World Briefs

US police say a homeless man tried to leave town in a stolen plane but crashed the single-engine aircraft on an airport runway before he even left the ground.

Police in Maryland say police dogs found the 51-year-old in woods near the air-strip after an airport worker reported the crash.

They said the man was familiar with aeroplanes but not proficient in their operation. (PA)

Flat-pack undies

Women have long turned to cleverly engineered underwear to improve their figures - but men feeling the effects of Christmas over-indulgence will also be able to disguise their expanding stomachs with the launch of a new Marks & Spencer range.

The retailer said the Bodymax items will help men hide their bulges and show off a slimmer silhouette.

Its first range of shapewear for males is designed to flatten and shape the torso using shaped seams and a hidden support panel. (PA)

Crazy cat call

A woman called 999 to say her cat was "doing her head in" because it was playing with string, a police force said.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) released audio footage of the call to remind people that the 999 service should not be abused.

Between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, GMP said it received 1,377 999 calls, but only a fraction were genuine emergencies. (PA)

Oh deer

A homeowner opened his curtains on Christmas Eve morning to find a stag in his back garden. Retired prison officer Peter Bingham, 81, from Hollesley, Suffolk, said he was extremely surprised to find the four-foot creature in his snowy back yard at 7.30 a.m.

Mr Bingham managed to quickly take a picture of the animal, which was nibbling nuts from his bird table, before it casually walked away. (PA)

Facebook taunts

A prisoner on the run from an open jail has taunted police over the festive period by posting Christmas messages on a social networking site.

Craig Lynch, 28, who absconded from Hollesley Bay Prison, near Woodbridge in Suffolk, in September, is giving detectives details of his life on Facebook.

On Christmas Day, the fugitive posted a note saying: "Wow it really is xmas ha ha i cant believe i made it..." (PA)

Hoofing it

A living nativity scene near the Colorado ski resort of Vail almost had to go without two crucial actors when two donkeys escaped.

Two borrowed donkeys were being held in a fenced-in pen for the event but pushed their way out.

Police followed footprints in the snow and eventually caught up with them. (PA)

Fresh start

Scores of New Yorkers and tourists seeking a fresh start visited Times Square to put their bad memories through the shredder at the third annual Good Riddance Day.

Participants threw their bad memories into an industrial-sized shredder. A skip and a sledgehammer were available for items that could not be shredded, which included an old computer and a tin of fattening office snacks. (PA)

Doh! Dog eats Homer

A puppy that fell off a cliff, two shot cats and a dog which ate Homer Simpson feature in a list of the most memorable cases handled in the last year by a veterinary charity.

The PDSA said veterinary staff had compiled a "top of the ops" list of 10 cases as the charity marked a record of more than 100,000 pet operations this year.

The charity said it had launched a £600,000 emergency appeal this Christmas to help it provide vital care for the record-breaking numbers of pets it is seeing. (PA)

Early learning

A mother called police after she discovered her six-year-old daughter had shoplifted a pack of stickers.

Diane Lyons from Carrollton in Ohio said she wanted to teach the girl a lesson early in life.

Officers took the girl to the police station in a patrol car, where she was released back to her mother. (PA)

Tooth puzzle

The origins of a human tooth discovered in a cabinet in an attic has puzzled staff at a National Trust stately home.

The tooth, which still had some flesh attached to it, was found as part of a routine winter cleaning operation in Blickling Hall near Norwich, Norfolk. Workers are now trying to discover who the owner was and why it was stored in the attic of the Jacobean house. (PA)

Toy story

A toy store opened in the early hours of Christmas morning to help a mum whose presents for her children had been stolen.

The store in Turin, Italy, opened at 4 a.m. after the presents were stolen from the basement of the woman's apartment block.

Police contacted the owner of the store after finding the woman frantically searching all-night petrol stations looking for replacement gifts. (PA)