POSTMAN’S NIGHTMARE: A Rottweiler chased unlucky postman Paul Elliott into a telephone kiosk after stealing a full mail bag out of his hand.

The Shields Gazette reported that Paul rang the assistant manager at the South Shields sorting office who laughed hysterically when he heard Paul’s plight but managed to ring the police to go and help.

Meanwhile, back at the telephone box, the dog had by now chased a woman shopper into the kiosk.

“She wasn’t as scared as me, which is quite embarassing,” said Paul who was rescued by officers who also traced the dog’s owners.

LUCKY ESCAPE: Frozen debris, the size of a football, fell from a plane and ripped through the loft of a pensioner’s home in Brighton.

The Evening Argus told how the 70-year-old man was only five metres away from the lump and could have been killed if it had landed on top of him.

WRAPPING UP WELL: Winter coats made in Huddersfield are selling like hot cakes on the sun-kissed island of Bermuda, says local evening title, the Daily Examiner.

The James Group says its coats are being snapped up by wealthy Americans whose cruise liners call in to the Caribbean tourist spot.

DOG DONORS: Shropshire solicitor Margaret Morrison rushed across the county with her two greyhounds after an appeal from the Greyhound Rescue organisation for suitable blood donors to save the life of a dying dog.

Eight-year-old Perkin the greyhound had been having routine dental treatment when complications set in and he began to bleed heavily. His distraught owners were told a transfusion was needed to save his life, and their other greyhounds were not suitable donors.

Greyhound Rescue’s regional office put out an appeal, reported the Shropshire Star, and Margaret answered. She left work to take her dogs to the rescue. A fully-recovered Perkin is now back home with his grateful family.

GOING BY THE BOOK: The News, in Portsmouth, has reported that school exercise books could be examined by police in a bid to track down graffiti vandals.

They believe the youngsters, who often sign their graffiti with distinctive signature designs – known as “tags” – often draw the same designs in their school books.

I CAN’T BEAR IT: A quote from mum provided the perfect ending to a Bristol Evening Post story about a little girl who has been reunited with a lost teddy bear.

Emmaleigh Coates (six) had been looking after Belinda, the school teddy, but left it behind at Paddington Station when her family caught a train to Bath. A ticket collector saw her crying, asked what the problem was and quietly slipped away.

Mum Trudy explained: “She went off to secretly ring Lost Property and came back to explain that Belinda had been very naughty and had jumped off the train to spend Valentine’s Day with Paddington Bear.”

The bear was tracked down and mailed back to Emmaleigh.

FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BETTER?: Champion runner Roddy Pitt aims to prove that two legs are better than four when he takes on…a racehorse.

Roddy will race against Leith Sands in a 100m dash at Musselburgh, Scotland, on Saturday, the Edinburgh Evening News reports. He was inspired to take on the challenge by other top athletes, who believe that beating a four-legged beast is a sign of prowess.

THANKS A BUNCH, DAD: Jamie Cox thought he was on to a bargain when he saw an advert for a Vauxhall Astra in a trade magazine.

He had no idea that the seller was his father, Spencer – who he had not seen for years – until they met to seal the deal. But he was in for a bigger shock when the car suffered a series of breakdowns. Jamie’s mother – his father’s ex-wife – promptly called in trading standards officials and Spencer was prosecuted for supplying an unroadworthy vehicle, the Express and Echo, Exeter, reported.

PUKKA STUFF: A national advertising campaign gave the Leicester Mercury a new twist on the Millennium Dome saga.

The paper told how Leicester-based Pukka-Pies’ campaign – using a poster showing the Dome replace by a giant pie, with the slogan “Milleni-yum” – had been so successful that 3,000 posters had been distributed to chippies across the country.

SCRUFF IN A JAM: A hamster called Scruff made page 1 of the Grimsby Evening Telegraph after chewing his way out of his cage and getting stuck in a gas fire.

All efforts to free him failed until the fire brigade arrived and eased the sooty creature out with the help of washing-up liquid.

