Norway, those cross-country skiing gold medalists, also seems to be home to at least one criminal mastermind. When a ten-year-old was caught on a joyride with his parents’ car, he had two rather brilliant excuses.

He later told another snowplough operator that he was a dwarf and had wound up in the ditch when making a hasty U-turn to go home for his driving licence.

That’s an impressive attempt at deception, particularly for a child.

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