Pope Francis claims that he has not watched TV since 1990 after making a promise to the Virgin Mary.

The Pope said that he did not even watch the matches of his football team San Lorenzo de Almagro back in Buenos Aires, but got a Swiss Guard to update him regularly on match results and league table positions, the Daily Mail reports.

In an interview with an Argentinian newspaper, he said there was no particular reason for his vow – he simply decided: “It’s not for me.” He told La Voz del Pueblo: “I have not watched TV since 1990. It’s a promise that I made the Virgin of Carmen on the night of July15 1990.”

Bungling thief had name on shirt

A shoplifter was caught stealing from a Tesco supermarket after CCTV footage revealed he was wearing his name on the back of his shirt.

Paul Robert Benson was caught on security cameras helping himself to £104.54 of Tesco produce from a store in Belfast last September.

But his planned getaway backfired spectacularly when staff and police apprehended him after reviewing video footage which showed him wearing a red Manchester United football shirt with “Benson 22” emblazoned on his back. The stolen items were recovered in a car park after Benson abandoned them on seeing Tesco staff who had spotted him, the Lurgan Mail reported.

7th century painstaking puzzle

Work to piece together thousands of metal fragments from the Staffordshire Hoard has uncovered two more examples of 7th century “warrior splendour”.

Researchers say the internationally important silver helmet and a previously unseen form of sword pommel were probably made in workshops set up by some of England’s earliest kings.

Both items from the hoard, found in a field near Lichfield in 2009, have been put on display at Birmingham’s Museum and Art Gallery. Historic England has so far allocated £400,000 to help conserve the hoard, including work to clean the silver, gold and garnet objects and fragments.

Ladybirds let loose at US school

Police have charged seven suspects over a prank that released 72,000 ladybirds in a high school.

Five people wearing masks and hoodies forced open a door at Chopticon High School in Morganza, Maryland, US, and released a swarm of ladybirds throughout the school while two others waited in a car, St Mary’s County’s Sheriff’s Office said.

One suspect ordered the ladybirds online, deputies said. Four juveniles have been charged with burglary, property destruction and disruption of school activities. They were released to their parents. Deputies said three adults will be charged by criminal summons.

Final journey for taxi driver

Puerto Rican taxi driver Victor Perez Cardona’s final fare was highly unusual: a wreath of flowers for his own funeral.

Honouring his final request, the body of the 73-year-old, who died of cancer, was propped in the seat of his taxi cab, hands locked on the wheel, as if to drive himself to his funeral. A wreath of flowers was in the back seat of the vehicle parked at the funeral home.

Friends and colleagues mourned the man who had driven a taxi for the last 15 years of his life. “This is a funeral of the people. People have come from all over the island. Some climbed in the taxi with him,” said his daughter Generosa Perez Torres.

Since 2008, Puerto Rico has developed a tradition of odd wakes, including a young man mourned seated on his motorcycle, a boxer standing in the ring and an 80-year-old woman sitting in her favourite rocking chair and wearing her old wedding gown.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.