Coastguard pilot suspended for using helicopter to pick up steaks from Orkney butcher

The pilot of a coastguard helicopter has been suspended after flying to an island at the end of a training exercise to collect fillet steaks from his favourite butcher.

The crew of the Shetland Coastguard aircraft flew 85 miles from their base to pick up £400 worth of prime cuts on the unscheduled shopping trip to Orkney.

The incident came to light after a video of the helicopter landing in a field was posted on YouTube.

Mobile phone footage, since removed from the site, showed two crewmen collecting a bag of beef from several butchers who were there to see the landing.

The aircraft touched down in a field near ER & T Craigie, a butcher based at Tankerness on the east mainland of Orkney.

CHC Helicopter, the operator of the aircraft, has launched an inquiry and confirmed that the pilot had been suspended.

A spokesman said the training exercise had been completed before the landing, and any costs incurred would be met by the company, not the taxpayer.

She added: "We expect high standards of professionalism from all our employees and if we find these have not been met, we will take the appropriate action.

"While the aircraft was previously engaged in a training exercise, it was operating a non-revenue flight at the time of the incident in question."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it had asked CHC to investigate as a matter of urgency and regarded any misuse of its assets as "completely unacceptable".

Meanwhile, Thorfinn Craigie, 38, the butcher at the centre of the incident, said he was horrified to learn that the pilot had been suspended, and pointed out that the aircraft had been "in the area" at the time.

He also revealed that it was the second time a helicopter had landed to collect premium meat.

He added: "They normally land about two miles away at Kirkwall Airport and they wanted us to meet them at the airfield. But I told them that since I own the land behind the butchery shed, they could land there.

"One of the crew said that would be great because they have to train to do drops in rough areas.

"So they did it last month and did it again on Monday. They love our meat and came back for more. It was all good cuts. Fillet steaks and roasting joints of silverside."

Mary Scanlon, the Highlands and islands Conservative MSP, said Orkney meat was world famous for its quality, adding: "The Shetland Coastguard are obviously aware of this, but next time they fancy some of it they should consider vacuum-packed mail order, and not use life-saving training time for a shopping trip."

'Eggless' chick laid by hen in Sri Lanka

The "eggless" chick has survived, but the mother has died

A Sri Lanka hen has given birth to a chick without an egg, in a new twist on the age-old question of whether the chicken or the egg came first.

Instead of passing out of the hen's body and being incubated outside, the egg was incubated in the hen for 21 days and then hatched inside the hen.

The chick is fully formed and healthy, although the mother has died.

The government veterinary officer in the area said he had never seen anything like it before.

PR Yapa, the chief veterinary officer of Welimada, where it took place, examined the hen's carcass.

He found that the fertilised egg had developed within the hen's reproductive system, but stayed inside the hen's body until it hatched.

A post-mortem conducted on the hen's body concluded that it died of internal wounds.

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says that the story has made headlines in Sri Lanka, with the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror's concluding: "The chicken came first; not the egg."

Hands-free umbrella to help battle April showers

A hands-free umbrella designed to withstand winds of up to 50mph could help cyclists battling through April showers.

The new hands-free Nubrella umbrella resembles a bubble wrapped around the wearer's head and shoulders and is designed to resist winds up to 50mph

The Nubrella, which resembles a bubble wrapped around the user's head and shoulders, works by strapping on a shoulder support and extending a canopy around the head.

Weighing just over 1kg, it costs £40 and comes in either black or see-through style.

Inventor Alan Kaufman, 49, from Florida, said: "The major advantage is the wearer doesn't have to carry anything when not in use as it goes behind the head like a hood.

"The umbrella was long overdue for some innovation, now people can ride their bikes and work outdoors completely hands free while staying protected.

"Millions of people are required to work outdoors no matter what the conditions are and simply can't hold an umbrella and perform their tasks.

Woman sells three-year-old Chicken McNugget for $8,100

A Nebraska woman has sold a three-year-old McDonald's Chicken McNugget that resembles President George Washington for $8,100 on eBay.

The McDonald's Chicken McNugget found by Rebekah Speight of Dakota City, which she believes resembles President George Washington

The Sioux City Journal in Iowa, USA, says bidding ended on Monday morning.

Rebekah Speight of Dakota City sold the McNugget to raise money for a drive to raise $15,000 and send 50 children to summer church camp in Sioux City. She did not disclose who won the auction.

Ms Speight says her children didn't eat the chicken during a McDonald's visit three years ago. She was about to toss it, then spotted Washington's resemblance. Ms Speight stashed the McNugget in her freezer.

eBay had temporarily taken down the auction last month because it violated rules regulating expired food.

She later received an email saying the site was "willing to make exceptions to help your cause."

On the auction page for the McNugget Ms Speight wrote: "Approximately 3 years ago, I treated my children to “99 cent McNugget Tuesday” and play time at our local McDonald’s. As I was cleaning up, I noticed one particular nugget and began to laugh. I picked it up for a closer look, and sure enough it was in the likeness of President George Washington. I decided to take it home and show my husband this hysterical find.

"When he arrived home, I pulled it out of the freezer and he could not believe his eyes. We shared a moment of laughter as we joked about putting it on eBay. Then back in the freezer it went.

"The students of Family Worship Center in Sioux City, Iowa are in the process of trying to raise $15,000 for Church Camp this summer. My husband and I felt led to auction this “President George Washington Chicken McNugget” as part of our fund-raising effort. 100% of the money raised will go to Family Worship Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

"By bidding on this rare “President George Washington Chicken McNugget” … not only will you have an opportunity to be the new owner of this rare find, but you will be investing in the lives of children."

Woman who weighed more than entire family loses 31 stone

One of the fattest women in Britain - who weighed more than her whole family put together - has lost 31 stone.

