Pressing engagement

Ironing has reached new depths

A competition has been launched to find the world's craziest ironers.

The Rowenta Trophy contest has been organised by the Extreme Ironing Bureau and is open to anyone.

The idea is for contestants to have their photograph taken with ironing board and iron in the most bizarre location or position possible.

The top three will feature in a book to be published on extreme ironing later this year.

Phil Shaw, the founder of extreme ironing, said: "We've had hundreds of pictures submitted to our website from extreme ironists taking ironing to the edge, but we want to see who's the best of the best in 2003.

"The judges will be looking for unusual styles of extreme ironing as well as the more extreme locations."

Previous madcap stunts have featured ironing on top of a mountain and underwater. Sounds like a right crease.

Tree love

A disgruntled football fan in Brazil is living in a tree, in protest at his team's poor performances.

The man, called Roberto, has tied himself to the structure outside Corinthians' ground, and insists he is going nowhere until results start improving.

Roberto has been living off bananas, using the skins to hurl at the club's front door.

He told journalists he wanted changes made to the team line-up and tactics before he would consider leaving the tree.

A Corinthians spokesman stated that they would not repond to Roberto's "extortion".