It happened just before noon, as infants at the RochefoucauldSchool were leaving the premises for their lunch break. A single shot was fired and no one else was injured.

The suicide victim not associated with the nursery school, a private Catholic institution which also has primary and secondary sections.

A psychological support team was sent to the school.

And some of the demands made should put a smile on your face – or cause you to shake your head in disbelief.

Silencing a noisy cockerel, supplying Olympic tickets and providing contact details for Sir Paul McCartney’s wife were among the most unusual requests to British posts abroad in 2012/13, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

These are often good-natured, but they can take up valuable time for staff, who are actually in the business of helping those in genuine distress.

Over the last year, the FCO handled more than one million consular enquiries and supported some 52,135 British nationals in difficulty abroad.

However, the consular staff overseas continue to receive a number of inquiries for which they simply cannot provide assistance, and here are just some of them.

*A man who required hospital treatment in Cambodia when a monkey dislodged a stone that hit him demanded help to get compensation. He also and wanted assurance that it would not happen again.

*A man asked FCO staff in Rome to translate a phrase for a tattoo that he wanted.

“Consular staff in Beijing were asked to help a woman who had bought a pair of football boots which were “Made in China” but were of poor quality.

*A woman requested that consular staff in Tel Aviv order her husband to get fit and eat healthily so that they could have children.

*Consular staff in Kuala Lumpur were asked if the FCO could help pay to send their children to an InternationalSchool.

*A man asked consular staff in Stockholm to check the credentials of a woman he had met online.

*A man asked the Consulate in Montreal for information to settle a £1,000 wager on the colour of the British passport.

*A number of our staff across the world have been asked for the best place “to watch the football”.

*A number of British Consulates have been asked to book hotels, or to advise on “where to watch the football”.

Mark Simmonds, Minister for Consular Affairs, said: “FCO staff help many thousands of British nationals facing serious difficulties around the world every year. “We also receive over one million enquiries each year, so it is important that people understand what we can and cannot do to support them when they are abroad.

“We are not in a position to help people make travel arrangements or social plans, but we do help those who face real problems abroad.

“These can include victims of crime, bereaved families who have lost a loved one abroad, or Britons who have been arrested or detained.

“We aim to continue to focus on supporting those who really need our help in the coming year.

The FCO set up a Malaga contact centre in February 2011 to handle the volume of non-consular enquiries received by British Embassies and Consulates in Southern Europe.

Since its launch, staff have handled 131,211 calls, 39% of which have been lifestyle enquiries.

Steve Jones, head of the Contact Centre, said: “Our aim is to help staff at posts concentrate on what is important.

“But some of the inquiries we received from British nationals last year were bizarre, to say the least.

“For example, one customer contacted us to ask if we could provide the name of the watch the Royal Navy sailors wore between the years 1942-1955.

“While we couldn’t help with the watch information, FCO consular staff in Southern Europe were able to provide assistance to a single mother of three young children, who was suddenly hospitalised after a bout of sickness.

“And we also helped a family of four injured in a road traffic accident.”

The examples listed indicate that some people do not know how the FCO can (and cannot) help Brits abroad. Recent research shows that 78% of people wrongly think the FCO could get them out of jail if arrested.

And nearly half of 16-24 year-olds do not know what an Embassy or Consulate does.

How the FCO can help

when you are abroad

The FCO can:

*Issue you with replacement travel documents

*Provide information about transferring money

*Provide help if you have suffered rape or serious sexual or physical assault, are a victim of crime, are ill or in hospital

*Give you a list of local lawyers, interpreters, doctors or funeral directors

*Contact you if you are detained abroad

*Contact friends and family back home for you if you wish

*Provide help in cases of forced marriage

*Assist people affected by parental child abduction

The FCO cannot:

*Help you enter a country if you do not have a valid passport or necessary visas

*Give you legal advice, or translate documents

*Investigate crimes, or get you out of prison

*Get you better treatment in hospital or prison than is given to local people

*Pay any bills or give you money

*Make travel arrangements for you

Hazell forced 12-year-old Tia Sharp’s parents to sit through days of horrendous and graphic evidence at the Old Bailey before changing his “not guilty” plea and confessing to killing her.

The 37-year-old hid her body in the loft of the home he shared with her grandmother at New Addington, south London,

But police failed to find it, despite three searches of the premises.

Judge Mr Justice Nicol told Hazell: “Tia was a sparky girl who was full of life, but you took that life from her.

“All that lay ahead of her – a career, loves and family of her own – will now never be. And the loss of her has been devastating for her mother, her father and all her relatives and friends.

