A dramatic police chase in Tring yesterday afternoon ended with the arrest of two suspects and the seizure of a stolen car.

The events unfolded from 4.15pm as police pursued men who they believe pinched a blue BMW M3 from a driveway in Dunstable on Monday night.

A helicopter was scrambled along with the dog unit to help cops on the ground track the thieves.

Becky Thornhill – who lives on Henry Street in the Tring Triangle – told how her 12-year-old son Louis was asked to go inside by a passing policeman.

“Louis had forgotten his key and I was out walking the dog, so he couldn’t get in and was standing on the door step.

“When I got back, he was a bit wobbly and told me a policeman asked him if he’d seen a man running up the road, before telling him to go inside, but of course he couldn’t.

“We went inside and I locked all the doors and windows – it was pretty scary, and the helicopter was so loud.”

The town’s social media Facebook page Everything Tring was buzzing with reports of the force’s helicopter as it hovered, and people posted reports as it flew overhead.

A spokesperson for Herts police confirmed that police caught up with the suspected crooks on Park Road, where the stolen car had been ditched.

Cops seized the car and two men who were arrested at the scene were taken away to cells in Hatfield.

One Park Road homeowner said: “I heard a lot of noise but thought it was my neighbours’ builders.

“My neighbour knocked on my door to tell me what was happening just as the police were towing the car away.”

The two men have now been transferred into the custody of police in Bedfordshire.

The horrors of the holocaust from a child’s perspective provide the central theme for a sombre release that has to fight for attention this week against a couple of flashy and forgettable thrillers.

The Book Thief was a worldwide bestseller beloved of reading groups, and its translation to the big screen has been tackled with serious purpose.

It’s all about a book-loving girl bonds with a young Jewish refugee in Nazi Germany.

Sophie Nelisse and Ben Schnetzer are the young leads, while Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush are the principal grown-ups.

It’s a solid piece of work from director Brian Percival, best known for directing episodes of Downton Abbey.

Ever since Liam Neeson got himself earmarked as an action man, the quality of his thriller output has been hit and miss. There’s no shortage of them, though, and here comes another.

Non-Stop casts him as a US air marshal confronted by a mysterious threat that a passenger will die every 20 minutes unless he can sort out a giant stash of cash for his foe.

Lots of twists and turns at 40,000 feet, nothing new to puzzle the popcorn munchers, but expertly exploiting a winning formula.

Ride Along features Kevin Hart and Ice Cube in what’s optimistically described as an action-packed buddy comedy. It’s all about a smart-mouthed security guard who wants to be cop just like his intended’s brother. He joins the doubtful law enforcer on a training day and, what do you know, it all goes wrong. Loud, crass and obvious, and a second instalment is apparently already in the works.

A builder will have to wait for up to seven weeks to hear whether he has to pull down his two houses and evict the tenants living in them.

Philip Cowman’s appeal came before a Planning Inspectorate hearing at Hemel Hempstead Civic Centre yesterday.

Dacorum Borough Council’s development control committee ruled last summer that the two semi-detached homes he built in Bank Mill, Berkhamsted, should be demolished as they deviate from planning permission.

Mr Cowman, of Hempstead Lane, Potten End, had offered to make them fit in better with the area if they were allowed to stay. But this was turned down – against the advice of the authority’s own officers.

MSC Planning consultant Martin Crook, representing Mr Cowman, said: “The council has to justify that in planning terms and I would say that they have not.”

Berkhamsted Town Council says the semis should be rebuilt in the way that they had originally been planned – which permission had been granted for.

But councillor Tom Ritchie said maybe they could be redesigned without having to be totally demolished.

The Planning Inspectorate will decide within seven weeks whether they should stay or go.

Neighbours of the semis recently told this website that they should be allowed to stay.

Opposite them, 54 homes are in the process of being built in the New Lodge development.

Council tax will be frozen for the fifth year in a row after County Hall chiefs decided the annual bill for Band D properties should remain £1,118.83.

Had the figure gone up with inflation, those households would be paying about £169 more in the coming financial year.

Herts County Council gets the bulk of council tax payments, collected by Dacorum Borough Council, to help fund schools, social care, the fire service, more than 3,000 miles of roads and other services. The authority also plans to release up to £1m of contingency funding to tackle flooding.

The council will have made annual savings of £172m by the end of the next financial year – achieved by cutting staff, restructuring, negotiating contract savings and reducing management costs.

