A little local trouble

The ParaSearch Investigation Research Unit may be called in to investigate strange goings on in a small Shropshire town.

A month ago two workment claimed they saw an apparition appear from the mist as they made Wem's old town hall safe after it was gutted by fire. One theory is that the ghost is that of teenage maid Jane Churm, who accidentally caused a fire in 1677. Mrs Pauline Dee, a town councillor, said it could be the ghost of a man who helped build the town hall in 1911 and who later killed himself after a row with his father.

Members of the public in North Devon are being asked to help identify tanker drivers who are dumping untreated sewage in country lanes between Bideford and Torrington. The illegal dumping of septic tank waste was first reported towards the end of last year, and although the operators have been spotted, officials at Devon County Council's waste regulation department need registration numbers. Kevan Davies, of the department, said: "This waste contains pathogenic organisms, including those responsible for causing salmonella and hepatits. It also poses an environmental threat to wildlife."