Three boys have been arrested in connection with the brutal killing of a newborn deer in Dorset parkland.
Three teenagers wearing hoods were seen attacking the fawn in Upton Country Park, near Poole, on Wednesday night.
Two 17-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy, all from Poole, have been arrested by Dorset Police.
Pc John Snellin, wildlife officer for the force, said they had never had such an "overwhelming" response to a case of this type.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
School banana ban 'over the top'
A primary school has banned bananas for two years because one of its staff members has a life threatening allergy to the fruit. Children at Stoke Damerel Primary School, in Plymouth, have been unable to include the fruit in their packed lunches since 2007.
But after learning of the banana boycott, Vivien Pengelly, leader of Plymouth City Council, said she would ask officers to investigate.
Councillor Pengelly said: "This is the first I have heard about this and it does sound a bit over the top to me. It's my experience as a headteacher that when there are allergies in a school we encourage children to manage the risk around them. I shall be asking officers to look at this particular case again to see whether anything else might be done."
A spokeswoman for Plymouth City Council said it could not reveal the identity of the staff member involved, due to medical confidentiality.
She said: "A member of the school community has a severe life-threatening allergy to bananas and on the advice of the council, the school has asked pupils not to bring them in.
"These are very unusual circumstances but the school community has been supportive and understanding over the last two years." But the spokeswoman added the individual involved would be leaving the school in September - when bananas will be welcomed back to the school.
But after learning of the banana boycott, Vivien Pengelly, leader of Plymouth City Council, said she would ask officers to investigate.
Councillor Pengelly said: "This is the first I have heard about this and it does sound a bit over the top to me. It's my experience as a headteacher that when there are allergies in a school we encourage children to manage the risk around them. I shall be asking officers to look at this particular case again to see whether anything else might be done."
A spokeswoman for Plymouth City Council said it could not reveal the identity of the staff member involved, due to medical confidentiality.
She said: "A member of the school community has a severe life-threatening allergy to bananas and on the advice of the council, the school has asked pupils not to bring them in.
"These are very unusual circumstances but the school community has been supportive and understanding over the last two years." But the spokeswoman added the individual involved would be leaving the school in September - when bananas will be welcomed back to the school.
Man in Nottingham tasered and punched by police
The police watchdog is examining video footage in which a man is repeatedly shot with a stun gun by officers before being punched several times.
The 40-year-old man is seen apparently rolling around the floor in agony as he is hit with a shock of several thousand volts at least twice as police try to arrest him in Nottingham city centre.
Video contains NSFW language.
Another officer then appears to hit the suspect repeatedly around the head or shoulder, in video footage shot on a mobile phone.
Nottinghamshire Police has referred the incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission after admitting the public "may be concerned" about it.
There's another video, with commentary, here.
The 40-year-old man is seen apparently rolling around the floor in agony as he is hit with a shock of several thousand volts at least twice as police try to arrest him in Nottingham city centre.
Video contains NSFW language.
Another officer then appears to hit the suspect repeatedly around the head or shoulder, in video footage shot on a mobile phone.
Nottinghamshire Police has referred the incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission after admitting the public "may be concerned" about it.
There's another video, with commentary, here.
Teenager stopped for dangerous driving at 4mph
A teenager was given a warning by police for dangerous driving – despite only going 4mph on a mobility scooter. Bewildered Sam Scutt could not believe his eyes when two police cars with lights and sirens blaring swooped on him as he drove through Gravesend town centre on his scooter.
The 17-year-old, of The Avenue, Gravesend, was shopping in New Road on Wednesday, June 6, when about five officers stopped and questioned him for dangerous driving, he claims.
Mr Scutt, who is studying media at Dartford’s North West Kent College, said officers had threatened to take the scooter away and put three penalty points on his provisional driving licence, before conceding he had not committed a criminal offence.
Sam said: "I was doing a few jobs for my dad in town so I thought I would take the scooter. I was by Debenhams when two police cars drove towards me. An officer on a bike stopped beside me and security guards came out of a shop. It looked as if there had been an armed robbery with the amount of police there."
After 15 minutes of questioning, Sam said he was given a warning for dangerous driving – even though he had not actually committed an offence. Kent Police has defended its response as "proportionate" because it treats antisocial use of scooters and unlicensed vehicles as a high priority.