“The tragedy of their loss and her death is because of your act in murdering Tia Sharp. You are responsible.”

Gasps and cries of “yes” could be heard from Tia’s family as Hazell was taken down from the dock.

Earlier, he sat forward in his seat, staring intently, as the judge told him there was “no doubt” he had developed a sexual interest in Tia.

He referred to a picture of Tia, believed to have been taken after her death, which he said “further degraded that young girl”.

The judge said there was “no pathological evidence” she had been sexually assaulted, although “it cannot be discounted”.

Mr Justice Nicol said there were a number of other “notable and serious” aggravating factors in the case.

They included Tia’s age, the “gross breach of trust” by Hazell and the concealment of her body, which was found wrapped in bin bags and a sheet last August.

Tia’s family left court without speaking to the crowd of reporters who had gathered outside, although some of her relatives shouted, “Nowhere near long enough” and “RIP Tia”.

Witness statements described the torment her parents endured after learning Hazell had killed their daughter.

Her mother, Natalie Sharp, said she had so many questions” for Hazell, adding: “Sometimes I feel pity. Sometimes I want to hurt him.”

Tia’s father, Steven Carter, said Hazell should serve his sentence, and then be hanged.

The judge said Hazell would be given only “the most modest of credit” for changing his plea to guilty on the fifth day of his trial.

He told him: “Your counsel says that you wished to avoid causing further distress to Tia’s family. That is very commendable, but they have had to endure four days of a very public trial.

“It was necessary for the prosecution to lay out for the jury your sexual interest in Tia, and for the jury to see the photograph of Tia naked. Your plea of guilty has spared the family none of that.

“It may be the first act of remorse, as your counsel says, but because it comes so late I am afraid it will earn you only the most modest of credit.”

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola, of the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: “A minimum of 38 years is satisfying for both the investigating team and Tia’s friends and family,” he said.

“Hazell will have a very long time in prison to think about what he has done.”

The appointment of Queralt Ferrer, as the new head of design for its Autograph and Limited ranges, was announced on Wednesday as the company unveiled its most important womenswear collection in recent history.

Ms Ferrer will be responsible for two of its most strategically-important collections when she joins M&S later this year.

She has been working for many years at Inditex, the giant fashion group which owns Zara as well as Massimo Dutti.

Her appointment was heralded by M&S chief executive  Marc Bolland as another step in the development of its womenswear business.

And it followed after months of criticism from the City about the direction of the business.

Marks is also announced the promotion of Gillian Ridley Whittle to the post of Development and Buying Director of womenswear, which is another key role in that section.

Their new roles were announced as Mr Bolland launched the retailer’s autumn and winter collections in London, with City analysts watching closely for evidence that the new ranges will enable M&S to recapture market share lost to rivals such as Next and Zara.

M&S’s food business has been surging ahead, but the autumnwear collection is viewed as a serious test of the company’s ability to drive sales and profit growth, and spark a share-price revival.

The company’s General Merchandise director, John Dixon, and Style Director Belinda Earl, who previously ran Debenhams, also announced that the M&S Collection will  become the focal point of its clothing strategy.

Standalone brands, such as Per Una and Autograph, will remain in place, but the M&S Collection name will become prominent across the UK stores from July.

Mr Bolland has presided over seven consecutive quarters of declining sales of general merchandise.

But although this performance has been partly blamed on the economic climate the appalling weather throughout winter and spring, which has affected high street sales so badly this year, hasn’t helped.

His novel, Inferno, will almost certainly be snapped up by millions, -, it is unlikely to win any literary prizes if critics have their way.

One reviewer has described it as his “his worst book yet”.

But that won’t mean a jot to his millions of fans, some of whom queued outside the Waterstones store in London’s Piccadilly on Tuesday to get hold of Inferno.

It has already topped the Amazon book sales chart on the strength of pre-orders, which were 24% higher than those for Brown’s previous thriller, The Lost Symbol.

But despite the author’s impressive record of overall sales, which have exceeded 200 million, he is again under fire for his writing abilities.

The novel features old hero Robert Langdon, the Harvard professor,  who is visiting cities in Italy and other European locations as he battles to stop the spread of a deadly virus.

The 480-page book, which has borrowed themes from Dante’s Divine Comedy, is being lapped up by devotees of the Langdon series, which also includes Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol.

On Amazon, reviewer Teuvo Nieminen gives it a glowing, five-star write-up and calls it “thought-provoking” and a “definite return to form” for Brown.

But some press reviews have been scathing about the writing quality – or lack of it!

The Daily Telegraph’s Jake Kerridge writes: “As a stylist, Brown gets better and better: where once he was abysmal, he is now just very poor.