TAILPIECE: Banned driver Graham Hadaway was collared by a police officer on horseback as he was taking his car to be sold. Nothing particularly stunning about the story but the Shields Gazette deserves a mention for its headline: “Banned driver’s tale of whoa!”

MAKING THE WEBSITE ROCK: That popular sticky confection, Blackpool rock, is making the leap from the beach to the boardroom, says local evening title, The Gazette.

Instead of “Wish You Were Here” or the name of the resort lettered through the middle of the seaside sugar sticks, Jason Evans is hand-making rock with website addresses and corporate logos, such as the Peugeot lion, running right through.

JIMMY IS THE BABY – AT 80: Lifelong Blackburn Rovers fan Jimmy Yates will celebrate his 80th birthday with a party at Ewood Park on Sunday – surrounded by his four ELDER brothers and sisters.

The ‘baby’ of the family will be toasted by siblings Alfred, 81, Sarah, 82, Lily, 85, and Esther, 86, as well as the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, which reported on their story.

PUB SEES IN NEW YEAR…AGAIN: A Yorkshire pub plans to ring in the millennium 10 weeks late for a regular who missed the fun following a car crash on December 30.

Now that Denise Stansfield is out of hospital, the landlord of the Inn on the Bridge, Hebden Bridge is to stage New Year’s Eve all over again on March 8, says the Yorkshire Evening Post. All he needs is a recording of Big Ben’s chimes to make the party complete.

‘DON KING’ SAVED BY GREAT DANE: Furious barking from her Great Dane, Ella, alerted Julie Columbine to two dehydrated rabbits inside an animal carrier box – abandoned in the garden of her Cheshire home.

Now they have recovered, the Manchester Evening News reported, Julie has decided to adopt them. She has named the boy bunny Don King because of his unusual spiky grey hair. His sister has been christened Mollie.

NAKED CINEMA: Nights where people could watch the latest Hollywood blockbusters in the nude could be introduced at the country’s first DVD digital cinema.

The Herald Express has reported on the plan by Rob Holmes, who launched the new cinema operation at his nightclub in Kingsbridge, South Devon, this week.

Rob, who last year invited naturists to his Fusions nightspot for special naked-only nights, said he had already spoken to some naturists’ clubs and they thought it was a great idea.

CATCH OF THE DAY: A former Hull trawler will be used in the search for Noah’s Ark, the Hull Daily Mail has reported.

The Northern Horizon, a former deep sea freezer, was retired from a fishing fleet in 1979 to take up a new role of searching the sea bed.

It will now join a hunt led by Dr Robert Ballard – who discovered the Titanic, and helped track down the wrecks of the Lusitania and the Bismarck – in a region of the Black Sea where the famous floating zoo from the Bible is believed to have ended up.

CLEANING UP ON CUPBOARD: Church custodians have been left red-faced after selling an old cupboard used to store cleaning materials to a dealer for £350.

It has now turned up in a Christie’s auction catalogue with an estimated value of between £1,500 – £2,500, the East Anglian Daily Times has reported.

All Saints’ Church, at Saxtead, near Framlingham, decided the “ugly” cupboard was taking up too much room. It has now been found to be a 16th century piece made fro
m fragments of a medieval rood screen.

CAT SAVES SEVEN LIVES: Medway Today told how a cat saved seven people from a house fire in Sittingbourne.

The cat had been shut in the kitchen for the night when the fire broke out. It made such a frantic noise as the smoke began to build up that it woke a 17-year-old upstairs. He opened the door – releasing the cat – and saw the fire in time to alert everyone else and get them out safely.

DAFFODIL DAYLIGHT RAIDS: A parish council chairman has declared a one-woman war on motorists who nab daffodils from roadsides in the Eastleigh village of Fair Oak.

Helen Douglas has been logging the registration numbers of cars driven by daffodil snatchers, she told the Southern Daily Echo, and intends to publish them in the parish magazine.

