The rescue of a dog that had impaled her paw on metal railings, TV stars filming in Kings Langley, plans to turn a police station into flats and a MasterChef winner from Watford were among the stories making our headlines five and ten years ago this week.

TEN YEARS AGO

Labrador impales paw on metal railings

A chocolate-coloured Labrador was dramatically rescued by firefighters after it impaled a paw on metal railings.

Watford firefighters had to remove Betty, of High Road, Leavesden, from her owners’ gates after she had jumped up on them.

Watford Observer:

Labrador impales paw on metal railings. Picture: @redsfirewatford

Firefighter Mark Payne said: "We were called to Leavesden at about 7.20am. From what we understand, Betty likes to run up to the gates to say goodbye to her owners only this time she jumped up and impaled one of her paws on a spike.

"She was in a lot of pain but her owner managed to calm her, relieve the strain on her right paw and call us to rescue her."

Watford Observer:

TV stars film new drama in village

TV stars Martin Clunes and Hermione Norris were in Kings Langley to film scenes from a new ITV drama.

The first day of filming for A Mother’s Son, a two-part series also starring Paul McGann of Luther and Alexander Arnold of Skins, took place inside Dalling & Co, The Rose and Crown pub and The Village florist, all on High Street.

The show is set around the murder of a teenage schoolgirl in the Suffolk countryside. As well as the big name actors, eagle-eyed viewers may be able to spot cameo appearances by a couple of familiar faces in the show.

Jeff Folkins and Claire Carpentier, of Dalling and Co, were both used as extras for a scene which was shot in the delicatessen the husband and wife own.

Watford Observer:

Julian Shah: "You're either a doer or you’re not."

Chorleywood surgeon honoured for bravery after earthquake rescue

A father of seven from Chorleywood has been given a medal for bravery, in recognition of the part he played in the miraculous and daring rescue of a woman trapped by an earthquake in New Zealand.

Julian Shah was speaking at a conference of the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand when the disaster struck in February 2011.

The earthquake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, killed 185 people and injured many more.

Mr Shah, a consultant urologist, works at King Edward VII’s Hospital in London, and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore.

Five years ago

Watford Observer:

'It was a very hard period in my life': Watford's MasterChef winner on juggling her time and Twitter trolls

Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed, winner of MasterChef 2017 “The negativity just paled in comparison.”

Fans of Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed will be glad to hear her say this after her victory in the finals of MasterChef 2017 was followed by reports of online abuse.

Despite some criticism on Twitter, including one user branding her “curry girl”, when we discussed her win, the junior doctor at Watford General Hospital explained: “The love and support, especially from the NHS and hospital, it’s absolutely fantastic.

“Food can obviously divide opinion. I respect that people have other opinions but I have been overwhelmed by positivity.

"When I won my inbox and my Facebook was flooded with hundreds and hundreds of messages, with so much positivity so you lose sight of the negative comments that are out there."

Watford Observer:

Watford Police Station in Shady Lane

Police station in Watford could close to make way for flats

The police station in Watford could be closed to make way for flats.

A pre-application, seen exclusively by the Watford Observer, suggests building 55 flats where the magistrates court and police station currently are in Shady Lane.

Hertfordshire Constabulary has always said it would keep a police office in the town, despite closing the custody cells in 2015.

The closure means hundreds of people arrested in south west Hertfordshire are now being driven to Hatfield – which can take up to two hours.

Watford Observer:

Walter Mazzarri will leave Watford at the end of the season. Picture: Action Images

Mazzarri to leave Watford

Walter Mazzarri will leave Watford after a disappointing first season with the Hornets, the club has confirmed.

The Italian joined the Hornets in June, having previously coached Inter Milan and Napoli, in his first venture outside of his native Italy.

But after a bright first half to the season, poor results and an increasingly fractious relationship with both the Vicarage Road fanbase and, reportedly, his own players saw him under mounting pressure in recent weeks.

A five-game losing streak sealed Mazzarri's fate, culminating in a 4-3 defeat at Chelsea, after club sources stated he was likely to remain in charge next season as recently as last month.