ALMOST 1,500 civil servants are paid at least £40,000 a year – including the ‘head of potato branch’, a ‘plant health consultant’ and 27 spin doctors. The number of officials on big salaries of up to £52,000 and beyond has been labelled a “bloated bureaucracy” by tax payers’ campaigners. The Scottish Government was asked to [...]
A FOUL-MOUTHED teacher who called her special needs pupils “beasts” has been reprimanded by school watchdogs. Lorraine Bloice (corr), 32, worked at a school for children with severe learning difficulties in Aberdeen. A General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) panel was told she referred to one pupil as a “little s***” and when a child fell [...]
THE dream of an electric car outside every home is a step closer to reality – thanks to a defence firm based in Fife. A new £3.5m facility will turn a material from meteorites into a substance that could dramatically extend the range of electric cars. Most current models run out of power after 100 [...]
A FIESTY snake proved to be a slippery character when it was apprehended by police. Jalapeno the cornsnake was captured by two officers at 9.15am on Thursday who were alerted by children screaming. The slithery reptile was found in Hailesland Grove in Edinburgh where it is believed to have been roaming “freezing” streets for “some [...]
A GOOD Samaritan has told how she was given a parking ticket – as she tried to help a girl lying unconscious in the street. Lesley Mair jumped out of car in Edinburgh after spotting the girl lying “blacked out” on the pavement. The 43-year-old helped the girl find a place to sit after she [...]
A DEAF and mute postman locked himself away in fear after he was attacked twice by a dog while the owner just stood and watched. Graham Duff was bitten nearly two weeks ago when a large collie-cross lunged at him while out delivering mail last week. The dog launched itself at the mail worker after [...]
A 21-year-old has become Scotland’s youngest commercial pilot. Martin Russell dreamed of becoming a pilot after watching jets fly out of Edinburgh Airport as a youngster. And after training for three years, the high-flyer has landed a job with a major airline and regularly navigates a Boeing 737 through the skies with more than 200 [...]
A TRAGIC student whose suspected death from a “legal high” caused a national outcry was killed by the class A drug ecstasy. Alex Heriot collapsed at the Rock Ness music festival in June last year after reportedly taking Benzo Fury. The death of the 19-year-old prompted calls for a massive crackdown on legal highs – [...]
A BRAVE Scots teenager started a new job just a month after surviving a horrific assault which left him needing brain surgery. Robert Stirling, from Glenrothes in Fife, was punched to the ground and kicked as he walked to meet friends during a night out. The 19-year-old suffered from blood swelling inside his head, but [...]
A DOCTOR who carried out sex attacks on two female patients in hospitals where he worked has been struck off. Dr Samir Asa’Ad was jailed for 18 months last year over the attacks, which took place at Crosshouse Hospital in Ayrshire and Hairmyres Hospital in Lanarkshire. After a hearing of the Medical Practiioners Tribunal Service [...]
TWO little-known Scottish businessmen played a crucial role in bringing the Holywood blockbuster Brave to Scotland, it has emerged. Disney Pixar bosses fell hopelessly in love with the country after being taken on a 12-day tour of stunning locations by Bob Costello and Ian Stewart. The pair’s encyclopaedic knowledge of Scottish folklore – and banter [...]
SCOTTISH taxpayers will pick up the tab if the capital’s controversial trams scheme proves a financial flop. Under new proposals, Edinburgh Council will pay trams operator Lothian Buses a fixed fee to run the tram line – and shoulder the full brunt of any financial losses. The plans will see a new tram company called [...]
AN ambitious baker is planning to sell DIY Scotch pie kits as a delicacy to sophisticated Parisiens. Martin Burns has come up with the idea of selling empty pie cases to customers and letting them come up with a filling of their choice. The 41-year-old reckons many pie lovers are increasingly nervous about the contents [...]
BILLY Connolly has revealed his unlikely love of Latin dance classes. The 70-year-old went on Twitter to tell fans he had successfully completed his fourth Tango lesson. The Big Yin had previously ruled out following in the footsteps of his sex therapist wife, Dr Pamela Stephen, by appearing on Strictly Come Dancing. But his wife [...]
STORNOWAY Black Pudding will get official legal protection against rip-offs in the next fortnight, a government minister has revealed. The Western Isles delicacy will enjoy the same status as Arbroath Smokies, meaning the name can only be used by four butchers within a five-mile radius of Stornoway. Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said he “expected” Stornoway Black [...]
A FORMER prisoner of war camp which once held top Nazi Rudolf Hess is proving a massive hit with businesses looking for a place to set up. Cultybraggan Camp, near Comrie in Perthshire, once had barbed wire and armed guards to keep 4,000 Axis prisoners from breaking out. But now local entrepreneurs are desperate to [...]
TERRIFIED city centre residents screamed for help yesterday after they were trapped in their homes by a massive blaze. Witnesses reported a bang and shower of falling glass from a first floor flat in Edinburgh, followed by a fireball. More than 50 firefighters tackled the blaze in the city’s Fountainpark, rescuing at least five people [...]
A SEARCH and rescue team were called to a Scottish pub today to carry out a search after the roof collapsed. The Fiddlers Elbow on Edinburgh’s Picardy Place was closed when the incident happened and nobody was inside the pub’s premises. Fifty fire fighters attended the pub after receiving a call at 2.30am with reports [...]