AN AMERCIAN is behind bars after allegedly holding his mother hostage – because she would not iron his clothes.

Robert Edward Tyrrell Jr, 29, has been charged with aggravated assault and false imprisonment after allegedly holding a gun to his mum and telling her that ironing was “a woman’s job”.

His mother refused to do the task and after a six-hour stand off she was able to get out of the home and drive to a police station to report the incident in Villa Rica, Georgia, US, reports aolnews.com.

Police were sent to the home and a negotiator with the sheriff’s office spoke to Tyrrell. He was able to talk him into stepping outside and turning himself in. Tyrrell is in jail with no bond awaiting his court appearance.

Hope he and his mom can iron out their differences.

Kiwi now has Welsh accent

A WOMAN from New Zealand woke up one morning to find she had started speaking in a Welsh accent. Bronwyn Fox, 59, of Invercargill, in the southernmost region of the South Island, has never been to Britain and does not have any British-born relatives – yet now has an accent that is mostly Welsh, but sometimes sounds Scottish or Irish, reports The Telegraph. Mrs Fox has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 25 years. She said she had spoken with a Kiwi accent throughout her life until awakening one morning two years ago. “It happened overnight,” she said. “My eyesight suddenly went and my voice changed at the same time.” She remains partially sighted. An MRI scan showed that two lesions had developed at the back of her brain. Mrs Fox says a doctor at Invercargill Hospital told her those were the most likely cause of the change in her speech. Foreign accent syndrome is a rare medical condition usually reported as a side-effect of severe brain injury resulting from trauma or stroke. The condition was first described in 1907, and between 1941 and 2009 there had been only 60 recorded cases around the world.

Crocodile dumb-dee

WE all do daft things when we’re drunk – but few of us would fancy a ride on the back of a croc. That’s exactly what a 36-year-old Aussie did after being ejected from a pub in Perth, Australia, reports Yahoo news. He broke into a zoo and climbed on to the back of a crocodile named Fatso. The 16-foot saltwater croc bit him on the leg – but then let him go, and he managed to climb back over the fence to safety, police said. “He has attempted to sit on its back and the croc has taken offence to that and has spun around and bit him on the right leg,” said Broome police sergeant Roger Haynes. The man, who was a tourist from eastern Australia and whose name was not released, suffered some “very nasty lacerations” and was taken to a hospital, Haynes said. “He’s lucky to have escaped with his life.” Perhaps Fatso had already had his supper.

Jacket spud for £40

JACKET potatoes have had a culinary makeover at a UK gastropub, which has launched the Tuxedo Spud with a price tag of £40. Chef Ben Kingdon has created the posh spud which features a luxurious mixture of creme fraiche, lemon, chives and spring onions and topped with fine Italian Calvisius caviar, which retails at £185 for two 50g pots, says The Express. The dish is served with balsamic-roasted vine tomatoes, a side salad and a glass of champagne. Ben, 24, who works at the pub in Torquay, Devon, said: “Our new jacket potato definitely beats the standard cheese or ham option, which is pretty boring. We wanted to offer our customers something completely out of the ordinary. We’ve sold one already and had some fantastic feedback. At £40 it isn’t cheap but customers are paying extra for the quality of the ingredients, including the caviar.” What next: toasties with truffle?

Triathlete takes on world

Charlie Wittmack is in the running for the world’s toughest sporting achievement. That’s because Wittmack, 36, is starting out on a worldwide triathlon that, if completed, will stand as the most extreme physical achievement ever attempted by a human. The 11-month, 12,000-mile journey, which began on July 1 in London, started with a 275-mile swim down the River Thames and the English Channel. That will be followed by a 9,000-mile bike ride from France to Calcutta, India (including a jaunt over the Himalayas), and a 950-mile run starting from sea level at the Bay of Bengal to the summit of Mount Everest. Give the guy a medal (or 20).