A little local trouble

An annoying bleep in an elderly man's hearing aid has been traced to a new Royal Navy radar installation at Wembury Bay, Plymouth. Ernie Trethowan, a former Second World War radar instructor, said he heard the bleep every 4.2 seconds, and other people in villages nearby say that signals from HMS Cambridge gunnery school are being picked up by telephones, are triggering off security lighting and causing TV interference. A Royal Navy team is being sent to investigate.

A bill to allow a cull of deer in Scotland will be introduced by ministers in the next parliament, it was announced. This was welcome news to conservationists, who claim that the large numbers of Scottish deer - about 350,000 - prevent regrowth of native woodlands. Ron Greer, of the Loch Garry Tree Group, said: "This could be the best news for the Scottish environment in 500 years."

Last June we reported that two swans on the Caledonian Canal near Inverness had been found shot dead, and that local residents were offering a pounds 100 reward for the culprit. He or she was never found, and six of the swans' cygnets died despite being taken in by a sanctuary at Inverkeithing. A seventh however, named "Lucky", has survived, and made its first flight in the wild this week.

Thousands of trout and other fish died after weedkiller polluted a two mile stretch of the River Cam near Dursley in Gloucestershire.