A judge celebrated Christmas Eve by allowing motorists to sing carols instead of paying speeding fines. Judge Tom DuBois, sitting in Columbia, Tennessee, demanded a festive tune and a small contribution to charity before dismissing a case. Donald Hatler, who took up the offer by singing Jingle Bells, said: “It was a little embarrassing. I don’t have the best singing voice in the world, but it was worth it.”

Oddball of the week

Magistrates have rejected a 60-year-old motorcyclist’s attempt to avoid a £25 motoring fine by invoking the right of trial by combat. Leon Humphreys, of Bury St Edmunds, wanted the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to nominate a champion to fight him to the death after he was fined for refusing to notify the agency that his motorcycle was off the road. “It is a reasonable enough way of sorting the matter out,” he said. “I am reasonably fit for my age and I am not afraid of taking anyone on if they want to fight.” He was fined £200 for refusing to pay the fine.

Mystery of the week

Police have appealed for help in identifying a woman found in a church in Middle Rasen, Lincolnshire, carrying nothing but a bag of records by Barry Manilow, above. The woman, thought to be in her sixties, has been taken to a psychiatric unit.

Unusual talent of the week

Amateur weather forecaster Carole Pearse knew there wouldn’t be a white Christmas — because her scalp didn’t tingle. Pearse, 52, from Minehead, Somerset, says she can predict snow because her hair stands on end. “I get a build-up of static and my hair crackles when I brush it. It depends on the atmospheric pressure and how fast the snow is moving, but it normally happens a couple of days before a fall.” According to the Met Office, the static is caused by a build-up of ions in the cold, dry air that precedes snow.

Error of the week

A Gambian who was not used to European weather called police to complain that vandals had painted his car white after snow fell on it in Hildesheim, Germany.

Irony of the week

A mobile phone, awarded to a pupil for being the best-behaved student at an anti-crime day held at George Eliot school, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, has been stolen at the school, police have revealed.

Road safety news of the week

A herd of cows is refusing to cross yellow lines painted on a road. The markings, near Axbridge, Somerset, were painted to calm traffic, but farmer Gordon Brinson believes the cows think the lines are a cattle grid. He has to take a cross-country diversion to avoid the lines.