By Rory Reynolds HEARTTHROB Gerard Butler has spoken out about the acting guru who transformed his career. Famed acting coach Larry Moss, who has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Leonardo DiCaprio, left Butler “sobbing his guts out” after one intense session. But 39-year-old Butler has criticised his $1,000-an-hour fees, labelling [...]
By Oliver Farrimond THE GRANDSON of Muhatma Gandhi has backed Kenny MacAskill’s decision to release Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi. Speaking just days before Alex Salmond compared MacAskill to Gandhi at the SNP’s annual conference in Inverness, Arun Gandhi said that the Justice Secretary was a “kind and compassionate” person, and that “eye [...]
By Rory Reynolds A FORMER undercover detective who left the force to develop a spy game for kids is on the verge of huge deal with a luxury US hotel chain. David Goutcher, a former CID officer at Strathclyde Police, could hit the jackpot if the Four Seasons firm snap up his problem solving game. [...]
By Oliver Farrimond AN ELDERLY deer dubbed “Bin Laden” by locals has been shot dead after turning on its adopted owner. The ageing stag was famous for begging visitors for chocolate at The Tea Hut café in Corran, Ross-shire, and had even been featured on BBC’s The One Show. However the 20-year-old stag became frustrated [...]
By Rory Reynolds SCOTS love the personal touch when it comes to marking special occasions – and the chance to show their cheeky side – according to a new survey. A poll by the Greetings Card Association has revealed that 94 per cent of Scots felt more special on receiving a card than a text, [...]
By Rory Reynolds A SCOTS bobby has been named of UK’s top cops for nicking more than 400 villains in one year. Motherwell copper Rob Brown, 40, – dubbed Robocop by locals – scored second on the UK’s list of top law enforcers, after cleaning up the streets of his home town. The Strathclyde Police [...]
By Rory Reynolds TOP Scots author Irvine Welsh has revealed that his dream of being able to buy a home for his mum came true after the success of Trainspotting. The 51-year-old offered his beloved mum Jean a house anywhere she wanted, to be paid for by the multi-million pound fortune that came after the [...]
By Rory Reynolds A SIX-month-old baby was taken to hospital with his mother after a dramatic escape from a burning building. Emergency services raced to Hailesland Gardens in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, as a fire from a kitchen on the ground floor began to spread up a block of flats. Two of the occupants of the [...]
By Rory Reynolds SUPPLIERS to Scots councils are being squeezed because local authorities are failing to pay their bills within the Government’s suggested time limit. On average, councils in Scotland paid just one quarter of bills within the Government’s suggested time limit – leaving small and medium-sized businesses struggling with their cash flow. A Freedom [...]
By Paul Thornton THE chief executive of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme has been cleared over claims that he bullied the organisation’s Scottish director into quitting the charity. Janet Shepherd – who had risen to the top job in Scotland for the DofE – said that Peter Westgarth forced her out of her job [...]
By Paul Thornton A CELEBRITY make-up artist has claimed Scottish women should start using face-freezing Botox jabs at the age of just 25. Sadie Jean Sloss – who worked on beauty programmes Britain’s Next Top Model and Make Me a Supermodel UK – said there is “no reason” why people should not be using Botox [...]
By Oliver Farrimond THE FATHER of missing chef Claudia Lawrence vowed never to give up trying to find her as he took his search to Scotland yesterday. Peter Lawrence was at Waverley Station in Edinburgh where he unveiled a poster in the concourse and handed out flyers before moving to Princes Street where he stopped [...]
By Michael McLeod THE young Scots mum-to-be who died from swine flu only a month away from having her first child was named today as Denise Murray. Locals revealed the 17-year-old had been expecting her first son or daughter before she contracted the H1N1 virus which claimed her life on Wednesday. Her unborn child tragically [...]
By Paul Thornton A DAD who fears his suicidal daughter could try and kill herself has been dragged to court three times for taking in his distraught child after she fled the residential care home looking after her. The 38-year-old man, who raised his 15-year-old daughter alone, was arrested for a third time by Lothian [...]
By Paul Thornton NEW Scotland cap Lee Wallace was fined £1100 in court today after he admitted a bust up outside a busy city-centre nightclub. The Edinburgh born defender, who stars for SPL side Hearts FC, admitted shouting at bouncers and threatening cops when he was refused entry at Lava and Ignite in the Tollcross [...]
By Paul Thornton A CONVICTED killer freed from his life sentence early has been put back behind bars after he was caught dealing heroin during a police sting. Thug Francis McNeilly, 48, was jailed for life at the High Court in Edinburgh in 1981 after being convicted of murdering a West Lothian man who drowned [...]
By Shaun Milne A BREAK-IN at a giant poultry farm is being probed by police after 136,000 chickens suffocated to death. The birds perished after a vital air supply to their coops was cut-off at Beechgrove Farm in Balerno on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Sickened animal crime investigators said the chickens would have suffered a [...]
By Paul Thornton FEARS were growing last night for a missing 15-year-old boy who has not been seen in a week. Jason Black has been missing since last Thursday when he left his home in Ratho, near Edinburgh. The boy was thought to be heading to the capital on mid-morning but has not been in [...]
By Oliver Farrimond HOLLYWOOD movie mogul John Landis paid a visit to Edinburgh’s spookiest sites to prepare for his forthcoming film about the one of the Capital’s most grisly episodes. The maker of Michael Jackson’s Thriller video booked himself on a private Burke and Hare murder tour to prepare for his comic-horror adaption – which [...]