By ALEXANDER LAWRIE EDINBURGH’S flagship prison has been slammed for failing to attract prisoners to their state-of-the-art workshops – despite a recent £120 million refurbishment. Prison watchdogs have called the situation at HMP Edinburgh as “a shameful waste”, in the latest official assessment of the jail released today. The unannounced January inspection also revealed that [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE A NEW state-of-the-art prison to be built on the site of a jail currently used to house the country’s worst sex offenders could be the first prison in the country to house both male and female prisoners. The new £100 million HMP Grampian jail could become home to both sexes when it [...]
By Lauren Crooks BRITAIN’S Got Talent crooner Susan Boyle unveiled a funky new look yesterday – after admitting seeing herself on TV made her feel “frumpy”. The singing star – sporting a cool new leather jacket with rounded collar and a trendy print pattern dress – says it wasn’t until she actually watched the show [...]
By Lauren Crooks & Cara Sulieman BRITAIN’S Got Talent star Susan Boyle has revealed the secret training schedule behind her incredible voice – singing while doing her housework. The down-to-earth internet smash says she has been practicing her routine while doing the dusting and cleaning her end terrace home in Blackburn, West Lothian, getting ready [...]
By Lauren Crooks BRITAIN’S Got Talent’s singing superstar Susan Boyle was branded a health and safety risk yesterday – by her local council. Worried local authority officials feared that the rickety old fence outside her modest council home in Blackburn, West Lothian, simply wasn’t up to the job of coping with the hundreds of well-wishers [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT’S latest superstar Susan Boyle could about to join the Hollywood ‘A’ List – after being offered her first MOVIE role. Virgin Susan – who shot fame after just a single appearance on the TV talent show – has impressed Hollywood bosses so much she is being lined up to [...]
By Michael MacLeod A WOMAN broke down and cried in court yesterday as she recalled the night she stopped to help victims of a horror lorry accident and felt a mechanic’s pulse die after he was hit by a Morrisons delivery truck. Claire Durdle, 29, pulled over to help Gavin Sutherland, 41, as he lay [...]
By Cara Sulieman SINGING sensation Susan Boyle may be a worldwide smash – but she insists home is where the heart is. And she is vowing to keep her Scots accent – even if it means fans in other countries might struggle to understand her. But she admits she is desperate to follow her American [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE A SCOTS stunt cyclist has attracted millions of online fans who are amazed at his dangerous stunts and jumps. Danny Macaskill, made his debut mini-film Inspired Bicycles on a shoestring budget, and the five minute film has been viewed by over three and a half million times by You Tube fans since [...]
By PAUL THORNTON THOUSANDS of Scottish criminal cases could collapse due to a European human rights ruling over police interviews. Scotland is one of only a few EU countries where suspects do not have the right to legal advice during interviews with authorities. But, after a landmark ruling in the European Court of Human Rights [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE A HERO lifeboat man has been banned from the high seas after bosses ruled his new home is too far away for its rule book – at less than half a mile away. Michael McErlane, 40, has been on the crew for almost 24 years and served on around 500 lifesaving rescues, [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE A SCOTS bus company who tried to woo Stagecoach customers with mulled wine, free journeys and dodgy licence discs is vowing to defy a ban imposed by Traffic Commissioners. Bankfoot Buses Ltd have been banned from the road for almost four years after using the same livery and uniforms as their more [...]
By PAUL THORNTON A WOMAN who left a four-year-old boy to wander half a mile over a busy dual carriageway by himself has walked free from court. Marie Watson, 33, left the tot – who she was meant to be looking after – for more than an hour and a half while she went to [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE A SCOT who was booed off the stage during last week’s Britain’s Got Talent is being given a second chance – because a presenter on the show stuffed him full of sweets before the show began. James Boyd, 33, from Dunfermline, Fife, attempted to impress the talent show’s judges by breaking the [...]
By PAUL THORNTON A HANDYMAN who sold one of two propellers which were stolen from the Royal Yacht Britannia has been jailed. The two seven-foot long propellers from the famous craft were taken from a warehouse in Leith Docks where they were being kept. Kenneth Halliday, 50, accepted £1,500 for “a couple of hours work” [...]
By Oliver Farrimond and Rebecca Jamieson SCOTLAND’S hottest young fashion designers saw their work go on display yesterday at Edinburgh’s boutique Harvey Nichols store. In a preview for the Edinburgh College of Art’s annual fashion show, models strutted their stuff down the aisles showing off the collections of the College’s graduating students. Inspiration for the [...]
By Cara Sulieman SCOTS are sticking to tradition and choosing hymns over more popular songs for their funerals. In the rest of the UK, contemporary songs are the most requested for a loved-one’s funeral. But in Scotland, over half of the ceremonies are accompanied by hymns rather than classical music or pop songs. Only 36 [...]
By Cara Sulieman SUSAN BOYLE-MANIA is gripping the Internet with millions of fans desperate to find out all they can about the Scots singing sensation. Her shock popularity is growing bigger by the day with at least three dedicated new fans sites and more 70 groups on Facebook being set up in her honour in [...]
By PAUL THORNTON & REBECCA JAMIESON A MOTHER neglected her four children and kept them living in squalor while their father grew immaculate cannabis plants in a cupboard in their home. The youngsters – aged between 10 and seven years old – were found sleeping on the floor covered by dirty bed sheets in a filthy and [...]
By Cara Sulieman OLYMPIC hero Sir Chris Hoy is to marry after announcing his engagement to his long-term girlfriend. The cyclist, 33, whisked Sarra Kemp, 28, away on a surprise trip to Prague for the Easter weekend before asking her to marry him with a diamond engagement ring. Chris’ mother, Carol Hoy, said the [...]