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It was the stuff of legends - a mythical giant fish that had been lurking in a park lake for more than 20 years but had never been caught. Some questioned whether the elusive monster catfish, dubbed the 'Beast of Billericay', had ever existed in the first place or if it was just another fisherman's tale. But Pete Hudd proved the doubters wrong by reeling in the 50lb 4oz catch during a late night fishing session with friends. Monster fish: Pete Hudd, 26, holds up the 50lb catfish - dubbed 'The Beast of Billericay - which had avoided capture for 20 years Reel big catch: Pete Hudd, pictured at Lake Meadows in Billericay, Essex, where he caught the fish, weighed his catch before posing for a picture - and tossing it back in After spending an hour wrestling with the fish to get it onto the bank he had it weighed, posed for a photograph - and then promptly tossed it straight back in. The 26-year-old landscape gardener said he used his secret garlic and tuna 'boili

A Belgian woman has spoken of the moment she spotted a child who looked like Madeleine McCann in Brussels just days after she went missing. Line Compere recounted how she saw the girl with an Eastern European couple on a tram heading for the city's train station. Her sighting was one of several potential leads revealed in the Portuguese police case files. Detectives are now looking at more than 100 in Belgium alone. Miss Compere, 31, spoke out again yesterday after it emerged British police were tipped-off Madeleine may have been snatched for a paedophile ring in Belgium. 'I made the sighting on a tram. We were on the Number 18 tram from Porte d'Anderlecht going towards the Gare du Midi,' she said. 'They got off and then got on to the number 51 tram. She really looked like Madeleine, but her hair was different. 'In the photos I saw of Madeleine, she had a fringe, but this girl did not. She was dressed all in pink and was in a pushchair. 'I was standing clos

A new $100 Euro-style bill which changes color will be circulated throughout America in October, it has been announced. The Federal Reserve said yesterday that it will begin circulating the $100 bill which has been redesigned with high-tech security features this fall - more than two years after its initial target. The revamped note includes added security features to prevent it from being forged by counterfeiters. Greenback revamped: A combination photo shows the front and back of the newly designed $100 bill that will be put into circulation October 8 Similar: The new $100 bill will more closely reflect the colorful Euro note HISTORY OF 'BENJAMIN'S BILL' The first $100 United States bill was issued in 1862. In 1929, all U.S. currency was changed to its current size from the much larger bills of earlier. In July 1969, the Federal Reserve announced it was taking large denominations of U.S. currency out of circulation. The $100 bill was the largest denomination l

A man who died after plummeting from the undercarriage of a plane flying over London had a 'desire to travel to Europe for a better life', an inquest heard today. Jose Matada, 26, from Mozambique, suffered massive injuries after falling from the Heathrow-bound flight from Angola on September 9 last year. His body was found on the pavement of Portman Avenue, Mortlake, in south-west London. West London Coroner’s Court heard the stowaway may have been dead before he hit the ground either because he had been crushed by the retracting landing gear shortly after the plane took off, or because of the extreme cold at high altitude. Detectives analysed a sim card found in his jeans and contacted the phone numbers that were stored on it in a bid to identify him. Detective sergeant Jeremy Allsup, from the Metropolitan Police, told the inquest that officers contacted a woman in Switzerland who had exchanged text messages with Mr Matada. The woman, referred to during the hearing as Ms Hunt

Security guards at the Empire State Building saved the a man's life by carefully talking him down from the edge of the 85th floor. Horrified tourists watched the man seemingly preparing himself to jump to his death in New York City on Wednesday night. It was just before midnight when security guards spotted him and calmly talked him into re-entering the building safely. Rescue: A man was talked down from the Empire State Building's 85th floor in New York Two tourists who were taking in the iconic skyscraper looked up to see the man dangerously close to the edge of the building. Argentinians Luis Ariel Jofre and Julieta Paola Barambones said they saw the man, who looked as though he had already fallen one story from the observation deck, swing his legs into the air as if he meant to drop again. More... Mother-of-two medical director, 38, inexplicably lay down in slow lane of M4 after having a minor crash and was killed instantly by a lorry Can you believe these are actua

The BBC has come under fire after it emerged that Songs of Praise is paying skilled singers just £55 per day to perform. Members of a cathedral choir due to be featured on the iconic programme have hit out at the 'insulting' fee being paid for their services. They claim the corporation has previously agreed to pay £214 for a day's singing - more than four times the payment currently being offered. Three episodes of Songs of Praise will be filmed next month at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, featuring the 900-year-old church's highly respected professional choir. Outcry: Singers at Llandaff Cathedral, pictured, say they are being underpaid for appearing on Songs of Praise But its singers have complained that the £110 they will receive for taking part in the two-day filming session is not enough, and have called for the production company which makes the programme to increase the fee. The daily rate of £55 translates into an annual salary of just £14,300, well below th

