World Briefs

Movie legend Sir Christopher Lee was knighted by the Prince of Wales yesterday and hailed the Hammer horror movies that made his name.

The prolific actor famed for his spine-chilling roles as Count Dracula and other dark characters said he would always be grateful to the studio that made his name.

Mr Lee, who was knighted by Prince Charles at a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, has appeared in more than 250 films and television productions and was honoured for services to drama and to charity.

The 87-year-old movie star was dressed in a morning suit for the event and walked with the aid of a stick after receiving treatment for a back injury he sustained during a fall. (PA)

Hedgehog guard

Security guards armed with torches and chicken wire are keeping 24-hour watch to stop hedgehogs hiding in a bonfire at one of the country's largest fireworks displays.

The tactic at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire, is part of a campaign to raise awareness of the danger bonfires pose to hedgehogs.

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) has teamed up with cleaning company Spontex, whose mascot is Ernie Hedgehog, to promote the campaign. (PA)

President's image on new ID

Putting a picture of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos on new national identification cards is "outrageous" and contrary to the principles of democracy, according to a human rights group.

The ID cards being distributed carry the usual information about the holder on one side while on the back there is an image of dos Santos and of Angola's first President, Agostinho Neto.

The government said the presidential images were simply meant to protect the cardholder from fraud.

But for Antonio Ventura, director of the Luanda-based Association for Justice, Peace and Democracy, the image of a president who has been in power for 30 years and is expected to run in future presidential elections is unwelcome and offensive. (Reuters)

Nude complaints

Owners of a naturist bed and breakfast, which has been the subject of complaints from neighbours, have said they did not want to cause any upset.

Mike Howard and Margaret Pate opened their two-person log cabin at Domain Farm near Cellarhead, north Staffordshire, in July.

Neighbours spoke to the BBC earlier this week to appeal for the couple to put up screens to keep their naked guests from public view. Jackie Beech, who owns land surrounding the premises, said she had seen naked people a few times while farming cattle. (PA)

Cat celebrates

A black moggie is celebrating after landing the job of Witch's Cat to a leading tourist resort.

Tiny, from Edgware, in London beat over 1,000 candidates to become the assistant to the Witch of Wookey Hole Caves, in Somerset.

The feline was selected for his mousing ability, "cauldron black" fur, "moonshine yellow" eyes and pitch-perfect meow. (PA)

Breaking and eating

A man in Texas has been arrested after breaking into an elderly woman's house and demanding she made him a sandwich.

Mitchel Wayne Stewart, 39, ordered the 77-year-old woman to make him a sandwich before he fled with her mobile phone, police said.

Detectives believe Stewart may be responsible for a similar crime that occurred in August. (PA)

Burundians return home

The final group of Burundians who fled ethnic violence that left 200,000 dead nearly 40 years ago is returning home, marking an end to one of the most prolonged refugee problems, the UNHCR said yesterday.

"Today we reach an important milestone in ending one of the longest-running refugee sagas in the world with the return to their homeland of 400 Burundians who fled to Tanzania in 1972," said Andrej Mahecic, spokesman of the UN refugee agency.

"They are to travel by rail from the same train station where they arrived 37 years ago when they fled the eruption of ethnic violence which claimed the lives of an estimated 200,000 Burundian civilians," he added.

Around 53,500 other Burundians who fled during the 1972 crisis have also returned home from Tanzania since March 2008. (AFP)

Cut for cutlery

The cause of Margaret Daalmans's stomach pains were discovered to be the 78 items of cutlery she had swallowed.

Doctors in Rotterdam, Holland, were astonished when they examined an X-ray which showed dozens of forks and spoons trapped inside the 52-year-old patient.

The secretary told doctors: "I don't know why but I felt an urge to eat the silverware - I could not help myself." (PA)