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Team Rambo conquer swamp
A team of players dressed like Rambo have won the Swamp Soccer World Championship in Scotland.
Team Rambo, kitted out as the action hero, battled mud and stiff competition to pick up the trophy, in the Scottish town of Strachur, Argyll.
The third annual championship included 42 teams and 100 matches over a three day period with entrants travelling from as far as Switzerland and Russia to take part in the mud-drenched event.
Team Rambo blew their opposition away in the early rounds and beat last year's defending champions, The Fuddy Muckers, 5-4 in an explosive penalty shoot out in the semi-final before overcoming The Angry Beavers in the final.
Captain David Butt said: "After three gruelling days in the swamp it was awesome to emerge with the trophy!"
The game, which originated in Finland, is contested by two teams of six on a muddy field not much bigger than a five-a-side football pitch.
Teams can be all male, female or mixed with countless substitutions allowed during the 24-minute game, which is contested over two halves.
Organiser of the Strahcur tournament, Stewart Miller, said the event was a first for Scotland.
He said: "As a nation we have never hosted a World Cup, and we missed out on the European Championships this year.
But the Swamp Soccer World Championship has the same sporting spirit, competitive instincts and filthy tackles - but with the addition of masses of sludge, muck and swampy mess."
Acrobatic dog steals show
A Chinese dog has performed a breathtaking high wire stunt in front of thousands of spectators.
The two-year-old Tibetan mastiff called Hu Hu (Tiger) performed the stunt at a special event to showcase dog tricks in Chongqing city.
They watched as he climbed to the top of a four metre platform and balanced along two thin steel wires.
Spectators held their breath and occasionally called out "slow down, slow down" to Hu Hu.
He paused occasionally before completing the 10 metre walk to the other end.
The dog's owner, Mr. He, says Hu Hu was a gift from a friend. He trained Hu Hu for more than a year to walk across wires, reports Chongqing Business News.
Bella claims oldest dog crown
A couple claim their Labrador cross is the oldest dog in the world.
The owners of Bella say that she is at least 29 years old, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Owner David Richardson, 76, said he got the mixed breed dog from an animal home about 26 years ago when she was at least three years old.
That would make Bella's age more than 200 years in canine years.
But the RSPCA said it does not have any records for Bella and the Guinness World Records said without the appropriate paperwork it could not be proved.
"I'm convinced she is the oldest dog in the world", said Mr Richardson, from Chesterfield.
Gareth Deaves, records manager from Guinness World Records, said: "Unless we can get a doggy birth certificate or some really clear evidence from the RSPCA then we won't be able to prove Bella's age and we can't list her as the oldest dog."
According to Mr Deaves, the most recent record for the oldest dog was held by Butch, a 28-year-old from America who died in 2003.
The oldest ever dog was Bluey, a sheepdog from Australia, who lived to 29.
Bilbo's return?
Britain's only lifeguard dog may be allowed to return to his beach after a public outcry in the wake of his sacking.
Bilbo, a seven-year-old Newfoundland credited with helping save three lives at Sennen Cove in Cornwall, lost his job when the RNLI decided his services were no longer needed.
News that the celebrity 14-stone dog was no longer allowed to carry out his beach safety demonstrations sparked petitions and campaigns all over the country to see Bilbo return to work.
Steve Jamieson, Bilbo's owner, said: "At the moment they're still in discussions but they've said it looks likely that Bilbo will be allowed back.
I'm delighted because there were so many people who were really upset. Bilbo's popularity is absolutely huge."
A petition started by his daughter, Kate, received 720 signatures in just two days, and a Facebook group named 'Keep Bilbo on the beach' now has almost 2,000 members.
Mr Jamieson added: "The public pressure has been beyond anything I'd ever expected. People got so enraged by the whole thing that it all came to light."
A spokesperson for the RNLI said: "We are entering into discussions with Penwith District Council to see if we can work towards a long-term solution."
And Jim McKenna, chief executive of Penwith District Council, said: "We had a very constructive meeting and we hope to issue a joint press release next week."
