British holiday jet skids off runway near Lanzarote beach

A plane carrying dozens of British holidaymakers skidded off a runway as it landed today.The Air Europa jet, with 74 people on board, went off the end of the landing strip moments after touching down in Lanzarote in the Canaries.It came to a halt close to the airport perimeter fence and down a small embankment, close to a beach.The plane, which had set off from Glasgow at 3am, ended up at right angles to the runway.Holidaymakers...

Scientists believe 5,300-year-old mummified 'ice man' belonged to unknown branch of human family tree

A 5,300-year-old mummified "ice man" unearthed in the Alps belonged to a previously unknown branch of the human family tree, scientists have discovered.No trace of the lineage appears to remain today, meaning that the "ice man" - dubbed "Oetzi" - is unlikely to have any descendants.Oetzi's mummified remains were found in September 1991 in the Eastern Alps near the Austro-Italian border.He was about 46 years old when...

The pelican that tried to eat the dog who stole his supper

Ever heard the one about the dog and the pelican? In one of the most unlikely power struggles of the animal kingdom, these extraordinary images show the moment when a one-year-old exotic bird bit off more than it could chew.Captured by Roland Adam at his exotic bird farm in Germany, they show how Petri the pelican and Katijina the Rhodesian Ridgeback played out an improbable contest for a free meal.'I was preparing...

Wildlife 'dying out at fastest rate since the dinosaurs' because of human impact on planet

Mankind is responsible for the greatest extinction of wildlife since the end of the dinosaurs, conservationists have said.Their warning came after a report revealed that populations of animals and plants have plummeted by a third over the last 35 years as a result of hunting, overfishing, habitat destruction and the changing climate.Humans are increasingly living beyond their means and the world is heading for an 'ecological...

Pictured: Rascal, the spaniel who got too close to a paper shredder

Curiosity may have killed the cat - but Rascal's story shows it doesn't do the dog much good either.The springer spaniel needed emergency surgery after peering into a paper shredder and setting it off.The machine's metal jaws bit into the 11-month-old puppy's ear and dragged it in, shredding it like a sheet of paper.Rascal's horrified owner Jackie Wells managed to switch off the power supply, but not before more than...

Credit crunch cuisine: As Lidl unveils £4.99 lobster, here's how you can create three-course gourmet meals for four... for £10

The dinner party is back. That sentence filled me with dread. It's not that I don't love entertaining - I do, it's great fun - but it's the sheer cost and fiddle.Yes, we all used to do impressive menus of horribly expensive ingredients and difficult menus, but when my friends decided dinner parties were way too much like hard work - plus they all had jobs in banks and law firms, so they had money to burn - and started...

Pictured: The tattooed Leopard Man of Skye trades his island lair for a comfy retirement home

The so-called 'Leopard Man of Skye' has ditched his feral lifestyle in the wild for a cosy new retirement home.For 20 years Tom Leppard - whose entire body is covered in leopard-spot tattooes - lived in a ruined shelter on the Scottish island of Skye under a roof made from pieces of plastic sheeting. He had no electricity, no furniture and had to canoe three miles for his weekly shopping.The Leopard Man shot to fame...

They can run, climb and even have their own Olympics: A new book reveals the surprisingly sporty side to hedgehogs

What is it about hedgehogs - those snuffling, little bundles of prickles - that inspires such passion, even obsession, in the British psyche?For more than 20 years, I have held a deep-rooted affection for these spiky creatures - a love, my wife says, that borders on the unhealthy.Trained as an ecologist, I have spent the past two decades travelling across the world - from the fields of Shropshire to the islands...

The Wider View: Is it a bird... or a tree?

At first glance it appears to be the bark of a tree, but look a little closer and you will spot a beak, razor-sharp talons and a pair of feathery ears.This is an African Scops owl resting on the branch of a camelthorn tree in Namibia.It doesn't need its camouflage when hunting insects and spiders at night.But, when resting during the day, this tiny owl, which measures just 6.5in in length, is at risk of being attacked...

