbery of Cory-Wright by coming to the aid of his neighbour after hearing him crying out for help and paid for his neighbourliness with his life.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Penning said: “Common sense has prevailed at last and justice has been served.”

The eyes of the nation focused on Dacorum at the weekend with the emergence of the giant sinkhole in Hemel Hempstead, triggered by recent heavy rain. There’s a sense of relief that no one was hurt, nor any homes lost, but the sense of shock and terror for those affected must have been immense.

This sinkhole is one of a number of extraordinary stories related to the recent weather – Valentine’s Day diners disturbed by a waves smashing through a restaurant window, a railway line destroyed by the sea at Dawlish, the Somerset levels under water for weeks.

My constituency has not been immune. In particular, the village of Long Marston has been hit by floods twice – first on January 7 and, more severely, on a second occasion exactly a month later.

I learned of the second flood that Friday morning when the landlord of the Queens Head, Jon Reeves, called my office. I was already due to meet Long Marston residents that afternoon at my constituency surgery in Tring, to find out more about what was going on.

I also arranged to visit Long Marston on the Saturday morning to see for myself the impact of the floods.

Having your home flooded is traumatic, and living with the threat of a flood is a nerve-shredding experience.

Nonetheless, villagers demonstrated a thoughtful, practical approach. In particular, the meeting demonstrated a clear focus on establishing what caused the flood and how we stop it happening again.

One frustrating factor is that the village is not on the flood plain and, apparently, designated as low risk.

Before this year, the last significant flood had been in 2003.

What had struck villagers about the flood was how quickly it happened.

At 2am, there wasn’t a problem. By 4am, some homes were under six inches of water. Not unreasonably, this suggested that there may be a link with a release of water from one of the Tring reservoirs.

I’m certainly not qualified to make a judgement on this, although I have learned more about hydrology in the last few days than I ever thought I would.

However, Herts County Council has begun an investigation and should be appointing specialist consultants to advise on the issue this week.

As MPs, we are not in a position to order executive agencies or authorities to take a particular course of action.

But residents are faced with having to deal with a large number of organisations.

In this case, there is the county council, Dacorum Borough Council, the Environment Agency, the Canal & River Trust who run the reservoirs and Thames Water.

I’ve been in contact with all of them, pressing them all to try to address the immediate problems but also any longer term threats to what is a very lovely village.

In these columns in the past, I have often reflected on the role of the MP.

Sometimes, it is about developing government policy, or arguing the case for your party on the big national issues, whether in a television studio or in Parliament.

But there are other occasions when our role is to ‘bang heads together’ and provide a voice for our constituents.

The Long Marston flood is one of those occasions.

David Gauke is the MP for South West Herts. You can contact his office on 01923 771781 or visit www.davidgauke.com

A documentary about the UK benefits system was criticised by Mike Penning after he appeared on the show’s live TV debate.

Hemel Hempstead MP Mr Penning represented the Conservatives on Channel 4’s Benefits Street: The Live Debate on Monday night, and said the show was ‘very selective’ about what scenes it chose to broadcast.

He said: “The producers said it was supposed to be all about the community, but that’s a load of tosh – and I told them that. They chose to focus on the benefits and even after 18 months of filming, they didn’t include many of the residents of James Turner Street, such as the pensioners and those who do work.”

But Mr Penning said the show and the debate had highlighted the need to take another look at the welfare system. He said: “I said it on Monday and I’ll say it again now – it has to be fair.”

Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning says that as great as the area is as a new town, he will not support Ed Miliband’s call to create lots more of them.

The New Labour leader has pledged to have the UK building 200,000 homes a year by 2020 to meet growing demand if he’s elected.

Mr Miliband said he would do this partly by creating new towns and garden cities in sustainable locations in order to ease the pressure on London.

But Conservative MP Mr Penning said: “It’s frankly pie in the sky. This town was planned as a London overspill after the Second World War to house people who had been bombed out of their homes.

“It’s a very different situation now and we need to protect the green belt.”

