A brewery faces running out of beer in the last few days before Christmas.

Last year things were so tight for Tring Brewery that it has this year stepped up production by a quarter to try to cope with anticipated demand for its quaffable ales.

“Last year we were only left with a little of our Side Pocket for a Toad,” said Ben Marston, the company’s marketing and communications manager.

“People should get in here early because we’ve increased supply by 20 to 25 per cent but there is still a chance we could run dry.”

It takes the brewery at Dunsley Farm, London Road, 12 days to brew a run of beer and the plant is already steaming along at full capacity churning out 50,000 pints a week.

This year Tring’s special Christmas ale is called Tringle Bells, a 4.2 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) beer made with Bramling Cross hops.

“We had never used ‘Tringle’ before and it seemed so obvious,” said Mr Marston.

The company supplies its range of beers to “a few hundred” pubs within a 30 mile radius of Tring as well as independent off-licences.

The brewery is this year celebrating 20 years in business and it recently won an award from the National Museum of Pump Clips for the beer pump advert for its special Olympic brew, the 4 per cent ABV called On Track.

What does Good King Wenceslas look for in a pizza? As the snow lay round about. deep pan, crisp and even, of course...

It’s an old joke, but Domino’s Pizza is determined to make Christmas and pizza go together like mistletoe and wine.

That’s why staff have been out in force, dressed in Santa suits and armed with promotional banners, for morning and evening stints promoting their products to Hemel Hempstead motorists.

Whether naughty or nice, as many as 15 of the Waterhouse Street store’s team at a time have been spreading the word.

Domino’s refer to the technique as ‘wobble boarding’ and says: “Our employees love being out of the store and doing something different.”

But while some potential punters seize the chance for a picture opportunity, others aren’t so impressed. Tania Gurney from Potten End, a 22-year-old with promotional work experience, protested on Twitter after spotting Santa waving at the roundabout at the bottom of Galley Hill.

She tweeted: “Yes @Dominos_UK because that’s clever putting a Father Christmas on a roundabout to distract everyone. #stupidity #dominos #crash.”

She said later: “If you are distracted by one of these Santas then crashes are more than likely to happen, especially in this weather.”

Domino’s admit: “It’s not to everyone’s taste. A Wobble boarder’s safety, security and wellbeing, along with that of the general public, are a top priority.”

Risk assessments are carried out before the exercise.

While Hemel Hempstead’s marketing manager, Irina Vusca, left the store’s office on Thursday night to deliver hot drinks to wobble boarders, what do the Santas themselves think of the winter outing?

Team member Bilal Abdul Qayyum, 23, says: “It’s good. One or two people just shout, funny shouting, but mostly people are very nice.”

Wobble boarders are paid their standard wages for the shift, and the pizza franchise has also pledged support to the Text Santa appeal, offering customers the chance to give spare pennies to charity.

Would you be tempted to phone for a pizza by the Domino’s Santa brigade? Let us know, email thegazette@jpress.co.uk

A collection of 13 rare black and white banknotes, all produced in the 19th century when Hemel Hempstead printed its own money, are set to fetch between £4,000 and £5,300 at an auction on Friday.

The notes are emblazoned with the words ‘Hemel Hempsted Bank’ and one note alone – an 1855 £10 note, with its value underprinted in blue – could fetch between £600 and £800 at the auction hosted by specialist sales firm Spink in London’s Bloomsbury.

Ten of the 13 notes are proofs, so they were never put into circulation and are mostly classed in ‘very fine’ or ‘extremely fine’ condition.

The three other notes were all issued in 1855 by the ill-fated Hemel Hempsted Bank – the spelling of the town’s name has varied over the centuries – which went bust the following year.

They feature the handwritten signatures of the bank’s partners William Smith and Edmund Fearnley Whittingstall.

The bank was founded in 1811 by local businessman Harry Grover who was joined the following year by business partner James Pollard.