The council’s Lib Dem opposition says its alternative budget, backed by Labour, would have provided an extra £9m to improve roads, footpaths and cycleways as well as £3.3m to tackle flooding while still freezing the tax rate.

County Hall expects it will need to have made a further £107m of savings by financial year 2017/18

Small business owners and sole traders in the Dacorum area are being invited to an open meeting of a networking group that could increase profits and referrals.

The Gade Valley chapter of Business Network International has relocated its base to Kings Langley and is looking for new members to swell the group and ultimately build business across the area.

The open morning will be held at The Young Pretender, Hempstead Road next Tuesday, March 4, from 6.45 am.

The group meets every week, on Tuesdays, for an early breakfast meeting and to share news and opportunities and to make presentations about what their individual businesses offer.

Orchid Estate Agents director Matthew Bennett, who chairs the group, said: “Recommendations are the lifeblood of any small business or sole trader.

“Word of mouth is a highly effective and free advertising tool, as most people prefer to use the services of people they feel they can trust.

“Our members bring new referrals and leads to their fellow members each week and BNI also has training and development opportunities.”

In 2012, the 587 BNI chapters in the UK and Ireland gave 683,823 referrals, leading to business worth £304 million.

Gade Valley created an impressive £250,000 of business for each other last year.

It has 19 members covering an extensive array of skills and expertise, including those working in the building trade, estate agency, print and design, insurance, legal and finance fields and homes, gardens and interiors specialists.

There is only one member in each group representing a particular field of expertise, and now Gade Valley is hoping to increase numbers to around 35.

Business owners and sole traders from the Hemel Hempstead area, Bovingdon, Kings Langley, Abbots Langley, Watford and St Albans are welcome.

At Tuesday morning’s session you will be able to chat with members of the group over breakfast (£10) to discuss your business.

For more information, contact membership co-ordinator Jon McGowan, telephone 07789 255588, or email jon@cornerstaraluminium.com

To find out more about Business Network International, visit the website at www.bni.co.uk.

Hemel Hempstead Lions Club is supporting the Marie Curie Cancer Care Great Daffodil Appeal with fund-raising collections in Hemel Hempstead during March.

Every penny collected will be spent in local communities helping to provide free nursing care to terminally ill patients in their own homes and Marie Curie hospices.

Lions Club president Terry Allen said: “We can fund one hour of free nursing care for someone in Hemel Hempstead by raising just £20.

“Giving a small donation and wearing the iconic Marie Curie daffodil pin really can make a big difference.”

Christine Brown, community fundraiser at Marie Curie Cancer Care, added: “Terminal illnesses touch everyone and Lions fund-raising will enable Marie Curie to deliver additional nursing care from the generosity of local people in Hemel Hempstead.”

The Great Daffodil Appeal has huge public support and has raised more than £70 million since 1986.

Marie Curie Cancer Care chose Lions Clubs British Isles & Ireland to be its first official partner for the Great Daffodil Appeal last year to help reach a target of £1 million over three years.

A flat run as a notorious drug den for several years has been claimed back at last by council housing chiefs.

Dacorum Borough Council went to court this week to get an order to take possession of the flat in Everest Way, Hemel Hempstead.

At Watford County Court, the council was given immediate possession of the property, bringing to an official end the tenancy of Michelle Wakeling, who was convicted of possession of heroin following a police raid last year.

The latest action follows a court closure order of the premises back in November due to Class A drug use and anti-social behaviour.

Neighbours had complained of dozens of people coming and going at all times of the day and night.

November’s action meant the property could be locked up and barred to everyone including the tenant for three months – the maximum time that the order can run for.

The drastic action is designed to put an immediate stop to any criminal activity.

The closure order expired on Wednesday last week.

But the court action has put to an end any fears that the flat could once again become a magnet for drug users trying to get a fix.

Councillor Neil Harden, who oversees residents and regulatory services, said: “This positive result confirms that the council will not tolerate antisocial behaviour and will work with and support residents who find themselves in this difficult position.

“We hope that the outcome will encourage anyone affected by antisocial behaviour to come forward and work with the council and police to resolve it.”

Last year Wakeling was given a six-month suspended sentence for her dealings with drugs.

Under council housing rules people are placed on a deferred housing register, which means they are not be eligible for social housing, if they have been evicted on the grounds of antisocial behaviour in the last five years.

