It’s A Stick-Up?

Adult store clerk foils women ‘armed’ with toy gun

Police said two women who tried to rob a central Pennsylvania adult book store with a toy gun didn’t fool a clerk, who told them to "get a real gun." Authorities said 28-year-old Shannon Cheripka, of Glasgow, and 26-year-old Angela Crook, of Coalport, attempted to rob the Adult World store in Duncansville around 1 a.m. Thursday.

Cheripka told police the clerk said, "First, if you’re going to rob someone, get a real gun. Second off, you’re not getting any money."

Authorities said the clerk chased away the women before police in nearby Logan Township arrested them in a van the clerk had described.

The women remained in the Blair County Jail on Friday on robbery and other charges. It was unclear if they had lawyers.

Banker’s get “Finger”

t’s a feeling that many of us can no doubt sympathise with – giving the finger to bankers. But one Italian artist has taken it to extreme lengths.

The extreme length he’s taken it to, in fact, is 30 feet – because that’s the height of the statue that he’s created of an extended middle finger, pointed towards his country’s financial gurus.

Artist Maurizio Cattelan will officially unveil this graphic message to Italy’s money men in front of Milan’s stock exchange’.

Cattelan insists that it’s not the outright insult it may appear, saying: ‘Officially it’s name is L.O.V.E. So it stands for love – but everyone can read between the lines and take away the message they see for themselves.’

Cattelan is not exactly a stranger to controversial art – he has previously shocked the public with exhibits of Adolf Hitler praying and a famous statue of Pope John Paul II being struck by a meteor.

Danger….Cyclist About!!

Bicyclist ignores siren, hits squad car

The Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office said a bicyclist inching down the center of the road ignored lights and siren and ran into a police car. The Minden Press-Herald reported that 47-year-old Robert Earl Batton of Minden was booked with second-offense DWI and possessing marijuana. Calls to Batton’s home were not answered Friday.

A sheriff’s office press release said a deputy tried to pull Batton over late Saturday after a vehicle almost hit him. The deputy turned on lights and siren, then pulled ahead and got out.

Batton passed the officer and broadsided the police car.

The news release said a breath test registered blood alcohol of .270 percent – more than triple the legal limit.

Bin It!!

OAP Sea Rescue After Trying To Retrieve Bin

A pensioner has been rescued in a dinghy off the Welsh coast after trying to bring back a washed away wheelie bin.

The 81-year-old adventurer, who lives in Red Wharf Bay in North Wales, saw his neighbour’s wheelie bin get swept out to sea in unusually high tides on Friday.

The man set off in pursuit of the floating bin in a rubber dinghy and lashed it to the side of his flimsy vessel.

But strong winds overpowered the plucky rower and his boat was blown out to sea.

The coastguard was alerted and a lifeboat was launched from The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Moelfre, further up the coast.

When the lifeboat reached the man his boat was filling with sea water and the crew discovered he was not wearing a life vest or any waterproofs.

He was treated on shore for mild hypothermia and taken to hospital at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor for further treatment.

Dave Massey from the Moelfre lifeboat station said: "Everyone at the Moelfre lifeboat station wishes the gentleman a speedy recovery.

"The volunteer lifeboat crews at Moelfre have dealt with a wide variety of emergency calls over the years but I am sure that this is the first time we have been involved in towing in a wheelie bin."

When the wheelie bin was towed ashore it was found to be still half full of rubbish.

Hey You…Get Out Of My Town!!

Naked war between rival nudist groups over swinger invasion

Traditional nudists are protesting over an invasion of swingers who they claim have turned the southern Cap d’Agde ‘Naked City’ resort into a sleazy sex hotspot.

About 30 naturists told a council meeting their once quiet clothes-free haven had been over-run by ‘sex-mad exhibitionists’.

One traditional nudist has told Cap d’Agde councillors at this week’s town hall meeting: ‘We bought a flat here 34 years ago because we wanted to live naked in the sun.But now we are surrounded by wild animals.’

And Cllr Florence Denestebe, who is supporting the disgruntled nudists, said: ‘When the sun shines, there is an area of Cap d’Agde which turns into the European capital of free sex.’

But the nudists were told that nothing could be done until they made formal complaints to the police.

Friction between nudists first flared two years ago when so-called ‘nude terrorists’ launched arson attacks on several new sex clubs at the site.

Stressed Out!!

German man’s stress-calming naked walk backfires

A German man’s habit of taking naked walks to reduce his stress levels backfired when his latest escapade triggered a police search and closed down a rail line. Police in the western city of Solingen said Friday that a woman out walking her dog saw the man, who jumped onto the train tracks and fled. She found his clothes nearby and reported the sighting to police.

Police closed the rail line for 1 1/2 hours Thursday night and sent up a helicopter to try and locate the man. He eventually turned himself in, saying he panicked after being seen and fled home.

The 42-year-old told officers he often took naked walks because it helped him combat stress.

The man could now face a fine for trespassing on railway property.

