By Oliver Farrimond POLICE are searching for a heartless thief who robbed a charity shop. The thief, described as having “thin, pale face”, fled after putting his hand in the tills of the Capability Scotland shop in Deanhaugh Street at around 4.30pm on Thursday afternoon. A store assistant bravely tried to stop the thief, but [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A TROPHY from horse-racing history is to go up for auction next week in Edinburgh. The Cheltenham Gold Cup from 1930 is expected to fetch £6,000 at Lyon and Turnbull auctioneers when it goes up for sale. The trophy is still awarded today for the course, which is regarded as one of [...]
By Paul Thornton A MURDER accused teen may have held a door closed to stop his flame-engulfed girlfriend from escaping a burning room, a court has heard. A bent handle on the door of the bedroom that Jessica McCagh burnt to death in could indicate that Stewart Blackburn trapped her in the blaze after setting [...]
By Rory Reynolds A SCOTS brewery has caused a storm after launching the world’s strongest beer on the day that the Scottish Government fought to keep the Alcohol Bill alive. BrewDog – who already sell an 18.2 per cent beer called Tokyo* – launched Tactical Nuclear Penguin after 16 months of aging at artic temperatures. [...]
By Rory Reynolds HEALTH secretary Nicola Sturgeon has laid into opposition parties over their decision to block the controversial Alcohol Bill, saying they will “pay a heavy price” for their actions. Speaking on the morning that Labour announced they would prevent the bill from being passed at Holyrood, Sturgeon said those who oppose the Alcohol [...]
By Michael MacLeod A FOOTBALL steward has been banned from every ground in Britain for a year after throwing a flare onto a pitch. The court order means Michael Smith, 21, will lose his pitch-side security job with SPL side Falkirk. He was arrested at a high-tempered derby match between rivals Linlithgow Rose and Bo’ness [...]
By Tom Walker THE FIRST ever replica of a 1000-year-old Pictish throne has been unveiled at the National Museum of Scotland after months of painstaking research and craftsmanship. The original throne – thought to be the seat of a bloodthirsty warrior king – no longer exists, but the replica is intended to give visitors a [...]
By Cara Sulieman SUSAN Boyle shrugged off claims that she had a break down during her visit to America earlier this week as she signed autographs for fans outside her home in Blackburn. The star has been pictured in tears as she was surrounded by fans in New York’s Rockefeller Centre, where she was doing [...]
By Cara Sulieman FRIENDS have paid touching tributes to a young woman who died after being hit by a car at the weekend. Fiona Clason died at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh on Monday, the day after she was struck by a car on the capital’s waterfront. The family of the 24-year-old were [...]
By Cara Sulieman EDINBURGH Castle had to close its doors for the first time in over a year because of high winds. Staff at the popular tourist attraction took the precaution after recording wind speeds of up to 60mph at the high points of the building. Initially it was hoped that the castle would be [...]
By Cara Sulieman IT HAS been a popular playground game for generations, but children in one Scottish school have been banned from playing British Bulldogs on “health and safety grounds”. Pupils at Edinburgh’s Firrhill High School have been told not to play the game, along with other “physical” pastimes such as wrestling. The game involves [...]
By Andrea McCallum AN EX-CONFECTIONARY worker who demanded sex from a 12-year-old girl and performed a sex act on her has been jailed. Stewart McArthur, 46, forced the girl onto a bed before committing indecency and a serious sexual assault. The events only came to light after the victim’s mother found notes suggesting her daughter [...]
By Andrea McCallum A POLICE pipe band tutor has been cleared of assaulting a teenage girl on the group’s coach as they made their way home from a music competition – despite touching her breast. Iain McAlister had been accused of assault after allegedly quizzing the 18-year-old girl about her nipples before unbuttoning her top [...]
By Cara Sulieman A WINDSWEPT Susan Boyle breezed back into Scotland yesterday (Wed) after making a flying visit to America to launch her debut album. And with her first disc ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ already going down a storm in the charts, SuBo said the outlook had never looked sunnier. Sheltering from rain and gales [...]
By Rory Reynolds A PAINTING by renowned artist LS Lowry thought to be worth more than £100,000 is to go under the hammer next week. ‘Barges on a Manchester Canal’ could fetch well over the estimated price when it appears at auction at Edinburgh’s Lyon & Turnbull on 2 December. The distinctive works of the [...]
By Rory Reynolds AN aspiring young Scots diver has been awarded the top gong his grandfather won – 52 years ago. At just 12-years-old James Heatly has become the youngest ever Scottish Springboard Champion at the championships in Newtongrange, Midlothian. And he’s already following in the footsteps of his grandfather – who dominated the sport [...]
By Rory Reynolds A SEVEN-year-old girl who saved the life of her mum after a seizure has said she learned what to do by watching Children In Need. Police praised Leah Grant for her “quick thinking and bravery” after she carefully checked her mum’s breathing before calling 999. She climbed into her mum’s bed feeling [...]
By Paul Thornton A TEENAGER admitted soaking his girlfriend in petrol from a jerry can before she burned to death because he was “in a huff”, a court has heard. Stewart Blackburn, 18, confessed to “slapping” the five-litre can at Jessica McCagh during a police interview the day after she died from her horrific burns. [...]
Ben Shaw holding the model of the new centre By Cara Sulieman THE SCOTTISH War Blind celebrated the start of work on their multimillion pound facility yesterday (Tues). The new centre is backed by Iraq hero Ben Shaw, 26, who lost his eyesight in a roadside bombing near Basra in February 2007. As [...]
By Cara Sulieman SCOTTISH hunk Gerard Butler has shown his soft side by donating his teddy bear lookalike to Children in Need. The big-hearted actor – best known for his testosterone charged role in blockbuster film 300 – has added his autograph to the prize. The cuddly toy featured on Friday Night with Jonathan [...]