Holy Digestion Robin! Where the heck are we?

Here's another in the Northerner's occasional series of interesting interventions by animals in the human affairs of our part of the UK. A border collie from Doncaster called Lola is in disgrace after eating Batman and Robin and mangling their Batmobile. Unfortunately neither mannequins nor car were any-old versions; they were worth hundreds of pounds to toy collectors and were en route to just such enthusiasts via a fair next Sunday at Donny racecourse . The event's organiser, Michael Bishop of Driffield in the East Riding, made the mistake of answering the phone while examining the 1967 toy which was in mint condition and had arrived complete with its box. He says: I was examining the Batmobile and I turned my back for a few moments to get the phone. When I turned round the damage was done. It's the first time something like this happened since I started in this business nearly half a century ago. The slip has cost 65-year-old Bishop £850 in compensation to the owner of the toy which is now worthless and won't be on sale. The chewed-up Batmobile isn't appealing even as a curiosity and Robin and Batman have vanished. Either they are still inside Lola or curled up on a Driffield verge. Bishop has no intention of investigating. Other toys in the batch which escaped Lola include a model of Lady Penelope and several Thunderbirds vehicles, also worth hundreds of pounds (excitingly for me, because we've got a complete set in our attic inside a home-made Tracy Island (see below). They will be on sale at the fair, Yorkshire's biggest, which brings buyers from all over Europe. Doors open at 10.30am and close at 3.30pm and there are 500,000 toys on offer, starting at 50p. For children of all ages, Christmas present time. And just for nostalgia's sake, here's a hectic little BBC film of Blue Peter and making your own Tracy Island. It seems like yesterday...