Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Irish teenager rescued from air vent after trying to sneak back into Australian nightclub
An Irish teenager had to be rescued from an air vent after he got stuck in the tiny space trying to sneak into an Australian nightclub.
Hugh McMahon, 18, has been forced to payAU $2,600 (£1,400, $2,150) in fines and damages after having to be freed from a roof near the SinCity night club in Surfers Paradise.
McMahon was trying to get into the popular night spot after being kicked out of the club twice that night, the first time after he was spotted sleeping on a couch inside. Mr McMahon, in Australia on a 12-month working holiday, broke into the roof space through a sliding door at the Promenade Apartments on Orchid Ave. His plan was foiled however when he became stuck. He damaged the door's lock in his failed entry bid before becoming entangled in wires and stuck among the pipes and internal struts in the cavity.
Emergency crews were called to the club at 1.30am with reports the man could be heard screaming for help. The delicate operation to remove him safely took two hours while club-goers crowded the street to watch. He faced Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning charged with trespass, wilful damage and two counts of refusing to leave a licensed premises.
Magistrate Ron Kilner failed to see the funny side to McMahon's antics, fining him $900 and ordering him to pay a total of $1,700 in damages to the building owners and the Queensland Fire Service. "Drunk or sober, it was an absolutely remarkably stupid thing to have done," Mr Kilner said. "You only have yourself to blame." McMahon, who plans to return to Sydney on Thursday, has been given three months to pay his fine.
There's a news video here.
McMahon was trying to get into the popular night spot after being kicked out of the club twice that night, the first time after he was spotted sleeping on a couch inside. Mr McMahon, in Australia on a 12-month working holiday, broke into the roof space through a sliding door at the Promenade Apartments on Orchid Ave. His plan was foiled however when he became stuck. He damaged the door's lock in his failed entry bid before becoming entangled in wires and stuck among the pipes and internal struts in the cavity.
Emergency crews were called to the club at 1.30am with reports the man could be heard screaming for help. The delicate operation to remove him safely took two hours while club-goers crowded the street to watch. He faced Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning charged with trespass, wilful damage and two counts of refusing to leave a licensed premises.
Magistrate Ron Kilner failed to see the funny side to McMahon's antics, fining him $900 and ordering him to pay a total of $1,700 in damages to the building owners and the Queensland Fire Service. "Drunk or sober, it was an absolutely remarkably stupid thing to have done," Mr Kilner said. "You only have yourself to blame." McMahon, who plans to return to Sydney on Thursday, has been given three months to pay his fine.
There's a news video here.
Man with lightning reflexes saved toddler as runaway stroller raced towards steep drop
A quick thinking man with lightning reflexes was able to save a toddler from almost certain injury when he caught a runaway baby stroller in Turkey.
CCTV footage that emerged on Friday shows the local fisherman, Mehmet Soysal, 35, on his phone just moments before the stroller comes flying down a hill in the coastal city of Bodrum.
Spotting the stroller, he quickly ended his phone call and caught the pram carrying two-year-old Ali Ceyhan as it hurtled towards a 50ft drop. The toddler was then propelled forward out of the chair and onto the tarmacked road. Mr Soysal then picked up the baby as stunned onlookers watched on in horror.
YouTube link.
The toddler was unharmed except for some minor scrapes and bruises. The boy's mother, Cansu Sahin, 29, said she took her hands off the pram momentarily to show her husband something, and it rolled off. She added: "I can't begin to thank enough the man who saved my little boy. He is an absolute hero."
CCTV footage that emerged on Friday shows the local fisherman, Mehmet Soysal, 35, on his phone just moments before the stroller comes flying down a hill in the coastal city of Bodrum.
Spotting the stroller, he quickly ended his phone call and caught the pram carrying two-year-old Ali Ceyhan as it hurtled towards a 50ft drop. The toddler was then propelled forward out of the chair and onto the tarmacked road. Mr Soysal then picked up the baby as stunned onlookers watched on in horror.
YouTube link.
The toddler was unharmed except for some minor scrapes and bruises. The boy's mother, Cansu Sahin, 29, said she took her hands off the pram momentarily to show her husband something, and it rolled off. She added: "I can't begin to thank enough the man who saved my little boy. He is an absolute hero."
Asylum-seekers ordered to wear high-visibility jackets
A mayor in southern Italy has ordered asylum-seekers in the town to wear high-visibility jackets in an effort to tackle the high number of car accidents outside an immigration centre.