He agrees that new homes have to be built, but in specially designated areas such as between east Hemel Hempstead and the M1.

That area is technically in the green belt, but has been assigned as an area of it where ‘new town’ homes would be appropriate, Mr Penning said.

He said: “If you ask me whether Hemel Hempstead as a new town is a success, I think it’s one of the most successful towns in the country.”

He said the area has high employment and town centre redevelopment plans will soon make Hemel Hempstead even better.

He said New Labour leader Ed Miliband, who detailed his plans in the London Evening Standard, had only written the article because an election is coming up.

He said: “They were in government for 13 years and what did they do? Why did he not do that during the boom years when they was in power?”

A woman died from a form of asbestos poisoning despite having had no noteable contact with the material in her memory, an inquest heard this afternoon.

Joyce Davis, 76, of Chiltern Park Avenue, Berkhamsted, had metastatic mesothelioma, meaning the disease spread around her body before her death on October 24.

Ms Davis’ husband had been a carpenter during his working life and there is a chance she may have come into contact with asbestos through his clothing, although he died earlier of a cancer unrelated to the industrial disease.

Questions were also raised about the replacement of former Tesco store assistant Ms Davis’ garage roof and whether this could have caused the asbestos contamination, but this took place within the last eight years and was therefore ruled out by coroner Edward Thomas.

According to family present at Herts coroner’s court Ms Davis, who was born in Darlington and spent some of her childhood being brought up in orphanages, knew she was terminally ill, and was receiving palliative care.

She died at home. Mr Thomas recorded a narrative verdict, saying: “It is a very sad case, because it is such a dreadful disease. It’s a shame not to be able to link it to an exposure, but that is not unusual.”

New details have been released about the housing estate where the Hemel Hempstead sinkhole appeared on Saturday.

The land on which it was built was acquired by owner Hightown Praetorian & Churches Housing Association between 2005 and 2007.

The seven homes that were then on the site, off Wood Lane End, Hemel Hempstead, were demolished in 2008 to create the current Oatridge Gardens development of 48 properties.

Dacorum Borough Council spokesman Luisa Clarke said the original seven homes had been on the site since the late 1960s and were privately owned. She said that none of them had collapsed.

She said: “A ground investigation survey report of the site was done in 2005 for Hightown, and this accompanied the planning application which was made to Dacorum Borough Council in 2006.

“The report covered a range of ground conditions and referred to the area being used in the past for clay extraction, and the ground having been made up.

“The report made recommendations about construction methods for the new homes, including piled foundations.

“These recommendations were carried out during construction.”

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD MP: ‘EVERY DAY I TRY TO HELP SINKHOLE EVACUEES’

Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning says he is talking to the evacuees and the organisations investigating the cause of the sinkhole every day.

People who have been displaced from their homes have been put up in hotels or are staying with family or friends.

But Mr Penning said it is important that longer-term accommodation be found for them unless they can get back into their own homes soon.

The sinkhole is 20 feet deep and 35 feet wide and stretches underneath a house and large stretches of road.

The highway has now begun to collapse into it, but so far the property is still stable.

Mr Penning said: “It was no surprise that gravity has taken over and the road has started to collapse into it.

“What they are still trying to find out is what has caused the sinkhole.”

Early reports suggest the sinkhole may be connected to former clay pits and chalk mines used by a former brickworks that operated on the site in the 1870s.

Another theory suggests subsidence problems may have been caused by a water leak near one of the homes.

SINKHOLE NEIGHBOURS GIVEN 30 MINUTES TO COLLECT ALL THEIR BELONGINGS

Neighbours of the sinkhole were given just 30 minutes to collect all of their belongings on Monday.

Among them was plasterer Mark Borman, who has still not been allowed to collect his van – which is now in the expanded danger zone around the site.

Justin Yates, a relative of his and a director of boxing and removals firm the Jam Group, rushed out to help him.

Fellow director Matt Williams said: “Three of us went out and started loading the van with his relative’s belongings.

“We found lots of other people in the same position and gave them free boxes.”

