THE SLEEPY village of Wheathampstead was rocked at the beginning of April by the gruesome discovery of a hand on Nomansland common.

The finding followed the discovery of a leg in Stevenage just days before. Wheathampstead district councillor Judy Shardlow spoke of resident's shock at the finding. She told the Review at the time: "It's a gruesome discovery. It's quite shocking. You don't expect bodies to turn up on Nomansland. It's also a desperately sad situation."

The Review continues to follow the investigation into the brutal murder of the victim, who we now know as Jeffrey Howe.

In the same month the Review reported that a row had erupted over the origins of the hot cross bun. St Albans Abbey launched a campaign to rename the hot cross bun the Alban Bun insisting the original recipe was created in the city by 14th century monk Father Thomas Rockliffe who distributed the bun to the homeless on Good Friday. But the bun's origins were disputed by historians insisting the its humble beginnings are centuries earlier, arguing St Albans clergy shuld not be taking credit for its invention, which documented evidence says date back to ancient Greece. But the Abbey bun bakers were quick to hit back at the claims, arguing the cakes sold in the cathedral's cafe bears a slightly different shape and cross to the average hot cross bun.

But the dispute over the sweet treat failed to deter more than 1,000 pilgrims who flocked to the cathedral to take part in an annual Easter ceremony.

Church goers young and old walked from parishes across the diocese to attend the special celebration. Elizabeth Sargent, who walked all the way from Watford, told the Review: "It's been a very tough walk to get here but it's so worthwhile.

"This is a great event - it's an opportunity for people from different churches to come together and have a chance to make new friends."

And while it is customary to feast on chocolate eggs and buns at Easter time, one Harpenden man ditched the traditional diet to travel the length and breadth of the country on a pie eating marathon.

Aswell as enjoying a football game at 89 of the 92 League stadiums in England, 22-year-old Tom Dickinson tried and tested all of the pies for sale. He said: "All of my money goes on petrol and football tickets. Some people travel the world after they leave university, but I'm doing Grimsby and Walsall."