There are six monthly review options for applicants to have their behaviour looked at again.

The number of teenage pregnancies in Hertfordshire remains well below the national average, according to the latest figures.

The Office of National Statistics showed that in 2012 there were 17.4 pregnancies for every 1,000 girls aged 15 to 17 in the county, compared to 27.7 per cent nationally.

Herts County Council’s teenage pregnancy strategy board works with partners and service providers to run training and education programmes, focusing on areas in the county that have a higher rate of teenage conceptions and youngsters most vulnerable to underage pregnancy.

A spokesperson for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said accessible contraception and good education play a crucial role, but girls are now choosing to have babies later: “We’re also seeing a shift towards older motherhood, with many younger women deciding to postpone starting a family a number of reasons including financial security or career progress.”

Ambitious plans to extend Berkhamsted town centre will be presented to the public during an open meeting.

Community group B-Hive is hosting the meeting about its plans for the High Street at the town’s Civic Centre on Wednesday, March 12 from 7pm to 9pm.

It follows a public consultation - published in November - on plans to develop the area between the Civic Centre, Butts Meadow and the former police station.

Local architects and urban planners will be showcasing their interpretation of the community’s ideas for the space and the B-Hive team will be giving an update on the project.

There will also be a chance to contribute to the next phases of the project and time for questions.

B-Hive spokesman Jane Collis said: “This is a decisive moment for the B-Hive project, and a chance for Berkhamsted residents and organisations to be part of the biggest changes to the town centre in generations. With the exploratory work behind us and the views of around a thousand residents heard, we can now begin to make ideas reality, rally further support and turn talk into action.”

Candidates who want to stand for election to the Berkhamsted Town Council seat left vacant by the death of former town mayor Ron Cowie have just over a week in which to get their campaign in shape.

The by-election for the Berkhamsted West ward will be held on Thursday, April 3 and nominations must be received by noon next Friday, March 7.

Anyone who wants to stand can request a nomination paper from the electoral services team at Dacorum Borough Council by calling 01442 228000 or emailing jim.doyle@dacorum.gov.uk .

Eligible voters will receive a polling card ahead of election day. If you haven’t received a card by next Friday, or if you want to check whether your name is on the register, you should also call 01442 228000.

On the day polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm at Lagley Hall, Douglas Gardens and All Saints Church Hall, Shrublands Road.

Postal vote application forms are available online at www.dacorum.gov.uk/elections or by calling 01442 228000. Applications must be received by 5pm on Wednesday, March 19 and the deadline for applying for a proxy vote is 5pm on Wednesday, March 26.

Dacorum Borough Council’s elections organiser Jim Doyle said: “It’s important to us that the people living in Berkhamsted West have their say and get involved in the decision making process. Even if you can’t make it on the day, there are lots of ways for you to vote.”

A proposal for more council cash to be set aside for a blitz on refurbishing worn out street signs was approved but extra spending to ease parking woes will have to wait.

Councillors voted to plough £40,000 into sprucing up road plaques but a bid to splash out an extra £100,000 on verge hardening schemes on top of £200,000 already earmarked was blocked.

Dacorum’s Liberal Democratic politicians put forward the case for extra spending at last night’s full council meeting when the budget for 2014/15 was set.

Councillor Denise Rance told the Dacorum Borough Council meeting: “You go past the ‘Welcome to Dacorum’ signs and you are faced with faded, broken or missing street signs so we put this amendment forward to improve the towns and villages of Dacorum.”

The council usually sets aside up to £25,000 for replacing run down street signs and it is hoped that the funding boost will mean that reported faults get fixed more quickly.

Councillor Lloyd Harris said: “When people report then you know they are going to get fixed.

“It is commonly known that a better a place looks, the happier people feel and the less likely it is that people will graffiti or litter. It is only a small thing but it is better than nothing.”

The borough council has a standard format for street signs which includes the borough logo and green writing. For conservation areas there is a more subtle black and white version.

Lib Dems were unable to persuade councillors to plough an extra £100,000 into the funds already set aside for verge hardening to create additional parking.

Mr Harris said: “That was rather disappointing.

“There is a long list of streets that the council, officers and members of the public have put forward.”

It costs between £10,000 and £20,000 for each project and the cash boost would have allowed for up to an additional 10 streets to enjoy extra parking space.

During 2013/14, £350,000 was spent on grass verge hardening.