Chief Inspector Pete Ayling said: "Local residents regularly contact us to report dangerous and inconsiderate riding. As such, we investigate and deal with people thought to be acting in an antisocial manner. There was no evidence that a crime had been committed on this occasion so only a warning was given."
The 17-year-old, of The Avenue, Gravesend, was shopping in New Road on Wednesday, June 6, when about five officers stopped and questioned him for dangerous driving, he claims.
Mr Scutt, who is studying media at Dartford’s North West Kent College, said officers had threatened to take the scooter away and put three penalty points on his provisional driving licence, before conceding he had not committed a criminal offence.
Sam said: "I was doing a few jobs for my dad in town so I thought I would take the scooter. I was by Debenhams when two police cars drove towards me. An officer on a bike stopped beside me and security guards came out of a shop. It looked as if there had been an armed robbery with the amount of police there."
After 15 minutes of questioning, Sam said he was given a warning for dangerous driving – even though he had not actually committed an offence. Kent Police has defended its response as "proportionate" because it treats antisocial use of scooters and unlicensed vehicles as a high priority.
Chief Inspector Pete Ayling said: "Local residents regularly contact us to report dangerous and inconsiderate riding. As such, we investigate and deal with people thought to be acting in an antisocial manner. There was no evidence that a crime had been committed on this occasion so only a warning was given."
Monday, June 15, 2009
Carrots cause Swedish bomb scare
A Swedish art project caused a bomb scare when people mistook carrot "explosives" for the real thing.
Artist Conny Blom set up The Bunny Project: Bombs, at 15 locations near the southern Swedish city of Orebro. He taped bunches of carrots together with black tape and attached blue and red wires and a clock to them.
Police received worried calls from members of the public who thought they were real bombs. Mr Blom was forced to remove his art - and may face charges.
The carrot bombs had been placed around the city at the request of a local art gallery, as part of an open-air arts festival. They had only been in place for an hour before police received their first call.
"We received a call ... from a person who said they saw two real bombs placed outside the public library," Ronny Hoerman from the Orebro police force, was quoted as saying. "It was hard to tell if they were real or not. We find this inappropriate," he said.
Mr Blom described it as a harmless stunt. "After all, it is just carrots with an alarm clock and nothing else... this is just a caricature of a bomb," he said.
Artist Conny Blom set up The Bunny Project: Bombs, at 15 locations near the southern Swedish city of Orebro. He taped bunches of carrots together with black tape and attached blue and red wires and a clock to them.
Police received worried calls from members of the public who thought they were real bombs. Mr Blom was forced to remove his art - and may face charges.
The carrot bombs had been placed around the city at the request of a local art gallery, as part of an open-air arts festival. They had only been in place for an hour before police received their first call.
"We received a call ... from a person who said they saw two real bombs placed outside the public library," Ronny Hoerman from the Orebro police force, was quoted as saying. "It was hard to tell if they were real or not. We find this inappropriate," he said.
Mr Blom described it as a harmless stunt. "After all, it is just carrots with an alarm clock and nothing else... this is just a caricature of a bomb," he said.
Spanish clinic and travel agency offer gay marriage and fertility deal
As niche package tours go it is one of the most original and precisely targeted. As of this week, British lesbians are being invited to dig into their pockets, catch a flight to the Spanish costas and come back either pregnant, married or both.
The offer comes from a fertility clinic and a gay and lesbian travel agency, which have launched joint package tours to what has now become one of the most socially tolerant countries in Europe.
Together they have spotted a growing trend among British lesbians, who increasingly travel to clinics in liberal Spain for insemination treatment, which has become more difficult in Britain since sperm donors lost the right to remain anonymous in 2005.
"We noticed the increase in British women coming to us as soon as the law was changed," said Dr Rafael Bernabeu, founder of the Instituto Bernabeu clinic in Alicante, eastern Spain. "Here we can still offer that anonymity, so people are coming to us."
Bernabeu said his clinic saw 30 British women a month. About 40% of British women seeking donor insemination were single and many were lesbians. "We don't ask questions about people's sexuality, so I can't give exact figures," he said. "But often they come with same-sex partners or simply tell us that they are lesbians."
He said that couples, gay and straight, who wanted fertility treatment were often worried about the effect on a child of knowing that they could track down their missing biological parent. "Many couples in this situation do not want problems of that kind," he said. The guarantee of anonymity means Spanish clinics have few problems finding sperm and egg donors, whose numbers fell dramatically in Britain after 2005 as people worried about getting a knock on the door in 18 years' time.
