SIDELINES...

GOAT DECAPITATED

Herefordshire farmer Don Coates was horrified to find his pet pygmy goat decapitated. Nine-year-old Liquorice, who lived in her paddock with four other goats, would have been an easy target as she was disabled. “There is no way an animal could have done it,” said Mr Coates. “Liquorice’s head was just gone in a clean cut.” He believes the crime was motivated by occultism. Sunday Express, 12 Nov 2017

TEMPTING TREAT

A Canadian chocolate company has launched a treat called Shyte and encourages people to use the hashtag #eatshyte. Master chocolatier Kevin Richards says it is an acronym for “Seriously Helps You To Energize”. The £5.60 chocolate bar comes in several flavours, but can be bought only at select stores in Ontario and Alberta. Sun, 21 April 2018.

KENTISH WILDLIFE

A man brandishing a 3ft (90cm) spear in Sheerness, Kent, said he needed it to “fend off lions”. Adam Haber, 20, was also armed with a knife when arrested last September. He was given a suspended five-month jail term at Maidstone Crown Court. Metro, 23 April 2018.

MONKEY MUMMY

Workers redeveloping the 116-year-old Dayton Department Store building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have discovered the mummified remains of a spider monkey in an air duct on the seventh floor. It seems that teenager Larry Murphy and a friend had stolen it from the pet department in the 1960s, and released it in the building when the friend’s mother refused to keep it. BBC News, 11 April 2018.