“In the end, this is his worst book and for a sad, even noble reason – his ambition here wildly exceeds his ability.”

The Daily Mail calls Inferno “bilge, but one hell of a page-turner”, while the The Guardian says it is “engineered with miraculous efficiency, a tasty cocktail of high culture and low thrills”.

Amazon says interest in Inferno has had a knock-on effect for Brown’s back catalogue, with sales for his books rising by 340%, year-on-year as anticipation has grown.

The audiobook version of Inferno also topped the iTunes chart on Tuesday morning.

And, as we went to press last night (Thursday), their father was still missing after a snorkelling trip that went desperately wrong.

Police continued to search for 48-year-old Robert Shugg after the body of his 41-year-old partner, Kathreen Ricketson, was found near the idyllic holiday spot of CoralBay, West Australian, on Wednesday.

Their children, a 13-year-old girl and a boy of 10, were on the beach as the tragedy unfolded.

“The missing man has been in the water a long time, and hopes of finding him fade with each passing hour,” said Senior Constable Barney Hutchison, from the West Australia water police.

The couple’s son raised the alarm after realising his parents were in trouble. He went into the water to swim with them and saw them face-down.

Police said there were failed attempts to resuscitate Ms Ricketson, while Mr Shugg disappeared before he could be recovered.

“It must have been horrific,” said Inspector Dominic Wood. “It must be any child’s worst nightmare.”

The couple were reportedly travelling around Australia with their two children when they went snorkelling at Elle’s Beach, about 682 miles north of Perth.

CoralBay is at the southern end of the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, one of a few places on earth where you can come face-to-fin with the whale shark, the

biggest of all ocean fish,

But police said there were no evident injuries on the woman’s body, seemingly ruling out a shark attack.

The family, believed to be Australian, were on holiday from Canberra. the country’s capital,

According to The Australian newspaper, they were staying at a campsite about an hour’s drive from CoralBay.

“We have been in contact with their families, and they’re making their way over to Western Australia from Tasmania,” said Senior Constable Hutchison.

The couple were planning to write a book about their travels in the country.

On a blog, Ms Ricketson described the trip to Ningaloo as a “dream come true”.

But new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also show that 14% of over-16s have never accessed material online.

It is interesting to note that more women than men have never used the internet (4.2m compared with 2.8m), while 326,000 adults climbed on board for the first time between January and March this year.

The ONS said: “Internet use is linked to various socio-economic and demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, disability, geographical location and weekly earnings.

“For example, those who are less likely to have used the internet include elderly and disabled adults.”

A breakdown of the population by age showed that most people aged 16-24 (99%) have used the web. Those least likely to have connected were 75 or over.

However, there was a marked increase in internet users among people of this age in the past two years.

At the beginning of 2011, it was estimated that 23.8% of this demographic had accessed the internet, compared with 34.3% this year (1.6m).

The 3.1m non-users aged 75 or over make up 43% of the 7.1m who have never hooked up.

A regional breakdown of the ONS figures showed that Londoners were most likely to have had a bash at going online. And an estimated 90% of those in the capital have accessed web content.

People in Northern Ireland were least likely to have embraced the digital age, although 79% of adults had gone online.

The ONS said the overall increase in internet users since last year stood at 13%.

In the two years since it began to collate the data, it said the number of adults using the web rose by 2.4 million (6%), from an initial 41.1 million.

The stats’ organisation’s data showed income and disability was still proving to be a barrier to getting online.

“Individuals with no disability are over three times more likely to have used the internet than those with a disability,” said the ONS.

It added: “Internet use has almost reached full coverage for those earning in excess of £500 a week, with internet use at 98% or above for all adults with weekly pay rates above this level.”

But more than 5% of workers with a gross weekly pay of less than £200 per week have never connected.

In all, five million families are approaching financial “breaking point”, according to research carried out by consumer group Which?

They say their monthly incomes would not stretch to cover all the food costs last month, and some were forced to use credit cards, overdrafts loans – or even their savings.

Around 2,000 people across theUKtook part in the survey, which was carried out last month.

Which? said that it equates to five million families if the findings were projected across theUK.

The findings provide an indication of the numbers of people who are struggling, despite official figures showing last week that personal insolvencies have fallen to their lowest level in five years.

Those who could not cover their food bills from income alone came mainly from low-income households earning less than £21,000 a year. And those aged 30-49 felt the squeeze most.

Some 82% of these people said that they were worried about food prices, while 57% were finding it “difficult to cope” living on their current income.

