A US man chose a grizzly bear for best man at his wedding.

Casey Anderson - who hand-reared the animal, called Brutus, from birth - insisted his 'best friend' be with him during his nuptials to Hollywood actress Missi Pyle.

Brutus the bear, who weighs half a ton and is 234 cm tall, impressed guests by devouring the entire wedding cake after the ceremony in Montana, US.

Naturalist Casey, 33, said: "I take him for long walks. I swim with him and I've even started teaching him how to fish. I feel like his father in a way - but in reality I'm more of his friend.

"Now I owe him for introducing me to my wife and he was best man at my wedding - he really has changed my life."

Rock insect repellent

A US town is fighting a plague of crickets by blasting hard rock songs at high volume.

The 13 residents of Tuscarora, Nevada, have found lining up their stereo systems and playing the local rock radio station, KHIX, as loud as possible is the only way to divert the flightless insects from the town.

Laura Moore, an unemployed college professor, said: "It is part of our arsenal."

Columns of crickets up to two miles long and a mile across hatch in April and begin to march, crossing the state in search of food.

While a general nuisance, the crickets can make a particularly pungent smell when crushed, which is why the residents put so much effort into deterring them.

The residents say they have tried using other forms of music but rock tends to be loudest and therefore works best.

Police-station stripper

A drunk US woman stripped off in a police station in front of an officer.

Sara Ann Fazio, 27, was stopped for driving erratically, and chose while she was being advised of her rights at a police station in Des Moines, Iowa, to undress.

Officer Eric Hartman wrote in a later report: "About midway through, this officer experienced a first after nine years on the department.

"The driver began stripping off all of her clothes while I read the implied consent advisory - one clothing piece at a time.

"Eventually, she got down to a point where she was completely naked and walking up and down the holding area."

Sara was charged with driving while intoxicated, speeding, assault on a police officer and interference with official acts.

She was listed as employed at a local strip club, called The Lumberyard.

Supermarket sat nav

UK scientists are developing supermarket 'satellite navigation' systems.

The electronic devices - based on global positioning systems (GPS) widely used by motorists - aim to help elderly shoppers find everything they need without getting lost in shops.

The government-funded project is a product of research into ways to help the elderly and disabled through modern technology.

This shopping device is likely to use a GPS and the latest mobile phone technology.

Researchers at universities in the cities of Newcastle, Aberdeen and Nottingham are also testing a gadget for dementia patients which will track their whereabouts and help locate them if they get lost.

Gay-sex signs

A park in Holland has installed signs pointing out where gay men have sex.

Park officials in Slotervaart, a borough of Amsterdam, say it is easier to warn people where the sex is regularly taking place in the De Oeverlanden park than to stop it happening.

Although it is illegal for anyone to have sex in public in the Netherlands, the park enjoys such a status amongst gay men people come from across Europe to find sex partners in the park.

Municipal spokeswoman Manon Koffijberg said: "There are various groups using the park - people with small children who bathe on the beaches, those who walk their dogs, gays cruising and nature lovers.

"Things are arranged so that each group can relax in their own area without intruding on each other."