Local interest

A woman has been banned from every bookshop in the country after stealing £56 worth of magazines and Plasticine from a branch of WH Smith in Hartlepool. (Hartlepool Mail)

The developers of a mosque on the site of a former pub in Sneinton, Nottingham, are seeking fresh planning permission after it was found to be 4ft higher on one side than it was in the original application. (Nottingham Post)

A 20-year-old student in Sheringham, Norfolk, has achieved a B in biology A-level despite having given birth the night before the main exam. She also got an A* in psychology and C in history. (Eastern Daily Press)

A 24-year-old man in Gloucester has been jailed for 16 weeks after he admitted stalking nine young women and then throwing water or cola over them. His pregnant wife was in court to see him sentenced. (The Citizen, Gloucester)

A boy in Beeston, Leeds, found hundreds of pornographic images on a second-hand PlayStation that he was given for his eleventh birthday. His parents discovered the problem after he mentioned the pictures to his sister, who is 14. (Yorkshire Evening Post)

A man from Somerstown, Portsmouth, has received a 16-week suspended prison sentence for microwaving his cat. It is now in an RSPCA sanctuary, fully recovered. (The News, Portsmouth)

A bus driver in Bristol has been fined £300 after demolishing a set of traffic lights while asleep at the wheel. The city's crown court was told that he had been suffering from breathing problems at night, which resulted in him "falling asleep at the drop of a hat" during the day. The breathing problem has since been successfully treated, and he has returned to his job. (Bristol Evening Post)

A drug addict in Stockton-on-Tees handed himself into police after taking a car from the forecourt of a Vauxhall dealership, saying that he needed to go to prison for treatment. At crown court, his defence requested a sentence "in the region of 12 months"; the judge complied. (Evening Gazette, Middlesbrough)

More than 100 brass vases have been stolen from the grounds of Bushbury Crematorium, Wolverhampton, so far this month. (Express & Star)

A section of Southport Pier has given way after a seven-tonne beer lorry pulled on to the decking. The driver said that he was attempting to make room for another HGV. (Liverpool Daily Post)