THOUSANDS of Hearts fans were exposed to Legionella bacteria as they celebrated their team’s Scottish Cup victory, health officials have confirmed. Jubilant supporters were gathered just 300 metres away from the Edinburgh distillery at the centre of the outbreak as the victory parade passed. Officials at NHS Lothian have interviewed every patient infected with the [...]
THE parents of a teenager who died at the Rockness festival have spoken of their “unbearable” loss following their son’s “catastrophic experiment” with a legal high. Alex Heriot’s mother Deirdre also warned other youngsters not to leave their families bereft. It is thought the keen music loved died after taking a drug known as Benzo [...]
THE national suicide rate in Scotland is higher than that in England, and the rate of deaths among younger adult Scots is even higher still, new research has found. The suicide rate in Scotland between 2000 and 2006 was 79% higher than in England, the study showed. For people aged 15 years and over in [...]
POLICE have issued a warning to festival goers about the dangers of “legal highs” after a 19-year-old died at Rockness. Officers at the Inverness music event say they suspect the man, from Edinburgh, may have taken drugs. A 19 year-old woman and a 20 year-old man were also hospitalised after taking “substances”. Emergency services were called [...]
SCOTTISH Falklands heroes showed “tremendous courage, in the face of great danger”, Keith Brown said today. The Scottish Government’s Veterans Minister was speaking as he prepared to travel to the Islands in the South Atlantic and take part in memorial services, organised by the Falkland Island Government, to mark 30 years since the liberation of [...]
A FIRE at a bus depot which destroyed several vehicles was started deliberately, according to police. The fire broke out around 6am, at the depot in Cliftonhall Road, at the Clifton Industial Estate in Newbridge. The blaze destroyed two cars, two vans, four mini buses four coaches and two camper vans. Nobody was injured in [...]
THOUSANDS of people gathered today to watch the demolition of a multi-storey block of flats at Red Road in the North of Glasgow. A triple-block of flats at Petershill Drive was blown down in a controlled explosion. The demolition is part of regeneration plans for the city. Many of the former tenants of the flats [...]
GOLF ace Colin Montgomerie has branded Britain “lazy” for failing to learn foreign languages. Monty said too many people resort to speaking loudly in order to be understood when travelling abroad. He berated his countrymen for not making more of an effort to learn a foreign language and admitted he is ashamed of our lack [...]
HARRY Potter fans will be able to walk in author JK Rowling’s footsteps when a new tour launches later this year. The Potter Trail will take devotees on a sour of sites that inspired Rowling as she wrote her best-selling series. It follows on from similar literary tours dedicated to Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh and [...]
SCOTLAND’S other national drink has been branded the worst substance for staining carpets. Irn Bru has proved harder to clean up than lipstick, red wine and even permanent marker. The sweet orange beverage lived up to its infamous “made from girders” slogan by coming top of a list of hard-to-shift stains on household carpets. The [...]
SCOTLAND’S most remote islands are at the centre of a bitter legal battle between a charity and a local authority. Western Isles Council wants to produce merchandise related to the deserted islands of St Kilda, which were evacuated in 1930, to capitalise on interest on interest the picturesque archipelago. But National Trust for Scotland (NTS), [...]
TEACHERS have hit out at a Scottish Government “diktat” to introduce a compulsory question on Scottish literature into the Higher English exam. The decision by education secretary Mike Russell, due to come into force in 2014, was dismissed as “nationalistic fervour” by Scotland’s largest teaching union. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is now backing [...]
TROUBLED football ace Gary O’Connor was sensationally cleared of an insurance fraud charge in just 90 seconds today. The 29-year-old was found not guilty of making a fraudulent £100,000 insurance claim after a crash involving his Ferrari supercar in April last year. O’Connor had gone on trial accused of falsely claiming to be in the [...]
TRAM workers have been accused of turning Princes Street into a £1bn private car park. Fenced-off areas of the famous street are used by as many as eight tram works staff as free parking for their cars, infuriating local businesses. Just yards away, motorists who have suffered years of inconvenience because of the works are [...]
AN ANCIENT claymore belonging to Clan Maclean has been stolen just two weeks before a huge gathering. The 300-year-old sword – thought to be worth at least £2,500 – was stolen from Duart Castle, the clan’s stronghold on the Isle of Mull, between Sunday and Monday. It had stood proudly on a shelf in the [...]
REVELLERS have been tricked out of hundreds of pounds as a result of a “shoulder surfing” scam in clubs and pubs. Thieves stand close by as their intended victim pays for drinks using plastic and note the PIN number. They then steal the bank cards from their purse or wallet later in the evening when [...]
CANNABIS plants worth £30,000 have been seized in Fife. Officers from Cowdenbeath Community Team havebeen targeting local cannabis dealers who cultivate the drugs for personal use and to supply to others. Acting on information supplied by concerned members of the public, officers carried out five searches of houses in recent weeks, recovering cannabis with a [...]
COMPULSORY wearing of bike helmets should be abandoned, a leading cycling group has claimed. Spokes says it will no longer promote cycling events which insist on protective headgear, claiming helmets can make bike users more vulnerable. The Edinburgh-based charity, which has been promoting cycling for 20 years, believes helmet-wearing riders are at greater risk because [...]
A STRAY tortoise has been found roaming in woodland in Dumfries and Galloway. A member of the public spotted the male tortoise while walking in Colvend Woods near Dalbeattie on Tuesday and handed him in to nearby boarding kennels. Staff at the kennels then contacted the Scottish SPCA for help. Nicknamed Gonzales, the tortoise is [...]
ONE of Robert Louis Stevenson’s finest tales is being released as a new play for children. Treasure Island: A Play by Lynn Brittney has been produced by students at Edinburgh Napier university and illustrated by Scottish school children. The play, which includes a foreword by Michael Russell MSP, uses excerpts from Stevenson’s original text which [...]