The pair are protecting a chick they have raised in the graveyard of St Petroc's in Bodmin, Cornwall, and the Rev Canon Graham Minors said they would be more than a match for the famous Beast of Bodmin moor.

The gulls protective behaviour has caused a few complaints, but Rev Minors said they are not to be harmed.


BIRD UP TREE

Firefighters were called out to rescue a bird stuck up a tree.

One pump and a hydraulic platform vehicle were deployed to save the wild crow, which had become entangled in branches about 30ft above a Northampton street.

The dehydrated bird - named Clinton after the road in which he was rescued - was then handed over to the RSPCA for treatment at an animal hospital.


FAST FOOD

Prisoners in Scotland are being served free takeaway food by security guards while they wait in court.

The officers from escort firm Reliance are going to local shops and buying pizza, sausages and chips for inmates held in cells over lunchtime.

The practice emerged after guards were spotted picking up food for prisoners waiting at Greenock Sheriff Court. But prison officials said it was commonplace across Scotland.


OFF THE MENU

Rome has banned people from eating snacks on or around famous monuments in the historic city centre.

Officials say they want to preserve artistic treasures and decorum in a city that is visited by millions of tourists every year.

So far police have patrolled sites such as the Spanish Steps, preventing tourists from sipping drinks while sitting on the 18th-century symbol of the city. Offenders face a fine of £40.


HOMING DOG

Rocco, a beagle that strayed from a New York garden five years ago, has been reunited with his owners - after being found 850 miles away in Georgia.

He was dropped off anonymously at an animal sanctuary there earlier this month and a microchip embedded under his skin helped trace him to his owners Jorge and Cristina Villacis.

Their daughter Natalie who was five when Rocco disappeared said: "I cried hysterically - just like I did when they told me he was lost."


SELL MATES

Fashion-conscious Japanese are rushing to buy the latest must-have brand, which comes straight from jail.

Cotton aprons, bags and pouches emblazoned with a big white logo meaning jail that are made by inmates at Hakodate Juvenile Prison first went on sale in 2006 as souvenirs for tourists and prison visitors.

Now orders come from across the country and currently all "jail" logo items are sold out.