By Cara Sulieman SCOTS tycoon Duncan Bannatyne has been topping up his multi-million fortune by selling his old stuff on eBay. The star of Dragon’s Den said it was a great way to get rid of stuff you didn’t need, commenting that people “pay you fifty quid and take it away.” The businessman, who has [...]
By Cara Sulieman SCOTTISH women are getting through the credit crunch by selling their jewellery through ‘gold parties.’ The parties are similar to the Tupperware gatherings of the 1970s and give women the chance to part with their gold for a wad of much needed cash. After starting in America at the end of last [...]
By Cara Sulieman THE humble cup of tea used to be a staple of the British diet until reports surfaced last week that its price was set to rocket due to a shortage of tealeaves. But in the face of a tea crisis, one hotel chain is doing everything it can to encourage people to [...]
By Oliver Farrimond CALLS for a general election intensified yesterday as a team of senior Tory politicians appeared at the Scottish Parliament to back the Conservative Party’s “Sign for Change” campaign. David Mundell MP, Annabel Goldie MSP and front-bench UK Tory Theresa May challenged the Prime Minister to immediately call a general election in the [...]
By Michael MacLeod HUNDREDS of emergency crews are adapting their ambulances with a new system to stop tots falling off stretchers while racing to hospital. In a UK-first, all 450 ambulances across Scotland are being kitted out with child booster beds. The seat’s designers say they will make Scots youngsters the most securely transported in [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A WANDERING cat was re-united with its owner yesterday after going missing for more than two years. The free-roaming feline, called Tigger, went missing from its Edinburgh home in May 2007, but was picked up just last week by the SSPCA more than 150 miles away in Inverness. The hefty ginger tomcat [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE TRIBUTES have been paid to a super-fit fire hero who has died after collapsing with a heart attack during a mammoth eight-month cycling tour of the US. Former-Royal Marine John Body, 56, fell from his bike while cycling up a steep slope in front of his wife Linda in the southern US [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE A TURF war has erupted on the grounds of a Scots bowling green – as rampant rabbits run amok ruining the bowler’s surface. Members at the Netherton Bowling Club, Dunfermline, are at the end of their tether as the 15 year problem continues to haunt them. Bowlers are being forced to constantly [...]
By Michael MacLeod HOMER Simpson has revealed he is a fan of Scotland’s favourite new superstar Susan Boyle. The cartoon has dedicated a whole show to Britain’s Got Talent, with a contest set in the fictitious town of Springfield. And Bart Simpson’s tubby dad Homer reveals to an animated Simon Cowell that his “dream is [...]
By Paul Thornton AN ALARM engineer who smashed a glass into his sister’s ex-boyfriend’s face has escaped a jail sentence. Iain Hay, 24, shattered a pint tumbler into Kevin Walker’s face while Mr Walker was on a night out with his new girlfriend following a split with Hay’s sister. Mr Walker’s eyeball was left in [...]
By Paul Thornton A CHILDREN’S hospital photographer told bosses he had been accessing child porn websites as part of a project to educate staff, a court has heard. Leonard Cumming, 59, was suspended from his job at The Royal Hospital for Sick Children after IT workers investigated inappropriate websites being accessed from his computer. He [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE A SCOTS toddler has been scarred for life after being attacked by a dog in his own front garden. Five-year-old Andrew Osborne was playing with his twin brother Matthew and his older sibling Jamie, eight, when the animal jumped into their garden and mauled the youngster. Devastated dad Craig, 37, is [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE AN ASPIRING author who had his legs amputated after suffering a savage beating has had his specialist wheelchair stolen while in London auditioning for a TV role. Ian Colquhoun, 31, from Edinburgh, was left disabled after being attacked with a pick-axe handle while he slept during a horrific assault on Christmas Day [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A BRAND new ferry link worth millions to the Scottish economy completed its maiden voyage yesterday – despite the captain suffering a heart attack just minutes before departure. Captain Antonio Arbilli suffered the attack and immediately underwent emergency surgery, leaving the Scottish Viking’s first journey all at sea. However a replacement captain, [...]
By Paul Thornton A CHURCH of Scotland elder will tweet the major points of the Kirk’s most important meeting of the year when the General Assembly starts tomorrow (Thursday). The assembly meets once a year to make laws determining how the Church of Scotland operates. Kirk elder Neil MacLennan, 37, has persuaded bosses at the [...]
By Cara Sulieman A SCHOOLBOY is recovering after a terrifying fall down a drainage shaft. The 14 year-old broke into a huge ash pit in Fife before plummeting 12ft under the ground. Ten firefighters spent half an hour trying to fish the teen out, eventually lowering a ladder to pull him to safety. Now Scottish [...]
By Michael MacLeod A SCOTS wool firm which supplied the Hogwarts uniforms for Harry Potter films is now selling them to wannabe wizards. The annual “back to school” battle between stores is sure to be a spellbinding one, with young fans of the JK Rowling books and films begging their parents to kit them out [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE AS the nation’s property market continues to plummet, a seller in Edinburgh might just have come up with the perfect solution for prospective house-hunters. Several acres of the capital’s Water of Leith riverbed could become a floating estate when an auction begins next week. Property experts say demand will be high for [...]
By ALEXANDER LAWRIE BY DAY Laura Irving helps to save the lives of hundreds of patients – but by night the Edinburgh staff nurse slips on her leotard and works her body to its ultimate. The stunning, award-winning body-building nurse has just walked off with the coveted title of Miss Scotland in the trained figure [...]
By Michael MacLeod COPS dedicated 18 officers to investigate smashed panes of glass at former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin’s villa. The police probe, made up of five detectives, top-ranking intelligence experts, forensic specialists and a police dog handler took a total of 75 working hours – but still nobody has been caught for the [...]