The Comet

A Stevenage restaurant and a Hitchin cafe are to open their doors to the homeless, elderly and emergency services on Christmas Day.

The founder of a community group dedicated to helping people in need in Stevenage is calling on Lewis Hamilton to put his hand in his pocket and fork out some cash to support the community after he referred to his hometown as ‘the slums’ on national TV.

Police officers have asked pupils at a Stevenage secondary school to walk through a knife arch, designed to detect concealed metal objects, in a bid to tackle a rise in crimes involving knives.

Plans for the future of the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service will now go out to consultation, despite concerns that had led to a temporary halt in the process.

Two arrests have been made and nine vehicles seized in a police operation targeting criminals travelling in and out of Stevenage.

A new pub built by McMullen and Sons has opened in the Kings Reach area of Biggleswade, just in time for Christmas.

Formula 1 racing driver Lewis Hamilton has come under fire for describing his hometown of Stevenage as “the slums” during a speech at last night’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Police are investigating after a man was found dead in a river in Arlesey this morning.

Tickets have gone on sale for an annual Hertfordshire music festival at a special discounted price.

Residents at a Letchworth care home got well and truly into the Christmas spirit last Wednesday, as they took a festive trip to Frosts Garden Centre in Willington.

Parents and staff at Garden City Academy are planning to build a new mindfulness room on the playground, which will provide a quiet and calming space for the children.

The manager of STS Tyre Pros in Letchworth has organised food collections at seven centres across three counties to donate to the North Herts foodbank at Christmas.

The lives of loved ones were celebrated with a special carol service and lights event at Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice.

A man with terminal cancer says he cannot use his blue badge to park in a disabled bay opposite his own house because inconsiderate neighbours repeatedly park their own cars in that space.

Bosses at Stevenage’s Lister Hospital are looking at ways to speed up the time it takes to hand over patients from ambulance staff to the Emergency Department, having plummeted from being the best performer in the east of England to having less than half of cases meet national targets.

Members of a golf club have raised more than £18,000 to support a day centre for senior citizens.

Campaigners fighting to preserve the future of a village pub say they have done all they can at a planning inquiry to convince the Planning Inspectorate to uphold a decision to refuse planning permission for homes to be built on the site.

A far-right activist who took a noose to London’s Brexit protest on Sunday reportedly said Theresa May deserves to be hanged for betraying Britain.

Police officers in Stevenage were patrolling the town yesterday in a bid to warn shoppers about Christmas crime.

A driver has been taken to hospital after his car overturned on an embankment in Stevenage.