If you go down in the woods today you’re sure of a very big surprise if you encounter the aptly named Grazer.

She is a bear who has just been named as the winner of the 2023 fat bear contest.

But don’t worry if you’re thinking her BMI is a cause for concern – she needs to pack on the pounds to survive the winter in Alaska.

Grazer, also known as Bear 128 to the fans of Fat Bear Week at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, won this year’s contest, handily defeating Chunk 108,321 to 23,134 in the finals.

The annual contest, which this year drew more than 1.3 million votes from dedicated fans watching the bears live at explore.org, is way to celebrate the resiliency of the brown bears that live on the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula, which extends from the state’s southwest corner toward the Aleutian Islands.

Viewers of Alaska’s most-watched popularity contest are glued to computer screens all summer long to see which bears are stocking up the most on salmon.

They then vote in tournament style brackets over the course of a week, advancing bears to the next round until a champion is crowned. Grazer took the title Tuesday.

According to Grazer’s biography on the Katmai website, the large adult female is often one of the fattest bears to collect salmon on Brooks River inside Katmai.

Park officials call her ‘one of the best anglers’ in the park, fishing day or night from many different parts of the river, even chasing down fleeing salmon.

Grazer is one of an estimated 2,200 brown bears that call Katmai home.

A true mama bear, she’s known to attack larger bears, even adult males, to ensure her cubs are safe. She’s used her skills to successfully raise two litters of cubs.

This year’s contest was in peril just weeks ago. Had Congress not come to a last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September, Fat Bear Week would have been postponed since park employees would not have been allowed to count the votes.

Drivers are complaining that their cars are being damaged and written off after being caught in a controversial bus lane trap.

Dozens of motorists have found their cars stuck in the trap, with some saying it’s not clearly signposted.

There are two no entry signs, a warning triangle that says ‘car trap’, two sets of huge lettering on the road that say ‘GUIDED BUS ONLY’, and red tarmac.

The trap is located at the junction of Station Road and Harrison Way in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, and is designed to prevent vehicles driving onto the busway.

The pit in the road is wide enough that small vehicles fall into it but small enough that larger-diameter-wheeled vehicles, such as buses, may pass.

But some locals are now complaining that the trap is a hazard with up to five motorists getting stuck every week. The local council disputes this saying they have records of 60 cars getting trapped in 12 years.

The daughter of a motorist recently caught in the trap, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the incident has left both her parents ‘shaken and traumatised’.

Their vehicle was seriously damaged in the drop, and they are finding out if it is repairable or a write off.

She claims her father was one of five drivers who ended up in the trap last week.

He is in his 80s, but she insists he is a competent driver who misunderstood the exit signs leading out of a car park

She said: ‘He somehow ended up back in the same car park again.

‘He said the signage was poor and if he exited the same way, he’d end up doing the same thing.

‘So he went a different way and ended up in the car trap.

‘We know of someone in their 20s who has also gone into the trap – you can’t argue this is because of my father’s age.

‘Considering the number of incidents, there must be another way to manage the junction that doesn’t cause this much damage to vehicles.’

Philippa Parker drove into the trap which, she claims, was full of weeds last summer and complained to the council.

She also argues poor signposting leading up to the trap is what led to the incident.

Philippa, from Wiltshire, said: ‘The signs were totally inadequate.

‘Motorists were driving up to the junction while we were waiting for the recovery.

‘If we weren’t there, they would’ve made the same mistake.

‘The abuse and awful language people were shouting as they passed us was also shocking.

‘It left us with a very bad impression of St Ives afterwards.’

Cllr Kevin Reynolds from Cambridgeshire County Council has admitted he has little sympathy for the drivers who get stuck.

He said: ‘If people driving along that road cannot see a big hole in the ground in front of them then I would argue they wouldn’t be able to see a small child.

‘I would question whether they should be behind the wheel at all…’

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A large bush which is ‘a nightmare’ for residents is set to be chopped back.

Residents living on nearby streets in Plymouth have complained that the issue is ‘dangerous for the old people and children’

Cazzy Wadland says anyone riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle has to ‘climb over to the driver’s side to get out of the car’.

She said: ‘We have reported it loads of times to the council about cutting bushes that cover the pathway. It is dangerous for old people and children, as they have got to walk on the road as they can’t use pathway.

‘It’s overgrown and loads [of people] have reported it. Nobody has been out and its stretching over the cars.

‘It is parking permit zone and we pay £30-per-year to park in our own street to get it damaged by bushes.’

Cazzy added it was a ‘nightmare now’ and is ‘making a mess on the roads’. Plymouth City Council has now confirmed the overgrowth will be cut once traffic management measures are in place.

A spokesman said: ‘We’re aware of an issue with overgrowth at Claremont Street.

