A thief who stole a musician’s antique viola worth £300,000 after it was left behind on a train has been handed a suspended jail sentence.
Stephen Tillyer, 49, was caught on CCTV reaching up to the luggage rack and taking a viola case containing the 16th-century instrument and two 19th-century bows, each worth £35,000.
He also helped himself to a schoolboy’s blue rucksack containing homework which had been left on the same train – the London Cannon Street to Dover service on January 26.
Spider season for United Kingdom
Homes will see an increase in large spiders in coming weeks as fine weather throughout the summer is expected to result in a “good year” for the arachnids.
Spiders remain in their webs – commonly in sheds, gardens and wood piles – until the autumn, when males become nomadic in the search for a mate.
This leads to an influx of male spiders indoors between mid-September and mid-October, while females remain in their webs.
Nancy the rhino is breeding
David Cameron has revealed that a rhino named after his daughter has been “breeding ever since she arrived” in his constituency.
The Prime Minister lightened the mood by raising the case of Nancy, who lives at the Cotswold Wildlife Park in Oxfordshire, moments after his first Commons exchanges with new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Cameron pledged to help Isle of Wight Zoo import a tiger, noting that he previously intervened to help bring the rhino to his Witney constituency.
Woman hit by flying brisket
A woman was hit by hot flying brisket when a contestant’s temper flared during a “beef” over a shared cooker at a central Kentucky barbecue festival, police said.
Danville officers were called to the Kentucky State BBQ Festival after a dispute was reported between contestants who were sharing a cooker. Mary Berry, of Bardstown, told officers she was hit on the shoulder, neck and head by the slab of meat, which was estimated to be between 200 and 250 degrees when it was thrown.
Police said 42-year-old Mike Owings, of Cunningham, told officers he threw the brisket because he lost his temper but “didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt”.
House arrest for returning burglar
A man has been charged with burglary after police said he returned to a home in Twin Falls, Idaho, for his forgotten car keys and phone.
A woman called police when she found her home ransacked, with a stranger’s phone on the bed and a strange car parked behind the property. Officers were at the scene when 22-year-old Caleb Shay Funke was dropped off near the vehicle. Police said Funke told them he had loaned the car to a friend and the keys got locked inside.
Keys found inside the house unlocked and started the vehicle. Court documents say Funke admitted during an interview with police to being involved in at least two other burglaries. He is due back in court on September 25.
Homes for US hounds needed
An Oklahoma animal shelter is searching for new homes for 65 dogs, including 22 puppies, seized from a mobile home in Norman.
Norman Police Captain Tom Easley said the city’s animal welfare department received an anonymous tip last week about a home overrun with dogs - including poodles, shih tzus, pomeranians, Pekingese, Chihuahuas and spaniels.
Animal welfare officers said all 65 of the animals appear to be adoptable and that the city’s animal shelter is waiving its typical adoption fee to make room for the dogs.