The move by Mayor Angelo Lanza comes a week after an elderly man was hit by a car on a poorly-lit road in Flumeri, in Italy’s Campania region. The man’s death was the latest in a series of accidents on the town’s Statale 91 road, where there is also a hotel hosting 44 asylum-seekers from African countries.
Under Lanza’s order, the asylum-seekers must now wear a high-visibility jacket when they go out in the late afternoon or evening. The measure does not apply to local residents. Despite the distinction between Italians and foreigners in the town, the mayor said he “had never thought of enacting a discriminatory measure”.
“The order that I signed only had the aim of avoiding a repeat of the increasingly frequent accidents on this street, some of which have recently had tragic consequences,” he said. “Not being Italian, they don’t know the rules of the road, such as making yourself visible to drivers,” Lanza said.
The move by Mayor Angelo Lanza comes a week after an elderly man was hit by a car on a poorly-lit road in Flumeri, in Italy’s Campania region. The man’s death was the latest in a series of accidents on the town’s Statale 91 road, where there is also a hotel hosting 44 asylum-seekers from African countries.
Under Lanza’s order, the asylum-seekers must now wear a high-visibility jacket when they go out in the late afternoon or evening. The measure does not apply to local residents. Despite the distinction between Italians and foreigners in the town, the mayor said he “had never thought of enacting a discriminatory measure”.
“The order that I signed only had the aim of avoiding a repeat of the increasingly frequent accidents on this street, some of which have recently had tragic consequences,” he said. “Not being Italian, they don’t know the rules of the road, such as making yourself visible to drivers,” Lanza said.
German rabbit breeders criticize Pope's sex comments
The Association of German Rabbit Breeders (ZDRK) said on Tuesday that Pope Francis' injunction to Catholics not to breed "like rabbits" was inaccurate.
"He should really think harder about giving up expressions like that and allow people to use contraception instead," ZDRK president Erwin Leowsky said.
"I think it would be much more appropriate than saying such stupid things". Leowsky added that not all rabbits had a high level of sexual activity, and that the stereotype mostly applied to rabbits living in the wild.
Most rabbits bred in captivity have a well-regulated reproductive rate, he said. Pope Francis made his remarks on the way home from a visit to the Philippines, a stronghold of the Catholic Church in Asia which last year passed a family planning law in defiance of the Vatican's 1968-vintage ban on contraception.
"God gave us the means to be responsible", he told journalists on the flight home. "Some people think that - excuse my expression here - that in order to be good Catholics we have to breed like rabbits." Following the Church's teachings did not mean "Christians should have children one after the other", he said.
"I think it would be much more appropriate than saying such stupid things". Leowsky added that not all rabbits had a high level of sexual activity, and that the stereotype mostly applied to rabbits living in the wild.
Most rabbits bred in captivity have a well-regulated reproductive rate, he said. Pope Francis made his remarks on the way home from a visit to the Philippines, a stronghold of the Catholic Church in Asia which last year passed a family planning law in defiance of the Vatican's 1968-vintage ban on contraception.
"God gave us the means to be responsible", he told journalists on the flight home. "Some people think that - excuse my expression here - that in order to be good Catholics we have to breed like rabbits." Following the Church's teachings did not mean "Christians should have children one after the other", he said.
Fly tippers thought to be responsible for hedgerow covered in bras
A hedgerow near Tor Woods in Wells, Somerset, appeared to have bloomed a rare crop of hardy perennial undergarments.
They were spotted, alongside other items of clothing by a walker who was out on Saturday afternoon.
Suzanne Norbury said: “We’d just parked up in the layby, and I was surprised to see about 10 bras dumped in the hedge.
There was other fly tipping, but the bras were just odd.
“They were all over the hedge. I suspect they either fell off a recycling lorry or someone chucked them there after finding the tip shut.” A spokeswoman for the district council said: “Mendip District Council’s enforcement team are aware of the fly tipping near Tor Woods in Wells and are going out to survey the area and get the rubbish cleared. We are working alongside our partners to identify those individuals who are dumping the rubbish and would appeal to the public to help us by reporting vehicles that are seen fly-tipping.”
A spokesman for Somerset Waste Partnership added: “This seems unusual for fly-tipping, much of which is by rogue businesses, from builders leaving rubble to garages dumping tyres, that cut their waste costs by forcing all council tax payers to meet the bill for clear-up. To help fight that, we now have 10 recycling sites that have a chargeable service taking commercial waste from businesses and tradespeople.