Bummer!!

Hiker’s bum shot

 

A US hiker accidently shot himself in the butt.
Darrel Elam from Washington, kept the gun in his back pocket because he thought it would be more comfortable there than in its holster while he was trekking.

However a shot from the .40 caliber weapon fired down his left buttock and left leg before it came to rest just above his knee.

The lucky hiker was treated for minor injuries at Central Washington Hospital before being released.

He said he now intends to keep the gun in its holster at all times.

Housenapped??

House stolen by Internet scammers

Internet scammers conned an Australian real estate agent into selling a Perth house for $485,000 without the owner’s knowledge.

Police have told Roger Mildenhall, 64, the money is gone and he may not see a cent of it, Australia’s Sunday Times reported in its Sept. 12 edition. In a bitter twist, the building contractor may still have to pay thousands of dollars in capital gains tax, the newspaper said.

The investment property was sold in June but Mildenhall, who now lives in South Africa, was not aware of the fraud until a former neighbour contacted him last week.

Mildenhall told the Sunday Times it appears his house was put on the market after a series of emails were sent to a real estate agent asking for the home to be sold due to financial hardship.

Mildenhall said fraud squad police officers told him their initial investigations indicated the scammers were originally from Nigeria.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said the scammers even faxed duplicates of the deeds to the house to the real estate agent who sold the property. Such documents are readily accessible to the general public, the ABC said.

"It wasn’t even my signature on the letter of acceptance, it was just like a five-year-old had written out my name in block letters. And yet the (real estate) agency didn’t even turn a hair, they just accepted it," Mildenhall said.

The sale and the actions of companies involved are now under investigation by the national board governing Australia’s real estate industry as well as by police.

A second Perth investment property owned by Mildenhall was also in the process of being sold by scammers when Mildenhall returned to Australia last week.

He managed to stop the sale but said the locks had already been changed on the home and cleaners had been contracted to prepare the home for its new owners.

"I’ve got lots of questions because due diligence (by the real estate agents) wasn’t shown. There were several things that should not have happened without me – the real me – activating the sale," he said.

Mildenhall said he will now try to recoup the losses from the companies involved with the sale.

Petrol Crises??

Car thief fills diesel Audi full of petrol

A car thief was forced to abandon a stolen Audi just a few miles from scene of crime after filling it with petrol instead of diesel.

Daniel Boxall had stolen the £13,000 Audi A4 after pickpocketing owner Caroline Lyons at a leisure centre in Ramsgate, Kent, on June 12 this year.

After taking her car keys he jumped into the vehicle and drove off with his friend Richard Lloyd.

After a few miles he realised the car was running low on fuel and pulled into a petrol station.

But the thief didn’t realise the car was a diesel – despite it being written on the fuel cap – and filled it up with unleaded petrol.

As he drove off the car sputtered to a halt just a few hundreds yards from the petrol station and the 27-year-old Ramsgate man got out and flagged down a passing motorist.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how Boxall, of Ramsgate, then offered to sell the Audi to the driver for £100 before walking off saying that he would get a Porsche the next day.

The suspicious motorist then called police and Boxall and Lloyd were arrested as they walked along the road.

Ian Foinette, prosecuting, said: "CCTV shows a white man going to the female victim’s Audi and driving away.

"At 11pm the same night two males were spotted broken down at the side of the road by a passer-by who offered to help.

"They offered to sell him the car for £100.

"When he declined they said, ‘not to worry, tomorrow we’ll have a Porsche’."

Boxall claimed he had "been forced" to drive the car by a "black drug dealer" who had stolen the car, but CCTV proved that it was a white male – Boxall – who stole the keys.

The pair were found guilty of aggravated vehicle taking and Boxall was given a 12-month suspended sentence and disqualified from driving for a year.

Lloyd was sentenced to 180 days in prison, suspended for 18 months and a 12-month driving ban.

Recorder David Hall told Boxall that the car was a write-off after his bungle, telling him: "You have a shocking record.

"This was a mean offence and the car was destroyed by stupidity which caused loss and distress to that lady."

Horsing Around!!

Horses ridden into South London pub

A local council has closed a pub in South London after horses were ridden into it on several occasions.

The Cross Keys was also overwhelmed by a group of 100 people two weeks ago, which resulted in the establishment losing its license.

Video footage shows the riders entering the pub on horseback. Horses were ridden into the pub by travellers in separate incidents in April, June and July, police told Bexley council.

"It was like being in the Wild West," a drinker was quoted as saying. "One moment you’re sitting down having a pint and a bag of nuts and then horses come in through the door.

"I had to check someone hadn’t spiked my drink."
Landlord Derek McKenzie, 68, had his licence revoked because it was judged that he "could not control the situation".

McKenzie had told the council hearing that the horses were only in the pub "for a matter of seconds" before he escorted them out and told the riders not to come in "like cowboys".

He claimed that the riders had also caused problems in the town and that the council and police had chosen not to take action against them.