Button hoax story taken off site

31 July 2011 Last updated at 00:06 GMT Button will start third on the grid for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix Hackers who posted a story on Jenson Button's official website claiming that he had been seriously injured in a car crash carried out a "distasteful hoax", his spokesman has said.

The story appeared on Saturday night, saying the F1 driver was in a "critical condition" in hospital following a "serious accident" in Hungary.

The website was taken down soon after the post emerged.

His spokesman said a hacker had breached the site's security.

"The story is completely untrue and is a very distasteful hoax," the McLaren driver's spokesman said.

"The website was immediately taken down and its security will now be reviewed. Jenson was asleep in bed when we were made aware that someone had hacked into his site and made the untrue claims. He is still totally oblivious.

"We can assure people that he is completely fit and healthy and will be taking part in today's race."

The hacker had posted the story on www.jensonbutton.com and his representatives were made aware just after 2330BST. They later posted an explanation of what had happened, adding to Button's fans: "We can only apologise for any alarm this may have caused."

Button, 31, and his team are in Hungary ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix where he will start third on the grid.

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'Train' pony is taken into care

3 June 2011 Last updated at 11:07 GMT Pony express: The man led his four-legged friend onto the platform A pony which attracted worldwide attention after CCTV showed a man trying to take it on a train has been taken into care.

The animal, believed to be called Ruby, was spotted grazing on council land near Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Wrexham railway staff had refused to allow it onto the train, and the RSPCA expressed concern for its welfare.

Pictures also emerged of it with the man at other locations, including the the hospital reception area and a pub.

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A number of complaints have been received from the public raising concerns over the welfare of the animal and public safety issues”

End Quote Wrexham council "A Welsh pony was taken to a place of safety on Tuesday, 31 May by council officers assisted by the RSPCA," said Wrexham council.

"It is thought the pony is linked to the recent reports in the media.

"The pony was found straying on council land over the bank holiday weekend.

"Council officers are investigating reports that the pony had been abandoned on a number of nights at unsuitable locations, including the hospital helipad and the cemetery in Pandy.

"A number of complaints have been received from the public raising concerns over the welfare of the animal and public safety issues.

'Untethered and unaccompanied'

"On a number of occasions the animal has been left untethered and unaccompanied close to busy roads.

"The pony has been examined by a vet and will be looked after in a secure place."

A notice has been pinned up at the site asking the owner to get in touch within 14 days to lodge a claim to the pony.

After the man had tried to travel with the pony on the train from Wrexham to Holyhead on Anglesey, the RSPCA said it was neither a safe nor acceptable way of travelling with a horse.

Arriva Trains Wales said transport had been refused because horses were not allowed on safety grounds.

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Olympic ticket payments to be taken

16 May 2011 Last updated at 13:56 GMT Money for Olympic tickets has started to be withdrawn from some accounts The organisers of the London Olympics have started taking money from the accounts of people whose applications for tickets have been successful.

The process will continue until 24 June, when people will be notified of the tickets they have won.

A London 2012 spokesman said people should make sure they have sufficient funds available.

About 1.8 million people made more than 20 million applications for the 6.6 million tickets.

The ticket application process lasted for six weeks, which ended on 26 April.

This will mean that in some cases, money will be taken out of people's accounts before they know which tickets they have been able to buy. The Olympic organisers will be processing the ticket applications up to 10 June.

Random allocation

Refunds are not available but London 2012 will launch its official resale platform early next year, through which people can offer their tickets for resale at face value - although there is no guarantee they will be bought.

EBay, the internet auction site, has said it will not allow the resale of Olympic tickets.

Any tickets unsold by organisers are expected to be made available in further ballots, along with the possibility of additional tickets for higher-profile events being released as venues are tested and capacities finalised.

Stephen Hunt, an insolvency practitioner, has applied for ?36,000 of Olympic tickets

BBC Olympics correspondent Gordon Farquhar said that the remaining tickets would be sold according to a set structure.

He said: "Those who applied and got no tickets will be given first pick in a sale of what's left. Those who got some tickets but not all will get second preference in the remainder sale.

"Those who got them all will get third preference. Only those who applied in the first round of ticketing will get this second chance now, on a first-come first-served basis.

"Later in the year, a general sale of the remainder of the tickets will take place."

Card issues

Peter Kelly from Epsom, Surrey, may not have the chance to get Olympic tickets as his credit card company, Barclaycard, for security reasons, has replaced the card that he used to apply for tickets.

He has applied for two tickets for 18 events, totalling nearly ?4,000, and described watching the Olympics as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" which he did not want to miss.

He said: "I today received a letter from Barclaycard saying they needed to replace my card. This is the card I used on my Olympic ticket application, so it needs to be working when the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games processes my application for the tickets, or my application will fail."

A spokeswoman for Visa said that anyone with card issues should contact LOCOG, make them aware of the situation, and provide details of their new Visa card.

Stephen Hunt, an insolvency practitioner from London, has bid for ?36,000 worth of tickets.

"I paused when I saw how much I was applying for, how much it would actually come to but if you think about it, it's like rolling or getting heads twenty times in a row," he said.

"The chances of me getting all my allocation are almost nil, in fact the chances of getting one ticket out of that lot is quite small.

"I sort of took a range of things I wanted so the 100 metres, the opening and closing ceremonies, then it's my daughter's birthday in the middle so something for her in the gymnastics.

"If I can get two or three, hopefully one for my daughter's birthday, I'd be happy."

Completely random

The opening and closing ceremonies were expected to be massively over-subscribed, as well as big athletics events, swimming nights, track cycling and some of the cheaper tickets.

Many people applied for several events, hoping to boost their chances of getting tickets.

Standard prices range from ?20 to ?2,012 - the top ticket for the opening ceremony - and oversubscribed events will be decided by a ballot.

Ticket allocation is completely random, so some unlucky applicants might end up without any, while others may be allocated all the tickets they applied for.

A further two million tickets for the Paralympic Games go on sale on 9 September.

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