Mr Harris said: “There have been several places, mainly in Hemel Hempstead, where this has already been done and the residents are very happy.”

It is proposed that £300,000 will be set aside for verge hardening in 2015/16 and, when this future budget comes up for discussion, the Lib Dems hope to persuade councillors to boost this to £400,000. “They implied it might be a possibility,” said Mr Lloyd.

If you chucked a few coins in the frosty wishing well in Hemel Hempstead’s Marlowes Shopping Centre over the Christmas period, pat yourself on the back.

Your generosity contributed to a total of £1,750 which has now been handed over to the shopping mall’s chosen charity of the year, the Sunnyside Rural Trust.

As part of the Marlowes Winter Wonderland shoppers were encouraged to make a wish in the frosty wishing well, sited next to Santa’s throne.

All money raised from the well will help to support Sunnyside’s local work teaching adults with learning difficulties valuable skills through horticultural and practical activities.

Trust representative Maggie Grand said: “We were absolutely thrilled and amazed at how much money was collected for us from the Marlowes Santa’s Grotto.

“Everyone in the charity has been so encouraged by this support.  A huge thank you to all the generous shoppers who contributed to this huge sum. It will help us to continue to provide horticultural work skills for local people with learning disabilities at our sites in Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Northchurch.”

Centre manager Vince Williams said: “We would like to thank all those that donated money over the Christmas period and made our Winter Wonderland such a success.

“Sunnyside Rural Trust is a fantastic charity and I am sure they will put the money to good use.”

A retired architect’s plans for a modern executive five-bedroom home in his garden were shot down by councillors last night.

The proposed property in Doctors Commons Road, Berkhamsted, was branded as looking like a ‘nuclear power station’ by Councillor Rosemarie Hollinghurst during a meeting of Dacorum Borough Council’s development control committee.

Neighbours turned out to object to the home described by one as a ‘Miami Beach-style concrete box’.

Their objections were backed up by ward councillor for the area Councillor Julie Laws, who said it was blatant over-development in a conservation area in what was an already congested road.

“We all passionately believe this development does not contribute to or enhance the conservation area,” she said.

But the agent representing house owners Mr and Mrs Marsden, who are long-term residents of the street and would continue to live next door in the home that Mr Marsden designed and built himself, said the proposal is a modern house appropriate to its time.

Committee member Councillor Fiona Macdonald said: “I’m not against modern design per se, but in the right place.”

The committee went against the case officer’s recommendation to approve the planning application and voted to refuse it on grounds of loss of privacy for neighbours, insufficient amenity space, safety concerns regarding car parking and over-development of the site.

Signage for the front and rear of Berkhamsted’s new M&S Simply Food store has been given the green light.

The upmarket grocer had downsized wording on the signs and changed lighting after objections from Berkhamsted Town Council and conservation experts.

A sign directing shoppers to car parking at the rear of the High Street store was also amended and moved back from the road.

Dacorum Borough Council’s development control committee approved the signage on Thursday evening.

No-nonsense Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning and outrageous rock legend Alice Cooper might not seem to have much in common – but they’ve teamed up to urge entries to a parliamentary project offering local musicians and film-makers a real leg-up in their careers.

Rock The House and Film The House competitions aim to raise awareness of the importance of protecting intellectual property rights.

Musicians and film makers enter their original material to their MP, who ultimately nominates one entrant per competition category.

A panel of industry executives presides over choosing the finalists and winners, who go on to have their pieces played in Parliament and win an array of prizes, from equipment, festival slots, exposure, recording sessions, radio and TV airplay and more.

Mr Penning said: “I urge anyone interested in entering to take a look at the websites. It would be great to have a Dacorum band or film succeed in one of these competitions.”

Project patron Alice Cooper said: “Having had MPs try and ban us from performing in the UK in the 1970s, it’s great to hear that the sound of shedding guitars and powerhouse vocals will be echoing through the halls of Parliament.

“Rock the House is a great project celebrating the diversity of the British music scene and helps musicians hold their legislators accountable about protecting the music industry’s intellectual property.”

The deadline for entries is March 31, find out more at www.rockthehouseHOC.com or www.filmthehouse.com.

Government minister and Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning has made an ‘unreserved’ apology to the family of a woman sent letters demanding she make an effort to find work – even though she was in a coma.

As minister for disabled people Mr Penning accepted that the buck stopped with him when he was challenged in the House of Commons.

