World Briefs

A Rolls-Royce custom built for a tiger-hunting Indian maharaja is expected to sell for more than £600,000 at auction next month.

The 1925 New Phantom was fitted with a safe, a mounted double-barrelled shotgun, searchlights and a machine gun on a trailer.

The car was made for Umed Singh II, Maharaja of Kota, by craftsmen in Derby and London.

It was fitted with a six-cylinder engine which allowed it to be driven through the jungles of Rajasthan.

It is expected to sell for around $1,000,000 (£619.000) when it is auctioned by Bonhams during a two-day sale in Carmel, California, on August 18 and 19. (PA)

‘Corpse’ wakes up

A 50-year-old South African man, thought to be dead, woke up in a chilly morgue and shouted to be let out, scaring off two attendants who thought he was a ghost.

“His family thought he had died,” health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo told the Sapa news agency.

“The family called a private undertaker who took what they thought was a dead body to the morgue, but the man woke up inside the morgue on Sunday and screamed, demanding to be taken out of the cold place.”

This caused two mortuary attendants on duty to flee the building in Libode, in the rural Eastern Cape as they thought it was a ghost. After calling for help and returning to find the man alive, an ambulance was sent to fetch the man who had “been exposed to extreme cold for nearly 24 hours” said Mr Kupelo. (AFP)

Broken bottles

An unsteady forklift dropped a container full of fine Australian wine worth more than £670,000, smashing most of the bottles. The winemaker says he’s “gut-wrenched, shocked and numb” after the loss of his flagship shiraz.

Sparky Marquis of Mollydooker Wines lost a third of his Velvet Glove Shiraz production after the accident destroyed all but one of the 462 cases bound for the United States.

Mr Marquis said that when workers opened up the dropped container, “it was like a murder scene. There was red everywhere.” (PA)

Early or late?

The majority of parents believe children should start learning about sex and relationships when they are eight years old, a survey suggests.

Almost half (49.2 per cent) said lessons on the topic should begin between the ages of eight and 12, while a further three in 10 (30.5 per cent) said they should start when pupils are aged 12 to 15.

But one in seven parents (13.9 per cent) said that youngsters should begin learning about sex and relationships between the ages of five and eight, while 4.1 per cent said that under-fives should be given classes. (PA)

Cuckoo burden

It is one of nature’s cruellest tricks... a tiny bird struggles to feed a large cuckoo chick believing it is her own.

This image of a reed warbler feeding a baby cuckoo was taken at Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire,UK.

Cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, fooling them into believing the chick is one of their young. The baby cuckoo, which has a seemingly insatiable appetite, hatches first and then quickly disposes of any competition by kicking any other eggs out of the nest.

Cuckoos are on the decline in the UK so when two pairs of parents arrived at Slimbridge earlier this year, staff were hopeful that they would produce some young.

James Lees, the reserve warden who took the photos, said: “I felt very excited when I saw it as I had never seen a baby cuckoo and it was amazing to see the two parents flying around desperately trying to provide it with enough food. (PA)

Road name honour

The original drummer in The Beatles has said he is “very humbled” that a street in his hometown is to be named after him .

Pete Best’s contribution to Liverpool’s musical heritage will be recognised with the creation of Pete Best Drive. It follows a campaign from the musician’s fans, friends and family which has gained the support of more than 10,000 people on Facebook.

Bellway Homes’ new Bellefield housing development in West Derby was chosen as the best location as Mr Best comes from the area and the Casbah Club – where he and The Beatles began their careers – was less than half a mile away. The Casbah Club, which was started by Mr Best’s mother, Mona Best, in 1959, will also have Casbah Close named after it. (PA)