QUIRKY WORLD ... Burglar hid under bed for 3 days and charged his phone

USA: Police say a man sneaked into a central New Jersey home and hid under a bed in a spare room for three days before the homeowner realised what had happened.

Spotswood police say Jason Hubbard was charged with burglary in the incident, which occurred in May but wasn’t made public until this week. He is also charged with theft of services because he allegedly charged his four mobile phones in an electrical outlet under the bed.

Authorities say Hubbard entered the home on May 7, when the homeowner took out rubbish bins. He stayed in the spare bedroom until the homeowner heard a noise in the room and spotted Hubbard.

Mistaken mongrel

USA: A man who thought he spotted a lion that people have reported seeing wandering on Milwaukee’s north side has shot and injured a large pitbull.

The dog is being cared for at the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission. Its director, Karen Sparapani, says people might be “amped up or afraid” by the reports of lion sightings. The pitbull suffered a gunshot wound to the right front leg.

Police say they have investigated about two dozen calls of apparent lion sightings. No animal has been found. Officers were given mobile phone video of an animal that appeared to be a “lion-ish creature”.

Cyclist gets fire rolling

USA: Authorities say a cyclist started a 73-acre wildfire in south-west Idaho by lighting his toilet paper on fire after visiting the loo.

US Bureau of Land Management officials say the cyclist stopped to defecate in a ravine in the Boise foothills. The man then lit the toilet paper on fire but lost control of the embers in the dry grass while trying to extinguishing the waste.

Firefighters contained the flames several hours later. The man will be fined for causing the fire.

Insult carried weight away

ENGLAND: A charity worker lost nearly 18 stone after being called a “salad-dodger” in the streets by youths.

David Avery, 54, who weighed almost 32st, was diagnosed with diabetes the same day he found out he might lose his job at a mental health charity. On a day he describes as “Fateful Thursday”, Avery, who had high blood pressure, was told by his employers they had concerns about his ability to do his job. On his way home from work, he was abused by two separate gangs of youths from passing cars.

He attended a Slimming World session two days later in Newcastle. Now he has been named Slimming World’s Man of the Year 2015.

Small-scale royalty

England: The Queen’s likeness has been reduced to a few inches in a sculpture featured in a new exhibition.

The miniature ceramic model of the monarch — a gift from Mexico’s president Enrique Pena Nieto — is the focus of a traditional Mexican piece known as a tree of life.

It features in the exhibition A Royal Welcome, which will be staged at Buckingham Palace as part of the summer opening of the residence’s state rooms.

Air con con

USA: A man with a penchant for making unnecessary emergency calls recently complained of chest pains so he could ask medics to help him fix his air conditioner.

Travis Turner, 26, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, was charged with obstructing emergency services and disorderly conduct. He has called Indiana County 911 dispatchers or state police 63 times in the last three years for minor or harassing complaints. He was warned to stop making such calls, but called 911 again this week. When an ambulance arrived, Turner said he did not have a medical issues but needed help with his air conditioner.