A tiny kitten is recovering after it was trapped for several days in the cavity wall of a home.

The cries of the ginger kitten, which has been named Macavity, were heard by the tenant of a flat in Liskeard, Cornwall.

The fire service were called and cut a hole in the cavity wall and found the kitten inside.

How Macavity ended up inside the wall and survived for five days has baffled staff at the RSPCA.

For five days the tenant had heard meowing coming from inside the walls of his flat.

After becoming increasingly concerned about the plight of the animal he contacted the RSPCA last week.

Felicity Cross, an animal welfare officer, said: “The flat was in the process of being sold, when the tenant heard the poor cat wailing and moving behind the wall.

“After frantically searching for any way to get to it, we realised the only chance of saving it would be to make a hole. We had the estate agents’ agreement.” (PA)

Bookie offers odds on ABBA reunion

A British bookmaker is taking bets on an ABBA comeback after singer Agnetha Faltskog hinted at a possible reunion for Sweden’s most successful band. She has come out of retirement to release a solo album called A.
Her former husband Bjorn Ulvaeus and his fellow ABBA songwriter Benny Andersson vowed in 2008 not to re-form the group that broke up in 1982 after nine British number-one hits.

But speculation about ABBA reforming has mounted before the opening of an ABBA museum in Stockholm in May. British bookmakers Paddy Power seized on the speculation to offer odds of 14/1 for ABBA to perform together in 2013, possibly opening the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo. (Reuters)

Human ear found in graveyard

A man found a human ear while walking his dog in a church graveyard, police said.

The grisly discovery took place yesterday afternoon in the grounds of St Mary the Virgin church in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Police cordoned off the church to investigate and have sent the ear to the Home Office pathologist to be analysed. They will launch an investigation if the body part is found to be “current rather than historic”.

A spokeswoman said: “Thames Valley Police are currently investigating a report received yesterday from a member of the public who believed that they found a body part in the grounds of St Mary’s church, St Mary’s Square, Aylesbury.

“Police were called at 6.37pm by a man who was walking his dog and discovered what he believed may be a human ear.” (PA)

Overcrowding behind pigs mystery

Overcrowding on farms around Shanghai was the underlying factor that led to 16,000 dead pigs floating down the Huangpu river into China’s affluent financial centre, according to an analysis of official documents and interviews with farmers.

The appearance last month of carcasses of rotting hogs in a river that supplies tap water to the eastern Chinese city was a morbid reminder of the pressures facing China’s mostly small-scale farmers as the country grapples with food safety scares, environmental pressures and, most recently, an outbreak of bird flu.

Until now the main reason for Shanghai’s startling outbreak of dead hogs appeared to have been a local government crackdown on criminal gangs that had been selling abandoned carcasses as meat on the black market, meaning fewer ended up in the river.

But a deeper look suggests that an unsustainable level of overcrowding – a key factor in the spread of disease and death rates – was the critical issue. (Reuters)

Thief with conscience returns remains

A thief with a soft-hearted streak, who inadvertently nabbed some cremated remains along with thousands of rare gems in a truck burglary in Washington state, has anonymously mailed back the ashes to their owner, police said.

The truck owner had been golfing in a Tacoma suburb when his vehicle was broken into by a thief who stole a briefcase filled with 3,000 prized Oregon sunstone gemstones, more than 30 silver and gold sunstone rings and a bracelet with 34 multi-hued stones, said Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer.

Also taken was a green suitcase containing the cremated remains of the truck owner’s son, he said. Days later, the thief anonymously mailed back the ashes to an address on the truck owner’s business card, which had also been taken.

“The case is unique because of the high dollar amount of the gems and because you’ve got a criminal, a thief, who has somewhat of a heart,” Troyer said, without giving a value for the stolen valuables. (Reuters)