In the late 18th century and early 19th century there were hundreds of privately-owned banks throughout England and they all issued their own notes, as it was too difficult and dangerous in the days before fast transport, security firms and proper street lighting to bring in big quantities of cash from London.

Barnaby Faull, head of the banknotes department at Spink, said: “Merchants would get together and set up their own banks but their notes – which were like IOUs – could only be used locally.

“When many of these provincial banks went bust – as Hemel Hempstead’s did in 1856 – their notes became completely worthless.”

The Hemel Hempstead notes have been put up for sale by Jersey-based property tycoon David Kirch, 75, who is said to have a personal fortune of £100 million.

Mr Kirch is selling his collection of banknotes, which is worth around £1 million, in four parts.

Investigators have spoken of their sense of satisfaction after a court ordered a crooked tax dodger to pay more than £100,000 in compensation.

And they have called on members of the public who suspect people apparently living beyond their means of being involved in crime to blow the whistle.

Thu Trang Tran, 35, has to stump up £107,230.74 within six months because of deliberate tax evasion on her nail bar businesses including Venus Nails in Lawn Lane, Hemel Hempstead.

A Luton Crown Court judge also made a confiscation order requiring her to pay nearly £37,000 within 28 days, or she will face another 14 months in prison.

The second sum relates to the ill-gotten gains she is said to have made through money laundering offences.

Tran is already serving an 18 month jail term after admitting tax evasion and money laundering along with her husband Anh Cuong Nguyen, 42.

When the couple were first arrested in November 2008 it was discovered that over a five year period the pair had cleared more than £1 million through their bank accounts – including significant amounts of cash.

Police found stacks of banknotes and designer jewellery when they searched their home.

At the time of her arrest, Tran owned a Leighton Buzzard nail salon and was also a director of Venus Nails, while Nguyen was listed as an employee of both establishments.

As well as their Leighton Buzzard home, Tran owned a flat in London which she rented out and had just put down a £25,000 deposit on a new apartment in Hemel Hempstead.

Investigators who pored over their accounts found that their tax returns vastly underestimated their earnings, and called in tax experts to help them.

Sgt Giles Hutchinson, the investigating officer for Bedfordshire Police, said after Friday’s final hearing: “It’s been a long investigation but we’re pleased we’ve been able to bring it to a successful conclusion.

“Tran will have to repay the money she has defrauded, which effectively is money she has taken out of other honest taxpayer’s pockets.

“We have a close working relationship with the UK Border Force and tax authorities and this is one of several high-value cases we have worked on with them

“Bedfordshire Police will also receive a share of the £36,000 confiscation order, which is money that goes straight back into crime fighting in the county.”

Det Chief Insp Shane Roberts, who oversaw the case investigation, added: “We take in excess of £1million of cash and assets from criminals every year so it isn’t just a case of being unlucky to be caught – even small-time petty crooks are in our sights with these POCA hearings.”

“The police are always interested in hearing from members of the public who have suspicions about people who appear to be living an expensive lifestyle with no obvious means of supporting it.

“Contact the police on non-emergency number 101 or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

More than 200 boxes of a special edition Dacorum Monopoly board game have been sold in just over one month, it has been confirmed.

The £24.95 traditional game has a local twist with players able to “buy” landmarks in Hemel Hempstead, Tring and Berkhamsted.

1,000 copies of the licensed game have been created as part of the £300,000 Dacorum Look No Further campaign to boost business in the borough.

Motorists who find themselves short of change can now pay for parking using plastic – but the convenience will cost an extra 20p.

Launched in Dacorum yesterday, drivers with an iPhone or Android mobile can now download the RingGo app to register and pay for their parking. Alternatively motorists can call 0203 0460010 when parking to pay the fee over the telephone.

To save time users can pre-register in advance either through the app or at www.myRingGo.co.uk

The service sees motorists charged an extra 20p on top of the standard parking tariff.

Councillor Julie Laws, who oversees environment and sustainability, said: “The run-up to Christmas can be a bit frantic for a lot of people, and the RingGo option should take away the stress of needing to find the right change for the parking meter.

