A baby girl delivered in a broken-down lift in the West Midlands has been named Ella – after the elevator she was born in.

Mother Melissa Cavanagh called paramedics to her home, on the ninth floor of a block of flats, after she started having contractions. The paramedics ruled out using the numerous stairs to get the expectant mother to hospital, so Ms Cavanagh, 23, boyfriend Paul Yeomans, 25, and the three medics all got into the lift, only for it to grind to a halt.

After being stuck for 20 minutes in cramped, hot conditions, it became obvious the baby was not going to wait for a rescue. During the delivery the paramedics could hear firemen trying to get to them and when the firefighters managed to prise open the doors, after about 45 minutes, they took Melissa, Paul and their new bouncing baby girl to hospital. (AP)

Giant snake breaks into shop

Australian police investigating a suspected break-in at a charity shop discovered the culprit was a 5.7metre python.

Queensland State Police Sergeant Don Auld said officers called to the store in the town of Ingham found a damaged roof, broken goods and a pool of vomit-like liquid on the floor.

Police initially thought a thief had fallen through the ceiling and then thrown up – until members of staff spotted the giant snake the following day. Sgt Auld said the snake probably entered the shop through the roof, fell through the ceiling and then relieved itself on the floor. Its head is the size of a small dog.

Police called a snake catcher, who hauled the reptile away. It has been relocated to nearby wetlands. (AP)

Atheists get their monument

A monument to atheism now sits near a granite slab that lists the Ten Commandments outside a courthouse in a conservative north Florida town.

The New Jersey-based group American Atheists unveiled the 1,500-pound granite bench on Saturday in the town of Starke as a counter to the religious monument in what’s called a free speech zone. Group leaders say they believe it’s the first such atheist monument on government property.

About 200 people attended the event. The atheists sued to try to have the Ten Commandments removed but dropped the case when they were told they could have a similar monument. (PA)

Historic Fangio’s car on auction

A historic racing car which is believed to be one of the most valuable in the world is up for auction.

The Mercedes-Benz W196 in which five-times Formula 1 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio won his second title in 1954, will be auctioned off at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Chichester, tomorrow.

The 2.5 litre straight-eight single-seater won the 1954 German and Swiss Grands Prix in Fangio’s hands, the first successive victories achieved by the factory Mercedes-Benz team in its post-war racing come-back. The car has attracted inquiries from buyers on three continents. As well as becoming the first open-wheeled slipper-bodied post-war Mercedes to win an F1 Grand Prix, the car’s design marked the introduction to the sport of a number of pioneering technologies. (AP)

Grandparents and social class

A child’s eventual position in Britain’s social class system is directly affected by their grandparents’ class, according to new research.

Academics from the universities of Oxford and Durham found that the odds of children landing professional or managerial roles are at least two and a half times higher if their grandparents were themselves professionals or managers.

After looking at surveys of over 17,000 Britons born in 1946, 1958 and 1970, researchers discovered that the link between the class of grandparents and grandchildren could be observed in families both going up and down the social ladder. (AP)