A miniature Sherlock Holmes book written exclusively for Queen Mary’s dolls’ house is to be published for the first time in its original format.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned the story by hand in a tiny tome measuring 1.5in (3.8cm) by just over 1in (3cm).

It is a little-known tale written in 1922 in black ink over 24 pages, about how Dr Watson tries out his powers of deduction on Holmes – only to get things completely wrong.

How Watson Learned The Trick is one of more than 200 tiny books – produced by some of the most famous British authors of the early 20th century for the dolls’ house – on display at Windsor Castle.

War warrior finally honoured

A heroic First World War horse is to be awarded the “animals’ VC” in recognition of the gallantry of millions of animals that served during the conflict.

The honorary PDSA Dickin Medal is being presented posthumously to Warrior, dubbed “the horse the Germans could not kill”, at a special ceremony.

The award, presented in the centenary year of the First World War, is the first honorary PDSA Dickin Medal ever presented in the veterinary charity’s 97-year history as a recognition of the gallantry showed by all the animals that served on the front line during the conflict.

Hog-tied dog rescued in park

Police and RSPCA officers have rescued a dog which had suffered “horrible” abuse after being hog-tied in a park.

Officers found the boxer-cross pet – which they have called Spencer – abandoned in Sloughbottom Park in Norwich.

His legs were tied together and he had been tethered to a post, leaving him unable to stand or move. Spencer, believed to be about four years old, was relatively healthy but in pain from being tied up, police said.

Family pet causes house fire

A US family’s dog turned on a stove, which set fire to a laptop resting on top of the appliance and sent smoke through the roof of the property.

The fire was reported in Lacey Township, New Jersey, while the owners were away. Police said investigators believe the dog accidentally turned on the stove, though they did not specify how that happened.

Smoke was pouring from the roof when firefighters arrived, but the blaze was quickly extinguished. Firefighters rescued the dog, which emerged unscathed.

Bungling thief swallows ring

Two people were arrested on suspicion of theft after police said one of them swallowed a stolen ring in an attempt to hide it.

Bryan Ford, 29, had been examining a ring worth several thousand dollars at a Zales jewellery store in Orem, Utah, when he allegedly left with it, officers said. He was chased by an employee as he got into a car driven away by Christina Schlegel, 25.

Officers stopped the car and arrested both suspects a short time later. Police were baffled as to the ring’s whereabouts until an X-ray of Schlegel’s stomach was taken.

Health scam gang broken up

Austrian police have announced the break-up of an international gang dealing in phoney health products and say insufficient postage provided the major lead.

British, Hungarian and Austrian police were involved in the sweep that culminated in eight arrests, including the suspected head of the scam in Vienna, police said.

Searches netted 130,000 euro (£103,000) in cash and about one million fake pills, worth about 10 million euro (£7.9 million).

Detectives told reporters that investigations gathered steam in 2012 after a package was sent back from Austria to Spain due to insufficient postage, and the drug store falsely listed as the sender sent it to the police.