Marie Eaton, one of the fattest women in Britain - who weighed more than her whole family put together - has lost an incredible 31 stone.

Marie Eaton, 42, tipped the scales at 50 stone two years ago - five stone more than her husband and four children combined.

But after undergoing a rapid weight loss regime, she has shed an incredible 31 stone - more than the weight of all four of her offspring put together.

Marie, a housewife from Newark-on-Trent, Notts, said: "At my heaviest, I couldn't even get up the stairs - I was forced to sleep on the sofa.

"I'd drink litres of fizzy drinks and eat £40 of takeaway in a single sitting on my own at least four nights a week.

"But around my 40th birthday I remember seeing myself in the mirror and thinking my body was close to giving up.

"I knew that I had to change otherwise I'd leave my children motherless."

Marie had piled on the pounds after her mum tragically died in her arms from a heart attack.

She bulged from a petite nine stone 16-year-old to 50 stone on her 40th birthday after comfort eating to cope with the loss.

Her constant scoffing lead to her becoming one of Britain's fattest women - rendering her completely house-bound and suffering from agoraphobia as a result.

Marie explained: "I was normal weight up until I was sixteen. But then my mum died, and it hit me really hard.

"She died of a heart attack in my arms. She was with us one minute and gone the next.

"From that moment onwards I comfort ate. It was my way of coping with the trauma of it all.

"It just spiralled from there. My social life diminished as I hid myself away.

"I was so ashamed, I stayed at home and became agoraphobic. I knew that the sofa wouldn't collapse beneath me unlike chairs in public.

"I couldn't be embarrassed about my weight if I was locked away at home out of sight."

But after her partner Paul, 36 - who she met in an online chat room - proposed, she embarked on a rapid weight loss regime in time for the wedding.

In just two years she shed a whopping 31 stone - the same weight as her four children Alice, eight, Emily, 11, Lucy, 12, and Adam, 15, together.

Marie said: "Paul proposing to me focused my mind and gave me that incentive to lose weight. I didn't want to look horrendous in my lovely white wedding dress.

"I used that and my fear of my children growing up motherless to stop eating junk food and turn my life around."

Marie instantly went on a crash diet, restricting herself to just 800 calories a day.

She binned the two litres of fizzy drinks, endless supplies of multipack crisps, six chocolate bars and two sausage rolls a day and replaced them with salads, white meat and water.

After losing 15 stone through the diet, doctors advised her to have a gastric sleeve - cutting her stomach's size by 25 percent - in a bid to prevent her returning to her old ways.

With the help of a personal trainer and gruelling fitness regime, the pounds continued to slip off, losing a further 16 stone.

And as she walked down the aisle on November 5, 2011, Marie weighed just 21 stone. After continuing to workout she now weighs just 18 and a half stone.

A jubilant Marie added: "Every woman wants to look a million dollars on their wedding day, and I was no different. It became an obsession to lose the weight in time.

"Changing my diet has been the biggest difference. Just not snacking and switching my food types has helped me shed most of my weight.

"I got a personal trainer and slowly but surely the pounds just fell off.

"At the wedding I weighed well over half what I did at my worst.

"Family members who hadn't seen me for a while, were gobsmacked - they barely recognised me.

"They thought they were at the wrong wedding. It made me feel so proud.

"I'm loving life again and have started up a group to help other people looking to lose weight. I want to share my experience and help others."

Woman eats 4,000 washing-up sponges

A woman has told how a rare disorder has led her to eat more than 4,000 washing up sponges.

Kerry Trebicock has an addiction to washing up sponges 

Kerry Trebicock has an addiction to washing up sponges  

Kerry Trebilcock, 21, suffers from a condition called pica, which causes victims to crave non-edible objects.

The disorder has also caused her to eat more than 100 bars of soap.

Miss Trebilcock, a dental nurse from Mylor, Cornwall, told The Sun: "One day I will beat this and be able to have a shower or do the washing up without feeling hungry.

"I have been very particular about the type of sponges and soaps I'd eat and how I'd prepare them.

"If I went out for the day I'd carry a small plastic bag of cut-up pieces of sponge with some tomato and BBQ sauce in Tupperware. I was never without a 'snack'."

Other sufferers eat metal, coal, sand, chalk and sometime even lightbulbs and furniture.

Miss Trebilcock, who weighs just 8st, has endured stomach cramps, constipation and diarrhoea as a result of her disorder.She also eats "normal food" and is trying to curb her cravings with Floral Gum sweets.

She added to the newspaper: "I am making progress and speak to other sufferers of pica on internet forums, which helps."

Occupy movement spreads to Beijing lavatories

A Chinese student is hoping to become a heroine for women around the world by launching an Occupy movement of her own – in the men's lavatory – in protest at waiting times.

A female Chinese student holds a banner and protests in front of a public toilet calling for more cubicles for women during an Occupy Mens Toilet movement in Guangzhou city, south Chinas Guangdong province, 19 February 2012

Fed up with long queues for ladies, Li Tingting led 20 women into a men's public bathroom in the southern city of Guangzhou carrying colourful placards calling for equal waiting times for both sexes.

Now, she plans to take her protest to the capital Beijing, where China'sleaders will gather next month for the annual meeting of the country's rubber-stamp parliament.

"We want senior officials to pay attention to this issue," she told AFP. "It is a big issue for many women. During the protest in Guangzhou, we conducted random surveys and found that the majority of people supported us."

Local media reported after the protest that provincial officials in Guangzhou had responded by agreeing to increase the number of women's lavatories by 50 per cent – a pledge Li says should be taken nationwide.

The issue has sparked a debate on the internet, although not everyone is impressed by the protest.