Is this something that the anti obesity lobby can learn from? The Italian town ofVarallois to pay overweight residents to lose weight; men will receive 50 euros (around£34) for losing 9 pounds in a month, while women will get the same amount for shedding 7 pounds. If they can keep the weight off for five months, the lucky dieters will receive another 200 euros (about£135). The initiative was dreamt up by the town's mayor, concerned about rising levels of obesity acrossItaly. Do readers think such initiatives could work here?

We all know that twitchy feeling you get after too many cups of coffee and it is known that technically, one can overdose on caffeine - End Game remembers warnings at college of the dangers of taking too many Pro Plus tablets.

County Durham teenager Jasmine Willis learnt this the hard way after drinking seven double espressos to help her wake up while working in her family's sandwich shop.

Ms Willis, who thought she was drinking single measures (although surely that would have made her feel ill anyway?) developed a fever and started hyperventilating and having palpitations. Happily Ms Willis has made a full recovery but says she cannot know stand the sight of coffee.

Finally readers, spare a thought for Harlepool mum Amanda Ellerton. Already the mother of two children, who each weighed around 8lb at birth, Ms Ellerton had been warned her third child would be a large baby. But no one was expecting that newborn Shaune would weigh a whopping 14lb 7 oz and already measure a full two feet. Ms Ellerton delivered the bouncing boy in six hours with the help of only gas and air.