The firm sent out a second van – and is now keeping the belongings of two of Mark’s neighbours in storage at its Boxted Farm base in Potten End.

Some of the people who live near the sinkhole have still not been allowed to collect their belongings.

Visit Flaunden this weekend for a chance to see snowdrops at their best.

Between 2pm and 4pm on Saturday – dubbed Snowdrop Saturday – the church of St Mary Magdalene on Flaunden Hill will be open for guided tours among the grounds.

Any donations will be gratefully accepted the Barnabus Fund, which is sending aid to war-torn Syria. During the afternoon there will be talks inside the church about the work of the fund.

After the tours, tea and cake will be served at Clonmel – opposite The Green Dragon pub on Flaunden Hill.

A Hemel Hempstead teen died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning when he decided to sleep in his car following a Halloween party, an inquest heard this morning.

Karl Daniel Phillips of Longlands parked his light blue Peugeot 206 in Berkhamsted’s Sportspace car park in Douglas Gardens, after the gathering at a friend’s in the town.

It is thought the 19-year-old wanted to sleep off the alcohol he had drunk before driving back to his Hemel Hempstead home, and had turned the heating on to keep himself warm in the early hours of November 1.

It was not until around 6am that morning that he was discovered by regular car park user Mark Goodman, who said the vehicle was making a lot of noise, and used a wheel brace to smash a window when the young man failed to respond to him.

Mr Goodman alerted police and paramedics who pronounced Mr Phillips dead at the scene. Scene of crime officers described his death as non-suspicious as there were no signs of any struggle.

A toxicology report showed Mr Phillips to have 89 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood and 186 in the same amount of urine – suggesting he was over the legal drink-drive limit but had had his last drink a number of hours before his death. He had been described by friends at the Halloween celebration as being ‘quite drunk’.

The teen also had a fatal level of carbon monoxide poisoning at 67.5 per cent.

It is believed a fault in his car’s exhaust caused noxious fumes to enter the heating system, which would have caused him to die while he slept.

A woman who was driving her friends home at around 2.50am is thought to have been the last person to see Mr Phillips. Witness Hannah Suckling said she noticed the car driving into the sports centre car park and that the lights appeared to be faulty.

Coroner Edward Thomas said: “Karl decided to park his car and rest for the night, probably because he was over the limit. He died an accidental death, as this was an unintentional consequence of what happened. It is dangerous to sleep in a car, especially with the engine running.

“He would not have known what was happening. It is tragic, and I express my deepest sympathies to his family.”

Vandals who have been causing a nuisance at Apsley’s Frogmore Road industrial estate are on the radar of police, who have released CCTV images of the suspects.

The series of incidents – which took place between January 3 and February 11 – include breaking the windows of business properties, stealing metal containers and waste bins and damaging industrial bins and pallets.

Safer Neighbourhood Sgt Adele Hopkin said: “We would like to identify the people pictured as we believe they may have information that could assist the investigation.

“The clothing worn and the bike pictured are quite distinctive and I would ask that anyone who believes they know the identity of the people pictured to contact me or my team.”

Call police on 101 quoting the crime reference number D1/14/922 with information.

The police summary of the crimes is as follows:

> At around 10.45pm on Tuesday, February 11 three offenders caused damage to an industrial bin and pallets.

> Between 6pm on Tuesday, February 11 and 6am on Wednesday, February 12 a number of windows at a business were broken.

> Between 5.30pm on Wednesday, January 15 and 11.45am on Thursday, January 16 two metal containers were stolen.

> Around 4.45am on Thursday, January 16 a metal container and plastic bin were stolen.

> Between 5pm on Friday, January 3 and 8am on Saturday, January 4 two waste bins were stolen.

When young people aged under 18 are arrested, they are usually accompanied to the police station by a parent or carer to make sure they are supported and treated fairly.

But sometimes when this cannot be done an ‘appropriate adult’ is needed, by law, to look after their rights and welfare while they are there.

Hertfordshire’s Youth Justice Service, which works in partnership with Herts Police, wants more adults to step into this voluntary role, which requires two days of training.

