We wish you a merry sentence

A British magistrate has inadvertantly introduced a novel feature to sentencing an offender to jail -- a musical accompaniment.

The magistrate at a court in Luton, near London was in the middle of sentencing a man when a seasonal tune filled the courtroom.

A court clerk ordered whichever member of the public was responsible to turn off his mobile phone, before the red-faced magistrate confessed that he was himself responsible.

He'd accidentally activated a musical Father Christmas tie given to him by his wife -- and he didn't know how to switch it off.

The prisoner was sentenced to four months jail to the strains of "We wish you a merry Christmas".

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service