It's snow joke

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that The Caped Crimestopper cracked a smile when he read the latest funny calls released by Crimestoppers. I think we could even go as far to say that the charity deserves a round of applause for forcing a giggle or two out of him!

Anyway, I’d have to agree with our Caped Crimestopper – those funny calls did make me chuckle. But not as much as the snow-related calls they told me about.

One caller rang to complain about the council not gritting the roads, while someone else rang to see if there was anything the charity could do about an offensive-looking snowman which had a carrot in a very rude place indeed. Not to mention the person who called to complain that Father Christmas himself had been spotted at a shopping centre, stinking of alcohol!

The last one is my favourite, however. A homeowner rang to tell Crimestoppers that his flashing Santa had been stolen and accused his neighbours of trying to sabotage his efforts in the street’s Christmas decoration competition.

Ha ha ha, or ho ho ho as he himself would say. Remember that Crimestoppers is available to take genuine calls about crime all over the Christmas period on 0800 555 111. For those of you who love to do a bit of 'online surfing' like me, the charity also has an online form that you can use to pass on information.

A Halloween costume I won't be trying

I always find the week after Halloween a little sad, as it means it will be another year before the next one comes around. I love thinking up witty and original costumes and love spotting costume trends. Now that Halloween has passed, the only costume trend I'll be seeing is Santa suits and they're not my style.

This week I read an article in the paper about a man who took his quest to find an original Halloween costume too far...

James Miller, a student from Ohio, USA, went out for Halloween dressed up as a breathalyser. While wearing his costume James proceeded to drink and then drive home the wrong way down a one way street. Police stopped and used a real breathalyser on James to discover he was well over the limit. Looking at a photo of James, you can see that he was definitely in no state to be driving a car.

It's lucky the police caught James before he had an accident - drink driving is a crime for good reason, it is dangerous and irresponsible.

In the six months to September, Crimestoppers received nearly 3,000 calls about drink drivers.
Rates of drink-driving tend to go up in the months leading up to Christmas. This festive season make sure you not only watch your alcohol consumption if you are driving, but also be aware that there might be dangerous drivers on the road.

Funny Monday

Did you know that 19 criminals are arrested and charged every day as a result of information passed on to Crimestoppers?

Amongst all the incredibly useful calls we get, there are a few bizarre ones too. Here are a few of the funny ones to brighten your Monday.

• We heard from an anxious caller who told us about a man who was driving with two broken arms and a damaged leg (and that was before he hit anybody!)


• We were told by what sounded like a completely sane and plausible male caller that he had just seen Osama Bin Laden leaving Tescos


• We also had a woman call in complaining that while angry her husband had sabotaged the central heating boiler.

Enjoy the start to your week and remember that everyone has the power to be a superhero with Crimestoppers - fight crime without revealing your identity by filling out our anonymous online form.

Confused superheroes

Now I don’t mind members of the public wanting to play the part of a superhero. Of course, being a superhero myself for the charity Crimestoppers, I would actively encourage people to play their part in the fight against crime. But when people phone our call centre to tell us about their pretence at being a superhero, I must admit it makes my blood boil.

Let me clarify.

There is a man who calls Crimestoppers’ call centre on a regular basis, claiming to be Spiderman.

Furthermore, almost everyone at the call centre has spoken to an individual, who only calls at night, to tell them that he is wearing tights.

A Robin Hood wannabe and a phony Spiderman. Two men in tights and no substance to their claims.

Anyone could be a Crimestoppers superhero - fighting crime without revealing their identity. But they should call the charity to pass on information about crime and criminals in their communities, not to tell us that they are dressed as superheroes (and second rate ones at that).