For a list of car parks where the service is being introduced, visit www.dacorum.gov.uk/parking.

A fundraising festive display that was cancelled last year following a family bereavement has returned.

The Winter wonderland put on by Tony Spicer – who plays the part of Santa Claus himself – was scrapped in 2011 after his father passed away.

But at the start of this month, Mr Spicer, after first running the idea past his mother, turned the lights on at his Primrose Hill home in Kings Langley.

Even a fall from a ladder while putting up the decorations, leaving the 58-year-old electrician with a broken arm has not deterred him. He has a red cast to match his Santa suit, which was fitted by medical staff at the hospital he raises money for.

Mr Spicer pulls in the pounds for the maternity unit at Watford General Hospital, which saved his wife Jane after she became seriously ill during labour with their daughter Kelly, now 24.

Jane helps out with the fundraising by playing the part of Mrs Claus, while Kelly is an elf.

The lights, made up of 3,775 bulbs, go on at 6.30pm and Santa meets children until 9.30pm.

Scores of people turned out for the Light Up A Life Service at the Hospice of St Francis on Sunday.

In recent weeks the Gazette has been publishing people’s dedications to their loved ones and raising awareness about the events, which are one way hospices in the area help bereaved families.

Iain Rennie Grove House Hospice Care based in Tring and The Hospice of St Francis in Northchurch both organise Light Up A Life ceremonies in the run-up to Christmas.

IRGH family support manager Sue Grace said: “The service is lovely in Hemel Hempstead because we do it as part of the Victorian Evening in the old town.

“It’s about 20 minutes where we welcome people, have a reading and then candles are given out.

“Everybody lights there candle and then there’s a quiet moment to remember those who have passed away.”

It’s a formal way of remembering loved ones who have passed away and have had contact with the hospice services in the area.

“People will never know how they will feel,” Sue explained.

“We have nurses on stand by to offer support. The service is a small part in the wide range of support methods we use to help families. It’s special, emotional and very beautiful.”

Four schools are warning students to be careful after a 14-year-old was hit by a car on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cavendish School student escaped with a cut to his head and bruises after the collision at the roundabout between Leighton Buzzard Road, Queensway and Warners End Road.

Deputy headteacher Martin Serrao said: “It is a dangerous spot particularly now it is icy and dark. We would like to say to drivers to be aware of children.

“At that junction there is almost no safe place to cross.

“Of the four routes there is only one that is covered by a pelican crossing so they could do with another pelican at the bottom of Warners End Road.”

He praised three Cavendish pupils who came to the aid of the boy, phoning 999 and teachers from the nearby school.

The boy was taken to hospital, but was back in school yesterday.

The roundabout where he was hit is also used by parents going to Gade Valley School, St Cuthbert Mayne Catholic Junior School and The Collett School.

Gade Valley office manager Brenda Simson said: “Unfortunately there are four schools in a very small vicinity here. First thing in the morning and after school it’s just a nightmare.”

The schools are near the top of the steep hill on Warners End Road, which has a bend in it.

Collett School headteacher Stephen Hoult-Allen said many parents park on its pavements, making it harder for drivers to see children between the cars.

Cavendish School is exploring plans to let parents drop off and collect children in its grounds to ease congestion nearby.

A mum is warning others after her two young children’s bikes were snatched when she turned her back for less than 10 minutes.

Seven-year-old Amber’s silver and pink push bike, which is covered with puppy stickers, and her sister Emily’s purple mountain bike were taken from the driveway in Deaconsfield Road, Hemel Hempstead, at around midday on Sunday.

Mum Nicky Brewin said: “I am amazed that people can do it. It is obviously a small child’s bike. It has still got stabilisers on it.

“I’m pretty convinced that someone came along in a car or van and took them.

“People should be aware that you can’t leave anything out, even in your own garden. I won’t leave anything out there now.”

