After losing all on-board electrical power, the pilot used his mobile phone to contact Cork airport, telling them about his problem and his intention to approach the airport from the sea. A quick-thinking air traffic controller then guided the aircraft in to a safe landing.

David Piper, who describes himself as Lord of the Manor of Warleigh, has included a nine-bedroom house in Plymouth, south-western England, a modern art collection and two Bentley cars in the price.

Members of the public quickly realised the stolen blue Peugeot outside the shop was the robbers’ getaway car, so one man simply turned off the engine and removed the keys.

Both positions will be filled by diplomats from the Department of Foreign Affairs and trade, as opposed to former politicians. New Zealand High Commissioner John Dauth will be the new High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland while Secretariat head Justin Brown will be the new High Commissioner to Canada.

Gary McKinnon, a 42-year-old unemployed systems analyst, admits accessing 97 US military and NASA computers, but insisted that he was only seeking information on UFOs and aliens. He faces at least 10 years in a US jail if he is successfully extradited from the United Kingdom.

The 16-year-old defendant’s lawyer asked the judge if he was committing an offence by carrying the knife and was told it was acceptable because the blade was less than three inches long.