There is no thrill in driving the world’s most powerful racing car, the man who designed it said yesterday. Project director Richard Noble who led the team that designed the Bloodhound, the 1,000mph supersonic racer, said that driving the race car is not the exhilarating rush people might expect. “It’s all about complete and utter accuracy and complete focus, and if you are getting some sort of buzz or excitement out of it then you are the wrong man. It’s a very cold-blooded operation,” he said The 1,000mph supersonic racer is on display until tomorrow at Canary Wharf, London. It is hoped that the £10 million UK-built car will shatter the world land speed record, which currently stands at 763mph, when it is tested at full speed. The Bloodhound will undergo 200mph trials next year in Cornwall before embarking on a series of high-speed runs in a desert venue in South Africa. At full speed the car will cover a mile in just 3.6 seconds.
Man asks for deportation
An Iranian man who walked into a police station and demanded to be deported has said he did so because he is “fed up” of living in Manchester. Arash Aria was arrested after telling officers he had been staying in the UK illegally for 10 years but he was later released when immigration checks found he did have permission to live in the country. Greater Manchester Police described the episode as “strange”. The 25-year-old told The Daily Telegraph: “The people of Manchester have not been welcoming. It’s words, violence, many things. I try to ignore people but I’m fed up now. I don’t get the respect I should here. People are not friendly here in Manchester. When they are rude to me, I don’t like it.”
Strictly fans get emojis
Twitter is giving Strictly Come Dancing fans the chance to embrace their inner judge even more, by launching a range of Strictly emojis. The new emojis are scoring paddles, modelled off those used by the judges during the shows. Fans can score their favourite act on Twitter by using #strictly with the number they want to score (say, #strictly7) and the emoji will appear. Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood said: “I love the idea that people at home will be tweeting their own scores with these very funky mini scoring paddles.”
Two inmates tied in knots
Two inmates at a jail in Louisville, Kentucky, could have done with a course in knot-tying after authorities said they plotted an escape using bed sheets. The two men escaped to the roof of a minimum-security building and used a rope made of bed sheets to climb down about four floors, officials said yesterday. Matthew Johnson, 29, was climbing down when a knot on the sheets came loose, dropping him about 20 feet, Metro Corrections director Mark Bolton said. He then fled. Police learned of the escape when a hospital worker saw Johnson climbing down. The second inmate, Christopher Cornelius, 37, did not risk the climb and was found on the roof. Johnson was found hiding in a car during a traffic stop early the next morning, Bolton said. He injured his ankle and back and remains in hospital. Both men were in jail on drug charges.