Nicky was planning to walk the dog while her children rode their bikes but was distracted by a phone call, which she estimates lasted less than 10 minutes, and when she went outside the bicycles had vanished.

Police have conducted house-to-house enquiries and are appealing for anyone with information to contact them via 101, quoting D1/12/7308.

The number of pregnant women living in Herts taking up the life-saving vaccine for whooping cough is below the national average.

But health bosses say the new figures, which cover the month of October, are not a true reflection of what is going on in the county because the jab only came on offer in this area from the second week of that month. The delay was due to the time it took to get staff trained up to provide the vaccine.

NHS Herts spokesman Scott Swinton said: “Anybody that came in asking for it, staff would make sure they got it.

“It was a case of having everything in place and saying: We are here, come and get the vaccine.

“The next figures will show a truer picture.”

It was announced at the end of September that all pregnant women would be offered the vaccination to protect their babies following a significant increase in the number of cases of whooping cough.

So far in 2012 the highly contagious bacterial infection of the lungs and airways has claimed the lives of 13 little ones and there have been more than 7,000 cases nationally.

In the whole of 2010 the figure only topped 1,000 cases.

Figures released this week show that 35.6 per cent of mums-to-be in Herts received the jab during October. The national picture is that almost half of the pregnant population – 43.6 per cent – have taken up the offer of the vaccine.

It is aimed at women between 28 and 38 weeks of their pregnancies and is on offer at antenatal clinics. Immunity is passed onto the unborn child.

Lord Sugar may be putting his young apprentices through their pretend paces on TV – but in Dacorum budding Bransons prefer more practical applications of their entrepreneurial potential.

Teams from five Dacorum senior schools are taking part in a Dacorum’s Dragons Apprentice Challenge organised by Connect Dacorum.

Year 12 squads from Cavendish, Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley, Ashlyns and Tring Schools have each been given £100 with a target of turning it into £1,000 or more.

At the Connect Dacorum/Dacorum Community Trust Christmas lunch at Pendley Manor on Friday, the Hemel Hempstead team were busy taking orders for their non-alcoholic Christmas drinks hampers, backed by soft drinks firm Britvic.

They’re raising cash for the Dacorum Community Trust, and are aiming to top £2,000 by the time the challenge runs its course in March.

Find out more about the work of the Trust in next week’s Gazette.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas throughout Dacorum, with the wintry weather giving the borough a truly festive feel.

Temperatures have dropped below freezing over the past few nights, creating a frosty haven for photographers including Thom Power who captured the conditions in Ashridge and Little Gaddesden.

Other hardy snappers have also been braving the conditions to capture the Christmas card-like landscapes across the borough.

The Hospice of St Francis, based in Berkhamsted, posted a snap of their gardens in the frost onto their Facebook page this morning (pictured), and Sally Mason got a picture of Bunkers Park in Hemel Hempstead.

The cold snap is expected to continue today, with forecasters predicting that the temperature will struggle to climb out of minus figures.

It looks set to be all change tomorrow, though, with a downpour of rain predicted to hit Dacorum as the temperatures climb to around 9°C.

> If you have captured any wintery scenes this week, let us know. Email your pictures to us at thegazette@jpress.co.uk

Thursday 1.45pm - Firefighters are cutting a woman out of a car after it crashed into a tree and ended up in a ditch.

Paramedics were called to the junction between Pouchen End Lane and London Road in Bourne End at 12.35pm, and are still treating the woman.

Two fire engines from Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead are at the scene.

East of England Ambulance Service spokesman Gary Sanderson said: “Ambulance crews from St Albans, Tring and Hemel are treating and stabilising a woman who is still inside the car.

“Her injuries are believed non-life threatening.”

Firefighters began cutting the roof off the blue Renault Clio at 1.10pm and are still using cutting equipment to free the woman.

A second woman in the car was uninjured.

Police are offering 12 days of seasonal crime prevention advice during the countdown to Christmas.

Officers are encouraging people to visit the Herts Police website, Facebook or Twitter pages to see a new crime-fighting tip each day.