Bankers, politicians and inept BBC executives who may have been hoping to escape a grilling from the Grand Inquisitor John Humphrys now he is turning 70 cannot sleep soundly in their beds. For just 24 hours after the Today presenter laid into his new boss Lord (Tony) Hall — having already turned his predecessor George Entwistle to toast over the Lord McAlpine scandal — I can reveal that the broadcaster has signed two new contracts with the Beeb. The Mastermind host has negotiated a new deal for his BBC2 quiz programme that will keep him posing the questions for the next three years. New deal: Despite laying into his new boss Lord Hall, right, John Humphrys, left, has negotiated a new deal with the BBC And — despite suggestions that he might be finding the 3.30am starts for Today too arduous at his age — he has also just renewed his agreement with Radio 4. The latter will run for nine months. Humphrys, who began his BBC career in 1966 as a district reporter in Liverpool and th

Here's a set of seating that looks as pretty as a picture. The chairs could be hung on a wall and look just like a framed print. But take them down and prop them up and they become usable seating. Comfy? Chairs like this could be hung on a wall and look just like a framed print The Japanese designer believes they are the perfect answer for adding emergency seating in camped environments They are the brainchild of Japanese designer Naoki Ono. The chair is made with wood, aluminium and stretched elastic canvas. The chairs are a series called Canvas and include a stool, two seater sofa and armchair. More... Are these the world's weirdest bouncy castles? Inflatable sculptures of Stonehenge, a pair of legs and a pile of poo go on show in Hong Kong Knit your own boyfriend! Artist in search of the perfect man crafts her own, calls him Arthur and says: 'he will never dump me!' Ono, founder of YOY design studio in Tokyo, believes they are the perfect answer for adding

The son of an MP has been forced to apologise after describing Katie Price's disabled son as a 'vegetable'. Ian Lavery Jnr, 24, cracked a sick joke on Twitter about ten-year-old Harvey and made a crude reference to his mother. His father, Ian Lavery, who is patron of the brain injury charity Headway, said he was 'appalled' by his son's behaviour, but last night said he had 'no intention of policing' his children. Last night, Price, 34, blasted the pair and claimed the joke should be treated as a hate crime like racism. The model told The Sun: 'This makes me sick to my stomach. Not just that someone could be so vile as to say such a thing, but also could think it clever to repeat to the world on Twitter. 'What kind of father, what kind of MP, is Ian Lavery? 'These disgusting comments aimed at Harvey all too often get aimed at other disabled children and the poor souls his father's charity rightly campaigns for.' Harvey was born with s

Dying novelist Iain Banks has said he will send letters to the authors who inspired him to write. Speaking for the first time since being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he also told fans he felt 'treasured and loved' after announcing he had only months to live. Those who would receive a letter of thanks include fellow author Alasdair Gray. The author said he would continue to post 'the occasional update' on his blog for as long as he was able The sci-fi writer said: 'I need to tell other writers how much their work has meant to me while they are (and I am) still alive. 'Means writing yet more letters, but I feel it'd be hypocritical of me not to, now. More... Would you do me the honour of becoming my widow? Author Iain Banks's proposal as he reveals he is dying of cancer The day I became a wife then a widow in seven shattering hours 'I think I'll start with the amazing Mr Alasdair Gray.' Banks also revealed that he honeymooned in Veni

The number of thefts carried out by criminals on bicycles who are snatching mobile phones from people's hands is on the rise, latest figures suggest. Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that police-recorded incidents of 'theft from the person' rose by 8 per cent in the year to December 2012. It is believed this is being driven by smartphone theft, including the 'phenomena' of bike riders stealing phones from people’s hands. It is believed the increase in thefts is being driven by bike riders stealing phones from people's hands Recent victims include the wife of Nick Mason, the Pink Floyd drummer, who walking her two Labradors on Hampstead Heath when a man prised her iPhone from her hand when he rode past. Annette Mason, 52, said that she is afraid to use her mobile phone in public after being mugged last December. More... Phew! Britain avoids triple-dip recession by a whisker as economy grows by 0.3%... and Osborne cla

David Cameron is warning Nick Clegg he will get the blame if he blocks a temporary withdrawal from the European Convention of Human Rights to enable the deportation of Abu Qatada. Sources close to the Prime Minister made clear he would expect the Liberal Democrat leader – who has insisted he will not countenance any suspension of the ECHR – to explain to voters why the hate preacher remained in Britain in such circumstances. Home Secretary Theresa May told MPs yesterday that she has signed a new treaty with Abu Qatada’s native Jordan which, she believes, will mean the courts finally allowing his removal. Hate preacher Abu Qatada has been the subject of an on-going battle between the government and European Convention of Human Rights But she said the Government was also examining a temporary suspension of the ECHR if all else failed. More... Merkel warns eurozone that the EU 'has the last word' on national budgets ahead of crunch talks on saving the single currency An ind