A married couple face prosecution for naming their baby Daemon after a character in the Vampire Diaries.

French authorities accuse Blandine and Lionel Defontaine of acting contrary to the interests of the boy, who is only a month old.

The couple, from Busigny, in northern France, are both expected to appear in court in nearby Cambrai on December 15 to defend their decision to name their son after the character played by Ian Somerhalder (see the picture) in the fictional TV series about supernatural beings.

Both are huge fans of the Vampire Diaries, and believe that Daemon – they have added an ‘e’ to produce a French version of Damon – is a suitable name, even though the French authorities claim it has diabolic origins.

According to article 57 of France’s Civil Code, ‘when a name, or a combination of names, is considered contrary to the interests of the child, the civic officer shall promptly notify the prosecutor, who may refer the matter to the Family Court.’

If a judge deems that Daemon is indeed an unsuitable name, then he will rule that the Defontaines’ son has to be called something else.

Mrs Defontaine said she would fight the authorities to the end, saying: ‘Ok, there are some wacky names, but this one is in American.

‘There are girls who are called Satan and it does not pose a problem. You know, I carried this child for nine months and he was called Daemon.’

Mrs Defontaine, who has three sons in all, said: ‘He’s already more than three weeks old and he’s not yet sure of his name. I can assure you he does not have any horns, or a tail!’

It follows a case in Nantes, western France, in 2000 when a couple wanted to call their daughter Megane Renaud, so that she ‘sounded like’ the Renault Megane car.

Judges then ruled that the name could have an ‘adverse effect’ on the baby’s psychological welfare.

They said the ‘the name Megane could be in itself contrary to the interests of the child’ because ‘until she entered primary school, only adults would be aware of the potentially comic effect of the combination of first and last name.’

The case will be heard in Cambrai, in northern France, on December 15. (Daily Mail)

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This is the extraordinary moment when two young lions grabbed a camera and tripod dropped by tourists on safari – and ended up taking pictures themselves.

The cub and three-year-old male companion closed in on the equipment belonging to two Belgian travellers after it fell out of their group’s Land Cruiser on an early morning expedition.

The animals pounced within moments of the camera hitting the ground. And not only did the predators manage to nudge the button to take pictures, the younger lion seemed to be a willing model.

The older animal then took matters into his own hands – or at least his jaws – as he seized the camera tripod in his mouth.

The moment was captured by photographer Paul Goldstein at the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya.

He said: ‘It took a little while for them to realise the camera wasn’t a meal before they used it as intended.

‘The cub seems to have enjoyed the attention. The lions managed to fire off four actual shots.’ But he added that the pictures were ‘out of focus and poorly composed’.

Mr Goldstein, who is a guide for Exodus Travel, said: ‘The tourists got their battle-scarred gear back after 15 minutes. Amazingly, it still worked but it’s not likely to fetch much on eBay.’ (Daily Mail)

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He might weigh 120kg with fangs sharp enough to serrate limbs, but this lethal alligator is nothing but gentle, his brave keeper insists.

Nelson, the 10ft long alligator, loves nothing more than to swim around his pit and have his chin rubbed by wildlife enthusiast Stuart Parker, and has so far resisted the temptation to bite.

Mr Parker now runs the Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria, Australia, after becoming fascinated with reptiles at the young age of six – when a baby gator whipped his hand with its tale and bit his chest.

He was not injured by the incident and instead of fearing the creatures, he grew to love them and has followed in his grandparents footsteps – who originally established the wildlife park.

Mr Parker told Adelaidenow.com.au: ‘You can work really closely with the alligators because of their gentle natures. They even let you rub them under the chin.

‘They don’t mind us being on their land space but they aren’t use to people in their pool so we are trying to get them used to it.

‘It means we don’t have to empty the entire pool to clean it and move the gators out of their enclosure which stresses them out a bit.’

After spending years training the animals to tolerate humans, Mr Parker added that people shouldn’t have the view that gators are emotionless just because they’re cold blooded,

‘Among their own social circles, they show a lot of affection and attention to each other.

‘If a male is wooing a female he swims under to blow bubbles around her and will nuzzle and massage her neck and back with his snout.’

Although 17-year-old Nelson sounds heavy at 120kg, the largest salt water crocodile that the wildlife centre is home to is around 295kg. (Mail Online)

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The world’s longest ever Christmas cake – a 1km-long vanilla flavoured log with a bitter chocolate cover – has been created by 80 cooks in China.

The cake, measuring exactly 1,068 metres (3,504 feet), was created at the Pudong Shangri-la Hote.

The busy chefs designed baked and sweetened the cake across a period of seven days.

A staggering 904 organic eggs, 1045kg (2,304 pounds) of flour, 209kg (461 pounds) of sugar, 401kg (884 pounds) of bitter chocolate and an impressive 34 kilograms (75 pounds) of Tahitian vanilla were all mixed together to create the one-of-a-kind dessert.