Man teaches bird to fly
A bird lover has taught an orphaned baby heron to fly by flapping his arms and pretending to try to take off.
Gary Zammit came to the rescue after the grey heron's family was killed in a storm, reports the Daily Mirror.
He gave the heron, who he named Dude, flying lessons by running alongside, flapping his arms and squawking.
Dude copied his new surrogate dad - and eventually took to the skies at Gwel an Mor wildlife park in Portreath, Cornwall.
Gary, 42, said: "It was a bit like teaching a child to ride a bike. I ended up getting really involved and running alongside flapping my arms like an idiot.
Eventually he began half flying at a height of around 3ft and he's gone on from there. Now he'll soar around the buildings and go up to 70ft until I call him back down. It's a wonderful sight."
Gary found Dude close to death under a storm-lashed nest in March and reared him on a diet of small fish.
The bird was so tiny it could fit into the palm of his hand but now stands 3ft tall with a 4ft wingspan.
The heron is too tame to be released back into the wild but Gary added: "I feel very proud of what he's achieved and I'm just glad I was there to help him through the first few flaps."
Omelette-bound emu becomes pet
A Sussex woman who bought an emu egg sold as a novelty food item managed to hatch a chick from it.
Gillian Stone, from Bexhill, is now raising the emu, which she's named Osborne, as a family pet, reports the BBC.
She brought home three large green emu eggs from a farm on the Isle of Wight and put them in an incubator in her kitchen.
Two turned out to be infertile, but after 52 days little Osborne hatched from the third.
He needed to be hand fed at first, but at nine days old is now thriving and Ms Stone is hoping to get him a mate.
"We decided to risk putting the eggs in the incubator and, after a little bit of help Osborne arrived," she said.
"He was destined to be an omelette but now he's an emu."
Osborne will grow to over 6ft tall and will soon move from Ms Stone's home to her smallholding nearby.
Family friend Jenny Cosham said nothing Ms Stone did surprised her.
"She turns up with all sorts of things," she said. "We've had chicks, we've had lambs, we've had all sorts - there was even a duck in the shower once."
Dog saves hunter
An Austrian hunter's faithful dog saved his life after a crippling fall - by fetching his mobile phone.
Albert Hoffman, 59, was left with severe back injuries and a punctured lung after plunging 20 feet out of a tree while bird shooting.
Unable to move, he called for his pet Labrador to fetch his mobile phone from his nearby rucksack.
An emergency services spokesman in Gutau, upper Austria, said: "His dog is a real hero.
He was in the middle of nowhere and with the injuries he had if he had not called us soon he could have died."
Dog can be seen from space
A Dorset family say their 14-stone bull mastiff is so huge he can be seen from space.
Using the Google Earth website, Boris's owners spotted him sprawled out on the family lawn, reports the Daily Mirror.
Fran Milner, 24, said: "My brother-in-law was on the internet and looked at a satellite picture of our place.
He zoomed in a little way and noticed a big brown blob on the grass in front of the sundial. Then he realised it was Boris in his favourite place. He loves lying there because it is a sun trap.
We couldn't believe it. We didn't think he was big enough to be seen from space."
An average bull mastiff is nine stone, but Boris may be particularly big because of the full English breakfast he begs every day at the Milner family's hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset.
Fran said: "The guests throw him their leftovers, which he loves."
Farmer faces jail over tractor prank
A Polish farmer is facing jail after he drove his two ton tractor down a set of stairs in a drunken bet.
Tomasz Jankowski, 45, tried to drive his tractor down the city centre steps in the middle of a town square in Tczew in north west Poland after drinking with friends.
He said: "After a few vodkas the staircase seemed a lot wider than it really was and not as steep."
But the vehicle got jammed and he fled - only to be caught by police an hour later back in the pub after witnesses gave cops a description.
He was arrested and charged with damaging public property and drunk driving after a breath test showed he was two times over the legal drink driving limit.
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