A university student union banned sombreros from a freshers’ fair because they could be deemed “discriminatory”.

The University of East Anglia union had organised the fair on the Norwich campus last week to welcome new students to the city.

Among those setting up stall was the local Tex-Mex restaurant Pedro’s. But a plan to give the free Mexican hats to students was short-lived after the business was told the idea did not meet the union’s advertising policy on “equal opportunities”.

Disgruntled passengers halt train

Police are investigating after up to 200 disgruntled passengers halted a train then disembarked and walked down the railway track.

The incident happened in the Redland area of Bristol shortly after the service left Clifton Down railway station at 3.30pm on August 26.

Passengers had previously been informed that the train would not be stopping at the next station, Redland, as it was too busy. A group of rail users halted the train by pulling on the emergency cord, then got off and began to walk back towards the station.

Two parrots stolen from house

Snoop Dogg and Missy are being hunted by police, after the pair of African grey parrots were stolen from their owner’s home.

The birds, who were taken from the property in Middlesbrough, have a number of favourite phrases, such as “giz a tickle”, “give us a big fat kiss” and “hello fat girl”.

They also like to sing along to The Match of the Day theme tune and Laurel and Hardy.

Experts called in to find Nazi train

The Polish military has deployed chemical, radiation and explosives experts to a site where a Nazi train allegedly missing since the Second World War could be located.

Tomasz Smolarz, the governor of Lower Silesia, said the aim of the work in the town of Walbrzych is to rule out any danger for residents. He said the experts will continue their technical checks until Saturday.

The military’s efforts come after two explorers claimed to have found a Nazi train trapped in a tunnel that they say could contain both armaments and precious minerals. The explorers’ claim awaits confirmation, but it has sparked hopes it could be a Nazi train containing treasure that local legend says went missing at the end of the war. The train was reportedly booby-trapped with weapons.

Lost emu goes home in a Prius

An emu famous for running wild through New Hampshire for more than a week has been reunited with its owner and returned home safely to Vermont in the back of a Toyota Prius.

Kermit Blackwood thought it was a long shot that the emu loose in New Hampshire was his bird, Beatrice. It was not until he travelled around 80 miles to the Henniker-based non-profit organisation Wings of the Dawn that he knew for sure. Maria Colby, manager of the wildlife rehabilitation centre, said she knew the emu was Mr Blackwood’s as soon as they were reintroduced.

Mr Blackwood and a farm worker struggled to put Beatrice into the boot of their Prius, with the back seats folded down for extra space. The 90-minute ride back to the Taft Hill Farm went smoothly, after they removed a sock from the emu’s head, Mr Blackwood said.

It’s raining drugs on the border

Maya Donnelly awoke to what sounded like thunder in the early hours of the morning, but dismissed it as a typical monsoon storm and went back to sleep.

Later that morning, she looked on the driveway at her home in Nogales, near the US-Mexico border, and saw pieces of wood on the ground. She found a bulky bundle wrapped in black plastic. Inside was around 26 pounds of marijuana – a package that authorities say was worth $10,000 and was likely to have been dropped there accidentally by a drug smuggler’s aircraft.