Swimmers were warned to stay out of the English Channel after French officials took seriously a claim that a crocodile had been spotted.

The water off Boulogne-sur-Mer was cleared yesterday while a search was carried out.

A spokesman for Boulogne-sur-Mer town hall said it was now thought the claim was “a joke”.

“There was an alert for the swimmers and people who are on holiday but there was nothing in the sea,” he said. (PA)

Miniskirts here to stay

A ban on miniskirts did not last long in Chile, where a governor faced protests by women who otherwise share his conservative views.

Sergio Gahona had banned public employees from wearing miniskirts or exposing their shoulders saying he merely wanted to “put things in order” and did not mean to restrict anyone.

But Chile’s women’s affairs minister, Carolina Schmidt, called the ban a joke and senator Evelyn Matthei said she would keep wearing miniskirts to show off her “nice legs”. (PA)

Dali sculpture snatched

A man stole a bronze sculpture by Salvador Dali in broad daylight at an exhibit in Belgium, walking away with the statuette hidden in a bag, Belgian media said yesterday.

The man bought a ticket to visit the Dali exhibit at the Belfry tower in Bruges on Wednesday afternoon, walked around the halls and removed the piece from its base. The whole scene was captured by surveillance cameras. The statue was insured but it was not protected by an alarm system

The statuette, titled Woman With Drawers and created in 1964, is worth between €100,000 and €120,000, Bruges police said. It is 50 centimetres high and weighs 10 kilos.

The Spanish surrealist artist’s piece depicts a young woman lying on her side with six drawers coming out of her chest and abdomen. (AFP)

Super rats

A 30-inch rodent was shot dead on a housing estate prompting fears that “super rats” from South America could be at large.

Brandon Goddard told The Sun he killed the animal as he went “ratting” with friends on the edge of the Ravenscliffe estate in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

But Carol Beardmore, who represents the area on Bradford Council, played down suggestions that hundreds of giant rodents were plaguing the estate. “We are not the Pied Piper of Hamelin round here with hundreds of rats,” she said. (PA)

Man mauled to death

A bear whose owner once staged wrestling shows featuring animals has mauled a 24-year-old man to death in Ohio.

Brent Kandra was airlifted by helicopter to a Cleveland hospital but died there. The bear was contained in its cage after the attack.

The sheriff’s office said the bear is owned by Sam Mazzola, who used to offer people the chance to wrestle a black bear at a Cleveland expo.

It wasn’t clear whether the attack took place outside the cage or whether the bear had ever been used in wrestling shows. (PA)

Knickers in a twist

Police chiefs were accused of nannying colleagues after telling them what underwear to put on.

Revised guidelines published by West Midlands Police advised officers and staff to make sure their undergarments are appropriate. A message to staff read: “Underwear should be of an appropriate colour to be inconspicuous underneath (your) uniform.”

It provoked a furious outburst from several officers who questioned why their bosses were getting their knickers in a twist. (PA)

Low-cost energy

Urine is being studied for its potential to create low-cost energy, a university said. Researchers have developed a system to test whether it can be used in fuel cells as an alternative to flammable hydrogen or toxic methanol.

The work at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, concentrates on urea, or carbamide, a mass-manufactured fertiliser and major component in human and animal urine. (PA)

Nutty catch

Gunmen in Mexico who hijacked a lorry containing 17 tons of peanuts ended up with... peanuts.

Police saw the lorry listing to one side on the outskirts of Mexico City yesterday and decided to pull it over, only to see a struggle taking place in the cab.

The driver said he was forced at gunpoint to lie on floor of the cab but was able to call for help when police stopped the lorry. The two suspects were arrested. (PA)