Up before the beak

KING Penguin Sir Nils Olav, Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Royal Guard, was inspecting soldiers from the 3rd Battalion Rifles at Edinburgh Zoo yesterday.

The famous penguin looked over the ten wounded soldiers when they entered his enclosure as part of a rehabilitation trip, after suffering injuries on tours of Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Simon Flores of Liverpool, injured in a 2006 roadside bomb, said: "Today has been great. It's nice to get out so the public can see British soldiers. The king penguin seemed interested as well – he kept looking up and down at me."