Pictured: The Polish white van man who followed his sat-nav too closely and ended up in the middle of a lake

A Polish white van man who was too sure of his sat-nav ended up neck-deep in a lake after ignoring road signs warning of a dead-end ahead, Polish police said today.The road hasn't been used for a year after it was flooded out when an artificial lake was created.It was dark and the un-named driver had been drinking, but he still managed to miss three signs warning him there was a lake ahead.Police said the driver had...

Pictured: Death-defying workman climbs out of 16th floor window to fix air-conditioning unit

In Britain workman aren’t even allowed to stand on the roof of a house without first fitting scaffolding and reading a raft of other safety regulations.But in Russia, men are free to fit air-conditioning units on the 16th floor of a block of flats by hanging out the window with no safety net.Wearing only shorts, this man first lowered the unit out of the high-rise apartment before coolly launching himself from the window...

Meet Mr Green Genes - the world's first glow-in-the-dark cat

His eyes glow ghoulishly in the right light, just like any other cat's - but so do his nostrils, gums and tongue.Mr Green Genes of New Orleans in the U.S. is the country's first 'glow in the dark' ginger tom.In daylight he looks normal, but put him in a darkened room and switch on an ultraviolet light, and his face will beam out a bright green. The six-month-old cat was created by scientists who are trying to combat...

Shake a tail-feather: Scientists reveal the pigeon-sized dinosaur that is birds' earliest ancestor

A strange pigeon-sized dinosaur that roamed the planet more than 150 million years ago was the oldest known relative of birds, say scientists.The new species 'Epidexipteryx hui' had large teeth that could rip prey apart and a strange anatomy including long, ribbon-like tail feathers - suggesting the plumage was purely ornamental rather than for flight.Like the flamboyant peacock, Epidexipteryx may have displayed its...

Pictured: The mystery pink light that appeared over London

While a pink sky at night might be a shepherd's delight, London residents were left scratching their heads last night as a mysterious pink cloud drifted over the city.Bemused bystanders in Mayfair craned their necks to witness the strange alien-like cloud that appeared for just under an hour at around 8:30pm.It hovered over buildings before breaking up and slowly disappearing.But after dismissing theories of UFOs and...

Quackers! The bizarre tomato that's shaped like a duck

John Owen has been gardening for 40 years, but the sight that greeted him in his greenhouse recently was a definite first.When the pensioner went to check on his vegetables, he was stunned to find a duck-shaped tomato staring back at him.The retired farmer, 70, said: 'I've not seen one like it before, that's for sure.'I went out into the greenhouse to check on my vegetables and I saw this strange little tomato looking...

It's called "buckypaper" and looks a lot like ordinary carbon paper, but don't be fooled by the name or flimsy appearance. It could revolutionize the way everything from airplanes to TVs are made.Buckypaper is 10 times lighter but potentially 500 times stronger than steel when sheets of it are stacked and pressed together to form a composite.Unlike conventional composite materials, though, it conducts electricity like...

Having a mare: The horse who got its head stuck in a tree

This was the bizarre sight that awaited Jason Harschbarger when he heard his horse making noises on the hill above his house in Pullman, West Virginia.The silly young filly, called Gracie, had to be cut free with a chainsaw after getting her head caught in a tree.Mr Harschbarger, who took the picture before cutting her loose, says she suffered only minor injuries. He said: 'She has a few cuts on her face and ear. Last...

Meet my very flexible friend: Jane Fryer meets a contortionist who can squeeze through the head of a tennis racquet

Captain Frodo is a very disconcerting figure. It could be his semi-naked and very white body, bulging eyes, tattooed back, or perhaps the 2in black pegs skewered through his nipples that do it.Or maybe it is the small fact that he is currently squeezing his body through a 10in diameter tennis racquet - strings removed.Oh yes, and to speed things along a bit, he's now dislocating one joint after another, leaving spaces...