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A seagull has died after being pulled around on a leash by a man in Blackpool. A passer-by saw the man, who is in his 50s, pulling a seagull along the pavement on Bispam Road around 8pm on Monday 10 April. Lancashire Police arrested the man for being drunk and disorderly and subsequently de-arrested him. Pictures and video clips of the incident quickly circulated on social media with many users expressing their concern for the seagull which had a "rope around its neck". The bird was taken to a local vet by a member of the public where they decided...

Police are investigating after two men were stabbed in Blackpool on Saturday night.The men, aged 44 and 54, were found on Lytham Road at around 7pm. Police said: “The men were taken by ambulance to hospital suffering from minor stab wounds. Enquiries are ongoing to identify the offender and anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting log 1327 of May 28.

Actor Jussie Smollett, who faked an anti-black, anti-gay hate crime against himself in the dead of the Chicago winter, and then escaped charges on likely political connections for filing a false police report, is starting to inspire copy cats looking for the same sweet deal. Here's one from New York from the New York Post: A Manhattan straphanger who claimed to have been attacked by two men yelling gay slurs was actually the one doing the attacking, according to police. Cops say the 25-year-old, who has not been identified, set upon the two men at the Chambers St. station in Tribeca...

Conman guilty of selling urine as whisky • A British conman has been labelled “a danger to public health” and handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting to selling urine as whisky. Nicholas Stewart, 35, tricked holidaymakers in Blackpool into buying bottles of what appeared to be sealed, 1.5 litre bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey and Smirnoff vodka. Security staff seized the bottles – which were being sold at £10 each – after they noticed Stewart approaching tourists at the Coral Island slot machine complex. However, scientific analysis revealed that while some bottles contained flat cola, others contained urine and...

A drunk who was dubbed the "most disgusting woman in Britain" for urinating and performing a sex act on a war memorial cheated jail today - to the fury of ex-servicemen gathered outside the court.

For decades, children have enjoyed singing about the little donkey which is said to have carried the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem.   The calendar features Lord Nelson forced to wear a life jacket But one group of young singers was ordered to change the traditional lyrics of the Christmas song - because they were said to be "too religious".Instead of "Little donkey, carry Mary safely on her way", the youngsters were told to sing "carry Lucy" for fear of offending non-Christians. The incident, at the school's Christmas concert, appears on a new calendar alongside 11 other examples of extreme political...

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LONDON - For more than a century, teams of donkeys have carried tourists down the beach at Blackpool, one of Britain’s top tourist destinations. But only now are they to get a compulsory lunch break. As part of a wide-ranging "employment rights" charter for donkeys, Blackpool council inspectors are to carry out spot-checks on the beach to ensure the animals get a statutory hour off to munch their hay. The 200 animals working at the coastal resort in northwest England ferry tourists along the beach throughout the summer. Under the new rules, donkeys must only work from 10:00 am to...

Council inspectors are to do spot-checks on Blackpool donkeys to make sure they are getting their full lunch break, officials said today. Councillors discussed what a Blackpool donkey should get for lunch – and decided it should be about an hour. Licensing inspectors will now swoop on the sand to ensure no donkeys are missing out on their employment rights. The 200 animals, who are not in a union, must ferry tourists for rides along the resort’s beaches throughout the summer. Council rules state donkeys must only work from 10am to 7pm, have an hour off for lunch, and must...

Ananova: Blackpool councillor calls for ban on 'rock-willies' A politician wants police to ban sweets in the shape of penises from Blackpool's seafront. Councillor Mary Smith says Blackpool should copy Southport and launch a crackdown on obscene confectionery sold in shops. Sweet shop bosses in Southport were furious after police ordered them to remove the rude sweets from public view. The manager of the Southport Rock Shop, who did not wish to be named, told the Blackpool Evening Gazette: "Two male officers came in here and ordered me to take all the rock willies out of the window. "They said...

Bill Clinton and John Major had more in common than either of them knew. If their past adventures expose a certain commonality (as distinct from commonness), their treatment this past week could hardly have been more different. One ex-leader is hailed as a hero at the Labour Party conference. The other is hounded by the media in Dallas. But this column isn't about sex. No, this is about power and the moral failure of high office. I had to struggle with some unpleasant memories when I watched Clinton launch into his polemic on foreign affairs. In case you missed it...

As delegates excitedly awaited Bill Clinton in the packed and sweltering hall, word went around that, the night before, he had visited one of the charming little restaurants specialising in Blackpool cuisine (McDonald's). In the eyes of a Labour conference, this would normally make him a symbol of American corporate exploitation of the developing world (Blackpool).But, for some irrational reason, delegates had decided that Mr Clinton was one of their own. The great figures of New Labour stood near the platform waiting to be presented when Mr Clinton entered - like maharajahs awaiting the arrival of the King-Emperor in another...