The 5 weirdest UK stories this week: jousting on Lime bikes, a self-zapping PC and a pony at the drive-thru

Another week, another batch of headlines that sound made up but absolutely aren't. Here are the five strangest true stories from around the UK this week, each checked against the original reporting.

1. 
   Weird UK News

   1. Two knights joust on Lime hire bikes in a London park – Lime says its bikes are 'not for jousting', so they do it again

   Two knights in full armour charged at each other on rented Lime e-bikes in London Fields. Lime said its bikes are 'not for jousting'. Cue a Halloween rematch with 5,000 RSVPs.

   Read the full story · Original reporting: BBC News

2. 
   Crime-ish

   2. Officer inspects suspect's 'torch' for hidden drugs – it's a stun gun, and now everyone calls him PC Sparky

   A Slough officer had a good look at a 'torch' found in a stop and search. It was a stun gun, it worked, and he will now be PC Sparky forever.

   Read the full story · Original reporting: Slough Observer

3. 
   Animals

   3. Man rides pony through McDonald's drive-thru – and the pony gets free apple slices

   A rider took his pony through a Worcestershire McDonald's drive-thru, because horses are too tall for the height barrier. Staff were shocked. The pony got free apple slices.

   Read the full story · Original reporting: BBC News

4. 
   Weird Science

   4. Meet Madam Quexzilla Plumpkin, the 420kg pumpkin that may have been fed university science leftovers

   In a terrible year for pumpkins, a Kent garden centre grew a 420kg monster next to a patch where university researchers dumped their spare microalgae. Coincidence? The scientists are carefully not saying.

   Read the full story · Original reporting: BBC News

5. 
   Weird Science

   5. Lost 1972 TV report on a squash-playing RAF ghost found – and the medium got everything wrong

   A lost 1972 BBC report about a ghost haunting an RAF squash court in Norfolk has been found. Bad news for the medium: the ghosts' names belonged to people who never existed.

   Read the full story · Original reporting: BBC News

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