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NOISY WIND CHIME
Rugby Borough Council ordered a man to move a tiny wind chime from his back garden following an investigation that cost more than £1,000. David Bavington received an official letter claiming that the 1in-diameter chime was a 'statutory nuisance' following a complaint and he was warned he had to remove it, or be served with a noise abatement order and face legal action. Mr Bavington bought the chime to create a feeling of calm while they were sitting in the garden of their home in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, with noisy airliners flying overhead on final approach to Coventry airport just over a mile away.

Instead, it has landed them in a two-month legal row with officials at the council, which has spent £1,000 writing letters, phoning the couple and sending two officers out to listen to the chime because of a complaint that it tinkled too loudly in windy weather. Sean Lawson, head of environment for the council, said officers had a duty to investigate every complaint. He said, "It does cost a lot of money but it is our job. People become very concerned about noises or anything else that intrudes into their lives from their neighbours' gardens." (Source: This is London, Jan/07)

HOODIE'S BANNED
An Asda security guard asked an 85-year-old cancer sufferer to remove her hood or be thrown out. The store in Wirral, Merseyside, is one of many to have adopterd a strict 'no hoodie' policy in a bid to tackle yobs. Regular shopper at the store, Mrs Stoba, was wearing the hood of her coat to conceal bandages from a recent operation. She was then approached by a security guard who told her that if she did not remove her hood then she would be asked to leave.

Jennifer England, Asda's PR manager, said, "All we can say is that it was the busiest shopping week of the year and it appears that all common sense went out of the window on Mrs Stoba’s visit. Our colleagues have been re-briefed to make sure that this doesn’t happen again and Mrs Stoba is always welcome, with or without her hood." If she´d been wearing a Burka she would have had no problem and would have probably got some form of compensation. (Source: The Sun, Jan/07)

HOODIE WEARERS JUST KEEPING WARM
Children's Minister Beverley Hughes said hoodie wearers should not be branded sinister or threatening, they're just trying to keep warm. Although this doesn't explain why they are worn during the summer. She also said it was time for adults to stop complaining about them, and rubbished suggestions children were getting into trouble through spending too much time on the internet. How much does this woman get paid? (Source: Daily Mirror, Jan/07)

CHRISTMAS TV CANCELLED FOR ELDERLY PATIENTS
Elderly hospital patients missed out on TV over Christmas when health and safety bosses banned all sets from wards on the grounds that they posed a hazard. The order was imposed at Penrhos Stanley Community Hospital in Holyhead, Anglesey after health and safety inspectors visited the ward where its small number of mainly elderly inpatients are staying.

Patients have been allowed to have their own portable televisions and video or DVD players by their beds since the complex was built ten years ago but bosses maintain the trailing leads "could lead to trips and falls" and say patients will have to go to the lounge if they want to watch their favourite programmes.

A spokesman for the trust which runs the hospital rejected calls for the sets to be given a Christmas amnesty, insisting health and safety was more important. He said, "This decision has not been taken lightly, and issues such as space for nurses to care and treat patients, trailing leads which can lead to trips and falls, and noise have been taken into consideration." (Source: Mail on Sunday, Dec/06)

DUMMIES DON'T HAVE A LICENCE
Two mannequins that are used to collect donations for a lifeboat charity could be removed because they don't have a collector's licence. The two life-size dummies are dressed in full lifeboat uniform of life jacket and helmet and each have a bucket for people to donate cash. They stand outside a lifeboat station and on the seafront collecting £15,000 each a year in Sidmouth, Devon, but a member of the public complained that they are collecting money illegally.

Anyone who uses a tin to accept money for charity in public needs a collector's permit from the local authority. The complaint was lodged to East Devon District Council who have admitted that under licensing laws the mannequins may have to be removed. A spokesman for East Devon District Council said an investigation is underway in to whether the dummies are operating illegally.

To apply for a licence the dummies would need to be over 16 and fill out a form with their name, address, phone number and date of birth. The council spokesman said, "There are by-laws covering the licensing of human charity collectors - but static collectors are a different matter. Local authorities have traditionally steered clear of imposing bureaucratic decisions on such collection points." (Source: Mail on Sunday, Dec/06)

HAIRCUT MAY SCARE OTHER PUPILS
A 12-year-old boy was banned from mixing with fellow pupils in case his skinhead haircut scared them. The ruling meant he had to study alone in detention areas and kept inside at break times. Teachers at Springfield School, Portsmouth, said his grade-zero trim looked aggressive. Head Lynn Evans said, "The haircut breaks rules on extreme styles. Anything shorter than a grade three gives the wrong impression and we're reviewing his hair every two days." Well it won't grow that much in two days. (Source: Sunday People, Dec/06)

DESPITE REPEATED WARNINGS....
Former newsreader Carol Barnes upset pensioners on a Saga cruise by giving a speech on women’s private parts and more than 60 OAPs among the 200-strong audience walked out as she delivered her talk. Her monologue was described in the Saga Rose’s newsletter as “explicit, not for the fainthearted” and the warning was repeated to the pensioners before the talk started. One OAP said, “It was totally inappropriate. It might just about have been OK for 18 to 40-year-old women with no men present but to an audience of Saga people it really caused a lot of embarrassment and shock.” Maybe Saga should have explained what the word “explicit" means. (Source: The Sun, Dec/06)

FLIGHT GROUNDED BY FARTING WOMAN
A plane was diverted from its path and forced to land, after a woman passenger started lighting matches to cover up her flatulence. The escalation in America's War on Farting came on an internal flight between Washington and Dallas, which was forced to land in Nashville when passengers told cabin crew that they could smell burning matches. After an emergency landing, passengers were evacuated from the plane for security screening, the luggage hold was cleared, and bomb-sniffing dogs were sent onto the plane. The dogs eventually found a number of spent matches under one passenger's seat. Under FBI questioning, the woman admitted that she was lighting matches, which is illegal on a plane, in an attempt to conceal 'body odour'. Reports claim that the woman has 'a medical condition'. The plane eventually took off again, without the smelly woman, who an airline spokeswoman said had been banned from their flights 'for a long time.' (Source: Metro, Dec/06)