Full story here.
The offer comes from a fertility clinic and a gay and lesbian travel agency, which have launched joint package tours to what has now become one of the most socially tolerant countries in Europe.
Together they have spotted a growing trend among British lesbians, who increasingly travel to clinics in liberal Spain for insemination treatment, which has become more difficult in Britain since sperm donors lost the right to remain anonymous in 2005.
"We noticed the increase in British women coming to us as soon as the law was changed," said Dr Rafael Bernabeu, founder of the Instituto Bernabeu clinic in Alicante, eastern Spain. "Here we can still offer that anonymity, so people are coming to us."
Bernabeu said his clinic saw 30 British women a month. About 40% of British women seeking donor insemination were single and many were lesbians. "We don't ask questions about people's sexuality, so I can't give exact figures," he said. "But often they come with same-sex partners or simply tell us that they are lesbians."
He said that couples, gay and straight, who wanted fertility treatment were often worried about the effect on a child of knowing that they could track down their missing biological parent. "Many couples in this situation do not want problems of that kind," he said. The guarantee of anonymity means Spanish clinics have few problems finding sperm and egg donors, whose numbers fell dramatically in Britain after 2005 as people worried about getting a knock on the door in 18 years' time.
Full story here.
Naked rugby match interrupted by fully-clothed streaker
In England, rugby players throwing off their clothes at the first opportunity is no new thing but at least they usually wait till they get off the pitch (and are in the bar), before getting started.
In Dunedin, New Zealand, however, every year two teams of sevens go to battle fully starkers.
The nude rugby international, which started as a celebration of New Zealand's national nude day, was held yesterday as a warm-up – although temperatures were reportedly cold enough to prove embarrassing – to the forthcoming match between the All Blacks and France.
Needless to say, there were plenty of tackles flying about with only one interruption … when a fully-clothed streaker ran on to the pitch.
In Dunedin, New Zealand, however, every year two teams of sevens go to battle fully starkers.
The nude rugby international, which started as a celebration of New Zealand's national nude day, was held yesterday as a warm-up – although temperatures were reportedly cold enough to prove embarrassing – to the forthcoming match between the All Blacks and France.
Needless to say, there were plenty of tackles flying about with only one interruption … when a fully-clothed streaker ran on to the pitch.
Cautious change to Australia's 'national dish'
To millions of Australians who spread it on their toast every morning, Vegemite is virtually a national dish. So when the makers of the pungent brown paste decided to meddle with the ingredients, they exercised extreme caution.
Kraft Foods conducted a survey of more than 300,000 Australians before announcing a new version of the 86-year-old spread today. Company executives also trawled internet chatrooms frequented by Vegemite lovers in an effort to discern the precise nature of its appeal.
The new product is much like the original, but smoother. In a sign, perhaps, of more health-conscious times, consumers told Kraft “they wanted a Vegemite that doesn’t require combining with butter and one that’s easier to spread”, according to the company’s head of corporate affairs, Simon Talbot. While the revised recipe remains confidential, the extra ingredient is reportedly cream cheese.
Kraft – which is American, a fact some Australians find hard to swallow – claims the relaunched Vegemite is more versatile than the original, and “can be enjoyed at all times of day”. It even goes with the traditional Aussie barbecue, claims the company, which has created a marinade recipe for meat or fish that comprises fresh rosemary, honey, wholegrain mustard and Vegemite.
While the attraction of such dishes as Vegemite and Beer Marinated Steaks may be difficult for outsiders to fathom, Australians consume 22 million jars of the spread every year. Kraft is calling the latest version of the yeast extract paste “the new Vegemite experience”, but has yet to name it. Instead, it will ask consumers to come up with a name.
Purists need not fear: the original version will continue to be sold beside the new product, which will be launched in supermarkets next month. According to the company, 70 per cent of Australian pantries contain a jar of Vegemite. However, the overseas market is still a challenge, with only 2 per cent of the dark brown paste sold outside Australia.
Kraft Foods conducted a survey of more than 300,000 Australians before announcing a new version of the 86-year-old spread today. Company executives also trawled internet chatrooms frequented by Vegemite lovers in an effort to discern the precise nature of its appeal.
