DISNEY movie Brave has flopped on DVD because international audiences are struggling with its Scottish “quirks”. The animated movie has shifted six million copies worldwide compared with sales of 11 million copies of Disney’s 2009 hit Up. Despite taking £364m at the box office last year, critics claim Brave lacks the “wider appeal” needed to [...]
TRAM bosses have revealed they are down to their last £20m with a year still to go to finish the controversial project. Latest accounts show £756m has already been spent on the scheme since it began in 2009, leaving just £19.3m in the coffers. The biggest fees included £230m on contractors, £86m on management and [...]
THE £30-a-day maximum fine faced by a private firm running one of Scotland’s biggest hospitals is a scandal and should be increased, an MSP demanded today. The NHS contract with maintenance contractors Consort means the firm can be fined a maximum of £28.24 daily for blunders, even if they shut operating theatres. Nationalist MSP Jim [...]
A DEMOTED nurse tried to take revenge on his boss by threatening to expose him in the press unless he was given £3,000. But Paul Bambrick’s crude attempt to extort cash backfired spectacularly when he was sacked from his job – and suspended from the profession. The mental health nurse was demoted from Band 5 [...]
A ZOO hit by a devastating fire which killed dozens of animals has been “overwhelmed” by well-wishers who have donated more than £23,000. Five Sisters Zoo in Polbeth, West Lothian lost many animals including an otter, meerkats and snakes after the fire in the early hours of Sunday. The plight of the zoo has so touched Scottish [...]
A JOKE picture of a haggis family living free in the wilds of Scotland has fooled dozens of animal lovers around the globe. The image – which has become a hit on social media – shows a mother haggis surrounding by four adorable infants. Haggis are described in the Facebook post as “elusive” and “shy [...]
A WINDOW pane in the Scottish Parliament smashed apart and plummeted to the ground near a staff entrance in the latest architectural mishap to hit the building. Glass from a skylight on the Ministerial Tower’s fourth floor landed near the Cannongate entrance in Edinburgh yesterday. The window shattered after a neighbouring window blew open in yesterday’s high [...]
ARMED police are searching soldiers’ homes for an assault rifle which went missing from a secure armoury at a Scots barracks. Civilian and Royal Military Police officers are hunting for the powerful SA80 rifle, which went missing from Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh. The weapon, which is fitted with optical sight, can fire 600 high-velocity bullets [...]
EMERGENCY heart surgery patients in Edinburgh will have to travel to Glasgow for life-saving surgery next weekend, after clinical staff refused to provide out-of-hours cover. The team of ‘clinical perfusionists’, that ensure patients get enough oxygen during high-risk procedures, have told bosses at NHS Lothian that they will not work out-of-hours shifts in protest at [...]
EDINBURGH was plunged into chaos today after a power cut brought hundreds of homes and businesses in the city to a standstill. The blackout, caused by a fault at a sub-station, meant much of the north of the city was left powerless for up to 30 minutes. Shoppers at department store John Lewis were trapped [...]
A CARE home boss has been suspended from the nursing profession after remarking while looking at job applications: “I’ll make sure that f***ing Indian doesn’t get that job.” Mary Marion Mills, former head of care at Rowantree and Rodgerpark care home, Glasgow, also called a colleague a “black b******”. A total of seven charges against [...]
THE only travel agent in Scotland selling tickets for Sir Richard Branson’s space tours has admitted he hasn’t sold a single ticket in two years. Dream Escape, who bagged exclusive seller rights in February 2011, has failed to secure buyers for the trips which cost £130,000 each. Across the globe nearly 600 people have signed [...]
STAFF at a Scottish zoo are “devastated” after a horrific blaze tore through their enclosures and killed dozens of animals. In a blaze described as “our worst nightmare”, the owners of Five Sisters Zoo in Polbeth, West Lothian discovered the tropical house was on fire in the early hours of this morning . Around 50 firefighters battled [...]
UGLY Betty star Ashley Jensen has said Britain has become a more “brutal” place – and warned cuts to youth centres will make it worse. The actress, who played Christina in the US show as well as Maggie in the BBC’s Extras, has returned to the UK after six years in Los Angeles. The 43-year-old, who was [...]
GLASGOW’S Central Station will host weekly jazz concerts and dance performances in a bid to turn it into a “destination” station. Managers at the station, the second-busiest in the UK outside London, hope the main concourse performances will see passengers will stay for longer before catching their trains. Network Rail hope other stations will follow Glasgow’s example [...]
SCOTLAND’s leading chef has called for a crackdown on scallop dredging, saying it threatens the environment and coastal communities. In a move which has angered trawler fishermen, Andrew Fairlie, the only Scottish chef with two Michelin stars, has called for a ban on dredging in shallow inshore waters. The £30-million-a-year industry involves trawlers dragging large [...]
A QUICK-thinking bus driver has been short-listed for a prestigious award after he came to the rescue of a couple trapped in a crashed car. Steven Godfrey was driving First’s 68 service near Ancrum in the Scottish Borders when he came across a BMW X5 lying on its side, which seemed to have crashed into [...]
MEN are muscling in on a underground sport that has already proved a massive hit with the fairer sex. Roller derby has been taken up by hundreds of Scottish women who enjoy belting around a track on roller skates while knocking lumps out of the opposition. Now the men are playing catch-up by forming the [...]
THE boss of a Scots body armour firm has been shot, stabbed and slashed in one of his own bulletproof vests. In order to put his product to the ultimate test, Sam Sarkar was shot from just three meters by a 9mm round. The 35-year-old former Royal Navy sailor walked away smiling after being shot [...]
FIREFIGHTERS have condemned a Scots council for fining a motorist who drove in a bus lane to let emergency vehicles get past. Dr Catherine Berry, a Glasgow University lecturer, was astonished when she received a £30 fine after moving into a bus lane to let two speeding fire engines past. The 38-year-old mum of three [...]