Instead of harvesting a vegetable crop, the workers will have to dig out the syringes found at the Kirkcaldy plot.

The sickening discovery was made in an area where children regularly play.

Work has been suspended while an investigation is carried out

But the land has been earmarked as an allotment and Fife council has halted preparation work while an investigation is carried out.

Fife council’s allotment officer, Peter Duncan, said: A great deal of work has gone into regenerating this area of land and improving the appearance of the local area.

“This was open space that in the past attracted anti-social behaviour and vast amounts of fly tipping.

“This has now been cleared and the land cultivated.

“Unfortunately when fences were being put up on site some syringes were found and it was felt in the best interests of employee and public safety that work should stop to allow a proper assessment of the area.”

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John Martin Riva, 49, pled guilty to breaking health and safety laws.

He had been contracted to rebuild the chimney on a property in Gifford, East Lothian between 8 August 2009 and 26 October 2009..

Riva failed to ensure that it was fully cleared of any debris and masonry materials that had fallen in.

The chimney was thus left blocked when the fire in the living room of the house was brought into use by the Ross family who lived there.

The blockage impeded the combustion process of the solid fuel fireplace in the living room, and caused the fumes from the fireplace to build up, causing an accumulation of carbon monoxide to which the three occupants of the house were exposed

Mrs Ceridwen Ross died on 26 October 2009 as a result of the exposure.

Following the case, Elaine Taylor, Head of the COPFS Health and Safety Division, said: “This case demonstrates yet again the importance of employers and contractors being aware of the risks not only to their own employees, but to all of those who may be affected by the work they carry out.

“If Mr Riva had taken the simple steps necessary to identify the risks associated with his work and acted upon them, Mrs Ross would not have lost her life in an entirely avoidable incident.

“Today our thoughts are with her family.”

HSE Inspector Gillian McLean said: “This was a tragic incident which could easily have been prevented if the accused had carried out simple and well-established tests to ensure the chimney was free from obstruction following building work he had carried out.

“These are standard and recognised tests well known to the building industry and we hope this successful prosecution will draw attention to these tests to ensure workers carry them out in the future in order to avoid similar devastating consequences.”

Martin Ross Phillips turned up while under the influence of alcohol at Craigellachie children’s home in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, in December 2010.

Mr Phillips punched and slapped a child, put a child in the home in a headlock,  and sat on another staff member.

Despite the mayhem, Mr Phillips escaped being banned from the profession and was given a warning by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) which will stay on his record for four years.

He also kept his job with Wets Dunbartonshire Council, who gave Mr Phillips a final written warning.

Hurt

The SSSC said Mr Phillips’ behavior caused children at the home to join in with the “antics,” which happened on 17 December 2010 when Mr Phillips was not supposed to be on shift.

The Council said some of the children “were slightly hurt by the registrant’s actions and they were clearly annoyed and upset by the registrant’s comments and behaviour”.

Other children “appeared to find the registrant’s actions amusing, if somewhat unexpected for a worker, and they actively engaged with the registrant’s antics”, they added.

Mr Phillips also wrestled a colleague, named only as FD, to the ground, sat on her, and challenged her to sit on him.

The Council said he “was disrespectful towards his colleague FD by lifting up her legs, sitting on top of her and telling her to sit on top of him.”

Insulting

He also swore at a child and attempted to put her in a headlock, before saying she was “too fat” for this.

The Council, which refers to children as “service users”, said: “The registrant used derogatory and insulting language including swear words towards service user KC by saying to her “shut up ******” and stating to her “I smell *****”.

“The registrant also attempted to place service user KC in a headlock but failed stating that she was ‘too fat for this.’”

He then slapped a child named as CW on the head and put a child named as LM in a head lock.

Announcing their decision to issue Mr Phillips with a warning, the SSSC said he had a 20-year record which was previously unblemished.

Dignity

The SSSC said his actions “resulted in harm being caused to service users” and he did not “respect and maintain the dignity and privacy of service users.”