The next training event will run from 7pm to 10pm on Tuesday next week and the Tuesday after that at Hatfield Police Station in Comet Way.

To book a place on the training, email Jennie Jenner at Jennie.Jenner@hertfordshire.gov.uk

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire David Lloyd said: “Appropriate adults are an essential part of the criminal justice system – they make sure young people are supported and treated fairly.

“This is an important role and one of many ways that people can volunteer and make a difference in the community. The more of us who are involved in policing, community safety and the criminal justice system, the better protected we all are.”

If there are three words that turn me away from a film faster than the prospect of sitting in front of someone chowing down on a binful of popcorn, ‘enchanting romantic fantasy’ is only beaten by a short head by overall champion ‘starring Adam Sandler.’

A New York Winter’s Tale is packed with the distressing warning signs of a date movie which might appear to have something to offer but falls flat on its face.

It’s adapted from an acclaimed novel, there are lots of star names wearing elegant period costumes, but there is a baffling storyline which struggles to convince.

And it’s also first time out as director for Akiva Goldsman, who may have an impressive pedigree as a writer and a producer but has never called the shots before.

So what’s it all about? We’re in New York half way through the First World War – oh, sorry, we were half way through but the Yanks had yet to rock up on the front line – and burglar Colin Farrell breaks into a posh pad.

There he comes across frail young beauty Jessica Brown Findlay, her off Downton Abbey, and they begin to hit it off. Hold on, she’s suffering from TB and not long for this world.

But Colin, who at the same time is being pursued by sinister gangster Russell Crowe, then discovers that he is able to hop through time and is determined to use his gift to both dodge Russell’s attentions and save the love of his life.

Sounds absolutely ludicrous, doesn’t it? It’s possible to be carried away by flights of fancy, but not when they are as heavy-handed as this. Catch it while you can, it won’t be around for long.

Another big budget release laden with stars which has failed to convince the critics is Monuments Men.

George Clooney directs and takes a lead role, along with the likes of John Goodman, Matt Damon, and Bill Murray in this sort of true tale about a hand-picked group of arty warriors tasked with rescuing priceless paintings and the like before the retreating Nazis torched them in the dying days of the Second World War.

Watch the video to see what the stars had to say in advance of the London premiere.

Anyone would think Berkhamsted Castle’s moat had been filled with water once more to fend off potential invaders.

But – centuries after it fell out of use – it is in fact torrents of rain that has filled the area around the historic landmark.

This website understands the castle has now been closed due to ‘high water levels’.

Simon Ragoonanan posted a photo of the castle’s moat on the social networking website Twitter.

He said: “Record UK rainfall means the Berkhamsted Castle moat is back up to 1066 levels.”

Since the downpours that caused flooding havoc across Herts earlier this month there has been another 42mm of rainfall in Hemel Hempstead.

That’s according to weather buff Steve Wilson, who monitors rainfall from his Warners End garden, and reports that the total in February so far is 108mm.

“The monthly average for February is around 60mm, so we’re approaching twice the average in the first two weeks,” said the former geography teacher.

Steve’s latest figures were taken from his garden gadgets at the start of the week.

He said: “The River Gade level was just below bank full for most of last week although some flooding of the northern end of Gadebridge Park did occur.

“The level in the gauging station peaked at around 65cm during the week compared with 69cms when flooding occurred the week before.”

He said the high river level means any extra heavy rain could cause more flooding.

New images from above show that the Hemel Hempstead sinkhole has grown since it first appeared in Oatridge Gardens on Saturday.

A police cordon now surrounds the area so that nobody can get in and out.

The only way to photograph the sinkhole is from above - which is exactly what Stuart Marsh, who works at SKM Studio in The Nokes, Gadebridge, did today.

He said: “I flew one of our radio-controlled camera helicopters up there, and it’s huge.”

{http://www.skmstudio.co.uk/en/top/hertfordshire-photography-studio/|To see more of his firm’s aerial photographs of the area, click here}

SKM studios covers Herts, Beds and Bucks, London and the south east.