Trucker fights off snake at 70mph

An Australian trucker who was trying to fight off a highly poisonous snake while driving at 70mph along a busy road was pulled over by police on suspicion of speeding. A spokesman said later: “Although the traffic officer had heard his fair share of excuses for speeding, he soon realised this was not just another colourful tale and promptly sought medical assistance.”

Fisherman catches world war two bomb

A father who was fishing with his six-year-old son called the police when they reeled in a World War II-era bomb. Ben Austin said he and his son, Finley, were on a bridge over the River Mole in Dorking when they hooked the item. “As soon as I pulled it up, I was like ‘what is that?’ I thought ‘this is a bomb’. My son was trying to grab it and pull it up and I said, ‘no, this is a real bomb.’”

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Red and white lights spotted in Leicester

There was confusion earlier this week as bright white lights appeared in the sky over Leicester. Witnesses say the lights appeared at about 11.30pm. “After about 30 seconds of me noticing them and taking a picture they turned a red colour,” one said. A spokeswoman from the UK Meteor Observation Network said: “These look like sprites to me: transient luminous events which are quite rare.”