IT MUST BE TRUE… I read it in the tabloids

A karaoke singer was fined £2,748 by a London council – for his “terrible” renditions of Abba hits. Jason Harvey, 50, held a string of late-night karaoke parties, which prompted 150 complaints from his neighbours. “They sing, if that’s what you can call it, at the top of their voices,” said one. In his defence, he claimed he only “fired up the karaoke machine” on weekends, adding: “I admit I’m no singer, but I have a go. What are we expected to do, sit in our homes silently?”

A huge ship was seen apparently hovering above the sea off the coast of Cornwall – thanks to a rare optical illusion known as superior mirage. The boat was spotted by walker David Morris near Falmouth. BBC meteorologist David Braine said the illusion was caused by warm air sitting on top of a band of colder air (caused by the chilly sea). “Since cold air is denser than warm air,” he explained, “it bends light towards the eyes of someone standing on the ground or on the coast, changing how a distant object appears.”

A helicopter pilot has been accused of flouting lockdown rules by making an 80-mile round trip to pick up a beef sandwich. The unnamed man bought the snack from Chipping Farm Shop near Preston, which later posted footage of him landing the chopper, along with the promotional caption: “When your customers are literally flying in for your roast beef in caramelised onion gravy barms”. It was spotted by a local resident, who tracked the flight online to Salford. Police are investigating.