By Paul Thornton SCOTS crime writer Ian Rankin has vowed to track down yobs who torched FIVE wheelie bins outside his home. Rankin, 49, found the blazing bins in his street in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh on Wednesday morning. Police have described the act as “mindless vandalism” and are appealing for witnesses. But Rankin [...]
By Oliver Farrimond CHATTY drivers in Scotland have had to pay up almost £1.2 million this year for using their mobiles while driving. Scotland’s police forces issued nearly 20,000 statutory notices to careless road users, worth £60 each. The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, show that police in Strathclyde issued by far [...]
By Oliver Farrimond FIREFIGHTERS battled a fierce winter blaze in Edinburgh on Wednesday night. Five fire engines were called to a first floor flat engulfed in flames at Melgund Terrace in the Capital, and fought the blaze for more than an hour. A man was rescued from the flat by firefighters, who carried him to [...]
By Paul Thornton FEARS were growing last night for the safety of a “vulnerable” teenage girl who has gone missing from her home in Edinburgh. Ashleigh Wallace, 18, was last seen by friends in the Restalrig or Lochend area of the city on Boxing Day. Miss Wallace,who is 5’8’’ tall, with long black hair, is [...]
By Oliver Farrimond POLICE have named the passenger killed in fatal road smash on Sunday morning. Subramaniyam Thavaselvam, 39, died after the Daewoo Leganza he was in collided with a Ford Fiesta on the A701 south of Tweedsmuir just before 10.30am. The 41-year-old driver of the Daewoo suffered chest and stomach injuries, and another man [...]
By Andrea McCallum EDINBURGH’S tram chaos has been blamed for a £400,000 drop in parking ticket revenue. The fall is being put down to motorists avoiding the congested city centre which has seen months of traffic trouble due to the £545m transport project. Others claim it is a sign that the capital’s notorious attendants are [...]
By Oliver Farrimond POLICE are searching for a woman who has gone missing from her home in Edinburgh. Heather Combe, 59, was last seen by her family on Monday evening, and police say they are growing “concerned” for her welfare. She has not been in contact with her family since, and was last sighted by [...]
By Oliver Farrimond SCOTS parents showered their children with more than £160 million worth of unwanted presents this Christmas. And 40 per cent of youngsters were left feeling hard-done by after being given a gift costing less than a tenner – with aunts and uncles bearing the brunt of their fury. It means that the [...]
By Paul Thornton FIREFIGHTERS have been tackling a large blaze at a derelict primary school in West Lothian. At least 50 firefighters have been working to put-out the inferno at the old Broxburn Primary School in the town’s West Main Street. Fire workers said that crews responded at around 1.30am on Wednesday morning and more [...]
By Oliver Farrimond FAMOUS Edinburgh Zoo has seen a baby boom in the last 12 months – with 50 more births than in 2008. Cunning staff at the zoo used crafty techniques to encourage the animals to breed more – including installing mirrors in some enclosures. As a result, this year has seen the arrival [...]
By Michael MacLeod POLICE have named the tragic dad who died two days before Christmas after falling in a railway station. James Clark, 47, of Dundee, was holding a two-year-old girl when he hit his head at Edinburgh’s Waverley station. Passers-by, including an off duty doctor, tried to resuscitate James after the fall, while the [...]
By Oliver Farrimond BOB the Builder star Neil Morrissey has revealed details of his dangerous charity work in Helmand Province, Afghanistan – with PUPPETS. The famous Brit actor, while working as patron of the charity No Strings, risked life and limb to teach important life lessons to deprived children in one of the world’s most [...]
By Oliver Farrimond BUNGLING cops at Lothian and Borders Police have cost taxpayers more than £40,000 in damage from botched raids – the highest total in Scotland. The force had to pay out £43,880 compensation for “unnecessary” damage to doors and windows when smashing into properties during 2008. According to figures released yesterday, Lothian and [...]
By Oliver Farrimond THE GREIVING son of tragic Scots granny Julia Howard is to set out to Mexico to unravel the truth surrounding her death. Henry Harvey, 56, is convinced his mum was murdered in the Mexican resort of Cancun, and plans to return to the scene of her death in June. The body of [...]
By Oliver Farrimond POLICE are hunting for a 14-year-old girl in West Lothian who has been missing since Boxing Day. Joanne Shepherd was last seen at her home in Dedridge at lunchtime on December 26th. Lothian and Borders Police say that she failed to return home that night, and are appealing for anyone with information [...]
By Oliver Farrimond FEARSOME Scots Dragon Duncan Bannatyne has been the victim of a comedy online hoax. Users of the micro-blogging site Twitter bombarded the grumpy entrepreneur with joke business ideas – leaving the millionaire baffled. One Tweeter – “Edza95” – suggested that everyone entering a “big company building” should get a free pie. She [...]
By Oliver Farrimond SCOTS conservation experts have pin-pointed the planet’s most at-risk species in 2010. Butterflies, tigers and tuna are among the 10 most threatened species according to a new WWF Scotland report released today. They believe climate change, poaching and deforestation in 2010 will leave some animals at “a greater risk than ever.” And [...]
By Michael MacLeod A PRIVATE pleasure garden for the rich has been hijacked by yobs holding their own “lock-in” drinking sessions. Keys to the tranquil gated Dean Garden at Edinburgh’s West End costs £110 per-year each – enjoyed as a private playground for almost 150 years. But police have raised fears that some sets of [...]
By Michael MacLeod SCOTLAND’S most famous golfing hotel has been named as one of the most exclusive in the world. The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews was the only resort from the UK named in Forbes Magazine’s World’s Most Exclusive Hotels list. It is ranked alongside the likes of The Ritz in Paris and [...]
By Oliver Farrimond TECH-SAVVY Scots shoppers are saving a fortune and dodging the big freeze in this year’s winter sales – by turning to TWITTER. Scores of famous high-street brands have embraced the social networking site, using it to do everything from promoting offers, to simply extending wishes of holiday cheer. And with a healthier [...]