British pensioner tries to swim back to cruise ship in Atlantic

Our pick of the strange but true stories from around the world.

Tourist rescued after Atlantic swim fail

A 65-year-old British tourist has been rescued by fisherman off the island of Madeira after trying to swim back to her cruise ship in the middle of the night - clutching her handbag as she did so. Holidaymaker Susan Brown had apparently had a row with her husband while in Funchal and decided to fly home, but changed her mind when she saw the ship set sail and attempted to swim out to it. She was found around a third of a mile off the coast and was taken to hospital with symptoms of hypothermia.

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Cupcake the cat travels first class

A Siamese cat called Cupcake has survived a 260-mile, eight-day journey through the post after her owners mistakenly parcelled her up with a box of DVDs and sent her from Falmouth to Worthing. Owner Julie Baggott told the BBC she had searched frantically for her pet and only realised she had mistakenly parcelled her up when she was contacted by the Grove Lodge Veterinary Hospital in Worthing. They let her know that Cupcake was dehydrated and unhappy, but alive.

Facebook joke leads to arrest

Police in Texas have arrested a drug user who read a hoax Facebook post warning that local supplies of methamphetamine and heroin had been infected with Ebola. "If you have recently purchased meth or heroin in Central Texas, please take it to the local police or sheriff department so it can be screened with a special device," the post read. Chastity Eugina Hopson contacted police and brought in her meth for sampling, leading to her arrest on drug charges.