People in this group were also more likely to be worried about their level of debt, and 74% of them described economy as “poor”.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “Our tracker shows that many households are stretched to their financial breaking point, with rising food prices one of the top worries for squeezed consumers.

“It’s simply shocking that so many people need to savings or credit to pay for essentials like food.”

The study also found that only 25% of people said they were living comfortably on their incomes, while 36% felt squeezed.

Two-thirds were worried about the effects of low interest rates on their savings – despìte insolvency experts crediting low interest rates with helping people’s borrowing costs and keeping personal insolvencies down.

And 31% of those surveyed cut back spending on essentials last month, mainly those women aged 30-49.

Some 68% described the state of the economy as poor, with just 9% saying it was good.

This was made clear in a YouGov survey for the Ramblers – a walking charity – which polled 2,000 adults acrossBritainabout walking habits.

It also found that another 43% reported walking for less than two hours a week.

Government guidelines suggest people should do 150 minutes of “moderate” physical activity each week.

The survey asked people about the total amount of walking they did, including trips to school, work or the shops.

The Ramblers, currently promoting a “Get Walking Week” which finishes tomorrow (Saturday), said research already showed that two-thirds of adults in theUKdo too little exercise. And the current survey backed that up.

TheWest Midlandswas revealed as the worst region for weekly walking, with 34% of adults walking for no more than an hour a week.

TheEast Midlandscame out top, with 59% of people doing enough to satisfy recommended, physical-activity guidelines.

Despite the low levels of walking reported, 93% of all those surveyed agreed that walking was a good form of exercise.

The Ramblers charity, which promotes walking for health and pleasure, wants to get people to go on walks of five miles or less, and offers free walks led by guides.

Benedict Southworth, chief executive of the Ramblers, said: “We want people all overBritainto join the walking revolution and take their first steps towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

“Walking is one of the most accessible and achievable ways to truly conquer this inactivity pandemic inBritain, and we need to get started now.”

Anna Soubry, the Government’s Public Health Minister, who supports the initiative, said walking was “one of the best ways to keep healthy”.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) advises that moderate-intensity aerobic activity is the most effective type of activity for maintaining a healthy heart.

Aerobic activity is a repetitive, rhythmic exercise involving large muscle groups such as legs, shoulders and arms.

Moderate intensity activities should make people feel warmer, breathe harder and make their heart beat faster than usual. But, they should still be able to have a conversation.

The BHF also advises 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week.

A £54,000 benefits fiddler has mocked British justice after avoiding a jail sentence.

Brian Carter, who was handed a 200-hour community service order, could have received a nine-month prison sentence.

He celebrated by pledging to ignore a court’s demand to repay the money.

The jobless council tenant, from Basildon,Essex, who owns two cars and has £112,000 bank savings stashed away in a secret account, said: “They’re not getting one solitary penny back off me.”

The 58-year-old swindler sneered at the legal system even further by saying he might not even fulfil the community service order.

“I’ve been doing bird for the last 45 years,” he boasted. “Do you think I would care about three months in prison? I don’t give a toss.”

He was convicted at Southend Magistrates’ Court of claiming £54,000 in income support, plus housing and council tax benefits.

His response provoked local fury. Phil Turner, deputy leader of Basildon Council, said: “You have to question the liberal-minded magistrates who clearly felt it was in this man’s best interest not to lock him up.

“His sentence is just a slap on the wrist. Magistrates need to get a backbone.

“Hard-working taxpayers won’t understand how the courts have become so tolerant of people who criminally help themselves to benefits, and then turn around and stick two fingers up at the courts when they’re freed.”

He added: “Public opinion is demanding they are dealt with appropriately. Letting this man walk out of court so he can mock it is not appropriate.

“He has proved beyond any doubt that there is something wrong with the system. We are a tolerant society, but there is a limit – and he has gone way beyond it.”

Basildon’s Tory MP, John Baron, said: “There is no place for benefit cheats in our society. I have always maintained we need tougher sentences for these crimes.”

And another Tory MP, Philip Davies, said: “This man should have been sent to prison and have everything taken off him, including his council house.

In court, Carter admitted conning more than £24,000 in housing and council tax benefit, and £30,000 in income support.

When confronted at his council flat Carter, who lives alone but has a 33-year-old wife and a seven-year-old son inThailand, was unapologetic.

“I only went guilty because it was convenient as it gets you a third off your sentence,” he said smugly.

“Bailiffs came round the other day and wanted £50,000 off me. But they said I had nothing of any value to take away as the van hire would cost more than the items are worth.

“They are not going to get one solitary penny from me unless they take it out of my benefits.”

Carter owns a 50in plasma TV and drives a Citroen and a restored classic BMW.