No speeding please!

A speed gun is being used to catch drivers whose cars are travelling at more than five miles per hour, which is a fast walking speed.

The speed gun, which checks how fast vehicles are moving, is being used at a rubbish tip in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. People are complaining that the local council, which owns the tip, is not being sensible because it is not a public road and nothing can be done if drivers go faster than the speed limit there.

However, a local councillor says the speed gun has been useful because some drivers have been “kicked off” the site.

Children growing too much

Marks & Spencer, one of the best known chain stores in Britain, is starting to sell larger clothing for overweight children.

The store says it is trying out “plus-size” clothing for children as young as three because customers are asking for it.

One in four children are now classed as obese (very overweight) or overweight when they start school.

There are lots of worries in the UK about people becoming fatter. A new health minister has said she thinks doctors should tell patients they are fat, as it is easier for them to ignore the truth if the doctor tells them they are obese. And this week a vet said even British pets are becoming more overweight.

The biggest stars ever seen

British astronomers have discovered the heaviest stars ever seen. They were using the Very Large Telescope in the Atacama desert of northern Chile.

The team was led by Paul Crowther from Sheffield University. They found at least three stars which weighed 150 times more than the sun. Another star might once have been 320 times more massive than the sun. Several of the stars had surface temperatures above 40,000C, which is seven times hotter than the sun.

What would you do if you won GBP 7 million?

A man went back to work just one hour after finding out he and his wife had won GBP 7.7 million in the British national lottery.

Susan Westbury had her lottery ticket checked in the supermarket at the weekend and rang her husband Ivan. They found out how much they had won – and then Mr Westbury went back to work in the family business.

“I went back to finish what I was doing,” he said.

The couple are going on holiday – but not to a luxury hotel. They had already booked to go on holiday in the UK after saving newspaper tokens and their holiday will cost just GBP 9.50.

by Susan Young
susan@englishuk.com