Farmer dyes sheep red

A Scottish farmer has dyed his sheep red in an effort to cheer up drivers sitting in motorway tailbacks.

Andrew Jack sprayed his 54-strong flock before releasing them on to the Pyramid Hills by the M8 in West Lothian.

Mr Jack told the Scotsman: "The sheep are causing quite a stir. We used a sheep spray, but it was totally animal-friendly and would not do the sheep any harm.

"We will leave them like that until it is time to shear their coats off."

The idea was the brainchild of managers at the Pyramid Business Park in Bathgate, and was designed to keep their workers and passers-by travelling on the M8 entertained.

It follows the M8 Art project, which created artistic talking-points along the main travel corridor between east and west.

They included the Iron Horse at Easterhouse and the Big Heids sculptures at the Eurocentral Terminal site.

Fines for failed marriages

Poland is planning to fine people who get divorced in a bid to cut the spiralling number of failed marriages.

The ruling PiS party unveiled the plan after it was revealed a third of Polish marriages now end in divorce.

The fines, set depending how well off spouses are, could soar into hundreds of thousands of pounds for wealthier Poles.

Divorce in Poland currently cost around £100 in court fees, a figure ruling MPs feel is much too cheap.

According to Andrzej Symanski, a PiS party MP: "It costs the same to divorce as a good pair of shoes."

MPs now want to raise divorce fees, making the price dependent on the spouses' earnings and property.

University sociologist Dr. Krzystof Lecki accused the state of looking to cash in on the divorce trend and added it would not stop people separating.

He said: "If adults want to get divorced, they will, whatever the costs are. It's more likely to stop people marrying in the first place than anything else."

Burglars steal kitchen

A Yorkshireman returned from travelling the world to find burglars had stolen his entire kitchen.

James Elstub, from Dewsbury, returned from holidaying in Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the USA to find his kitchen had been stripped.

Thieves broke in and took all the appliances and fittings in the room, Halifax Home Insurance said.

Mr Elstub said: "I can't believe I returned home from my holiday to find burglars had stolen my kitchen sink.

"The criminals must have been bold, as it would have taken considerable time to strip the kitchen.

"The burglary felt like a complete invasion."

Mr Elstub claimed for £3,000 for the damage caused by the break-in and for a replacement kitchen.

"My replacement kitchen arrived very shortly so I only had to put up with two weeks of microwave meals," he added.