By Oliver Farrimond HUNDREDS of Scots prisoners are being used as human lab rats – to find a cure for their criminal tendencies. Scientists from the University of Oxford are performing a pharmaceutical study on Scottish prisoners intended to suppress their anti-social behaviour. Hundreds of inmates are taking part in the scheme, which sees them [...]
By Cara Sulieman PAMPERED pooches can now enjoy their very own café complete with baskets, toys and a menu of gourmet food. John Sinclair has set up the dog café at Craigie’s Farm Shop and Café after large numbers of walkers brought their pets to the shop. Opening next month, owners will be able to [...]
By Cara Sulieman A TODDLER was almost run over after he escaped from his nursery and wandered 160 meters down the road before being found by another parent. Two-year-old Jack Robertson slipped away unnoticed from Arniston Playgroup in Midlothian on Monday on what nursery staff called a “wee adventure”. The parent that found him on [...]
By Cara Sulieman HAGGIS producers are working round the clock to meet demand for this Burns Night on Monday. World famous Edinburgh firm Macsween say they have seen a sharp rise in sales of the traditional dish, claiming it has been a record year for both the meat and vegetarian varieties. Sales have risen 25 [...]
By Oliver Farrimond VIRGIN Trains revealed yesterday that they plan to bid to take over running the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and London. The group – which already runs the West Coast Main Line – wasted no time throwing their hat in the ring after Transport Secretary Lord Adonis announced that the recently [...]
By Michael MacLeod SCOTLAND will send 1,000 troops to Afghanistan over the next six months, it was announced today (Thursday). The massive deployment will see regiments from every corner of the country jetting out to join NATO operations in Helmand province. While the new battalion was said to be “raring to go,” the current band [...]
By Rory Reynolds RESIDENTS have been looking to the skies for a £20,000 US spy helicopter after a collector lost his model on its first outing. Business owner John Wallbank was testing out his new Draganflyer X6 in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens when it vanished out of sight. The print shop entrepreneur was among the [...]
By Rory Reynolds A VALUABLE work of art that was stolen from Scotland’s most renowned law library has been returned in the same mysterious circumstances under which it was taken. The missing painting – worth ÂŁ4000 – was found hanging on the back of the gate leading to Edinburgh’s Signet Library on Parliament square early [...]
By Cara Sulieman SCOTS singing star Susan Boyle is almost certain to be asked to take part in recording a Song for Haiti. Showbiz reports across the globe were quick to say SuBo had already been signed up for the single which is being masterminded by her friend and mentor Simon Cowell. But the superstar [...]
By Cara Sulieman DESPERATE council tenants are queuing up to take over a home in Fife – despite it being the scene of a grisly murder. Samuel Hooper, 64, was given a life sentence at the High Court in Glasgow last April for the brutal murder of his 66-year-old wife Isabella. He stamped on her [...]
By Cara Sulieman AN ADVERT designed to create pride in Fifers has come under fire from residents of the Kingdom for being embarrassing. Kingdom FM teamed up with Fife Council to produce the ad – which is broadcast on STV and shows traditional dancers, the Red Arrows, and Deep Sea World set to an upbeat [...]
By Michael MacLeod  FADING stage star Darren Day has been banned from the roads after police caught him drunk behind the wheel of a Mercedes.  The 41 year-old was said to have smashed the car into a lamppost at 4am a week before Christmas in Edinburgh, where he was performing in the Queen-themed [...]
By Michael MacLeod  A ROTWEILLER with cancer had to be put-down after its owner dumped it because he was “too embarrassed” to take it to a vet.  Colin Clark abandoned his 10 year-old pet when a tumour grew on its paw.  The 35 year-old tied the dog to a fence in Edinburgh’s [...]
By Michael MacLeod  A JANITOR who drove over a schoolboy’s toes has been fined for fleeing the scene of an accident.  Ronald Greig, 51, left the nine year-old primary school pupil “hobbling” with cuts and bruises on his feet.  The janitor claimed he didn’t see the youngster, but got a £400 fine [...]
By Andrea McCallum ANCIENT gold jewellery uncovered by a Scottish local has gone on display for the first time. The Iron Age torcs – or neck ornaments – were dug up by Stirlingshire man David Booth, who had never used a metal detector before. And now the treasure will be on show at the National [...]
By Andrea McCallum SCOTTISH superstar Susan Boyle stepped out in style in her home town yesterday (Wednesday) as she ventured to the local shops. The 48-year-old left her home in Blackburn, West Lothian, with a beaming smile and posed for photographs in her new gear. Her outing comes just a week after reports of erratic [...]
By Rory Reynolds ADVANCED touch-screen technology from blockbusters like Quantum of Solace and Minority Report could soon be commonplace in boardrooms across Scotland. New technology developed by Edinburgh Napier University has pioneered a virtual boardroom, where colleagues can throw emails to each other across a huge touch screen table. The technology echoes the scene in [...]
By Rory Reynolds THE SOUND of more than a dozen rumbling Bentleys filled a quiet graveyard yesterday to honour a lifelong collector of the famous British brand. More than 400 friends and fellow car collectors turned out to pay their respects to Eddie Ewart, who spent his life buying and restoring the luxury firm’s models. [...]
By Rory Reynolds SKI centres are reporting a huge boost in business after the three-week blanket of snow left Scots heading for the slopes. The white Christmas has fuelled interest in skiing, with bosses saying that the Winter Olympics could send Scotland ski crazy this year. One centre in Glenshee, Aberdeenshire, said that it had [...]
By Cara Sulieman SEVERAL Scots health boards have been slammed by the Public Services Ombudsman over a series of complaints by patients – on the same day that NHS Scotland was revealed as being the least efficient in the UK. Jim Martin, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, has highlighted six cases where complaints were upheld [...]