‘In order for the works to start and complete carefully, traffic management and safety measures will be put in place.

‘Once this has finished, addressing the overgrowth will become an immediate priority for our Street Services team. Residents will receive notice in advance of any restrictions in place.’

A dad was shocked to come home from an overnight trip and find his front lawn had been stolen.

Danny Baks had gone away for the night with his 12-year-old daughter and didn’t notice anything was amiss until she asked: ‘Where has the grass gone?’

Danny, 43, reckons the artificial grass cost between £80-100, and it fits the space perfectly between his front door and the garden wall.

And he says other residents on his street in Darwen, Lancashire, have seen other items taken from their front gardens.

He said: ‘I came home on Sunday morning with my daughter and something just looked off. The penny didn’t even drop straight away.

‘As I was unlocking the door, my daughter turned around to me and said, where has the grass gone? I was like what, where’s that gone?

‘You don’t expect someone to take a bit of artificial grass.

‘Obviously you don’t want lose between £80-100, whatever it was.

‘But it’s not like a gold diamond ring or anything like that, so who would want to take that?’

Danny claims one neighbour saw a garden bench taken from the front of their house, while many others have seen garden pots stolen from their gardens.

He only moved into the rented property in April and placed the artificial grass that same month, though he didn’t nail it down or otherwise secure it.

He now plans to install cameras at the front of his home to prevent anything else going missing.

Danny added: ‘It getting nicked doesn’t really enter your head and it was quite heavy.

‘The repercussions from this though is I have my daughter full-time and she’s 12.

‘She’s now frightened that they’ll come back and try and get in the house.

‘She’s scared of being at home on her own now. So that’s had a knock-on effect with her.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted Lancashire Constabulary for comment.

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A man has spoken of his deep unhappiness and fears for his teeth after he found a screw in his KFC.

Callum Feehan, 25, put a handful of chips in his mouth and felt something metal.

He pulled out a screw that appeared to have been fried with the chips.

Callum has now said he ‘could have broken a tooth’ if he had bitten into the screw.

He said: ‘I bought the meal and came home. I’d literally put a handful of chips in my mouth and I could feel something rattling around in my mouth, and when I pulled it out it was a fried screw.

‘I could have broken a tooth – thankfully I didn’t.’

The IT worker said he contacted KFC on X, formally Twitter, but said they only replied when he threatened to inform Environmental Health.

He added that they haven’t replied since he sent a photo of the metal object.

Callum, of Gillingham, Kent, said: ‘I wasn’t overly happy. I immediately contacted KFC on Twitter, or X now, and they completely ignored me for at least 48 hours.

‘It was only when I threatened them with Environmental Health that they replied.

‘They asked for a photo and asked where it was purchased and said they’d get back to me. That was Sunday, but there’s been nothing since.’

Callum said it was clear the screw had been through the fryer, but said he was more ‘fuming’ about the lack of action from the company.

He said: ‘I was fuming. I go down to that KFC once or twice a week. I’ve had a few issues before but nothing major.

‘It’s more concerning that they don’t seem to be concerned that I found it in my food.

‘They’re not really taking what I told them seriously, which is what I’d expect from somewhere I go quite regularly.’

A KFC spokesman said: ‘We have strict processes in place to prevent any foreign objects from entering the food we serve.

‘As a result, we take claims of this nature extremely seriously and can confirm our team is investigating as a matter of urgency.

‘We are also in touch with Callum to keep him updated.’

A dog has cost his owner £350 in emergency bills after his drama queen reactions to a mosquito bite and a paper cut.

Jaqweenie, a five-year-old chihuahua and Jack-Russel mix, reacts to minor scrapes as though he is seriously injured so has to be taken to the vets.

Owner Jean Mosher was walking Jaqweenie with a friend last month when he suddenly became mysteriously ‘injured’.

He started panting, was wide-eyed and licked his foot constantly, convincing his owner that he was badly hurt.

Jean gave him medication for the pain and itching, and a cone to stop him licking, and Jean ended up being charged £163 ($200).

Jean said: ‘I tried to wait to see if he was being dramatic, but he was so upset that both my friend and myself became quite concerned.

‘Jaqweenie fully recovered that afternoon. I’m thinking I might start doing a peanut butter test before taking him to the vet next time.

‘If he stops limping to eat some peanut butter – then he doesn’t need medical attention.’

In 2021, Jaqweenie was at a park in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, when he was suddenly unable to walk.

Jean, a stay-at-home dog mum, rushed over and found him trembling with his leg curled up at his side.

She said: ‘We examined his leg with a flashlight but we couldn’t see anything.

‘I rushed him to the vet immediately. He’s very small so his knees are shallow and can get dislocated easily.

‘I also thought he may have broken his leg.’