DAD FOR IT: As fans await the arrival of the new Oasis album, guests at the Manchester Airport Hotel have been treated to a live performance from one of the Gallagher clan, the Manchester Evening News reported.

Tommy, estranged father of Noel and Liam, was spotted working as a DJ for a 70th birthday party. He didn’t play any of the boys’ hits, the paper said, choosing instead to spin discs from the 70s and 80s.

BUTCHER’S SECRET IS T.L.C: Malvern butcher Chrys Titshall has been judged the maker of Britain’s tastiest sausage in a competition run by the Meat Trades Journal.

He refused to reveal the recipe of his prize-winning pork banger, but told the Worcester Evening News that “tender, loving care when making the sausage mix” was vitally important.

YOU’VE BEEN MANGO-ED: Two unique mirrors, shaped like mangoes and framed in purple, orange and green artwork, have been stolen from a cafe in Exeter, the Express & Echo has reported.

They were taken from the men’s and ladies’ toilets at Mango’s cafe bar.

Cafe owner Nina Theodoulou said: “I can’t believe someone came in for a coffee and left with the mirrors. I should have bolted them to the wall.”

BLOOMING CHEEK: A motorist stopped by a red traffic light in Brixham leapt out and stole an expensive palm from a private flower display.

Brixham Horticultural Society, which sponsors and plants the display, told the Herald Express they hope the culprit may have been caught on CCTV.

KETCHUP TERROR: A Cheltenham mum is to go on TV talk show Trisha in a bid to find a solution for her seven-year-old son’s phobia of tomato sauce.

James Coles has a stomach-churning fear of ketchup, mayonnaise and relish – just the sight of them can make him vomit, his mum told the Gloucestershire Echo.

TREE-TMENT FOR HOSPITAL: Clones of an ancient oak from Sherwood Forest are to be planted around Nottingham City Hospital, the Evening Post has revealed.

It is part of an ambitious wildlife preservation scheme to restore heathlands – home to scarce birds like woodlarks and nightjars.

LOOPY WEDDING: A Skegness couple are to say their wedding vows on a rollercoaster.

Rev Nicholas Brailsford, a member of ACE – American Coaster Enthusiasts – will perform the ceremony for Steve Saddler and Clare Smith aboard the Millennium Rollercoaster at the Magical World of Fantasy Island next month, the Lincolnshire Echo has reported.

The happy couple will be accompanied wedding guests and members of the Chapel le Frith choir.

PEACE TOWER PLAN: Chairman of Nottingham’s Natural Law Party has dreamed up a plan to build The Maharishi Tower of World Peace in the grounds of Nottingham Castle.

It would stand half a kilometre high, making it Europe’s tallest free-standing tower.

City planners have said the idea is unlikely to be approved, the Evening Post reported

BURGLARS MAKE A BOOB: Also from the Evening Post comes the story of burglars who broke into a lingerie shop … and stole a box of 15 faulty bras which were waiting to be sent back to the makers.

The haul also included one leather glove and a raincoat which had hung unused for 11 years.

Owner Jenny Fearnley of Jenny’s in Ripley said: “I’m thinking of putting up a sign saying: ‘Thanks for pinching all my rubbish’.

LOVE ON THE WEB: A two-year trans-Atlantic courtship over the Internet has ended with Diane Gebheart, from California marrying her Welsh romeo, Dean Longhurst, in Swansea.

Dean, a brewery drayman, told the South Wales Evening Post that he met his wife on an Internet chat line on only his second day of surfing the web.

PEBBLES PINCHED: A man has been convicted of taking pebbles from a beach near his Budleigh Salterton home after the first prosecution of its kind under the 1949 Coastal Protection Act.

The Western Morning News reported that East Devon councillors have blamed Alan Titchmarsh’s Ground Force TV programme and similar DIY makeover shows for the disappearance of large number of pebbles.

They believe people are taking them to make paths and seaside features in their gardens.

The convicted man denied the offence and said he had been carrying a bucket load of crabs he had just landed. He was conditionally discharged for a year and ordered to pay £250 costs.

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