It wasn’t all bad

The rate of unexplained infant deaths in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level on record, according to Office for National Statistics figures. In 2017, 183 babies under one year old died without a known cause or of sudden infant death syndrome, a fifth fewer than in 2016. At 0.27 occurrences per 1,000 live births, the rate is half that of 2004. The drop is likely to be due to greater awareness that babies should be placed on their backs to sleep, and fewer pregnant women smoking.

A public lavatory in Hull has been included alongside Stonehenge and Tate Modern on a list of the UK’s “ultimate” visitor destinations. The Grade II listed conveniences on Victoria Pier, which opened in 1926 to serve passengers of the Humber Ferry, are ranked 483rd in Lonely Planet’s top 500. The travel guide describes them as “temples of lavatorial luxury built in Edwardian style, with art nouveau flourishes, resplendent with gleaming white tiles, polished copper piping, varnished mahogany and a minor jungle of potted plants”.

A British cyclist has reached a speed of 174mph, setting a new world record. Riding a £15,000 custom-built, elongated bike, 45-year-old architect Neil Campbell was pulled along a runway at Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire by a Porsche Cayenne, which had a large attachment fitted to its rear to create a slipstream. He was then released to go through a 200metre speed trap under his own power. The previous record for a male cyclist was 167mph. However, the overall record is 184mph, set last year by the US cyclist Denise Mueller-Korenek.