“It would be surprising if a resident was to blame since all recycling sites are open on Saturdays and any householder can put clothes, including bras, out for collection in a carrier bag on top of their kerbside containers so they can be recycled. Indeed, bras are much in demand; Oxfam and other charities have made a point of asking for donations of bras, which can be among clothes sold in Africa as part of anti-poverty programmes.” The maximum penalty for fly tipping is a fine of £50,000 and/or imprisonment.
“They were all over the hedge. I suspect they either fell off a recycling lorry or someone chucked them there after finding the tip shut.” A spokeswoman for the district council said: “Mendip District Council’s enforcement team are aware of the fly tipping near Tor Woods in Wells and are going out to survey the area and get the rubbish cleared. We are working alongside our partners to identify those individuals who are dumping the rubbish and would appeal to the public to help us by reporting vehicles that are seen fly-tipping.”
A spokesman for Somerset Waste Partnership added: “This seems unusual for fly-tipping, much of which is by rogue businesses, from builders leaving rubble to garages dumping tyres, that cut their waste costs by forcing all council tax payers to meet the bill for clear-up. To help fight that, we now have 10 recycling sites that have a chargeable service taking commercial waste from businesses and tradespeople.
“It would be surprising if a resident was to blame since all recycling sites are open on Saturdays and any householder can put clothes, including bras, out for collection in a carrier bag on top of their kerbside containers so they can be recycled. Indeed, bras are much in demand; Oxfam and other charities have made a point of asking for donations of bras, which can be among clothes sold in Africa as part of anti-poverty programmes.” The maximum penalty for fly tipping is a fine of £50,000 and/or imprisonment.
Bell-ringer saved by mountain rescue team
Mountain rescue volunteers said they had a more "unusual" callout on Sunday after being called to help a woman who injured herself bell-ringing at All Saints Church in Brailsford, Derbyshire.
A spokesman for Derby Mountain Rescue Team said: "The woman had suffered an arm and hip injury during bell-ringing.
"Due to the extremely narrow spiral stairway leading up to the bell tower, the team's expertise was called upon for the extraction. A local team member was first on scene and provided medical attention whilst other team members arrived to evacuate the casualty.
"She was placed in a vacuum mattress - effectively an all-body splint - and carried down the stairs to be handed over to an ambulance crew. As we say these days, mountain rescue - more than just mountains."
There's a news video here.
A spokesman for Derby Mountain Rescue Team said: "The woman had suffered an arm and hip injury during bell-ringing.
"Due to the extremely narrow spiral stairway leading up to the bell tower, the team's expertise was called upon for the extraction. A local team member was first on scene and provided medical attention whilst other team members arrived to evacuate the casualty.
"She was placed in a vacuum mattress - effectively an all-body splint - and carried down the stairs to be handed over to an ambulance crew. As we say these days, mountain rescue - more than just mountains."
There's a news video here.
Man returned home from hospital to find thieves had stolen the front of his car
Thieves stripped a car of most of its parts in broad daylight while the owner was being treated in hospital.
Leigh Tyler left his Vauxhall Corsa in a parking area near his home in Luton, Bedfordshire, early on Friday when he went into hospital.
But by the afternoon it had been virtually dismantled after the radiator, bonnet, electrical parts, lights and other items were stolen.
"It was unbelievable, but luckily I'm insured," Mr Tyler said. The thieves struck while Mr Tyler was being treated following an operation on his tonsils. "My parents came to see me on Friday evening and said, 'we've got some bad news. Your car's been dismantled'.
"They'd got to my house at about 4.30pm that afternoon and a neighbour pointed it out to them," he said. "The front's gone, the air con, the radiator, the locking nuts, front bonnet, electrical parts, the headlights and goodness knows what else."
His girlfriend called Bedfordshire Police who told her it was "quite common" and she should contact the insurance company. "I can't quite believe they didn't want to see the damage for themselves. Unbelievably, the tow company was able to drive my car away." Mr Tyler added.
"It was unbelievable, but luckily I'm insured," Mr Tyler said. The thieves struck while Mr Tyler was being treated following an operation on his tonsils. "My parents came to see me on Friday evening and said, 'we've got some bad news. Your car's been dismantled'.
"They'd got to my house at about 4.30pm that afternoon and a neighbour pointed it out to them," he said. "The front's gone, the air con, the radiator, the locking nuts, front bonnet, electrical parts, the headlights and goodness knows what else."
His girlfriend called Bedfordshire Police who told her it was "quite common" and she should contact the insurance company. "I can't quite believe they didn't want to see the damage for themselves. Unbelievably, the tow company was able to drive my car away." Mr Tyler added.
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