The new product is much like the original, but smoother. In a sign, perhaps, of more health-conscious times, consumers told Kraft “they wanted a Vegemite that doesn’t require combining with butter and one that’s easier to spread”, according to the company’s head of corporate affairs, Simon Talbot. While the revised recipe remains confidential, the extra ingredient is reportedly cream cheese.
Kraft – which is American, a fact some Australians find hard to swallow – claims the relaunched Vegemite is more versatile than the original, and “can be enjoyed at all times of day”. It even goes with the traditional Aussie barbecue, claims the company, which has created a marinade recipe for meat or fish that comprises fresh rosemary, honey, wholegrain mustard and Vegemite.
While the attraction of such dishes as Vegemite and Beer Marinated Steaks may be difficult for outsiders to fathom, Australians consume 22 million jars of the spread every year. Kraft is calling the latest version of the yeast extract paste “the new Vegemite experience”, but has yet to name it. Instead, it will ask consumers to come up with a name.
Purists need not fear: the original version will continue to be sold beside the new product, which will be launched in supermarkets next month. According to the company, 70 per cent of Australian pantries contain a jar of Vegemite. However, the overseas market is still a challenge, with only 2 per cent of the dark brown paste sold outside Australia.
Naked man tied to a rock claimed he was watching buzzards
A South Lake Tahoe man is being held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail for allegedly being naked near high school property. Dean Richard Mark, 53, who told Justice of the Peace Jim EnEarl he was a freelance writer, was ordered to appear in Tahoe Township Justice Court later today.
Mark was originally arrested on a charge of trespassing. According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, three Whittell High School students reported coming across a naked man behind the school who appeared to be tied to a rock and was lying face down.
A student said they asked the man if he was really tied up, which he confirmed. Then they asked if he needed to be untied and the man answered no.
The students walked up the hill and returned a few minutes later to find the man dressed and walking toward the school.
Later, deputies were called that the man was back at Whittell. They found and spoke with him. He said he was reading a book. He was identified and asked why he was on school grounds.
When asked why he was naked behind the school, the deputy reported Mark said “There were buzzards flying overhead and I wanted to see what they did,” the report said. Mark was arrested for loitering on school grounds after school employees identified him.
Mark was originally arrested on a charge of trespassing. According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, three Whittell High School students reported coming across a naked man behind the school who appeared to be tied to a rock and was lying face down.
A student said they asked the man if he was really tied up, which he confirmed. Then they asked if he needed to be untied and the man answered no.
The students walked up the hill and returned a few minutes later to find the man dressed and walking toward the school.
Later, deputies were called that the man was back at Whittell. They found and spoke with him. He said he was reading a book. He was identified and asked why he was on school grounds.
When asked why he was naked behind the school, the deputy reported Mark said “There were buzzards flying overhead and I wanted to see what they did,” the report said. Mark was arrested for loitering on school grounds after school employees identified him.
Big hearted loser
Orlando Baresi had been sacked, divorced and evicted but wanted to do some good when he decided to end it all.
Before he hurled himself from the balcony of his flat in Milan, Italy, he wrote: "I have the heart of a 20-year-old, please use it to save someone else."
But doctors rejected the heart after he caused massive chest injuries in the fall.
"He just couldn't win. Fate seemed to have it in for him even at the end," said one neighbour.
Before he hurled himself from the balcony of his flat in Milan, Italy, he wrote: "I have the heart of a 20-year-old, please use it to save someone else."
But doctors rejected the heart after he caused massive chest injuries in the fall.
"He just couldn't win. Fate seemed to have it in for him even at the end," said one neighbour.
Australian Aboriginal prisoner 'cooked to death' in van
A coroner has found that an Aboriginal man was "cooked to death" after he spent four hours in the back of a security van in searing heat with no air conditioning as it drove across the goldfields of south-west Australia.
The 46-year-old Aboriginal elder suffered third degree burns after collapsing in the heat and falling to the floor of the van while it travelled 250 miles from Laverton to Kalgoorlie in 47C heat.
Mr Ward, whose first name cannot be used because of an Aboriginal cultural prohibition that forbids relatives from naming their dead, had been arrested a day earlier in January 2008 for drink driving. He was given 600ml (one pint) of water before boarding the van but the coroner found he died before he could finish drinking it.
Photo from here.
