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POLICE TOLD TO STOP VISITING BROTHELS
Police patrolling the red-light district of the Belgian capital have been ordered to stop visiting brothels and drinking in bars, at least while on duty. A letter sent to officers in Brussels' northern police district, and published in a Belgian daily paper, urged them to set a good example and earn the public's respect.

The letter said, "These officers think their duty hours are to be used to drink alcohol in bars, practice sports, visit brothels or massage parlours, and entertain relationships with residents of the neighbourhood during their patrol." A police spokesman confirmed the letter was authentic, but said the police chief had only reacted to rumours of officers behaving badly while on duty. (Source: Metro, Oct/07)

RESCUER FINED FOR SAVING OAP
A Belgian man who stopped an old woman being crushed in train doors as she got onto a train was handed a £40 pound fine for causing a delay. Daniel Dewulf was given the fine by a conductor after he pulled open the train doors after they closed on the elderly lady as she tried to get on. Belgian Railways has now apologised to Dewulf and a spokesman said, "We should have fined the woman in question for boarding the train after the whistle."

Daniel, from Ostend, said, "I heard the conductor's whistle just as I got on the train and then realised someone else was trying to get on. The doors had closed on the elderly woman, trapping her. In order to prevent a tragedy I pushed the door open and helped her get in. She thanked me profusely. But the conductor gave me a fine because he said my actions increased the chance of a delay. He wasn't interested when I tried to explain to him that I had only opened the doors to try and save an old woman's life." (Source: Ananova, Oct/07)

FIREFIGHTERS TOLD CLIMBING LADDERS IS DANGEROUS
Firefighters of Ampthill have been told they cannot bring down old festival bunting because that would be too dangerous. The crews have been barred from cleaning up after their community's Gala Day. Deputy chief fire officer Graeme Smith said, "Yes it sounds like the world has gone mad. Firefighters will climb ladders to rescue people from burning buildings but not to remove bunting after a festival. But one is a 999 job where, in order to save lives, we will take calculated risks. The other is a maintenance job which is covered by standard health and safety rules which we would have to abide by, the same as everyone else." (Source: Daily Mail, Oct/07)

CEMENT MIXER NOT GOOD GETAWAY VEHICLE
A thief caught shoplifting from a supermarket in Germany tried to make his getaway in a cement mixer, but he was quickly nabbed by police. When a shop detective in the town of Limbach-Oberfrohna caught the man stealing a £1.94 packet of processed cheese, the man broke free and leaped into his cement mixing truck outside. The shop alerted police, who arrested the man when he stopped his getaway vehicle at a red light a few hundred yards away. (Source: Metro, Oct/07)

GIVEN FREE DRUGS AS REWARD FOR - STAYING OFF DRUGS!
Cocaine and heroin addicts on a government treatment programme are being given extra drugs as a reward for good behaviour. A survey of almost 200 clinics in England by the National Treatment Agency (NTA), which runs the £500m-a-year treatment scheme, found users were being offered extra heroin substitute methadone or anti-depressants for clean urine samples. The NTA admitted the practice was unethical and said it wanted to see certain practices "squeezed out of the system".

A third of clinics in the survey said users who produced a drug-free urine sample may be offered increased doses of heroin substitute as a reward, known as "contingency management". A quarter admit that clients can choose the type of substitute drugs they want. The survey also found clinicians offering anti-depressants, cash vouchers or access to detox as a reward. The agency's chief executive Paul Hayes said doses of drugs were determined by an individual's needs and not by whether or not they were co-operating with the programme. (Source: Daily Mail, Oct/07)

SEX PARTY ANGRY AT PORN DECISION
A small Canadian political party that promotes sexual freedom complained in the Federal Court that it was discriminated against by the country's postal service. The Sex Party is upset that Canada Post refused to distribute a flyer during the 2006 federal election that outlined the group's philosophy, after deeming some its contents to be pornographic. Party leader John Ince said the pamphlet was intended to help recruit new party members and raise donations. The Vancouver-based party, which advocates liberalization of Canada's prostitution laws among other issues, says its political mailing ran afoul of rules prohibiting use of the postal system to distribute mass-mailing flyers for hard-core pornography or other illegal material. (Source: Metro, Oct/07)

£5,000 BOG FOR THE QUEEN
Romsey Town Council spent £5,000 on a toilet for the Queen, which she didn't even use. When officials totted up the cost of Her Majesty's visit to their town they realised it had cost them a £20,000 an hour. Royal officials told trip organisers Her Majesty would not use an old toilet and insisted a new one be installed in the town hall before her visit but the brand new toilet remained unused during the three hour walkabout in Romsey, Hants.

The extra expense of the toilet added to the council's troubles as the cost of the visit escalated out of control. The trip, marking the 400th anniversary of Romsey Town Council's Royal Charter, was expected to cost just £20,000 but councillors were too embarrassed to cancel when they found out weeks before the Queen was due to arrive that the true cost would be a staggering £38,000 more.

Romsey town clerk Judith Giles said, "Buckingham Palace officials said we would have to replace it, there was no argument. It was 'you must do it'." Mrs Giles revealed how the trip has wiped out the council's reserves, worth more than a third of its annual £160,000 budget. Mayor of Romsey, Mark Cooper, said, "If we do not recover the money from the district council we will have to put up the council tax precept next year. I'm not sure how much it will be yet, but we're working on the sums at the moment. (Source: Daily Mail, Oct/07)

DRIVER THROWS OAP ONTO PAVEMENT BECAUSE HIS PASS WASN'T VALID
A 94-year old Battle of Britain veteran was thrown off a bus after a driver noticed his OAP travel pass was not valid for another 40 minutes. Thomas Bleasdale fell flat on his face on the pavement after being frogmarched off a single decker in front of shocked passengers. The former RAF engineer had wanted to get on the Number 19 Preston bus in Preston, Lancashire at 8.50am so he could get into town for a day trip out. But the pensioner's bus pass only offers elderly people discounted bus travel in Lancashire after 9.30am.

The driver told the old man he was early but when Mr Bleasdale said there was nothing on his own bus pass about restriction times, the driver jumped from his seat, grabbed the old man and threw him off the vehicle. Mr Bleasdale, suffered a badly-bruised hand and sore knees in the fracas just 100 yards from his home in Deepdale, Preston. Mr Bleasdale, from Deepdale, even missed the bus for his "mystery tour" day trip he was due to take because of the incident.

The pavement under the bus stop, outside Deepdale Infants School on Deepdale Road, was still covered in the pensioner's blood a day after the incident. The incident was captured by on-board CCTV cameras which has been viewed by bosses at Preston Bus. A Preston Bus spokesman confirmed that the driver had left the company following the incident. An investigation had shown there had been an argument between Mr Bleasdale and the driver before he was ejected. (Source: Daily Mail, Oct/07)

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