It’s a tough life being a mink, and from finding enough fish to survive, to evading capture from angry boat owners – who can begrudge the cheeky creatures the opportunity to live the high life every now and then?

Well, Elliot and Andrea Maurice for two apparently, and after a particularly hardy Mink boarded their £100,000 yatch, left a trail of droppings and munched through hundreds of pounds worth of equipment – they’re on the warpath.

Fervently hoping that the animal has swum off to pastures new, they have nonetheless set the traps should be back on board again any time soon.

Apparently there is no boat insurance that covers third party, fire and mink.

So keep an eye out next time your in Brighton Marina – has anyone else seen a mink sneaking about the boats moored there?

Flickr image courtesy of Rick Leche

While the American media have spent the last however many months chasing down the biggest personalities in American politics, ITV have uncovered quite a scoop – and it’s a quite a lot closer to home.

You see, based in a little suburb in Berkshire, a very fervent supporter of a certain Barack Obama resides, her name is Kazir Obama, and she’s the stepmother of (so the polls, and other key figures would have us believe) America’s favourite presidential candidate.

You can watch the full interview here, but to summarise, Barack’s proud relative feels pretty confident of his chances. “They’ll vote, all of them – black people, white people for a man who loves people and likes to talk to people.”

He may have done what some people suggest is the impossible, but his stepmother said she knew “it was just a matter of time.” When asked, “will you get an invite to the Whitehouse”, she was equally unequivocal in her positive response… “Of course, why not”

It was lovely to see the scenes of delight today in Kent, as the Delta Company of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders returned from Afghanistan for an emotional meeting with their families, finally returning after an intensive tour of duty in the Helmand Province.

Facing searing hate, adverse conditions and the very real threat of strong insurgence force in the region, one soldier commented “Being away is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life”, and testament to the harsh realities of their time away, tender tributes were paid to Lance Corporal Jimmy Johnson, who lost his life to a mine in the Middle East.

Actor Ross Kemp was also attendance, after spending 4 months with the soldiers filming a generally well received television show, and was quick to point out the magnitude of the job in hand. “The Taliban are a professional outfit and not to be underestimated”

Philanthropy is always a wonderful pursuit, but in these times of the credit so painfully ‘crunching’, it’s often difficult to match one’s enthusiasm and time with the money that’s often require to fully complete a project. Well, for those in such a situation – or who want some publicity for a worthy cause in their area, ITV could just be able to help!

All you have to do is sign up with ITV Fixers (nothing to do with Jimmy Saville mind), and we’ll help you plan your project, provide some money to make it happen, and work with you to make a film, website, leaflet or other media to showcase what you’ve done. Just decide what it is you want to fix, and what you’re going to do to make things better.

So pop over here to register, and ITV will give you your own personal project page where you can keep people updated on your progress.  We want you to describe your plans, post pictures of everyone involved and upload video so we can feature your project on ITV Local, our dedicated web channel.  We’ll be in touch to talk things over with you and to support you every step of the way.

If you’ve got the will to make a difference, why not let ITV help you fix it!

Once described (by himself over on popsquire) as “clacking, sweaty and chaotic and to have no clarity” - and known once as the new Barry Manilow – ahem, really? - The controversial character of Boy George is one who will no doubt always fascinate.

Talking about all things from music to fashion, he is most excited about the state of American politics, and the potential of this election - “I tapped into that whole Obama thing, because I think his message is a lot more optimistic than that we’re used too!

Also expanding on his thoughts re the music industry, mainstream artists and why creative popstars find it so hard these days, follow this link to see his full chat with ITV, and find out why it feels “such a good time for doing all this again” according to George.

Of course, the main question should be… Is he wearing a silly hat in the interview? You bet your life he is!

It may not be everyone’s preferred destination but Sussex policeman Alan Costello has moved to Iraq, he’s swapped Friday nights in Brighton for Basra.

As Victoria Heath reports Alan is offering support to the Iraq security forces on community policing. The challenges that arise from the relocation vary from the heat and flies to the very real possibility of rocket attacks. Scary stuff indeed. Nevertheless, Alan recognises the importance of his role in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, but is under no illusion that moving Sussex policing to Basra will not solve the inherent problems. Instead, he understands the importance of an Iraqi-led solution supported by the work he and others from our own police service can offer.

To date the project has seen over 1000 Iraqis train in skills relevant to establish a police force and it is thanks to the likes of Alan who you can hear discussing his work here.

“The sun always shines at Southampton Boat Show” so says Dee Caffari, the first woman to sail single handed, non stop around the world against prevailing winds and currents – and as part of her exclusive interview with ITV Local, she reveals just how much fun one can have at the extravaganza.

Packed with stars from across the sailing world, including a number fresh from the successful British Olympic Games team, she says on her ‘Yachtpals’ blog - “How fickle the weather can be but how grateful are we for some long awaited sunshine. I had almost forgotten what the sun looked like! The agreeable weather is fantastic news for the PSP Southampton Boat Show which opened on Friday with Mike Golding bringing the victorious Olympic sailors to the show onboard ECOVER. It was a great opportunity to see some famous faces and the ten day event looks set to be a great success as it celebrates its 40th year.”

Women-guide.com agree, referencing at as one of THE events to visit in Southampton, while georgioman01 has uploaded a scintillating water-ride he experienced at the event here. Have you been yourself, and did you enjoy the day – or even take any excellent photos you could upload to our YourNews section?

Also, for anyone interested in popping along – ITV have secured a number of fascinating interviews with the aforementioned Dee Caffari, as well as Actress Kate O’Mara and 3-times Olympic gold medalist, Ben Ainslie. Pop over to the dedicated ITV boatshow page to watch them.