By Paul Thornton A MODEST postmaster who stood-up to a masked raider when he tried to rob his shop has insisted “I’m no hero”. John Gordon, 57, saw off the terrifying intruder after the would-be thief burst into his post office in Crossgates, Fife. The robber – disguised by a balaclava – thrust a bag [...]
By Cara Sulieman and Michael MacLeod AN elderly woman has died and her husband rushed to hospital after a suspected gas leak at their home early yesterday. The 61-year-old – named locally as Pauline Childs – was thought to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Husband John, 70, was also rushed to St John’s Hospital [...]
By Michael MacLeod A KITE surfer had to be rescued from choppy seas after going missing off the coast of Montrose. A helicopter from RAF Kinloss was scrambled to help search for the man, but lifeboat and coastguard crews saved him after an hour-long search. He was found sitting on his surfboard with the kite [...]
By Cara Sulieman AFTER his very public departure from high office, it was perhaps of little surprise that Gordon Brown would chose to keep a low profile on what was his first day back as a jobbing MP. Back in his beloved Fife, at the North Queensferry home where his children no doubt were enthused [...]
By Michael MacLeod A PSYCHIC medium has told of how she was “terrorised” into a £16,000 bank scam by a gang of Asian men who threatened to kill her children if she refused. Lynne MacNeill, 41, said she was forced to front a plot to get huge loans using fake ID after a clairvoyant session [...]
By Cara Sulieman THE worried parents of Edinburgh woman Suzanne Pilley today (Tues) urged people to help them find their daughter – as police forensic teams joined the hunt for the missing bookkeeper. Anxious Robert and Sylvia Pilley, from Stenhouse, called in police after their daughter never showed for work last Tuesday (May 4) [...]
By Paul Thornton A MAN was duped out of thousands of pounds by a woman he never met after falling for an online honeytrap. Computer geek Brian Mackay, 40, handed over between four and five thousand pounds of his own money to a ‘woman’ he met in a chat room. The fraudster – who Mackay [...]
By Michael MacLeod PLANS to let Scots pub staff drink alcohol after closing time have been thrown out amid fears they could open a loophole in the law leading to illegal “lock-ins”. The idea was raised in the Scottish Parliament today (Tuesday) by Bill Aitken MSP, who hit out at government “killjoys” for shunning his [...]
AN EVIL killer who smashed his victim’s head in with a paving stone has been using a mobile phone smuggled into jail to post boasts about his cushy jail term on social networking site Bebo. John Graham – who battered neighbour Thomas Hart to death in 2006 – is also claimed to have made threats [...]
By Paul Thornton FEARS were growing this morning for a vulnerable 15-year-old boy who went missing from his home in Dundee. Brendan Carroll has not been seen since Friday and Tayside Police are appealing for information about his whereabouts. The lad, from the city’s Clovis Duveau Drive, is described as six-foot tall, with long brown [...]
By Paul Thornton A MAN was raced to hospital after being saved from a burning house in Midlothian. Firefighters tackled a blaze in Mayfield’s Camp Road on Saturday morning before the 20-year-old man was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. A Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue worker said crews used a high pressure hose and [...]
By Andrea McCallum NIGHTCLUB bouncers, call centre workers, parking attendants and receptionists are all considered “legitimate targets” for abuse from members of the public, according to new government research. Airport workers, police officers, and front-line civil servants are also considered to be “deserving” of abuse whereas firefighters, ambulance crews and nurses are not. The research [...]
By Andrea McCallum TATTOOED cops are being ordered to hide their inked body parts after reports they shock crime victims. Four of Scotland’s police forces have announced a crackdown on body art and will no longer recruit anyone with markings on their face or neck. Police officers in Tayside, Grampian, Fife and Lothian and Borders [...]
By Andrea McCallum HARRY Potter author JK Rowling has made a list of top power brokers following the global success of her wizard novels. The Edinburgh-based author has been branded as one of the world’s ‘most influential’ people and joins Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg in the league table compiled by American business magazine Forbes. [...]
By Zoe Keown FORMER Scots Labour MP George Galloway is hoping to launch a new career in Hollywood presenting documentary films. Keen to follow in the footsteps of left-winged film maker Michael Moore, Galloway is set to tackle the Palestinian troubles in Gaza. He said: “I’m off to California on Saturday to speak to people [...]
By Zoë Keown A LOVE note written by Scotland’s most celebrated poet declaring his feelings for the muse of many of his most passionate works has, at last, been confirmed by a team of scholars and researchers at Glasgow University. Held by the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, the note is the only first-hand [...]
By Andrea McCallum SCOTLAND has been named as an alcohol superpower after nearly 20 of its drinks brands made the world’s top100 list. In the Power 100 – an annual survey of the world’s leading drinks brands – 16 of Scotland’s alcoholic tipples made the grade. And that total includes five brands in the top [...]
By Michael MacLeod INJURED soldiers were given a Royal welcome home from their bloodiest tour of duty in 50 years today. In an emotional parade of heroes, the 3 Rifles battlegroup marched down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile – short of 30 men who were killed during a six-month deployment in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The battle scars [...]
By Rory Reynolds A NEW education scheme to reduce expenditure and waste ahead of sweeping public sector cuts is to be piloted in Scotland. S5 and S6 pupils studying Advanced Highers and the new baccalaureates will be bussed to classes in different schools to cut down on costs. The new curriculum, which is to run [...]
By Michael MacLeod The ink on the ballot papers has barely dried and still the shape of the UK Government remains unknown. But the Scottish political map is completely clear, as Labour maintained their grip by winning at least 41 out of 58 seats north of the border. All parties were keen to prove they [...]