A hotel chain is employing human bed warmers to help guests get a good night's sleep.

The complimentary five-minute bed warming service will trial at Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum, Holiday Inn Kingston South and Holiday Inn Manchester Central Park. The walking electric blankets are dressed in special all-in-one sleeper suits and are sent to warm the beds of guests staying at the Holiday Inn before they get under the covers.

The bed warmers toasting suits were specially designed to maximise sheet heating efficiency..

Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, said the idea could help people get off to sleep. (PA)

Prisoner massage

The governor of the US-administered Northern Mariana Islands is feeling the heat after ordering the temporary release of a jailed suspect to give him a massage.

Benigno R. Fitial, the most senior politician in the western Pacific territory, demanded Chinese masseuse, Qing Mei Cheng, be set free on January 8 to treat him for back pain.

The masseuse was taken from prison, where she was being held on people smuggling charges, to the governor's mansion before being returned to jail.

"I made this request because this was an unusual situation where I needed to address the extraordinary pain I was experiencing," Mr Fitial said.

Mr Fitial, who won re-election for a second term in November, made headlines late last year when he had to drive himself around after his driver was convicted of dealing rugs from the official car. (AFP)

World treadmill record

A former British army soldier on Saturday stormed into the record books by breaking the world treadmill record after seven gruelling days on the run.

Mike Buss, 35, from Swindon, outside London, clocked up 832.4 kilometres breaking the previous record of 753 kilometres in his week-long attempt.

The former army physical training instructor had been running up to three marathons a day on a treadmill in Swindon's Brunel Shopping Centre, sleeping two hours per day.

He is raising money for a charity which helps injured British service personnel. (AFP)

Divorce Gift List

A high street retailer is to introduce a divorce gift list service to cater for the growing numbers of people saying "I don't" rather than "I do".

Debenhams said its Divorce Gift List service was being launched amid a reported spike in couples deciding to divorce after the festive period. The firm added it came at a time when "congratulations on your divorce" greetings cards had gathered in popularity alongside divorce celebration parties complete with divorce cake, famously held by celebrities such as Jordan, Gail Porter and Heather Mills. (PA)

Expensive ham

The world's most expensive ham has gone on sale - complete with its own DNA certificate as proof of authenticity.

The leg of Iberico ham, which weighs in at seven kilograms and costs £1,800, is on sale at the food hall in Selfridges in Oxford Street, central London.

That is the end of a process that begins with 50 pigs being specially selected by pig farmer and ham expert Manuel Maldonado. They are allowed to roam over fields in Extramadura in western Spain. (PA)

Gorilla dies

A gorilla who gained fame for mourning her dead baby by carrying its body for several days has died following illness.

Ilona Zuehlke, at Muenster zoo in Germany, said that a keeper found 12-year-old Gana dead in her cage.

Gana became famous through pictures of her cradling the lifeless body of her three-month-old son Claudio who had died of a severe intestinal infection in 2008. Last April she gave birth to a healthy daughter who was named Claudia and still lives at the zoo. (PA)