Girl sacked for being too young wins damages

A schoolgirl has become the youngest person in the UK to win a discrimination claim after she was sacked for being too young. Hazel Cassidy, now 15, worked two Saturday shifts in a cafe before she was dismissed. She told an employment tribunal in Glasgow that she was left feeling “distressed” and has been awarded nearly £3,000 in damages after a ruling that she was the victim of “direct discrimination”.

Burglar turned out to be a brown bear

An Italian woman who investigated what she thought was a burglar on her balcony discovered it was a rare brown bear. The Marsican bear had climbed on to her bedroom balcony in Pescosolido, near Lazio. “I practically screamed in the face of the bear,” remembered the woman. The bear fled, leaving some faeces behind on the balcony. A few days earlier it had been spotted bathing in the fountain of a neighbouring village.

Library book returned after 50 years

A library at the University of Cambridge has said a book has been returned 50 years after it became overdue. The Jerwood Library at Trinity Hall said the book, a 19th century atlas, was dropped off at the library after a recent college reunion event. The library said in a statement that officials are “really grateful to the person who returned this book to us“, adding: ”It’s definitely a case of better late than never!”