“It’s about time politicians did stand up and apologise when things went wrong,” he said.

“It clearly has gone wrong and the family have every right to be aggrieved. I hope she makes a full recovery, as much as she can.”

Sheila Holt, who has physical and mental health problems and has not been able to work for nearly 30 years, had been invited to attend “intensive job-focused activity”, according to her MP Simon Danczuk.

But when she fell into a coma in December the government and its contractor were informed, the Labour MP told the Commons.

Despite repeated reminders, the letters kept coming, amounting to harassment of the family, he said.

He added his Rochdale constituent had suffered from severe bipolar disorder since childhood.

“She has not been in employment since she was 16 years old. However she was pushed into the Work Programme before Christmas and she was finding it extremely difficult.

“She was also concerned about the fact around the increases in the council tax that she had to pay.

“On December 17 she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act because she was struggling to cope.

“While in hospital she had a heart attack and that’s caused her to be in a coma since then. We are now at the end of February. She is stable, she is still in the coma.

“Before the election when the prime minister often talked about ‘Broken Britain’. I have to say that if this is the prime minister’s idea of fixing broken Britain, hounding disabled people who suffer from mental breakdowns, harassing their distressed relatives, then I prefer the broken Britain that existed before.”

Sheila’s father Ken, 74, said the government’s welfare to work scheme was to blame for the severity of his daughter’s condition.

The retired labourer said the stress of the threat of having her benefits stopped left Sheila clinging to life after she was hospitalised.

He said her last job was 27 years ago but that she had been told that she had to go on a job-seeking course for eight days.

After each day she became more and more agitated until she “cracked” her father said, and was hospitalised following a “manic episode”.

“If they had left her alone she would not be in this condition. They were threatening her with cuts and she needs the benefits.”

“I just believe it’s all wrong, you should be chasing the people who are fit, get them to work, not them that are not fit. It’s outrageous,” he said.

Ken said he visited his daughter in hospital daily and that she has suffered “very, very serious brain damage” following a heart attack.

“It’s a matter of life and death,” he said. “She may not survive, that’s how bad it is. All she can do is open her eyes and she shows she’s in a lot of pain.”

A man died after being hit by a train as it passed through Kings Langley station last night.

There were major delays for passengers after British Transport Police (BTP) were called to the scene of the tragedy at about 7.35pm.

Writing on the social networking website Twitter, Anne Cox said: “West Coast Main Line blocked both directions after person hit by train just outside Kings Langley. Major delays, passengers stranded on trains.”

Her husband Geoff wrote that their daughter was stuck after someone was hit by a train in front of hers.

Rickmansworth Police wrote that its officers were supporting BTP at the station. The south-west Herts force said: “Thoughts are with the family and friends.”

BTP spokesman John Ellul said that paramedics pronounced the man dead upon their arrival and the collision is being treated as non-suspicious.

He said: “Officers are currently working to formally identify the man and inform his family and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”

The BTP handed the line back to Network Rail at about 9.35pm. At about 2am, Network Rail tweeted that the station had been ‘cleared’ and trains were again running normally through Kings Langley.

Firefighters had to cut the roof off a car to free a trapped motorist whose car had plummeted into a ditch, forcing police to close the southbound A41.

Emergency services rushed to help the man after a frantic 999 call-out at about 6.35pm on Thursday evening.

His white Nissan Micra had left the carriageway about a mile after passing the McDonald’s restaurant at the Bourne End Mills Industrial Estate.

Police closed the southbound A41 at about 7.15pm and the man was taken to Watford General Hospital – but he is not thought to have been badly injured. The road was reopened just after 8.25pm.

{http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/local/a41-morning-closure-after-two-car-smash-1-5899247|The A41 also had to be closed earlier in the week after a separate two-car smash was reported to police}

Fact-based drama THE BUTLER (12: Entertainment In Video) has an all-star cast, but the film would probably have worked better as a small-screen mini-series.

There’s an underlying TV-movie ambience to the story of Cecil Gaines, whose position at the White House lasted 30 years.

Director Lee Daniels picked up a best screenplay Oscar in 2010 for Precious, although his next film, steamy thriller The Paperboy, was less well received.

He would appear to be on safer ground with this ‘inspired by a true story’ tale covering Gaines’ service to seven US presidents, from Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s to Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

But it’s a sprawling, soapy affair with Forest Whitaker portraying the butler as a Forrest Gump-like figure, standing stock-still while significant moments of 20th century history (the civil rights movement, the Black Panthers, the Vietnam War) swirl past him.