‘We make the sponge, we bake and then, when it’s cooled down, we make our vanilla cream, which is inside, we roll it up, and we make our very secret recipe of chocolate frosting,’ explained pastry chef Yusuf Yaran.

‘We put it all over the cake, and then we have our candy decorations and some icing sugar on the top.’

The final presentation saw 150 staff put the finished touches to the cake, helping to place it out on 156 tables during an intense 24-hour period.

Initially the team of cooks aimed to create a cake at a length of 888 metres (2,913 feet), but only upon the cake being measured did they realise the scale of their achievement.

After celebrating the success of the long cake, the hotel began to slice it to sell to the public, with all proceeds going to support chemotherapy treatment of four children in Shanghai.

The previous record holders for the world’s longest cake were the French with a 207 metre effort. (Metro)

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Extreme sport enthusiasts risk life and limb in all sorts of daredevil acts – but all are chasing the same thing: the breathtaking adrenaline ‘high’ that comes with staring death in the face.

But even the craziest thrill seeker would balk at the feats of Australian Michael Kemeter, and it would be hard to get any higher.

These spectacular images show how record-breaking Kemeter staged a perilous wire-walk between two ledges of Austria’s highest peak.

A line was strung up 2,600 feet off the ground at the Pallavicini ridge on the side of Grossglockner mountain, Austria’s highest peak and second only to Mont Blanc in the Alps.

The 23-year-old then stepped out on to the line, which was around 150ft long and less than an inch wide.

Although he had a safety rope that would have arrested his fall had he lost his balance, there was one hazard that could have turned the stunt into an instant tragedy.

While the line was strongly secured at both ends, the melting permafrost in the Alps had increased the risk of rockfalls and slides in the area.

A direct hit could have caused the line to break altogether, sending Kemeter to certain death.

Kemeter is an expert at slacklining, where the line is fixed between two anchor points but is not taut – as in tightrope walking.

The line is allowed to move, stretching and bouncing like a long but narrow trampoline.

To the uninitiated (that is, most of us), the benefits of using a slackened line are not immediately clear – except to increase the risk and show off amazing balancing skills.

Kemeter balanced over the ridge without shoes and in windy conditions to perform the stunt. He also wore no top to lower wind resistance, to lower his weight and to stop his clothes from getting snagged on any of the lines.

Extreme sportsman Kemeter, who has performed slacklining stunts all over the world, said it was great to have now conquered Austria’s highest peak.

He said: ‘This highline was the best in the world, maybe others will come here later but there can only be one person who was first, and that was me.’

Only a week ago Kemeter was able to break a Slack Lining World Record by crossing a 525ft-long slackline – the longest in the world – over the Gruenen See in Styria, Austria. (wrapup)

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• Two brothers collapse and die in front of their families one after the other
• Third brother suffers heart attack at same time while visiting their mother in hospital

Doctors were investigating how two Italian brothers suffered fatal heart attacks on the same day while a third was left fighting for his life.

The bizarre incident happened on November 29 as Guido Garofalo, 45, and his older brother Alberto Mario, 53, were on a picnic with their wives and children.

First to have a heart attack was Guido who collapsed to the ground in front of the horrified group

But as his brother Alberto Mario tried to save him, he too grabbed at his chest.

Paramedics were immediately called to the scene at Pianeta di Nicolosi on the slopes of Mount Etna near Catania on the island of Sicily but both were declared dead by the helicopter crew that had arrived to help.

The terrible chain of coincidence then continued as it emerged a third brother Salvatore, whose age is not known, suffered a heart attack at approximately the same time as he visited their mother in hospital.

Doctors and nurses rushed to help him and he is this afternoon recovering in the intensive care unit.

Staff said the fact he was in a hospital when he had the attack had ‘probably saved his life’.

He has not been informed of his brothers’ death and a sister who lives in Rome, and who is known to suffer from a heart condition, has also not been told.

Dr Thekia Maurhoff, of the Garibaldi hospital in Catania, said: ‘All three cases are being investigated – it is quite unique and I have never heard of anything similar like this happening three heart attacks in three brothers all at the same time.

‘From initial checks it would appear that all three brothers suffered from a heart condition and this lead to them all suffering attacks, virtually at the same time and in two cases they proved to be fatal.

‘Salvatore is currently in a stable condition in the intensive care unit of the hospital and his condition is being closely monitored but the fact he was in hospital at the time certainly helped save his life.’

Professor Filippo Crea, an expert at the cardiology unit of Rome’s Cattolica University, said: ‘Genetic factors almost certainly played a part in this tragic event as heart attacks in those aged under 60 are usually caused for those reasons.’ (Daily Mail)

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A US woman is suing her ex-boyfriend who got his revenge on her by tattooing a steaming poo on her back.

Rossie Brovent, from Dayton, Ohio, wants £60,000 in damages from Ryan Fitzjerald, reports The Sun.