His body temperature was so high that when he arrived unconscious at Kalgoorlie hospital, medical staff could not cool his body down, despite giving him an ice bath. He also had a cut on his head from falling in the van and a third-degree burn to his stomach from lying on the vehicle's hot metal floor.
The West Australian coroner, Alistair Hope, found that Ward was effectively "cooked" to death and heavily criticised the state prisons department, the private security firm that operated the van and the two guards who escorted Ward.
"It is a disgrace that a prisoner in the 21st century, particularly a prisoner who has not been convicted of any crime, was transported for a long distance in high temperatures," Hope said. The security guards, who did not check to see if he needed a toilet break, food or water, had breached their duty of care. Hope also questioned the reliability of the security guards' evidence and suggested possible collusion, prompting the company that provides the transport service, GSL, to suspend them from duty.
The 46-year-old Aboriginal elder suffered third degree burns after collapsing in the heat and falling to the floor of the van while it travelled 250 miles from Laverton to Kalgoorlie in 47C heat.
Mr Ward, whose first name cannot be used because of an Aboriginal cultural prohibition that forbids relatives from naming their dead, had been arrested a day earlier in January 2008 for drink driving. He was given 600ml (one pint) of water before boarding the van but the coroner found he died before he could finish drinking it.
Photo from here.
His body temperature was so high that when he arrived unconscious at Kalgoorlie hospital, medical staff could not cool his body down, despite giving him an ice bath. He also had a cut on his head from falling in the van and a third-degree burn to his stomach from lying on the vehicle's hot metal floor.
The West Australian coroner, Alistair Hope, found that Ward was effectively "cooked" to death and heavily criticised the state prisons department, the private security firm that operated the van and the two guards who escorted Ward.
"It is a disgrace that a prisoner in the 21st century, particularly a prisoner who has not been convicted of any crime, was transported for a long distance in high temperatures," Hope said. The security guards, who did not check to see if he needed a toilet break, food or water, had breached their duty of care. Hope also questioned the reliability of the security guards' evidence and suggested possible collusion, prompting the company that provides the transport service, GSL, to suspend them from duty.
World Stinging Nettle Eating Championship attracts record crowd
In a sunny garden in deepest Dorset yesterday 65 people – their faces rigid with pain and disgust – gathered in a quest to be crowned the King of the Stingers.
There is no easy route to winning the World Stinging Nettle Eating Championship, held each year in the village of Marshwood near Bridport. It takes skill, it takes endurance ... it takes great blistering chunks out of what used to be your taste buds.
Smart competitors squash the leaves into tight little balls which they try to throw straight to the back molars. Then you try to munch them up and swallow with as little contact as possible. The problems begin when the nettles start to back up in the mouth and ... arrrrrgh!
Competitors are served two-foot-long stalks of nettles from which they must pluck and devour the leaves. The bare stalks are then measured and the winner, after an hour of combat, is the one with the greatest accumulated length.
"They taste totally foul, and everything comes out bright green for a few days afterwards," shrugged Simon Slee, 48, the reigning world record holder with 76 feet. "Apart from that it's really not too bad. You need focus and rhythm and some beer to take the taste away."
The contest has separate men’s and women’s sections. This year’s male champion, Mike Hobbs, landlord of the New Inn at West Knightley, near Dorchester, managed to consume 48ft of nettles. The female winner was Mel Lang of West Bay, Dorset, who finished on level terms with Mr Hobbs.
There is no easy route to winning the World Stinging Nettle Eating Championship, held each year in the village of Marshwood near Bridport. It takes skill, it takes endurance ... it takes great blistering chunks out of what used to be your taste buds.
Smart competitors squash the leaves into tight little balls which they try to throw straight to the back molars. Then you try to munch them up and swallow with as little contact as possible. The problems begin when the nettles start to back up in the mouth and ... arrrrrgh!
Competitors are served two-foot-long stalks of nettles from which they must pluck and devour the leaves. The bare stalks are then measured and the winner, after an hour of combat, is the one with the greatest accumulated length.
"They taste totally foul, and everything comes out bright green for a few days afterwards," shrugged Simon Slee, 48, the reigning world record holder with 76 feet. "Apart from that it's really not too bad. You need focus and rhythm and some beer to take the taste away."
