Queen's Birthday Honours: Hertfordshire
A selection of people from Hertfordshire are honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
Driver reveals train accident shock
A train driver spoke of his shock at seeing a teenage girl striding onto a railway line moments before she was fatally struck.
Inquest into death of girl hit by a train
An inquest into the death of a teenage girl killed after being hit by a train at a foot crossing will be held today.
Live updates
Bedfordshire Police appeal for escaped prisoner
BedfordshirePolice are appealing for information about a man who has absconded from HMPSpringhill.
Daniel Puncheon, aged 33, originally from Mansfield, Notts had been given an indeterminate sentence, with a minimum tariff of two years, for firearms offences in 2006, relating to an attempted robbery in Bedford armed with an imitation firearm.
Puncheon absconded on May 19 and may have contacts in the Bedford and Buntingford, Hertfordshire areas, although police also believe he has been seen recently in the Leighton Buzzard area.
Puncheon is described as a white man, 6’ tall with a stocky build and short dark brown hair.
Appeal to trace wanted couple over the murder of Stevenage man
Police investigating the murder of a man near Stevenage have released information about a couple they wish to speak with as part of their inquiries.
On the evening of April 23, 2013 three men, who had their faces covered, are believed to have attacked 21 year old Thomas Ward’s caravan in Dyes Lane before he came out of the caravan and was shot in the chest.
His wife and five day old child were inside at the time. Thomas then ran from the caravan before being found by his family unconscious in undergrowth nearby. He later died in hospital.
Last night an appeal was made on BBC’s Crimewatch to trace 32 year old John Boy Ward and his wife 21 year old Joleen Josie Ward, whose last known address was Clarkson Court, Hatfield.
John Boy, who is the second cousin of Thomas, is wanted on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Joleen, who is pregnant, is wanted on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Detective Chief Inspector Sharn Basra from the Joint Major Crime Unit said: “We urgently need to trace both John Boy and Joleen. This is such a horrific crime and I would urge anyone who has any information on their whereabouts to contact us immediately.
“We believe the couple left the country in the days after the murder and may be in Europe. However, they do both have links to North London and I would appeal to anyone in the North London area who may have knowledge of their whereabouts to contact police.”
Advertisement
ROAD: M1, HERTFORDSHIRE
Two lanes closed due to an accident on M1 Northbound between J7 / A414 (Hemel Hempstead) and J9 A5 (Redbourn). Matrix sign set to 40 mph.
Hard shoulder use a "success"
Plans to allow vehicles to use the hard shoulder on a section of the M1 in Hertfordshire have been judged a success by drivers.
The Highways Agency is operating the scheme between junctions 10 and 13 during the morning and evening commutes. Senior managers say that by allowing traffic to use the hard shoulders they've been able to reduce congestion and keep vehicles moving.
Three men jailed for fake coins plot
Three forgers including a man from Hertfordshire have been jailed for what police believe is the largest ever plot to make fake pound coins in the UK.
Kevin Fisher, 53, from Goffs Oak, was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role as ringleader of the scam.
Co-conspirator Daniel Sullivan, 28, from Hornchurch, east London, received three years, and another man Mark Abbott, 44, from Edmonton, north London, was given two years.
A 40-foot storage container that contained 1,600,000 metal discs was found in Waltham Abbey, Essex, with £20,000 of fake coins.
There was also 330,000 in fake coins in a car nearby.
Hertfordshire fraudster jailed
A fraudster from Hertfordshire has been jailed for four and a half years for committing an elaborate £700,000 bank fraud.
John Disley, 46, used commercially sensitive information to withdraw large sums of cash from deposited cheques at the Royal Bank of Scotland just before they bounced.
He used the cash to fund a lavish lifestyle which included splashing out £30,000 for a palm tree at his villa.
The monies were electronically transferred to a number of accounts or individuals linked to Disley in the short window of opportunity available to him, Preston Crown Court heard.
He was found guilty last month of conspiracy to defraud £675,937 from the Royal Bank of Scotland and £214,000 from a financial services company between May and December 2010.
Advertisement
Sunderland Fans arrested over violent disorder
Police have charged ten football fans from our region with violent disorder following a Premier League match between Sunderland and West Ham in January.
Northumbria Police said the fans are all aged between 18 and 28 and come from Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire. They will appear before Sunderland Magistrates' later this month.
Driver reveals train accident shock
A train driver spoke of his shock at seeing a teenage girl striding onto a railway line moments before she was fatally struck.
Read the full storySchoolgirl killed by train at level crossing: Coroner records verdict of accidental death
Coroner rules that death of 15-year-old Katie Littlewood who was killed by a train on a level crossing at Bishop's Stortford was accidental.
Inquest into death of girl hit by a train
An inquest into the death of a teenage girl killed after being hit by a train at a foot crossing will be held today.
Read the full storyToday's top stories
