Rat droppings, human urine and arsenic are among the substances found in fake beauty products which police say are putting consumers’ lives at risk.
Make-up, perfume, electrical hairstylers and sun cream are among the counterfeit goods being highlighted by the City of London Police in a campaign called “Wake up - don’t fake up!”.
In the UK it is estimated that at least £90 million is spent every year on fake goods, and with the rise of online shopping the production and sale of fake goods on the web is increasing.
Worst train on time, sort of
Britain’s least-punctual train service has arrived early – but only after changes were made to the timetable.
The Southern train company, the operator of the service – the 7.29am from Brighton to London Victoria – admitted that the days when all its trains ran well were “far and few between”.
Statistics show that the 7.29am Brighton train never once got into Victoria at its scheduled time of 8.35am throughout 2014. Today the train reached London two minutes early. But this was under a new summer timetable introduced by Southern which has extended the 7.29am journey time by three minutes so it arrives at Victoria at 8.38am. Southern said: “The 7.29am got into Victoria at 8.36am today which was two minutes early.”
Record year for strawberries
The British strawberry season has started, with growers predicting record sales as consumer demand soars.
Industry body British Summer Fruits has predicted that 76,000 tonnes of strawberries will be produced this year, the equivalent weight of 6,333 double-decker buses and a 19 per cent increase on last year’s record of 64,000 tonnes.
Producers are expecting strawberry sales worth £325 million this year, up from last year’s previous record of £275 million.
10lb bag of cannabis washed up
An Alabama man stumbled upon a 10lb package of marijuana that washed up on the beach.
Ron Smith was taking a morning walk near the Cotton Bayou Beach access in Orange Beach when he noticed what he thought was a seat cushion floating in the water. Upon closer inspection, he realised the package was actually a bag full of compressed marijuana.
Mr Smith called police, who picked up the package. Authorities say the bag weighed 10lb and was worth about 8,000 dollars (£5,087). Another package of marijuana, weighing more than 12lb, washed up along a beach in North Carolina on May 10. Atlantic Beach Police said Tropical Storm Ana probably washed the package ashore.
Shades of farce in US school
Part of the erotic film Fifty Shades Of Grey was shown in a West Virginia high school classroom after students convinced their teacher to let them watch it as a reward for good work.
The teacher apparently did not know what the film was about. Hampshire High principal Jeff Woofter said the film was shut down after 10 minutes when an assistant principal walked by and saw what they were watching.
Hampshire County school policy prohibits students from watching films of any kind in the classroom. It is unclear if the students or teacher will face disciplinary action.
Twitter shark has 44,000 fans
An organisation studying great white sharks is enjoying some welcome attention after one of the creatures they have been monitoring started gaining a loyal social media following. @MaryLeeShark is the fake Twitter handle for a very real, nearly 3,500-pound (1,590-kilogram) great white whose movements can be tracked online and in real time.
She has drawn more than 44,000 followers with her playful updates and witty replies as the real life shark cruises up and down the east coast of America.