Vigilante gran

Lara Croft, or rather great-grandmother Lola Craft, aged 69, chased a team of suspected con-men down a Cambridge street after they knocked on her door, claiming to be collecting charitable donations for the blind.

Spud-you-don’t-like!

An “up-cycled” potato patch appeared next to the river earlier this week, thought to have been planted by a guerrilla gardener. This angered the local council, who ordered that the patch be destroyed as it is damaging a beauty spot and contravening the rules on green spaces.

Pedal-Powered Pervert

A “tanned” man wearing a hoodie has been described as being behind several ‘flasher’ attacks on women in the city – all from the saddle of his bike. Seven women have been flashed at over the last week, including three attacks in one day last Sunday. He has targeted teenagers and women in their forties, but the city police have responded by increasing the number of patrols.

Stoned

A cigarette packet signed by the original line-up of The Rolling Stones in 1963 has sold at auction in Cambridge for £470.

Are you just pleased to see me?

Aaron Duffy, 26, has been convicted of burglary after making off with car keys and jewellery, stuffed inside his underwear. Having broken into a house on the outskirts of Cambridge, Duffy was stopped by the police, and during a search, was found to have the keys to a Volkswagen Polo and three items of gold jewellery stashed in his pants.

Manhunt

A former executive of Addenbrook’s Hospital is the subject of a manhunt after police in Canada issued an Interpol alert as part of their investigation into his alleged involvement in a fraud case. He is thought to have defrauded a Canadian hospital in the Quebec province out of £12.3 million. His whereabouts are unknown.

Over-expressive genes discovered

No, this isn't fashion news - the 'over-expressive genes' behind oesophageal cancer have been identified by a team led by Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald at the university's MRC Cancer Unit. It is thought that 15 per cent of the 8,500 people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer each year could benefit from treatments based on this discovery.

Universe in a box anyone?

A team featuring Dr Deborah Sijacki here at the University of Cambridge has created an incredibly beautiful and accurate simulated representation of the universe unfolding over 13 billion years. The simulation would have taken a single average desktop computer around 2000 years to produce. For more, and to see some of the photos, click here.

Holding it in...?

The Dutch water company, Vitens, has reported that during the final 45 minute voting period of Saturday night's Eurovision contest, there was a significant drop in water usage across the Netherlands. Apparently, the Dutch were just glued to their screens, to the point of not going to the toilet. Although coming close, the Netherlands finished second, losing out to Austria. 

Oh, and one more thing...

Hardly needs saying anymore, but Cambridge has beaten Oxford to the top spot in the Complete University Guide's rankings for the fourth year running. If only the Boat Race went the same way...