AN ART teacher who had sex with two pupils in a tent, at the beach and his mother’s home has been struck off. Christopher Cunningham,58, has already served a 12-month jail term for his “gross” breach of trust, committed while he was a teacher at West Calder High School in West Lothian. Edinburgh Sheriff Court [...]
AN internet pest teacher who used a social networking site to try to persuade a female pupil to visit his house has been struck off. Richard Cantwell even made an online offer to pay for a taxi to ferry the girl to his home. Cantwell, who taught history and modern studies at a Glasgow school, [...]
By Kirsty Topping A DRAMATIC rescue attempt by a Scottish lifeboat crew was called off after the “casualties” turned out to lifeguards in training. Forth coastguard gave the order for a £135, 000 lifeboat to be launched after receiving a 999 call reporting two people in the water at Broughty Ferry. But on arrival crews [...]
By Kirsty Topping HIBS fanatic Irvine Welsh tried to sabotage deadly rivals Hearts by applying for the job of manager at Tynecastle, a new book claims. But the plot quickly fell apart after Hearts bosses spotted his fake CV. The madcap plan to make Hearts “sink like a stone into the Third Division” is claimed in a book by Welsh’s long-time friend by Sandy Macnair. Sandy has [...]
By Kevin Duguid ALISTAIR Darling has branded Edinburgh City Council’s plans to borrow £231m to extend the city’s tram route as “absolute madness”. The former Chancellor and Edinburgh South West MP says he cannot see how the business case for the trouble-hit project stacks up. And he warned against saddling council tax payers with bills [...]
By Kevin Duguid GANGSTERS conned pensioners out of 80,000 by claiming they were working for the Canadian lottery. A 91-year-old man from Edinburgh and an 84-year-old woman from East Lothian each lost around 40,000 after they were tricked by the fraudsters. The crooks contacted their victims claiming to be agents from a Californian-based company called [...]
By Kirsty Topping A SCOTTISH man has told how he escaped death in the Oslo bomb blast – because his bike lock was broken. Jamie Mackenzie, 45, was caught up in the carnage which hit the Norwegian capital on Friday. The explosion ripped apart a government building and shattered glass in buildings several streets away. [...]
The thermal image shows the unborn baby appearing as green inside the womb AN EDINBURGH tourist attraction gave a mother-to-be an unexpected look at her unborn baby. Camera Obscura and World of Illusions features the Heat Cam thermal imaging camera where the pregnant woman, a visitor from France, was surprised to see her baby show [...]
By Anna Gault Wearing a heart on your sleeve for Zara and Mike SOUVENIR hunters hoping to snatch up mementos of Zara Phillips’ wedding have to look online as Edinburgh shops fail to meet the Royal demand. Stores in the Canongate area of the city, where the wedding is to take place, are lacking in [...]
A SIX-YEAR-OLD girl with diabetes is taking on the Scottish Parliament to raise awareness of her illness. Amalia Holman was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged three and is now lobbying MSPs after being invited along to Holyrood. She was joined by medical research charity Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and her mum, Triinu. Amalia, [...]
By Claire Cameron A GIRL aged 13 was threatened with a knife by a street attacker The teenager was in the Clermiston area of Edinburgh when she was approached from behind. She was pushed to the ground by the man, believed to be aged between 20 and 30 years old. However, she managed to struggle [...]
By Neil Pooran A LAST minute change to laws tackling knife crime has saved Scotland’s largest historical re-enactment festival from the scrapheap or a forced move into England. The future of Scotland’s Festival of History, which takes place in Lanark in August, was put in jeopardy by laws tackling knife crime introduced last year. The [...]
The driver was assaulted by his passenger in a suprise attack A TAXI driver was left shaken after he was attacked by one of his passengers. The 61-year-old man had picked up three people when one of the passengers began to assault him. The man tried to rob the driver after asking to be taken [...]
By Anna Gault THE company behind Edinburgh’s controversial tram project spent over 5m on public relation consultants and lawyers as it argued with contractors. Legal fees totalling 4million were paid out in the past three years by Transport Intiative Edinburgh (TIE), which was established by the Edinburgh City Council to manage the delivery of the [...]
Trotter has planted 100 vines in the garden of his Fife home A SCOT is on course to produce the nation’s first home-grown wine for sale within three years. Chateau Largo is the dream of award-winning food writer Christopher Trotter, who plans to put the first bottles on the shelves by 2014. Trotter has planted [...]
JJ Chambers was injured in Afghanistan A BADLY-wounded Scots soldier has delivered the Best Man’s speech at his brother’s wedding – by videolink from a military hospital. Guests at the wedding of David and Jen Chalmers stood to applaud as brave JJ Chalmers appeared on a video screen live from his bed in Birmingham. The [...]
By Kirsty Topping PLANS for a second runway at Edinburgh airport could be back on track after bosses revealed an expansion in the number of flights. BAA have revealed they expect passenger numbers to rise dramatically over the next few years, and they predict that numbers could double to 20 million by 2040. The rise [...]
Claverhouse Drive where party turned violent. THE MOTHER of a teenager left in a coma after a Facebook house party was today keeping a vigil at her son’s bedside. The 17-year-old was rushed to hospital and had to undergo emergency surgery after an incident in a suburb of Edinburgh when the party turned into a [...]
By Kirsty Topping LAZY Scots councils are failing to fine dog owners who let their pets foul the streets. Officials who catch dog owners failing to clean up have the legal power to impose a fine of up to 500. But some Scots councils are averaging less than one fine a month, according to official [...]
By Alan Robertson RISING sporting stars Lewis and Jason Jarvis may be best of brothers at home – but family loyalty will mean nothing come kick-off. The siblings have just signed for Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibs respectively after arousing interest from both halves of the Old Firm as well. Despite both being Hibees at [...]