Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe British man has passport tattooed on back LONDON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A British man had his passport tattooed on his back and even used the image as an ID to take money out of the bank, he said. Advertisement Richard Ashton, 27, told The Sun he had his passport inked on his back while backpacking in Australia in 2006. "I wanted something to remember my holiday by, but also wanted something patriotic," he said. "My girlfriend at the time thought I was a bit daft, but eventually she found it hilarious. That seems to be the general reaction." The London personal trainer said when he ran out of cash on his trip to Australia, he took off his shirt at a bank to use as ID. "The cashier gave me a strange look. She typed in my name and details after reading my tattoo and allowed me $50." Advertisement Ashton, who was born in Sydney and holds dual citizenship, said he keeps his tattoo covered up most of the time. "I don't walk around with my top off." British officials said Ashton couldn't use the tattoo as ID to go abroad or enter Britain. French librarians encourage copying PARIS, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A group of French librarians is urging patrons to make copies of books and DVDs they check out despite the government crackdown on piracy. The effort is led by a librarian-blogger who argues the new law against illegal downloads does not apply to material found at public libraries. "What is the first objective of a library? It's to distribute books and works of art," the blogger, identified as Silvae, wrote recently. The Local said Silvae has been encouraging library patrons to organize copying parties complete with computers and cameras to record the content of books, CDs and DVDs. France enacted restrictions in 2009 that allow authorities to cut off Internet service to users who repeatedly download protected material. Transsexual in Miss England field LONDON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A transsexual says modeling agency officials had no idea she had been born male when they urged her to enter the Miss England pageant. Advertisement Jackie Green, 18, Leeds, is the first contestant in the pageant to have undergone a sex change and says she was flattered when talent scouts urged her to enter. "I went to the Britain's Next Top Model show in London and was really surprised when scouts came up to me," Green told The Sun. "Miss England is a prestigious competition. I'd love to win and I have as good a chance as anyone." Green's image was posted online with the other teenage contestants for the Miss Fresh Photographic round of the contest, in which members of the public cast their votes for their favorites. The contest is a major step forward for Green, who underwent a sex-change operation at age 16 after years of bullying. The Sun said Green, who was born Stuart, adopted a female lifestyle at age 4 and wore long hair and a girl's uniform to school. Town's patience with wild boars wears out ALASSIO, Italy, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- An Italian resort town overrun with wild boars has granted residents the right to shoot them on sight, local officials said. Spokesman for the town of Alassio, Paolo Ripamonti, told the ANSA news agency the boars have worn out their quirky cachet by digging up and ruining gardens, causing traffic accidents and striking fear into children and adults. Advertisement The town is in the Liguria region on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea near the French border and has a strong tourism industry, which the boars were threatening, Ripamonti said. "The population was exasperated," he said. Culling the boars has a bonus for the hunters -- the animals, originally related to pigs, are considered a delicacy in Italy, ANSA said.