The warning will mean he has to tell any prospective employers there have been concerns about his conduct.

The sanction was imposed by the SSSC’s investigating officer without a public hearing.

He had also been given a Final Written Warning by his employer, West Dunbartonshire Council.

A council spokeswoman said: “The Council does not comment on matters relating to individual employees.”

A MAN who allowed his dog to suffer severely has been banned from keeping animals for ten years.

Steven Drewett, 65, of Logie Place, Aberdeen, was sentenced at the city’s sheriff court on Wednesday and fined £850.

Drewett had previously pled guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to his female springer spaniel, named Sheba, by failing to provide necessary care, attention and veterinary treatment.

The vet decided to put the spaniel to sleep

A vet alerted Scotland’s animal welfare charity to Sheba’s terrible condition after Drewett took her to a local surgery believing she was about to give birth.

However, it was clear to the vet that Sheba was not pregnant but was suffering from mammary tumours which had become ulcerated.

She was unable to stand, was so weak she could barely lift her head and her legs were soaked with urine and liquid faeces.

Sadly, the vet’s decision was that Sheba was in such pain that the kindest decision was to put her to sleep and end any further suffering.

Scottish SPCA Inspector Fiona McKenzie said, “We are pleased Drewett has received a ten year ban on keeping animals following our investigation.

“This was a very serious case of neglect and by far one of the worst I have ever seen.

“The vet’s advice was that Sheba had not suddenly become ill and she experienced discomfort and pain for a period of weeks to months.

“Drewett allowed Sheba to suffer without seeking veterinary attention and demonstrated he is completely unfit to care for any animal.

“Pets rely on their owners entirely for their wellbeing and it is unacceptable for someone to ignore their animal while it suffers in silence.”

Lothian and Borders Police choir will get a private lesson from the “six-man sound machine”.

They will learn to replicate sounds from drums and percussion instruments using only their voices.

Beatboxers use their voice to replicate instrument sounds  Photo:Adam Riggall

The bizarre set-up mirrors the Police Academy series of films, which features a beatboxing character called “Motormouth” Jones.

The choir wrote to The Magnets after being inspired by the group’s show at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe.

Andrew Russell, who is musical director of the choir, said: “Some of our members heard The Magnets at the Festival and they loved the way they arranged and performed their songs.

“We’ve arranged something very similar to something they’ve done with Living’ on a Prayer, so we thought why not ask them to do a workshop and have a bit of fun. They were completely up for it.

“There are plenty of choirs who run through the traditional repitoire but we want to do something a bit different.

“Their beatboxing skills are incredible and it’s something we want to add to our skill set. Beatboxing adds rhythm to songs and can bring certain ones to life.

“We’re delighted that The Magnets decided to give us a session.”

Michel Welton, of The Magnets, said: “This is an opportunity to get down with the kids. If they can drop a few beats it might give them some street cred.

“We’re going to be teaching them the basics of beatboxing. I imagine with all of them there it’s going to be a massive sound.

“We’ve done a fair number of workshops around the country, but never with police before. It’s not who we were expecting to work with but it makes a nice change and i’m sure it will be a laugh.”

More than 70 members make up the choir, which was formed in 2008, and includes members who work as officers, detectives forensic specialists, other force staff and some civilians.

The group has performed in the Scottish Parliament, on Scottish radio and have performed sell-out shows at the Festival and in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall.

Last year they travelled to New York to represent Scotland in 9/11 commemorative events.

The Magnets signed a record deal in 2001 and have since performed with  Michael Ball, Tom Jones and Geri Halliwell.

They have performed six times at the fringe and are currently preparing for this year’s Festival.

More than 50 members of the choir are expected to attend the workshop, which will be held before The Magnets go on stage in Kilmarnock on Monday night.

Akbar Ali was threatened by the thug as he served customers in his West Lothian corner shop.

