By MICHAEL MacLEOD A TEENAGER extorted almost £90,000 from ten men on gay sex chat lines by threatening to play recordings of their sordid calls to their families, friends and the police. Kelz Sutherland, 19, ran a fake sex hotline from his bedroom at his parents’ home in Edinburgh taking incoming calls from men who [...]
By Cara Sulieman THREE children found dead in an Edinburgh flat earlier this month will be laid to rest in Aberdeen on Friday, it was announced today. Twins Austin and Luke Riggi, eight, and their five year old sister Cecilia Riggi, were found dead in their home in Edinburgh on August 4. There had been [...]
By Martin Graham TRIBUTES have been paid to a married woman who drowned while learning to dive off the east coast of Scotland. The 47-year-old, who was from Dundee, Tayside, got into difficulties in just six feet of water around 8.45pm at the Fife Ness headland in Fife on Monday. She was part of a [...]
By Cara Sulieman AN HISTORIC Highland estate is on the market with an asking price of more than £2.5 million. Ledgowan Estate in Wester Ross covers 11,100 acres of land and comes with the lodge house, two cottages and a deer larder. But it is the deer hunting and grouse shooting rights that estate agents [...]
By Cara Sulieman THE NUMBER of drug related deaths in Scotland is going up, despite a decrease in the last year. Figures published today show that in 2009 there were 545 drug related deaths in Scotland, 29 less than the year before. But the numbers are the second highest ever recorded by the Register General [...]
By Michael MacLeod FOUR teenagers appeared in court today following the death of a delivery driver in Edinburgh. Simon San, 40, died in hospital after suffering severe head injuries outside his family’s Chinese takeaway on Wednesday night. A 16 year-old boy and a 15 year old boy were charged with culpable homicide at Edinburgh Sheriff [...]
By Christine Lavelle FORMER Bay City Roller Patrick McGlynn is to re-launch his music career – in Japan. The guitarist is re-releasing five albums he made during the 1970s, and also has plans to write and record a new album. Working closely with producer Iain McKinna of Offbeat studios in Edinburgh, Mr McGlynn said getting [...]
By Cara Sulieman HIS previous characters became immortal with the names Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie still famous the world over. Now Scots author Irvine Welsh is preparing to give fans the chance to join them by naming one of his new characters from his forthcoming prequel to hit novel Trainspotting after them. The [...]
By Christine Lavelle THREE people were trapped and two children hurt when two cars collided in Fife today. A female driver of a Ford Focus and the driver and passenger of a Citroen Xantia had to be freed by fire crews when their vehicles crashed shortly before 12.30pm on the A912, near Easter Cash Farm [...]
By Cara Sulieman FORMER Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo will launch a legal bid against his old club next week when he takes them to an employment tribunal over the sudden end to his reign there earlier this year. The Hungarian is suing Heart of Midlothian FC for unfair dismissal and breach of contract after his [...]
By Christine Lavelle CAR salesmen have been revealed as having the least respected profession in Scotland, sharing the bottom spot with bankers in a recent opinion poll. Only 16 per cent of the general public said they had “a great deal of respect” for the salesmen, who often carry a reputation for being ‘too pushy’. [...]
By Cara Sulieman A NEW fashion boutique has opened in Edinburgh and aims to bring a little bit of ‘Ritz’ glitz to the capital. Arkangel & Felon re-launched last week with a complete overhaul of the shop floor, IT and ordering systems. And with it comes an injection of new brands into Scotland, promising fashionistas [...]
By Zoë Keown SCOTLAND HAS often been referred to as one of the ‘best educated societies in the world’. The value of the county’s qualifications are now however being called into disrepute, as thousands of students are passing exams with scores as low as 24 per cent. At Higher level, key subjects like English, chemistry [...]
By Zoë Keown THE SCOTTISH Government have commissioned scientists at the Sea Mammal Research Unit to carry out an investigation, after seal carcasses with mystifying “corkscrew” injuries were found washed up along the east coast of Scotland and England. In just two months, seven incidents involving common and grey seals in St Andrews Bay and [...]
By Christine Lavelle EX-CORRIE star Denise Black has discovered a new way to tackle “empty nest syndrome” – by forming a rock band. The actress, best known for playing Ken Barlow’s squeeze during the 90s, is getting set to play a string of midnight cabaret shows at Edinburgh’s Fringe festival with her band [...]
By Christine Lavelle IT’S not often you find an Indian restaurant in a tour guide to Scotland, but chefs at one Edinburgh eatery have cracked it with their very own original idea. Owners of the Suruchi restaurant designed and developed a menu with a difference – it has been translated into traditional Scots tongue. Diners [...]
By Cara Sulieman COUNCIL’S across Scotland have had more than half a million pounds worth of property stolen over the last year. Thieves have even lifted children’s play equipment and flowers from cemeteries in the nationwide crime spree. West Lothian Council was the worst hit, with a whopping £68,688 worth of items stolen in the [...]
By Cara Sulieman A HEALTH quango has been pulled up on its spending after splashing to send its staff on overseas training trips. Workers for NHS Education for Scotland (NES) were sent to 21 conferences in places including Sydney, Istanbul, and Durban. And now the Scottish Government’s health secretary is demanding to know why the [...]
By Zoe Keown A PENSIONER has been rushed to hospital after being found on rocks in the middle of a river this morning. The 80-year-old was found near a bridge over the River Almond in Mid Calder. Police still don’t know how the woman got on to the rocks, and Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue [...]
By Cara Sulieman POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was found lying in the middle of the road in the early hours of Sunday morning after a night out. It is not known if the man fell or was the victim of an assault and Lothian and Borders are hoping that other party-goers [...]