THE Scottish Beaver Trial, in Knapdale, Argyll, has announced the winning name of a beaver born last spring after a competition for school children across Scotland. The board of Biffaward, a major funder for the Trial chose the name Barney, suggested by Sarah Bell, aged 6 from Airdrie. Barney was one of the first beavers [...]
By Neil Pooran FOUR children were forced to live in a filthy house with their dead pets, a court heard today (Wed). Shocked officers found a dead hamster and guinea pig at the home of Vicky Kim McMaster, along with a lawnmower, bottles of cider and unsafe furniture. The 20-year-old, who was responsible for [...]
WOMEN with feminine looking faces are more likely to want a brood of children, according to the latest research. According to the new study by psychologists at the University of St Andrews, high levels of oestrogen are linked to how many children a woman wants. The findings also suggest that men may find certain women’s [...]
A HERO rescuer has told how his brave attempt to pull two young brothers from a muddy swamp ended with him having to be rescued by firefighters. Sean Urquhart, 45, ran from his ninth-floor Edinburgh flat after hearing screams from nine and ten year-old boys who were buried waist deep in cold mud in a [...]
By Niamh Anderson WITCHCRAFT experts are investigating a Halloween mystery unearthed in the far north of Scotland. Mysterious symbols found inside a building buried under sand for 500 years are believed to been carved by terrified inhabitants to ward off evil spirits. If confirmed, they would be among the earliest examples of anti-witchcraft symbols [...]
By Hannah Ewan A LAWYER who turned up to a children’s hearing while intoxicated by drink and swine flu medicine has been found guilty of professional misconduct. The solicitor was “staggering and incoherent” at the sheriff court proceedings and smelt of alcohol, a tribunal heard. The woman was forced to withdraw from the case, [...]
DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY POLICE HUNDREDS of pounds of jewellery has been stolen from a shop in Moffat. A man and a woman entered Gemini Jewellers sometime around 11.40am on Wednesday 25 October 2011. They appeared at one stage to have a lot of English currency on them, however did try at one stage to pay [...]
A BUS driver was assaulted and threatened with a knife in broad daylight. The man was driving the 800 First Bus service alongMain Street, Blackridge in West Lothian between 3.10pm and 3.20pm on Saturday. A male passenger approached the 35-year-old and began punching him before producing a knife and waving it around. He and a [...]
SCOTTISH police forces are to band together to crack down on metal thefts. Crooks have increasingly been targeting lead from roofs and stolen cable resulting in train delays and cancellations; widespread power loss; or loss of telephone and internet connections. Chief Superintendent Ellie Bird, chair of the ACPOS Metal Theft Group, said: “Metal theft in [...]
MORE than 130,000 students have benefitted from support from the Student Awards Agency Scotland in 2010-11, according to figures published today. This represents an increase of 1.9 per cent from 2009-10 with a record £571.9 million being paid out in total. The increase can be largely attributed to additional options and widened criteria for existing [...]
ALMOST two thirds of Scots killed at work last year worked in agriculture, analysis of figures published earlier this year by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have shown. Of the fifteen workplace fatalities that occurred between April 2010 and March 2011, nine were in agriculture. Across Great Britain, the five year average rate of [...]
TRAMS bosses are to spend another £5 million pounds providing pensions to the controversial firm that originally managed the project. Edinburgh City Council will have to pay off the massive deficit in the pension pot of TIE, the arms-length company they set up to run the trams project, over the next five years. Company staff [...]
THOUSANDS of doses of flu vaccine are being recalled over fears they are making patients ill. Around 300,000 Preflucel vaccines are being withdrawn from doctor’s surgeries and pharmacies across the Europe, with 2,500 being recalled from Scotland. The move comes after health chiefs warned that a batch manufactured in September is causing more side [...]
A TOP scientist is warning pet owners of the dangers of smoking around their animals. Professor Clare Knottenbelt, who specialises in animal medicine, said there was growing evidence which shows how damaging second-hand smoke is to the health of cats and dogs. She will address a seminar on second-hand smoke being held by NHS Ayrshire [...]
A MAN at the centre of a mystery death probe was attacked two weeks ago, neighbours claimed today (Wed). Police have been investigating the “unexplained” death of a 37-year-old man at a block of flats in the centre of Edinburgh since yesterday. But the windows of the man’s property have been open, and the lights [...]
TWO swans have been critically injured after being shot by an airgun inLivingston. The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) was called to rescue three swans from the town’s Dedridge Pond on Monday (24 October). An adult female, known locally as Edna, was found to have been shot at least 14 [...]
A WOMAN has been banned from keeping animals for life after she abandoned her emaciated dog in a flat in Edinburgh. Carol Buchanan, 42, formerly of Pleydell Place, Edinburgh, was convicted of causing her 14 month old lurcher crossbreed unnecessary suffering at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday (21 October) by failing to provide an adequate [...]
AN EDINBURGH charity shop is undergoing a revamp in a bid to attract more bargain hunters. In response to the financial pinch felt by consumers, Shelter Scotland’s Stockbridge shop will be the first in the capital to undergo a transformation as part of the housing and homelessness charity’s plans to rejuvenate all of its shops [...]
A MAN had to be rescued by fire crews after going to the aid of two children after they got stuck in mud. The good Samaritan had come to the aid of the boys after they became trapped on a building site in the Niddrie area of Edinburgh. The children, aged nine and 10, were [...]
A FLU-killing protein that occurs naturally in the human body as part of our immune response could lead to new treatments for the virus, scientists have found. Antimicrobial host defence peptides are key components of our innate immune response that increase in number during infection and inflammation. They are known to possess antibacterial and antiviral [...]