The contest has separate men’s and women’s sections. This year’s male champion, Mike Hobbs, landlord of the New Inn at West Knightley, near Dorchester, managed to consume 48ft of nettles. The female winner was Mel Lang of West Bay, Dorset, who finished on level terms with Mr Hobbs.
Living statues chosen for Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth
An elderly pensioner equipped with semaphore flags and a student part-way through celebrating her 20th birthday will be among the living statues on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth. A total of 615 people were selected randomly from among 13,000 applicants and they will each occupy the plinth for an hour as part of a 'sculpture' called One and Other by artist Anthony Gormley.
They come from all over the UK, range in age from 16 to 83 and include a blacksmith, a professor and a rubbish collector. Many will campaign on issues, while others will perform and some may simply sit and read or use the time to think.
Heather Pringle, a student from Hexham, Northumberland, who will mark her 20th birthday on the plinth, said: "I plan to celebrate in style, a good old fashioned birthday party. There will be cake."
Aquatic scientist Oliver Parsons-Baker, 26, from Birmingham, said he wanted to highlight the importance of clean water and added that he would also illustrate the dangers of over fishing by dressing as a fish.
Gwynneth Peddler, 83, from Oxford, will signal with semaphore flags while David Rosenberg, 41, a designer from London, will use a folding pink bicycle to generate electricity to light up his suit.
One and Other will begin on July 6 and run for 100 days with a total of 2,400 people due to take part. Applications to do so remain open and will be allocated in three further phases.
They come from all over the UK, range in age from 16 to 83 and include a blacksmith, a professor and a rubbish collector. Many will campaign on issues, while others will perform and some may simply sit and read or use the time to think.
Heather Pringle, a student from Hexham, Northumberland, who will mark her 20th birthday on the plinth, said: "I plan to celebrate in style, a good old fashioned birthday party. There will be cake."
Aquatic scientist Oliver Parsons-Baker, 26, from Birmingham, said he wanted to highlight the importance of clean water and added that he would also illustrate the dangers of over fishing by dressing as a fish.
Gwynneth Peddler, 83, from Oxford, will signal with semaphore flags while David Rosenberg, 41, a designer from London, will use a folding pink bicycle to generate electricity to light up his suit.
One and Other will begin on July 6 and run for 100 days with a total of 2,400 people due to take part. Applications to do so remain open and will be allocated in three further phases.
Anti-stab knife that can't kill unveiled
Britain's first "anti-stab" knife, designed to chop safely in the kitchen but useless as a weapon, could be on sale by the autumn, under a Home Office-funded project to cut crime. The knife has a rounded point, with a blade for cutting underneath. Its designer says it cuts vegetables, but is almost impossible to use to stab someone.
The New Point knife was developed by industrial designer John Cornock after his wife, Liz, saw a TV documentary in which three doctors advocated banning traditional knives. His idea was picked up by the Home Office's Design and Technology Alliance, a group set up to examine ways of designing products that deter crime.
"It can never be a totally safe knife, but the idea is you can't inflict a fatal wound," said Cornock. "Nobody could just grab one out of the kitchen drawer and kill someone."
The prototype is expected to be given a test run within months.
The New Point knife was developed by industrial designer John Cornock after his wife, Liz, saw a TV documentary in which three doctors advocated banning traditional knives. His idea was picked up by the Home Office's Design and Technology Alliance, a group set up to examine ways of designing products that deter crime.
"It can never be a totally safe knife, but the idea is you can't inflict a fatal wound," said Cornock. "Nobody could just grab one out of the kitchen drawer and kill someone."
The prototype is expected to be given a test run within months.
Surgeon needlessly cut off man's testicle
A furious bachelor has revealed how his life has been wrecked after a bungling surgeon needlessly cut off one of his testicles.
Paul Miller, 40, lost part of his manhood after being wrongly diagnosed with cancer.
"After the operation I was told there was good news and bad news," stormed Paul who underwent surgery in November after discovering a lump.
"I asked for the bad news first and they told me they shouldn't have removed my testicle. The good news was I never had cancer at all - it was a water infection tablets could have cleared up. I went through a lot of distress for nothing."
Paul discovered the surgeon would have known the lump was benign if he'd taken a biopsy first. But he's been told he's unlikely to get a £7,000 payout for his lost healthy testicle even though it's left him suicidal. "This has affected my relationships with women," the songwriter said. "When I go to bed with a girl, the first thing I wonder is whether she'll notice.
