A six-metre-high Christmas tree has mysteriously appeared in the centre of a village – complete with lights.

Residents of Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, were dismayed by Kirklees Council’s decision not to provide a tree. Other villages in the area – in the heart of Last Of The Summer Wine country and where the popular ITV drama Where The Heart Is was filmed – have been given a large, decorated conifer.

All Slaithwaite got was some lights on a regular tree, close to the church and a pub. But a generous – and as yet anonymous – benefactor appears to have supplied the Christmas tree. One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “Father Christmas must have been passing over and saw that we had no tree.” (PA)

Dinosaur ‘had cock’s comb’

Duck-billed dinosaurs may have been the roosters of their day, a startling new discovery has suggested.

At least one species of the giant plant-eaters had a head crowned by a fleshy cock’s comb.

Scientists identified it in a rare mummified fossil of one of the dinosaurs which preserved impressions of soft tissues.

“Until now, there has been no evidence for bizarre soft-tissue display structures among dinosaurs; these findings dramatically alter our perception of the appearance and behaviour of this well-known dinosaur and allow us to comment on the evolution of head crests in this group,” said lead researcher Dr Phil Bell from the University of New England in Australia. (PA)

Schoolboy rapped for kissing

The mother of a girl involved in the case of a six-year-old Colorado boy who was suspended for giving a classmate unwanted kisses has said the school did the right thing.

Jade Masters-Ownbey told the Canon City Daily Record that the school district did a “great job” protecting her daughter from repeated harassment from the boy. First-grader Hunter Yelton was given a two-day suspension, with a sexual harassment offence on his discipline record. The boy’s mother said the “sexual harassment” mark was too harsh.

But Ms Masters-Ownbey says the kissing was “not once, but over and over”. School officials insist the boy was repeatedly warned and that the punishment was warranted. No criminal charges have been brought against the boy. (PA)

‘Tasty’ talent show finalists

Never mind the X Factor, here’s the Xmas fodder... artist Nathan Wyburn has given a taster of the talent show’s climax by creating portraits of the finalists from food.

He is said to have spent more than 30 hours working on the faces using two kilograms of turkey, 144 slices of ham, 89 sprouts, 168 carrot batons, five large Christmas puddings and a selection of mince pies.

Hopefuls Sam Bailey, Luke Friend and Nicholas McDonald will battle it out to win the contest – the final serving of the show after months of auditions and competition. Wyburn said working on the images “brought some festive cheer” to his studio. (PA)

Beer protest at the Capitol

A Florida atheist has staged an unusual protest against a nativity scene by putting up a Festivus pole made of beer cans at the state Capitol.

Festivus, which first featured in an episode of the US TV show Seinfeld, is an invented secular holiday celebrated on December 23 to protest at the commercialism of Christmas. Chaz Stevens admits the pole is ridiculous, but he opposes religious displays in goverment buildings. And if a nativity scene is allowed, he says a Festivus pole should be as well. Pam Olsen, who organised the nativity display, told Mr Stevens she welcomed his decision to exercise his right to free speech, but a plain aluminium pole as used in the TV show would have been more appropriate. (PA)