A missing boa constrictor that sparked a police hunt has been found – at its owner’s home.
The 7.5ft female snake, named Diva, went missing on Wednesday from its owner’s home in Broom Crescent, Ipswich, Suffolk.
Police had warned parents to keep their children indoors, saying the snake had not been fed for three weeks.
But the snake was found yesterday in the afternoon safe and well at its owner’s address. (PA)
Jellyfish go nuclear
A nuclear power station in eastern Scotland had to shut down its reactors after “high volumes” of jellyfish were found on its seawater filter screens, the operating company said yesterday.
“Both units at Torness power station were manually shut down on 28 June, due to the high volumes of jelly fish fouling the cooling water screens,” said a statement from EDF Energy, which runs the power station near Dunbar.
It explained that the shutdown was purely a precautionary measure and insisted that “at no time was there a danger to the public”.
Work was underway to clear the jellyfish from the waters near the power station, and staff were also monitoring the area for more jellyfish.
“The reactors will be restarted once the jellyfish situation subsides,” the energy company said. (AFP)
Drunk’s air stunt
A drunk New Zealand airline passenger who relieved himself in an airplane aisle, splashing other passengers, was let off with a warning about his behaviour.
The man was travelling on a Jetstar flight from Auckland to Singapore when he urinated in the aisle.
A passenger said he heard the sound of running water and other passengers remonstrating with the man before seeing the offender answering a call of nature “waving back and forth”.
The man and a companion were “catatonic” after drinking whisky before take-off.
The drunkard soaked a male passenger’s leg and a woman’s scarf then “slowly became aware that he was being uncouth. He pulled up... and wobbled back to the other end of the plane.” (AFP)
Seaside sale
One of Britain’s most famous seaside attractions, Brighton Pier, has been put up for sale, its owner has disclosed.
The Grade II-listed landmark has been placed on the market for the first time in more than 25 years.
Its owner, Noble Group, has not revealed a guide price, but the company handling its sale, GVA Humberts Leisure, said “strong interest” has been generated. Noble has owned the 112-year-old pier, which is also known as the Palace Pier, since 1984. (PA)
Largest portion
Fish and chips-loving Britain celebrated its devotion to the national dish on Wednesday by cooking the world’s biggest-ever portion of chips.
The Fish and Chip Shop at the Adventure Island fun park in Southend-on-Sea, east of London, cooked up 448 kilos of chips, piled up inside a giant box.
Five staff took four hours and 20 minutes to cut the potatoes, deep fry the chips and box them up, battering the Guinness World Record of 368.5 kilos set in 2004.
The box had to be a super-sized version of the regular chip boxes to meet food hygiene standards.
Organisers have put together an evidence pack to send to Guinness and get their new record confirmed. (AFP)
Muggers caned
Two muggers have been tracked down and arrested after an 89-year-old woman dented their getaway car with her cane.
Police in New Castle, Pennsylvania, US, said the woman and her 82-year-old friend were accosted outside a pizza shop by 27-year-old Jerry Brown Jr who grabbed the younger woman’s handbag.
Officers found the car, and, based on the description of the robber – and dents matching the cane – arrested Mr Brown and 21-year-old Tatiana Vargas. The pair are being held on robbery charges. (PA)
Practical test
A US cardiologist and a team of nurses saved the life of a heart attack victim - but it was not in an emergency room.
Dr William Phillips was giving a lecture on heart disease at the Central Maine Medical Centre in Lewiston when he was interrupted by a man complaining of chest pain.
The doctor asked a nurse to take the patient to the emergency room, but he collapsed and stopped breathing with no pulse. A defibrillator was used to help restart his heart and the man was later said to be doing fine. (PA)
Belated pardon
The governor of US state Rhode Island is set to pardon the last man executed there – an Irish immigrant who was hanged more than 150 years ago following what is believed to have been a tainted trial.
John Gordon was convicted of killing Amasa Sprague, the brother of a US senator. He was hanged in 1845.
Law professors and historians now say the evidence against Mr Gordon was circumstantial and his trial was tainted by widespread bigotry against Irish Catholics.
Rhode Island’s General Assembly passed legislation urging Governor Lincoln Chafee to pardon Mr Gordon. (AP)