"And if I'm out with friends, whenever the word 'b*******' is used the first thing I think is, 'I only have one ball', I've been depressed and had serious thoughts of suicide."
Paul Miller, 40, lost part of his manhood after being wrongly diagnosed with cancer.
"After the operation I was told there was good news and bad news," stormed Paul who underwent surgery in November after discovering a lump.
"I asked for the bad news first and they told me they shouldn't have removed my testicle. The good news was I never had cancer at all - it was a water infection tablets could have cleared up. I went through a lot of distress for nothing."
Paul discovered the surgeon would have known the lump was benign if he'd taken a biopsy first. But he's been told he's unlikely to get a £7,000 payout for his lost healthy testicle even though it's left him suicidal. "This has affected my relationships with women," the songwriter said. "When I go to bed with a girl, the first thing I wonder is whether she'll notice.
"And if I'm out with friends, whenever the word 'b*******' is used the first thing I think is, 'I only have one ball', I've been depressed and had serious thoughts of suicide."
Week-old puppy survives being flushed down toilet
Dyno the pup was still a bit ruff yesterday – after being flushed down the loo. The week-old cocker spaniel was trapped in a waste pipe for almost four hours after little Daniel Blair decided he “needed a wash”.
Horrified mum Alison, 40, feared the worst when she realised what four-year-old Daniel had done. But she decided to check the drain outside – and heard the dog whimpering. She immediately rang 999, but firefighters were unable to reach him.
In desperation she finally called plumbing specialists Dyno-Rod, who used a special camera to locate the terrified pup – lying upside down in a pipe 20 yards away under a neighbour’s house. They then gently nudged him towards the nearest manhole cover and he was plucked to safety.
The amazing drama began when Daniel’s twin brother Nicky took the pup for a walk in the garden. Mum-of-seven Alison said: “About an hour later I realised the dog was missing and asked the boys where he was. Daniel told me it had got muddy so they put it in the toilet and pulled the chain to give it a wash. I ran into the bathroom but the dog was nowhere to be seen. I assumed it was dead. I went into the garden, managed to lift up the drain cover and was amazed to hear him crying.”
Hero of the day was Dyno-Rod man Will Craig, 22, from Harrow, Middlesex. He said: “When I got the call I thought it was a wind-up. At first I didn’t want to do it because I was scared of hurting the dog. But the RSPCA said I was its only hope. I pushed him really slowly and watched the poor thing wriggling around. Eventually I pushed him far enough for the firemen to grab. Suddenly everyone started cheering. We couldn’t believe he was still alive.”
After a night at the local vets, Dyno – named after his rescuers – was given a clean bill of health. And little Daniel has apologised. He said: “Nicky got the puppy muddy and I had to give him a wash. I’m so, so sorry. I won’t do it again.”
With different news video.
Horrified mum Alison, 40, feared the worst when she realised what four-year-old Daniel had done. But she decided to check the drain outside – and heard the dog whimpering. She immediately rang 999, but firefighters were unable to reach him.
In desperation she finally called plumbing specialists Dyno-Rod, who used a special camera to locate the terrified pup – lying upside down in a pipe 20 yards away under a neighbour’s house. They then gently nudged him towards the nearest manhole cover and he was plucked to safety.
The amazing drama began when Daniel’s twin brother Nicky took the pup for a walk in the garden. Mum-of-seven Alison said: “About an hour later I realised the dog was missing and asked the boys where he was. Daniel told me it had got muddy so they put it in the toilet and pulled the chain to give it a wash. I ran into the bathroom but the dog was nowhere to be seen. I assumed it was dead. I went into the garden, managed to lift up the drain cover and was amazed to hear him crying.”
Hero of the day was Dyno-Rod man Will Craig, 22, from Harrow, Middlesex. He said: “When I got the call I thought it was a wind-up. At first I didn’t want to do it because I was scared of hurting the dog. But the RSPCA said I was its only hope. I pushed him really slowly and watched the poor thing wriggling around. Eventually I pushed him far enough for the firemen to grab. Suddenly everyone started cheering. We couldn’t believe he was still alive.”
After a night at the local vets, Dyno – named after his rescuers – was given a clean bill of health. And little Daniel has apologised. He said: “Nicky got the puppy muddy and I had to give him a wash. I’m so, so sorry. I won’t do it again.”
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