There was not a spare seat in the house at Radlett Synagogue on Shabbat morning for the first service in its long-awaited refurbished shul.

Congregants remarked on its increased comfort and improved acoustics, and chairman Alex Pomerance thanked the project's prime movers for providing such "a stunning place for us to pray and be inspired".

Although building work on Radlett's £2.4 million Project Renewal began in late 2013, discussions on expanding the buildings to meet the needs of a growing congregation date back as far as 2001.

The first stage was a new communal hall and other facilities on land adjoining the synagogue.

For the past 18 months, worshippers have been accommodated in the hall while work continued on the synagogue itself.

Mr Pomerance said that when the fledgling community purchased the old village hall in 1995, "I never envisaged we would end up with such a beautiful shul - one that we can be so proud of and will sustain us for many years to come".