Peppa is a bit too spicy for some

With her cheeky smile - and even cheekier attitude - she has become a hit with children. But it seems a growing number of parents are turning against TV character Peppa Pig, claiming she is a ‘bad influence’. Many complain their sons and daughters have started to copy the ‘naughty’ behaviour of the cartoon pig and her younger brother, George, by answering back to their parents. Some have even banned the programme because they claim it has made their children misbehave. One father spoke of his despair at how his four-year-old son had taken to splashing in what he gleefully called ‘muddy puddles’ on his way to school – copying Peppa’s favourite pastime. Others reported that their children had started shouting ‘chocolate cake’ whenever they were asked what they would like for breakfast – just like George Pig. ‘The more I see, the more alarmed I am at the choice of behaviour put into this “cartoon”,’ one mother wrote on parenting website Mumsnet. But I'm on the fence with this. Despite being a childless 23-year-old male, I quite like that show. I even have three apps featuring Peppa Pig on my iPhone, and the wallpaper on my iPhone is a picture of Peppa Pig. I've even downloaded a torrent from The Pirate Bay containing the first 156 episodes. I for one know that the events depicted are not real.

In other news, childminders and nurseries in the UK face being penalised by Ofsted in future if they cannot prove that youngsters in their care feel loved. Staff will have to demonstrate they are forming appropriate bonds and emotional attachments with babies and toddlers to help make them feel secure.

Also, a young mother was killed by an express train after jumping on to the tracks to retrieve her mobile phone. Charlene Pickering, 23, was arguing with boyfriend Daniel Pickett when she dropped the handset. It bounced several times on the platform before falling on to the tracks. Mr Pickett begged her to get back on to the platform, but his pleas came too late as she was hit by a train travelling at 60mph (96 km/h). She shouldn't have been on the tracks at the time, but I would've done the same thing in that situation.