The vet examined Jaqweenie and only found a tiny cut – so small that the vet called it a ‘paper cut’.

They bandaged Jaqweenie’s foot and sent the pair home with a £120 ($150) bill for their troubles.

Jean said: ‘I was surprised and relieved. I love him so much that I couldn’t be annoyed at him.

‘He made a full recovery the next day. I still have the bandage.’

Not all of Jaqweenie’s ‘injuries’ end up at the vet.

In September last year, he also suffered a bee sting that meant he needed to be carried home and spent the whole evening lying on the sofa.

Jean even went through the effort of bandaging his leg so that he would feel cared for.

She said: ‘Luckily I saw it sting him so I knew he wasn’t badly injured and was able to avoid the emergency vet.

‘He did insist on being carried home. He was pretty upset about this ‘injury’ and convalesced on the couch that whole evening.

‘In spite of the pain he managed to eat a bully stick.’

Jean enjoys the pooch’s dramatic streak and sees it as a sign he is well looked after.

She said: ‘Jaqweenie had been a stray the first year of his life. It actually makes me happy to see him be a little dramatic.’

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A fresh-faced police officer has been given a telling off for littering after he was seen dropping part of his breakfast on the floor.

The unnamed officer, based at Witney police station, was spotted opening the passenger door of a cop car and throwing grass onto the grass verge.

However, he was spotted by Immy Khaliq whose home CCTV caught the PC in the act.

He went outside and demanded the young officer pick up his litter and dispose of it properly. In a video he posted to TikTok he can be heard saying that anyone else would likely get an on-the-spot fine for littering.

Thames Valley Police said that the officer has now had ‘chance to reflect on their actions and learn from them’.

The incident happened on Tuesday morning and started with Immy asking for the PC’s badge number and police station.

The man filming then asks the officer: ‘Have you got an excuse why you pulled up outside my house and threw rubbish out of your car? Is there a reason for that?’

The officer denies littering, saying: ‘No, I haven’t thrown any rubbish. That’s actually just sandwich crusts.’

‘Oh right,’ the man filming replies, pointing his camera at a pair of sandwich crusts discarded on the grass verge. 

He adds: ‘So you think it’s okay to pull up outside somebody else’s house and chuck your lunch or breakfast outside my house? That’s acceptable, is it?

‘If I’d done that in front of a police officer, right, or if a litter enforcement officer, right, I’d get nicked, wouldn’t I? Course I would. You’ve got no respect, have you?’

The officer then replies: ‘I can fully understand where you’re coming from and I appreciate that maybe it didn’t look so bad, and I’ll fully take that on board.

‘I will keep that in mind for the future.’

The person filming then retorts: ‘Pick the f****** crust up and take it with you… I ain’t moving until you f****** do it.

‘It’s my house, and you just discard your food on the side of the road, right, without any thought.’

The officer’s colleague then interrupts to say that the roadside doesn’t constitute part of the property of the person filming.

But the cameraman fires back and says: ‘It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t – oh so it’s okay, is it? It’s public property, so that makes it even worse, doesn’t it?

‘I’ll be making a complaint… about him. Who do you think you are? Do you think the police are so above the little man that you can get away with that?’

As the officer who dropped the crusts tries to say he’ll pick up the rubbish, the resident adds: ‘Pick it up. Pick it up. Pick it up then.’

When the policeman asks him to stop shouting, he says: ‘I’ll shout at what I want – there’s no law against it, is there?’

The cameraman then steps back on to his driveway and shouts: ‘Alright. Now pick the f****** thing up. Now I’m on private property. Pick it up.

‘How dare you come to somebody’s house and discard your food, in front of their house, even whether it’s a public property or not. Who the hell do you think you are? Pick it up. Now.’

The officer says: ‘I will do. Will you please stop shouting at me like that? I don’t think that’s quite respectful.’

‘I don’t think it’s respectful you discard your food outside my house,’ the homeowner fires back. ‘Pick it up.’

‘I’m going to, if you leave me alone. Okay?’ the officer says, before picking up the crusts.

The video ends with the cameraman saying: ‘Move along. You’re dismissed. Go away. Don’t chuck food outside your car again.’

Later footage shows a female officer approaching the man at his home, informing him that the policeman had been ordered to undergo ‘reflective practice’, which will sit on his record.

The female officer tells the man: ‘We have spoken to the officer and said this isn’t correct (and that) you need to reflect on your actions.

‘He has accepted that it is wrong and he has apologised – not to you, but this is why we’re here. We’ve dealt with it this evening. 

‘This reflective practice will go onto his record, that that’s what’s happened, so that’s on his record, and we’re here to say: “Apologies, that shouldn’t have happened.”‘

Thames Valley Police later said it had been made aware of the video and has flagged it to senior officers and its professional standards department.

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