Woman travels 500 miles for driving test – and fails

A woman travelled 500 miles by car and ferry to take what is regarded as the UK’s easiest driving test – and failed. Constance Kampfner travelled all the way from London to the Isle of Mull, having handpicked the test route after discovering it only consisted of one roundabout. But she was left disappointed after the test when her instructor told her: “I don’t like to talk about people who fail their tests. Think of it as just not passing.”

Tsunami-struck man swims for 24 hours

A Tongan man washed away by the tsunami drifted and swam between islands for more than 24 hours. Lisala Folau, a retired disabled carpenter, told Tongan radio station Broadcom FM that he swam and floated from his island of Atata via two other uninhabited islands to eventually reach the main island of Tongatapu, a total distance of around 13 kilometres. Erika Radewagen, an Olympic level swimming official from the Pacific, described Folau’s achievement as “absolutely amazing”.

Burglar rescued from chimney

Firefighters in the US rescued a suspected home intruder after he found himself stuck inside a chimney. The resident of a home in Maryland heard a mysterious rustling and called the police, but officers left after finding no signs of an attempted break-in. The resident said that an hour later he heard moans coming from inside a wall and called the police again. Officers then discovered that an unknown man was trapped inside the house’s chimney.