Local drug dealer Vashti Barbrook has been sentenced to 32 months in gaol following a raid on her home in November last year.

Barbrook was one of 12 people arrested in the dawn raids, which targeted properties on the Sele Farm Estate and North Road. She had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, during which prosecutors told how she had sold Class A drugs to undercover police on several occasions.

Four other people were also charged following the raids, including Carl Pickett of Lawrence Close, Christopher Mead of Tudor Way, Carly Edens of Hamsworth Court and Leon Jackson from New Southgate.

Manpower Services are relocating from their Castle Street base to offices in Parliament Square.

The office will open later in March and will recruit for all permanent and temporary jobs with Hertfordshire County Council.

The premises have been empty for some time after the County Council's adoption agency relocated.

Planning Officers have turned down an application for a coffee shop in Parliament Square.

Tony Morealle applied for planning permission to convert his wife's boutique Marmalade into a coffee shop.

Officers refused the application because the proposal would result in the loss of a retail unit and create an unacceptable concentration of non-shop uses within a secondary shopping frontage.

Women's clothes retailer M&Co will close it's Bircherley Green shop on 16th April.

The shop employs seven staff, who will lose their jobs if they cannot be deployed in other stores.

M&Co opened in February 2007 and the premises were formerly Methven's bookshop. It has previously been occupied by Eastern Electricity and a catalogue shop.

Bizet's opera Carmen opens this evening at Castle Hall.

Ware Operatic Society's production runs every night until Saturday, with a matinee on Saturday afternoon.

Standard ticket prices vary from £14 to £16, with concession from £10-12, available from Castle Hall box office on Box office 01992 531500.

The show starts at 7:30 every evening, with the Saturday matinee at 2:30pm.

Repeat offender Clifford Randle has been sent to gaol for 12 weeks after being convicted of assault and criminal damage.

Randle, of Horns Mill Road, has a string of convictions and is well known to police.

Following his arrest on Christmas Eve last year, Randle appeared at Hertford Magistrates Court last week to face charges related to an argument with his partner, which resulted in £262 worth of damage to a courtesy car. 

The court also heard that he had assaulted a neighbour two days earlier. He was also arrested in October for a public order offence after an incident in Tesco in Ware.

Randle pleaded guilty to a series of offences, including assault, criminal damage, theft, breaching his ASBO and a public order offence. He has previous convictions for criminal damage, theft and driving a vehicle without consent.

Yum Yum and Caffe Yum had a grand opening yesterday morning, with Hertbeat FM broadcasting from the town.

Laura Stylianou and her partner, Richard, have opened the twin businesses in the former premises of Wigginton's in Old Cross.

Yum Yum sells ice cream, smoothier, waffles and milkshakes, whilst Caffe Yum sells teas, coffee and cakes.

Hertford Museum re-opened yesterday morning after a major refurbishment

The National Lottery funded project took over a year and included a new extention, resource room, shop and reception area.

The museum's extensive collection of old photos are now available to view on a touch-screen kiosk. There is also an audio collection of reminiscences from the oral archive.

www.hertfordmuseum.org

Bridge repairs on Gascoyne Way are set to disrupt traffic for up to five months during the Spring and Summer.

The works will include bridge strengethening and improvements to the parapets and waterproofing.

The carriageways will be reduced to a single lane during off-peak hours and a contraflow system will operate on some weekends.

The work will start on Monday 15th March and is scheduled to finish in mid-August

Police are appealing for information after arsonists struck in an underground car park in Mead Lane.

The fire brigade attended the incident in the early hours of Friday morning at Elder Court, a development of new flats that are in the final stages of construction. Some units have already occupied.

It is believed that the offender(s) gained entry to the underground car park and deliberately set fire to some building materials which were stored in a parking bay, causing substantial damage.

PC Sarah Burkert, investigating, said: “Not only was the cost of the damage to the building materials in excess of £5000, but this was in a residential area and the fire could have spread and put people’s lives in danger.

“I would like to speak to anyone who believes they saw any suspiciously activity in the area that night. Please contact me as soon as possible via the non emergency number 0845 3300222 as soon as possible quoting crime reference number A1/10/496.”