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An Italian footballer who plays for a leading UK team has had to divest himself of an expensive Maserati sports car because it smells. His team-mates played a practical joke, leaving a box of fish behind the passenger seat before the players travelled to the US for a two-week training programme. By the time he returned, the car was infested with flies and maggots and the smell was so sickly that it made him feel nauseous. The €172,000 Maserati is an insurance write-off although as the player earns €114,000/

An American family were driving in their car when a snake suddenly slithered onto the windscreen. The snake slid from a windscreen wiper vent and the couple watched as it moved initially to the right of the screen and then to the left in front of the driver. The husband was a passenger and filmed the snake's progress while his wife drove. The snake finally slid over the door mirror and off the vehicle. Its welfare following the incident is not known but as it fell onto a busy highway it may not have survive

A hairdresser who placed a toy bus outside his shop in the UK city of Brighton was given a parking ticket by an attendant. Intended as a promotional move the toy bus measured a mere 1m high. Despite the diminutive scale of the toy bus however the attendant decided this was not allowed and handed the hairdresser a fine costing €57. This was later cancelled by the parking company on appeal.

Poland's A1 highway project is developing a reputation as a route to stable relationships. At present some 25 married couples are working on the project for Swedish contractor Skanska. Eight of the couples actually met while working on the highway while 10 opted to marry once the project got underway and 11 were already married when work commenced

A blonde woman driver is hotly denying stereotyping of her character following a somewhat embarrassing and costly incident during which she damaged her car and several others in Monaco. The woman was driving a Bentley worth around €287,000 when she collided with a Mercedes valued at some €86,000. She scraped her car down the side of the white Mercedes and then rammed into a black Ferrari worth some €160,500

A 23 year old man in Queensland, Australia has been fined for driving a beer cooler while under the influence of alcohol. The man bought the motorised cool box for A$600 and, having assembled it, was so proud of his handiwork that he could not resist taking it for a midnight test run to demonstrate its performance to his friends However, the man had been drinking during the assembly process and his progress was somewhat erratic. When police stopped the man on his somewhat unusual vehicle, he was breathteste

LiuGong is widening its wheeled loader line-up with the addition of the compact 816III model. Despite its small size the 5.6tonne 816III is said to have a high power to weight ratio, has a bucket breakout force of 5.45tonnes and features a 0.785m3 bucket as standard. Power comes from a Yanmar diesel rated at 48kW and which meets Tier 3 noise and emission regulations.

With scrap metal prices soaring, some European countries are suffering from a spate of drain cover thefts. Serious safety issues arise for road users of all categories as a result of drain cover theft, with utility companies and local councils being left with the additional burden of replacing stolen ductile ironwork. However Ultracrete, part of the Instarmac Group, has a solution in the shape of its recently launched coverTEC range of pedestrian and road composite manhole covers and frames. These lightweig

Logistics specialist Damco is now offering customers an online calculation of carbon dioxide emissions. This tool can be used to determine a firm's carbon footprint, allowing it to see how it performs against statutory requirements. The new online tool is available online at: myDamco, a browser-based customer interface with Damco.

HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY (Europe)/(HCME) has expanded its popular range of mini excavators with the introduction of the ZX27-3, a model which is said to be easily transportable, and to offer improved handling, comfort and safety. Joep van den Maagdenberg, HCME product sales manager Compact Line (EMEA), said: "The ZX27-3 is a highly versatile machine and is suitable for a broad range of applications, including utilities and general groundworks. Like all Zaxis minis, it is easy to operate and this model

PIPS Technology has commissioned two Journey Time Measurement Systems (JTMS) in Gravesend and Tunbridge Wells for Kent Highway Services (KHS) in the UK. The JTMS locations consist of 34 Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and JTMS software all provided by PIPS Technology.

Belgian Terex distributor, Terex Kemp, is supplying 18 excavators to Groep Verbraeken Construction in a deal that the company says should help instil confidence in the Belgian construction industry. Terex Kemp, the main Terex distributor for Belgium since 2003, is delivering ten TC35 and five TC48 compact crawler excavators, alongside three TW85 compact wheeled excavators. The company's sale of Terex excavators follows two prior successful months, which saw them sell more than 55 machines in July and August

Aebi Schmidt UK and Masternaut Three X, one of the leading providers of vehicle tracking systems, have formed a partnership to improve safety on winter roads, save money and increase the efficiency of spreading fleets. The web-based Masternaut Three X satellite tracking system interfaces with the technology of Schmidt spreaders at levels to suit every highways authority, from tracking and reporting, through to the most detailed data on vehicle performance and fleet management. At the heart of the system is

Technology from 3M is helping reduce the incidence of speeding in the UK city of Salford. A series of Driver Feedback Signs from 3M, DFS 700 units, have been installed in the area to gather both information on average vehicle speeds and encourage drivers to observe the speed limits. The Urban Vision partnership between Salford City Council and Capita Symonds manages the local highways on behalf of the council and has installed 50 of the DFS 700 units in strategic locations close to schools, the entrances to