Dog-fired pizza

A dog set fire to its owner’s home after sniffing out a pizza which had been left on top of a cooker.

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze by neighbours and broke down the front door of the semi-detached house in Drew Court, Ashby, as the owners were not at home.

The Staffordshire bull terrier had jumped up to try to get at the pizza which had been left on top, knocking one of the knobs on the cooker and turning it on, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said. The pizza caught fire and caused smoke damage to the kitchen.

Privates on parade

The Radio Times has apologised after inadvertently giving more exposure than intended to the Royal Marines.

A photograph in this week’s issue of the magazine shows members of 42 Commando, one of whom is actually going commando. The article, about a Channel 5 documentary, was printed before the unidentified marine’s prank was spotted.

Staff at the Radio Times noticed the privates-on-parade blooper when a reader wrote in. The magazine printed an apology on its website, alongside a censored version of the photograph. A naval spokesman said: ‘‘We apologise for any offence caused by this private photograph, that was not intended for publication.’’

Emergency cab

A drunk who led police on a high-speed chase after stealing an ambulance response car to get home after a New Year’s Eve party has been jailed for nine months.

Daniel Glover, 26, from Mile End, east London, admitted aggravated vehicle taking, drink driving, driving without insurance and obstructing a police officer, when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court. Glover was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Prosecutor Michael Fraser told the court Glover had driven at speeds of up to 120mph with the blue lights on after stealing the car from Clacton in Essex. Peter Barlex, mitigating, said Glover had a job delivering taxis. He said: ‘‘It was very dark and he wasn’t sure it was an ambulance.’’

Unholy row

India’s Sikh community has demanded an apology from US TV host Jay Leno, saying he insulted their religion while trying to make a joke about presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The Tonight Show presenter showed a photo of a glittering gold building and claimed it was Mr Romney’s summer home.

It was meant to be a joke about the Republican’s wealth. But the building in the photograph was the Golden Temple, the holiest site in the Sikh religion.

Pop goes the thief

A woman in Massachusetts bought 64 dollars worth of pop using a stolen welfare benefits card, then immediately fed the full cans into the supermarket’s recycling machine for the 25 cent deposit on each.

Tina Cafarelli has pleaded not guilty theft, property destruction and receiving stolen property.

The electronic benefits card she used to buy the 18 12-packs of pop had another person’s name on it and the full cans caused extensive damage to the machine.

Rooted out

A US dentist has admitted using paper clips instead of stainless steel posts in root canals.

Michael Clair admitted defrauding medical insurance companies of £100,000.

Prosecutors in Massachusetts say that for root canal work, instead of stainless steel posts, he used sections of paper clips - which can cause pain and even infection - in an effort to save money.