VISITORS and animal welfare experts have criticised Edinburgh Zoo for its “heartbreaking” treatment of one of the world’s most endangered animals. Seven-year-old Amur Leopard Skodje – one of only 200 left in the world – is the subject of complaints that he is constantly pacing in an enclosure measuring around 20ft wide and 30ft deep. [...]
ONE of the country’s biggest charities is investigating after a volunteer claimed he was sent home and humiliated – for wearing the wrong trousers. Carlos Sanz, 42, from Dundee, says he was twice hauled before bosses at a British Heart Foundation shop after a manager decided his trousers were not dark enough. Despite giving his [...]
ACCIDENT rates on one of Scotland’s most notorious roads are twice as high on two-lane sections as they are on dual carriageway. The revelation will pile pressure on the Scottish Government to complete the upgrading of the A1 between Edinburgh and the English border. Despite the horrifically high accident rate on the road, much of [...]
A SCOTTISH minister is complaining that his village cemetery has run out of space to bury the dead. Rev John Reid is upset that people who may have lived all their life in the Fife community of Kinghorn are having to be buried in neighbouring towns. And the determined churchman revealed he went undercover the [...]
HOLLYWOOD star Ewan McGregor has branded the BBC “ridiculous” for criticising fellow thespian James McAvoy for his latest theatre role. Theatre legend Jonathan Miller claimed on a BBC programme that theatre bosses were of “dumbing down” by casting film actors such as McAvoy in high-brow stage productions. But McGregor – who himself has trodden the [...]
A TERMINAL cancer patient decided to have a laugh from beyond the grave – by writing her own death notice branding herself “nagging”. Courageous mother of one Elizabeth Duncan – who died earlier this month aged 59 – also posthumously described herself as “demanding” and “grumpy”. Elizabeth’s husband, David, 53, said it was typical of [...]
A ROYAL Marine is taking legal action after the former pub which he made his home was accidentally demolished. Shocked Ross Hunt has been left with a £600-a-month mortgage on a pile of rubble after the disused bar was razed by an over-zealous wrecking crew. The warrant officer in the Royal Marines Band paid £150,000 [...]
EMELI Sande has hit back at Noel Gallagher after he said her “music was for grannies”. On Thursday the Oasis guitarist said: “Emeli Sande? That is f****** music for grannies. I don’t get it.” But plucky Sande – who just won Best Female and Best Album at the Brits last month – fought back on [...]
THE Queen’s wedding dress is set to return to Scotland – more than 70 years after it was made in Fife. Barbara Unwin, now 85, worked in secret at a textile factory in Dunfermline to produce the exquisite silk material. Now a new museum being built in the town is asking the Royal Collection for [...]
AMBULANCE chiefs have blamed Scotland’s drinking culture for attacks on paramedics soaring by more than a third over the past three years. Shocking figures from the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) show the number of assaults on crews jumped from 228 in 2010 to 306 in 2012. Emergency workers found themselves the victims of “pushing, punching [...]
HEARTS bosses have taken offline a recording by young fans of the club anthem after it was targeted by foul-mouthed net trolls. Five members of the Big Hearts Music Project, aged between 11 and 15, recorded the classic Hearts Song. But the recording attracted a torrent of vile comments online. The youngsters’ recording of the [...]
ONE in ten streets in Scotland’s capital has failed to meet national cleanliness standards. Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) gave Edinburgh one of its lowest-ever scores as a result of its litter, cigarette ends and dog mess-infested streets. Just 89% of the city’s streets passed the Cleanliness Index Monitoring System (CIMS) survey. Council bosses have blamed [...]
AN eight year old Scot has managed to swim 22 miles across the English Channel – all from the comfort of his local swimming pool. Determined youngster Ivan Burt-Smith managed to swim 1,416 lengths of the pool near his home in Selkirk, Scottish Borders, to raise cash to repair the roof of his Scout hall. [...]
THE male-dominated world of piping is being challenged by a school band which is 80% female. Preston Lodge High School in Prestonpans, East Lothian, has 31 members 24 of whom are girls. According to their instructor, girls are now taking the majority of places because they are so determined to “master” their instrument. Preston [...]
A NURSE faces claims she gave elderly care home residents alcohol – in one case claiming it was cranberry juice. Nurse Heather Susan Thompson is charged with giving drink to six residents at Hill View Care Home, Clydebank, without considering how it would react with their medication. She faces further charges she “inappropriately restrained” a [...]
BOSSES at an offshore firm have banned workers from putting milk on their morning cereal – saying staff are “milking” them. Sparrows’ 450-strong workforce, based in Aberdeen, are said to have gone through the equivalent of three cows’ worth of milk every day provided by the company. Union leaders branded the move “petty”, and workers [...]
SCOTLAND’S “Traffic Cone Tsar” is facing calls for the chop after spending over £1m to dish out fines worth just £90,000. The £300,000-a-year office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner was set up by the Government in 2005 to monitor roadworks firms and fine those responsible for delays and shoddy work. But the office of [...]
A MOTHER who was killed by a crashing rally car made a heroic attempt to push a child to safety a split-second before tragedy struck. A witness to the horror said Joy Robson’s selfless actions almost certainly saved the eight-year-old boy’s life. Joy, from Portree, Skye, was pinned under a Honda Civic which careered off [...]
HEARTLESS thieves have struck at children’s hospitals in Scotland at least 80 times in the past five years. Christmas gifts, games consoles, toys, and even cash belonging to stressed parents are among the stolen items worth thousands of pounds. Patients’ groups branded the crooks responsible as the “lowest of the low”. There were 15 thefts [...]
HORSE meat is proving so popular at a Scottish restaurant the chef has doubled his weekly order. The Mongolian-style restaurant in Edinburgh put horse flesh on the menu a few weeks before the contaminated beef scandal broke. Chef Maciej Troscianko said his customers had reacted by going mad for horse meat. His unnamed English supplier [...]