Published on Tuesday 26 June 2012 10:01

Check out a digest of odd stories in the news.

HAM-AZING ESCAPE

Farm rangers have squealed for help after a runaway piglet was discovered seeking shelter in an alpaca pen.

The one-week-old fugitive piglet has been named Al by staff at Wheelgate Family Theme Park in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, who are searching for his home and family.

He was found over the weekend seeking comfort with the park’s alpacas and not with the only resident pig, Dave, prompting staff to contact all local farms and farm parks to try to locate were Al has come from.

HOL LOT OF GENEROSITY

A 22-year-old music teacher who decided to give a £1,000 holiday away for free after he broke up with his girlfriend has arrived in Malta to a five-star welcome.

Tom Frankenburg, from Nottingham, received nearly 113,000 hits from around the world and 2,000 emails after he posted a personal video on YouTube inviting people to explain why they should be given the chance to go on the trip to Malta.

He gave the trip to a couple known only as Dawn and Stuart after he spent three months in hospital following an attack near his home last Easter in which he suffered severe head injuries. His generosity was rewarded after This Is Malta TV and the Malta Tourism Authority invited him and a friend to enjoy an all-expenses-paid holiday to the island.

A RAIL DRAG

Cardiff commuters are the happiest and those in Manchester the most miserable, it has been revealed.

The 11-city happiness rankings for rail commuters were compiled by the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) according to train service affordability, overcrowding and punctuality.

Cardiff was shown to have the most-affordable fares and comparatively low overcrowding while Manchester’s commuters were likely to be miserable due to higher fares relative to wages, with Newcastle upon Tyne the next happiest spot, followed by Nottingham, Birmingham and Leeds.

WRONG-FOOTED

Shoplifters in New York have discovered they can steal a left shoe from the display in one store and the matching right shoe from another.

The owner of one Bronx trainer shop says the thieves do their research. They know before they steal a left shoe which store has a right shoe of the same size and style on display.

Some shops are tying shoes to walls so no one will walk off with them.

STICK-UP

A teenager in Kansas has won a place as a finalist in a national design competition with a prom dress made entirely from duct tape.

Brooke Wallace, 17, spent more than 200 hours fashioning a western-style dress for herself and a suit for her date from 42 rolls of tape.

Now she and her date could each win 5,000 dollars if they take the title.

SOLE MATE

A woman is running barefoot across the United States to raise money to provide shoes for needy children.

Rae Heim, 18, started in Boston and hopes to reach Huntington Beach, California in October.

She started running barefoot after breaking a toe last year and shedding her running shoes for comfort.

• Email to a friend
• Print this page