HOSPITALS plunged into crisis as new figures showed they had an appalling patient safety record. The MRSA rate was the 18th worst in England, errors in medication were twice the national average and there were a high number of patient safety incidents. Ea

HOSPITALS plunged into crisis as new figures showed they had an appalling patient safety record. The MRSA rate was the 18th worst in England, errors in medication were twice the national average and there were a high number of patient safety incidents. East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which includes Lister Hospital, received the damning report from an independent safety agency.

* A Stevenage schoolgirl who had endured months of bullying finally snapped and stabbed one of her tormentors during a fight in her school common room. The 14-year-old caused a superficial cut in the girl's side after her rival, angry that she was seeing her ex-boyfriend, punched her to the ground.

* The doors of the Edward the Confessor pub, also known as Ted the Grass, closed for the final time. The historic pub in Stevenage town centre had been serving the town's residents and visitors for almost 50 years. Police officers had been called out to 16 incidents at the pub since Christmas ranging from assaults to criminal damage.