A death-defying fox clambered up Britain’s tallest skyscraper and lived the high life on the 72nd floor of the tower in central London for nearly two weeks, officials revealed yesterday.
The intrepid animal climbed to the top of the Shard, which is more than 288 metres high and still under construction, where it enjoyed panoramic views over the British capital and lived off builders’ scraps.
It managed to outfox its captors for almost a fortnight until February 17 when it was finally put into a cage and brought down from the tower, which will be the tallest skyscraper in Europe when it is complete.
It is believed the fox climbed up the building’s central stairwell. (AFP)
Pen out
Putting pen to paper in exams should be scrapped in favour of using computers, according to the qualifications watchdog.
Isabel Nisbet, outgoing chief executive of Ofqual, said retaining traditional writing materials would render GCSEs and A-levels “invalid” as “techno savvy” pupils were not used to using them.
She has now called for the traditional method of testing to be brought to an end, insisting the reliance on hand-written papers “cannot go on”. (PA)
Wage windfall
An engineer has repaid £2 million mistakenly paid to him by his employer.
The employee opened his pay slip to find bosses had given him the sum reported to be 1,000 times his normal salary of £2,000.
Bosses at Alcoa Howmet, in Exeter, Devon, admitted they paid a worker a “significant” sum following an error. (PA)
Drink-drive SOS
A New York woman has been charged with drunk driving after police said her nine-year-old daughter wrote a note pleading for help from passing motorists.
Police in North Tonawanda said 38-year-old Bonnie Will was intoxicated while driving her daughter and two other children, aged eight and 12, when she suddenly stopped her car on a busy road.
Her daughter wrote the words “please help us” on a piece of paper and held it up a car window. A motorist stopped, saw the note and called police. (PA)
Pot superstore
It’s being called the Walmart of weed: a 10,000-square-foot gardening emporium is opening with experts and merchandise to help medical marijuana patients grow pot.
The cavernous weGrow hydroponics (growing plants without soil) store in Sacramento, California, is the first national franchise for a company that bills itself as a supply and training destination for legal pot growers.
Pot is not sold or grown at the store. Pot cultivation is illegal under federal law but hydroponics stores have exploded as US states approve medical marijuana use. (PA)
Wheely sorry
Seattle’s bicycling mayor has had some explaining to do - to his wife about why her bike got stolen after he borrowed it to ride to work.
Seattlepi.com said mayor Mike McGinn sent a message on Twitter about Peggy Lynch’s wheels. He said in a tweet: “I know I’ve been encouraging people to ride bikes more, but I didn’t mean u could ‘borrow’ my wife’s bike w/o asking.”Mr McGinn frequently commutes by bike and often rides to events and meetings. (PA)
Mistaken deposit
A woman who allegedly fled New Zealand with her Chinese partner after a bank mistakenly deposited millions of dollars into his account was arrested yesterday.
Kara Hurring and Hui (Leo) Gao left for China shortly after Westpac bank accidentally placed NZ$10 million (US$7.5 million) into Mr Gao’s account in April 2009. Mr Gao had requested a NZ$100,000 dollar overdraft.
The error was discovered within days but by then some NZ$6.78 million had allegedly been transferred into other accounts and the pair had left the country.
Police met and arrested 31-year-old Hurring at Auckland airport early yesterday after she voluntarily returned to New Zealand.
Police said about half the money had been recovered and Ms Hurring would face theft and money laundering charges. (AFP)
Toilet burglar
A New York burglar not only went to the toilet – he took it with him.
The man broke into a Brooklyn apartment and, ignoring the more typical loot, seized the porcelain throne and staggered off down the block, the Brooklyn Paper has reported.
Flush with the success of his crime, the burglar returned to the scene and told his victim, a lawyer: “I’m going to slit your throat” .
A 53-year-old suspect was arrested the next day. (AFP)
Naked plea
Matt Baker has been flooded with requests that he pose naked with Gok Wan.
The One Show presenter interviewed the style guru on the show and, asked whether he would ever be photographed naked, Mr Wan said he would only do it if he could pose with Mr Matt.
“There has been a very large amount of requests for that to happen which is the worrying thing, although I can say now that it will not happen,” Mr Baker said. (PA)
Galliano suspended
Fashion house Christian Dior has suspended British designer John Galliano after he was arrested in Paris on suspicion of assault and anti-Semitism.
The 50-year-old was held after he allegedly launched an attack on a couple sitting on a cafe terrace following a late-night drinking session in the upmarket Marais district.
Mr Galliano, who has been Mr Dior’s creative director for 14 years, will temporarily relinquish his role “pending an investigation by the police”, the company said. (PA)