Mr Fitzgerald, a tattoo artist, staged the stunt after discovering that she had cheated on him with his best friend.

Miss Brovent wanted a scene from the Narnia trilogy inked on her back – but was left instead with a pile of excrement and flies buzzing around it.

She originally tried to have her ex-lover charged with assault but she had signed a consent form agreeing the tattoo design was "at the artist’s discretion".

She said: "He tricked me by drinking a bottle of cheap wine with me and doing tequila shots before I signed it and got the tattoo.

"Actually I was passed out for most of the time, and woke up to this horrible image on my back." (Orange News)

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A man has died after stunned doctors removed 13 pounds of metal from his stomach.

Farmer Kamleshwar Singh was admitted to hospital in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh complaining of abdominal pains.

Following x-ray inspection, three keys, 431 coins, 196 iron pellets and 17 small bolts were found in his stomach (see the smaller pic.).

Despite removing the items, doctors were unable to save his life.

Bhojram Dewangan, Director of Shreesti Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre, where Mr Singh was treated, said, ‘The patient had been consuming small iron objects for the last nine months.’

‘He visited us complaining of intolerable abdominal pain.

‘After sonography and X- ray tests, the doctors carried out the major surgery.’

Even after the tests the doctors who opened Mr Singh’s stomach were shocked by the number and variety of everyday metallic objects they found.

Dr Yadav, led the team that operated upon Mr Singh, who is suspected of having schizophrenia.

‘All the iron objects were lying at the base of his stomach,’ he said.

‘When we started the surgery, we thought we would find a few items.

‘But as we progressed, we were amazed to find such a huge number of coins and pellets had passed into his intestines.

‘Signs of chronic ulceration were apparent in the stomach.’

Mr Singh’s friends and family were apparently unaware of his habit of swallowing iron objects.

His wife, said: ‘My husband complained of frequent stomach ache and spent sleepless nights in the past four weeks.

‘But he kept us in the dark about swallowing iron objects.

‘He stopped going to the field citing weakness and was even unable to have his regular meals.’

In addition to schizophrenia experts believed Mr Singh was suffering from additional psychiatric problems which gave him an appetite for non-nutritional foreign objects. (Mail Online)

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Britain’s luckiest turkey has been saved from the chop this Christmas after falling in love with a deer.

Plucky bird Tinsel was rescued after she was thrown on to the motorway from a moving lorry.

She was nursed back to health and has now fallen head over claws for a rescued Roe Deer called Bramble.

The pair were brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary and are now ‘inseparable’.

Tinsel even gives Bramble a ‘peck’ on the cheek before they go to sleep at night.

Sanctuary owner Geoff Grewcock, 61, said: ‘They are completely inseparable.

‘Both of them live in the same barn and Tinsel always gives Bramble a little peck on the cheek before they go to sleep. It’s very sweet.

‘We’ve grown very attached to Tinsel.

‘She must be one of the luckiest turkey’s in Britain because she’s not going anywhere near any dinner plate this Christmas.’

Tinsel was rescued by a driver nine months ago after she was hurled out of a lorry on the M6 motorway near Manchester.

Grandfather-of-one Geoff said: ‘We didn’t think she was going to make it.

‘Her feathers were badly damaged and she was malnourished but we fed her up and looked after her.

‘She took an instant shine to Bramble and he seems to like the attention.

‘They walk around the animal sanctuary together, eat together and even have the odd tiff.

‘But Tinsel is very protective and squawks and flaps her wings if anyone goes anywhere near Bramble.’

Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008.

Geoff added: ‘Bramble was very poorly when he came to us but after three years he’s back to full health.

‘He close bond with Tinsel has certainly helped his recovery.’ (Daily Mail)

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These tow-tapping felines look like they are getting into the party spirit in a calendar that will make the purr-fect Christmas present for any cat lover.

Musical Moggs shows several cats getting into their groove as they turn their paws to playing a selection of different instruments.

In one picture, a pair of cool cats appear to be having a musical jam as they rock it out together on electric guitars.

Another picture shows them turn to brass as they pump out a tune on a trombone and tuba.

A clarinet-playing cat pelts out a tune while his companion holds up the music for it to read, while in another photograph an accordion player appears to be lost in the music as it plays a piece pressing its paws on the keyboard while squeezing the box.

Another picture shows a ginger tom cat playing a saxophone while standing beside a neon sign for a jazz club.

Steve Bicknell, from Maverick Arts, which produced the calendar, used a friend’s cats to pose for the pictures, manipulated them on a computer to give the illusion that they are really playing instruments.

He told the Sunday Express: ‘We are very experienced shooting with cats and make sure they are not overworked.’

Maverick Arts, based in Pulborough, West Sussex, which specialises in publishing humorous calendars, greetings cards and children’s books, has also produced a calendar called Ballroom Bunnies, featuring two rabbits performing an impressive range of dance styles. (Daily Mail)

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