A family in Arizona is suing after claiming their relative's body slipped out of a coffin that broke when it was dropped into the grave after a strap on a lowering device snapped.
The cemetery workers fled, leaving stunned mourners to pull the corpse back out of the grave themselves, the family said.
Two family members tried to lift the coffin but the bottom dropped out, exposing that it was made of stapled-together particle board, according to the lawsuit.
The dead man's relatives said they had a contract with the funeral home for a solid wood casket but the funeral director for the Preston Funeral Home in Phoenix had told them the model was not available, and offered an upgrade to a better model.
After the coffin broke two of the mourners had to pull the body out of the grave, first leaving it on the ground and then carrying it by its arms and legs back into the hearse. (PA)
Animal antics
Swedish police cleared a man who was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife after deciding the culprit was most likely a moose.
Police spokesman Ulf Karlsson said "the improbable has become probable" in the death of 63-year old Agneta Westlund, who was found dead after an evening stroll in the forest.
Hairs and saliva from a moose - also known as a European elk - were found on the victim's clothes. (PA)
Noel Noodle
Pot Noodle has created a festive flavour of its instant snack for British troops serving in Afghanistan and missing Christmas at home.
The "Pot Noel'dle" combines the flavour of stuffing and turkey and will be delivered to frontline troops in time for Christmas.
It came about when Absolute radio DJ Christian O'Connell interviewed Sergeant Ian Hobbs, who said the snack was a favourite with home-sick squaddies.
The DJ challenged Pot Noodle to create the servicemen a snack in their honour, which it duly accepted (PA)
Cheap and cheerful
A man who lived for a year without spending any money said it had been the happiest time of his life and he intends to continue.
Mark Boyle, 30, has lived for the past 12 months as a true "freeconomist", leading a self-sufficient lifestyle in a caravan in Timsbury, near Bath, growing his own food and reusing junk that people have thrown away.
He says he has not spent a penny and has become a happier person, and has pledged to continue living without cash. (PA)
Berlusconi would like to 'strangle' writers
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi would like to "strangle" people who write books or made films about the Mafia, he told young supporters of his Forza Italia party last Saturday.
"If I find out who is the maker of the nine seasons of The Octopus and who has written books on the Mafia, which give such a bad image to Italy across the world, I swear that I will strangle them," he said.
He went on to dismiss as unfounded and defamatory news reports suggesting he might have been implicated in bomb attacks carried out by the Italian underworld in 1992 and 1993, several Italian news media reported. (AFP)
Co-operative Santa Dash
More than 800 runners donned Santa costumes to raise cash for charity. The fund-raisers took part in the inaugural Co-operative Santa Dash around the streets of Manchester.
All monies raised will go towards deafness and hearing loss charity RNID's Hear to Help service which trains volunteers to provide support to hearing aid users in their local communities. (PA)
Brandy named after PM
Bulgarian villagers have named their home-made rakia brandy Borisovka, playing on the name of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov to thank him for stopping Parliament from raising taxes on alcohol.
Last month, the Balkan country's new centre-right government abandoned plans to raise alcohol taxes after public anger that this would threaten a centuries-old tradition of making wine and rakia at home.
But the Parliament's budget commission later proposed a hike from 2010 and Parliament was due to approve the increase on Wednesday when Mr Borisov, a firefighter by training with a black belt in karate, stepped in and asked deputies to scrap the plan.
To express their gratitude, the villagers of Kapatovo, south of Sofia, decided to call their 2009 rakia "Borisovka".
"The people of my village and other villages are jubilant... We simply want to preserve this tradition of making rakia at home," Standart daily quoted Kapatovo's mayor Ognyan Kukov as saying. (Reuters)