On the plus side, there’s a certain pleasure to be gained from the casting of Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines, Robin Williams as Eisenhower, John Cusack as Richard Nixon and Alan Rickman as Reagan (with Jane Fonda as Nancy).

>The special effects dazzle throughout in sci-fi adventure ENDER’S GAME (12: Entertainment One), which has the ring of Harry Potter in space about it.

The action takes place in a future where Earth is under threat from alien attacks and the military grooms genius children with exceptional computer gaming skills to man interplanetary weapons.

Recruiting colonel Harrison Ford discovers wunderkind Ender Wiggins (Asa Butterfield). But do his clashes with authority and fellow cadets mean he’s too sensitive to lead a team of his peers into life-or-death battle?

Ford and veteran soldier Ben Kingsley add gravitas, but the assured Butterfield is the true star as the reluctant teen who carries the survival of humankind on his shoulders.

> Crime thriller BAD COUNTRY (15: Sony) tells the tale of Louisiana detective Bud Carter (Willem Dafoe) who busts contract killer Jesse Weiland (Matt Dillon).

He convinces Jesse to become an informant and rat out the South’s most powerful crime ring. So when the syndicate orders Carter’s death and Weiland is identified as a snitch, the two team up to take down the mob and the crime boss (Tom Berenger) who ordered the assassination.

Set in 1983, there’s a hit list, a body count and a number of exploding cars.

Bad Country was the directorial debut of Chris Brinker, who died suddenly in February 2013 at the age of 42 while the movie was in post-production. With its mysterious plot, shifting allegiances, moody music and moustachioed men with agendas, it’s a fitting tribute to late 1970s and early 1980s-era cop flicks.

> Box office bomb PARANOIA (12: Momentum) was universally panned by critics on its cinema release and I can understand why. A man fired from a technology corporation is caught still using his company credit card and faces being charged with fraud. His former boss offers to ignore the crime if he will infiltrate a firm run by a rival tycoon and steal secret information.

Starring Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford, it’s cliched, unoriginal and lacking in thrills.

Protestors will gather later today outside the UK head office of online retailer Amazon in London to push the global firm to increase pay for warehouse staff.

Amazon, which has a giant depot in Hemel Hempstead, has been regularly criticised in the past for tough employment rules and pay rates, and has also been in the firing line for the low amount of tax it pays in the UK.

A new campaign group called Amazon Anonymous now aims to act as a hub for anti-Amazon activism, organising actions, providing access to alternative vendors, and contact points for Amazon workers who want to press for union recognition.

Thousands of warehouse staff are allegedly paid below the ‘living wage’ rate of £7.65 an hour.

Emily Kenway, who started a petition which has attracted 55,000 signatures, said: “I’ve started Amazon Anonymous with the help of friends because it’s time to take coordinated action.

“{http://www.amazonanonymous.org|Our website} will bring together the various strands of opposition to Amazon, including tax and wage campaigners, unions, and alternative vendors, to act in coalition and finally make this company see sense.”

Rhys Moore, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “We have accredited more than 550 leading employers who recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that.

“In January, David Cameron showed support for the Living Wage, saying that where companies can pay the Living Wage, they should.

“But it’s more than a moral argument, businesses have found that the benefits of paying the Living Wage include improved staff motivation and productivity.

“The Living Wage Foundation is more than happy to share these findings with Amazon and help them determine how best to introduce the Living Wage in their business.

“The best employers are not waiting for government to act. They are voluntarily signing up to pay the current Living Wage of £7.65 for the UK and £8.80 for London, which is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.”

Lower paid workers at Dacorum Borough Council will see their minimum hourly wage increase after councillors agreed this week to follow national Living Wage principles.

Pay rates will increase on April 1, in a move which will cost around £25,000 a year.

Councillor Nick Tiley, the council’s portfolio holder for finance and resources, said “The Living Wage is part of a campaign led by the Living Wage Foundation and Citizens UK.

“It is an informal benchmark, not a legally enforceable level of pay, like the national minimum wage is. Adopting the Living Wage principles affects only a small number of our employees.

“However, the basic idea is that these are the minimum pay rates needed to let workers lead a decent life and I am pleased that the council is able to support our lower paid staff in this way.”