ITV News has compiled a list of its top ten "And finally..." clips as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.

The quirky stories at the end of the bulletins are always introduced with the two words that have become synonymous with the the broadcaster over the past five decades.

They include the story of the dog which did maths, a couple who gave their daughter 139 names and sherry-drinking mice from Spain.

Top of the list is Sweep the hamster, who was given a bus pass after his owner was charged full fare for the pet's journeys.

In second place is the Spanish sherry producer which decided to get its mice drunk rather than bring in a cat to get rid of them - even providing tiny ladders propped up against the sherry glasses.

The man who built his own rocket in the 1960s, allowing him to fly into the air for 21 seconds, is third.

Next is Eileen Halliday, who refused to sell her house to Sainsbury's during the redevelopment of their Stroud store and ended up living in the middle of their car park.

Downing Street resident Humphrey the Cat is fifth - he held a press conference to announce that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated.

Sefton the police horse, badly injured by the IRA bombing of Hyde Park in 1982, features at number six. He was shown in happy retirement two years after the atrocity.

The British couple who gave their daughter 139 names are seventh. They had originally wanted to give her 217 but cut down the list.

Bingo the Dog is eighth - he helped schoolchildren learn to count by barking five times when asked to add two plus three.

In ninth place was a Spanish mime artist who joined a zoo with a sign reading "Primates: Urban Man", and was befriended by a camel and an elephant.

The list is completed by the fishing float tube, a cross between a dinghy and a rubber ring which anglers used to fool fish into thinking they were a large swan.