The countdown kicked off yesterday with information on how to contact your local neighbourhood watch scheme and will run until Christmas Eve.

Inspector Paul Lawrence from the force’s crime reduction unit said this week: “Christmas is a time when people are gathering lots of expensive gift items and rushing around making last minute preparations.

“Often crime is the last think on their minds, so it’s important to remind people to take precautions and make sure they don’t have their Christmas ruined by crime.”

There is also a video on the Herts Police YouTube Channel at www,youtube.com/hertspolice, which features the constabulary’s top 12 tips over Christmas, ranging from postcode marking your presents to locking your shed securely.

The county’s new police and crime commissioner David Lloyd said: “Nothing can ruin Christmas like having your gifts stolen or your pocket picked, so it’s important that we all take the time to make sure we keep our valuables safe and homes secure.”

To get your daily crime prevention tips visit 
www.herts.police.uk, follow 
@HertsPolice on Twitter or 
www.facebook.com/hertspolice

A farmer has gone to drastic lengths to prevent his poultry from falling in a foul mood.

The hens at Bulbourne Farm proved that going to all the trouble of doing a photo shoot with some ravishing roosters for a pin-up calendar to cheer them up is certainly worth it.

The calendar, called Nice Pecks, was produced by the Happy Egg Company and features images one would more likely see in a cheeky calendar featuring hunky men.

The pictures show poses which include cockerels lazing by a bath full of bubbles and surrounded by rose petals.

When the final 12 images, which were taken by fashion photographer Nathan Pask, were tested out on the hens in Tring, they gathered around and pecked at them.

Jean-Paul Michalski, who has been looking after hens for more than 26 years at the Bulbourne Farm, said: “We know that hens are calmer when they’re around cockerels but since we couldn’t bring in the real deal - because the eggs we buy in the supermarket are not fertilised - we knew we had to take a slightly alternative approach.

“Hens are actually very visual creatures so that’s when we decided to create the first ever cockerel calendar just for hens and see whether it made them happier.”

The 2013 calendar will be distributed to Happy Egg Company farms across the country.

The company will also be giving away thousands of calendars via its Facebook and Twitter pages where people can see a video of when the hens first came face to face with the heartthrob calendar.

This Saturday will be the last chance for lovers of local produce to stock up from Tring Farmers’ Market.

There will be entertainment by Local Vocals and Aldbury Brass to accompany shoppers at the last market of the year, which is on from 9.15am to 12pm.

It will be the perfect opportunity to buy a mince pie loaf, a gingerbread latte cake or decorations by Hearn Made, a Tring-based producer of gifts for the home.

A pedestrian was left fighting for his life after being knocked down by a car in Redbourn last night, Thursday.

The man, believed to be in his 50s, was struck by a silver BMW at around 5.20pm as he was walking down the B487, and is now being treated for serious head injuries and a number of broken bones.

He was initially taken to Watford General Hospital by the East of England Ambulance service, but it is believed he was then transferred to the specialist St Marys Hospital in Paddington, London.

> More to follow.

A pregnant woman had to be cut out of her car yesterday, Thursday, after crashing into a tree and ending up in a ditch.

Fire crews from Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead were called to the junction between Pouchen End Lane and London Road in Bourne End at 12.35pm, cutting the roof off the blue Renault Clio to free the woman and two other female passengers.

Paramedics were also called to the scene where they treated the woman, who is believed to be five months pregnant, for pains in her ribs before taking her to Watford General Hospital.

The scene was cleared at 2.15pm, and none of the women involved in the accident are believed to have suffered any life-threatening injuries.

Neighbours are fighting plans for a hot food take-away next to their homes.

The property in Berkhamsted High Street was used by Castle Insurance brokers before the firm went bust.

Now there are plans to reopen the shop as a take-away food outlet, but neighbour Chris Cann said this will mean more rubbish, smells and bad parking for the area.

He spoke out at a planning meeting of Berkhamsted Town Council, which has echoed his concerns.