Jailed bank robbers who have been asked to pay compensation to their victims have discussed committing further crimes in order to get the money.

Convicted bank robber Anthony Stevens told ABC’s Four Corners that prisoners talked about organising further bank robberies in order to pay the victims of crime bills sent to them by the Government.

“Some people want to project the appearance of going straight and in order to do that they’re going to have to get rid of this bill, and in order to do that it’s going to be another bank, isn’t it,” he said. Criminals, eh.

What a dope

In a case of swapping stereotypes, an assistant school principal in the US seems to have taken on the role of rebel and has admitted planting marijuana in a boy’s locker in order to get him expelled.

The scoundrel principal had placed the marijuana in the locker at South Haven High School in Michigan because he suspected the boy was a drug dealer and wanted him expelled.

The plan was foiled when a police sniffer dog failed to find the contraband during a school search. Police searched the principal’s office and found supplies of assorted pills and suspected marijuana. Prosecutors are reviewing the case.

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Four legs good, two legs bad

We hear of people having little faith in our politicians, and comparing them with all sorts of animals, but a woman in England who attempted to register her cows and dog as voters took the anthropomorphism a little far. The Orwellian picture of voting animals evidently almost came into being.

Brenda Gould, of Cambridgeshire, completed her form for 2003/2004 indicating that her address had been split between two properties. She illustrated that she was residing in one part and two other persons were living in the second. It later emerged that the “two persons” were in fact her cows.

This was not the first time Gould had revealed such faith in her animals. In the previous year she submitted false electoral information by listing her cows, ‘Henry and Sophie Bull’, and her dog ‘Jake Woofles’, as being eligible to vote in local government elections.

Under the Representation of the People legislation, Register of Electors forms are sent to properties each year so that residents can register their right to vote in elections. Hence Gould’s apparently irresistible temptation to list her pets.

Gould had been scheduled to appear in court but did not arrive. She was convicted in her absence and ordered to pay £100 and £110 costs.

Whistle while you fly

Eight stolen cockatiels have been rescued by police after a member of the public heard them whistling the Laurel and Hardy theme tune.

The birds have been reunited with their owner after the police received an anonymous tip-off.

The birds had first developed their ear for the Laurel and Hardy song after a new arrival at the aviary which knew the tune by heart. It soon had the whole flock singing along. The quirky trait ended up being the saviour to the birds, as the police asked residents to keep their ears open.

Police have made arrests, but four cockatiels remain missing.