Pigeon caught smuggling phone into jail

Our pick of the strange stories from around the world.

Pigeon used to help inmate doing bird

Prison guards have captured a pigeon that had a mobile telephone and a USB stick strapped to its back. The bird was reportedly discovered on its way into the Combita prison, in Colombia, and is believed to be part of a plan to smuggle the contraband good to an inmate. Officials are working to identify which of the prisoners the pigeon was meant to be meeting.

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Airline flies five-year-old boys to wrong cities

Airline JetBlue has been left red-faced after flying two five-year-old boys to the wrong cities in the United States. Maribel Martinez, of New York, told local media that JetBlue staff presented her with the wrong child. "No, this is not my child," she said. After a frantic three-hour delay, staff were able to locate Martinez's son, who had been flown to Boston. Both boys have since been returned to their families and the airline has offered the families compensation.

Teens fined $250 for licking a bat

Two hikers in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest have been fined $250 (£187) each for entering a restricted cave, licking a bat and spray painting their names on the wall. Codey Foster and Dusten Ray Gill were caught after they uploaded photos of themselves with the bat on Facebook and then bragged to their friends about their exploits. The bat, which was hibernating, was reportedly unharmed.