Ig Nobel prizewinners flushed with success

Uncovering a bizarre health hazard that dethroned three unlucky Glaswegians has won a team of British medical experts the spoof Ig Nobel Prize for public health.

Jonathan Wyatt, of the Cornwall Hospital, Truro, Gordon McNaughton, of the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, and William Tullet, of Glasgow University, received the dubious accolade at Harvard University for their report in the Scottish Medical Journal: "The collapse of toilets in Glasgow".

Dr Wyatt said the revelation that three victims, all within the space of a fortnight, had reported suffering cuts and bruises when old porcelain toilet seats broke beneath their weight may have revealed a serious health hazard.