Hilton tries to help boozing elephants

Paris Hilton is fronting a campaign to prevent elephants from being electrocuted after drinking alcohol.

Six out of a herd of forty animals died when they uprooted a utility pole after binging on rice beer in north-east India. Farmers in the area are known to ferment the beer and store it in containers in their huts.

Hilton is now begging residents to keep their booze under lock and key, saying: "There would have been more casualties if the villagers hadn't chased them away. And four elephants died in a similar way three years ago. It is just so sad."

She added: "The biggest problems are in Assam and Meghalaya. The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them."