Boat goes down in smoke

A Pembroke man was forced to jump overboard when his boat caught fire and sank at lunchtime on Saturday.

The 32-year-old tried to put out the flames on the 23-foot One Touch as it was travelling west along North Shore.

But the fire got out of control and he had to jump overboard. A passing boat picked up the man, who was not injured.

A team from the Fisheries Department and the Bermuda Fire Service battled in vain for 20 minutes to save the boat, but it sank.

The cause of the fire is not known, said Police in a statement yesterday.

Homeless man remanded

A man who is alleged to have broken into a mosque on two separate occasions said "its not a crime to be homeless" in Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Maurice Burrows, 39, of no fixed abode, pleaded not guilty to breaking into the Masjid Muhammed Muslim Community Centre between February 1 and February 2.

Burrows said: "Firstly I would like to say that homeless is not a crime. I am listed under a Section 22 of the Mental Health Act."

Acting Senior Magistrate Carlilse Greaves said: "You are now under the Magistrate's Jurisdiction Act and you are remanded in custody."

The matter was adjourned for trial on July 8.

Witnesses sought

Police are appealing for several people in a car that may have witnessed a woman who had her purse snatched as she got off her bike in the early hours of last Sunday morning to come forward.

Police spokesman Robin Simmons said the incident occurred outside the victim's Warwick Lane home at 12.10 a.m.

The thieves came up behind her and grabbed her bag as she got off her bike.

As she held on to her bag she was dragged out into the street - until the strap broke and the two thieves then escaped on a bike.

The thief and another man got away with an undisclosed amount of cash and a wedding ring.

Anyone with information should contact Insp. Nick Pedro at Somerset CID on 234-1010, or the confidential CrimeStoppers hotline on 1-800-623-8477.

It's a classic

Road users will receive a treat on June 1 when around 100 classic motorbikes will make a loop around the Island.

The event is a fund-raiser for cancer charities, explained organiser Ernest Trott.

Bikers will start from City Hall at 2 p.m. and ride from there to St. George's, back west to Dockyard, and finally return to City Hall. Mr. Trott is hoping it will become an annual event.

Those interested in participating can contact Mr. Trott on 295-2043.

Students do their stuff

The Bermuda Junior Service League (BJSL) will begin its 'Stuff the Bus' project in September.

The programme, which the BJSL intends to make an annual initiative, will be supplying 600 pencil cases 'stuffed' with stationary supplies to all Government Primary One classes.

On September 15, volunteers from the BJSL will be giving each new student a pencil case labelled with the student's name and packed with school materials ranging from crayons and markers to scissors and glue sticks. With the support of both local and overseas suppliers, the BJSL, a female volunteer organisation, has invited the Island's eighteen government primary schools to participate in this new initiative while also aiming to support students' parents.

The BJSL's current president, Melanie Whaley, has endorsed this program as an assistance for Bermuda's families. She said: "The League's mandate and current focus is to support women and children, families in general."