.february's big stories

.great balls of fire!

Anyone who has ridden fixed wheel will know that curious downhill sensation with the legs spinning at an increasing rate, and you wondering how to keep going without them being ripped off at the knee.

Well now it seems that there's another potential danger... You might catch fire...

Mieczyslaw Jasinski, a 55 year old Pole in Koroszczyn, has suffered second degree burns after his trousers caught fire. His legs, back and stomach took the brunt of the burning after witnesses described a "flaming torch cycling along the road."

He was found, understandably, lying groaning in the road, with his tattered trousers still smouldering.

It is thought that the friction, combining with sweat, and the specific material in his trousers, had created enough heat to set them alight. Hot pants indeed!