The man waved an eight inch blade at Mr Ali and demanded he hand over cash.

The robber walks into the shop around 2.14

As the robber tried to grab the till, Mr Ali launched into action seizing a fold-up stool and beating the man with it until he fled empty handed.

During the terrifying ordeal, which happened in Fauldhouse at around 5.45pm on Sunday, several customers remained in the store.

Mr Ali, 54, who lives in Fauldhouse, said: “I think the robber must have been waiting outside. He had his face covered with a scarf and a hood.

“I’ve lived in Fauldhouse all my life and I thought it was someone having a bit of a joke.

“When I realised what was happening I was shocked, but I didn’t want to let him away with the money.

“I lifted up the stool and began defending myself. He had this eight-inch kitchen knife and I kept hitting him with the stool.

“He kept coming back but eventually he just ran off.”

Mr Ali used a plastic folding stool to hold off the robber

The man is described as white and tall with a stocky build, wearing a dark hooded top, blue jeans, brown Timberland boots, gloves and a grey Tammy hat.

A scarf or other item of clothing was covering his face.

But a defiant Mr Ali has vowed not to let the robber stop him running his business, and opened the store as normal the next day.

“You just have to get on with things,” he said. “I’ve had a shop in Fauldhouse for years and nothing like this has happened to me before.

“I would like to say to the public, if you know who this person is, please help the police to find him.”

His wife, Sheida Ali, 52, said: “It’s so frightening. I’ve worked in the shop for 25 years and never really worried but now I think, ‘what could be around the corner’?

“I only hope the police catch him soon before anyone else has to go through what we did.”

Akbar Ali hit out at the robber who came into his store

Lothian and Borders Police have appealed for witnesses to the incident.

A spokesman said: “The shopkeeper was very brave to fight this man off despite being presented with a knife.

“We are now keen to speak with anyone in the area at 5.45pm [on Sunday] and who remembers seeing anything or anyone suspicious.”

The robbery is just one of a series of incidents in which shop keepers have been threatened with a knife.

Last month robbers made off with thousands of pounds after targeting stores in Musselburgh and Armadale.

And in the last year Edinburgh has seen the number of reported robberies, including those on Shopkeepers, rise to 461 between April last year and March, compared to 399 the previous year.

The map of Scotland was given away to newspaper readers in the UK and Ireland in a bid to boost “staycation” tourism.

But two communities in the picturesque East Neuk of Fife were put in completely the wrong place by VisitScotland, the government-funded body that promotes tourism.

The map shows Pittenweem and St Monans as having swapped places

Pittenweem is two miles down the coast from where it should be.

And St Monans is shown in exactly the spot where Pittenweem should be.

The map, which cost a total of £72,000 to produce, proudly proclaims: “We’ll point you in the right direction.”

Local historian Leonard Low said: “It’s crazy. These people are supposed to be bringing tourism into Scotland and to mix up the villages is mad.

“Someone is not doing their job right. Scotland’s national tourist body should not be making a mistake like this.

“The maps should be reprinted. It’s wrong, it’s like printing a wrong bank note, it must be corrected.”

Malcolm Roughead, CEO of VisitScotland said:  “Unfortunately the map was provided for us by a third party which specialises in maps which should have been accurate. However, we accept that we should have made sure it was correct and we are sorry if it has caused offence.”

Regional director Richard Pinn said the mistake was due to what he called “slippage”.

“We work with a well-reputed publisher on the map, which is included in our direct mail as part of our new Explore campaign,” he said.

“The team has made every effort to check the information and locations shown but, unfortunately, there has been some slippage with the locations on the Fife coastline in the final print run.

“We expect this to have minimal impact on visitors to the region and the direct mail is just one aspect of the campaign, which is reaching over a million households.

“Fife has had a high-profile campaign running on radio and in the media including national and local press titles, encouraging even more people to visit the Kingdom this year.

“The Explore campaign has been very well received by local stakeholders and partners throughout Scotland because it engages with a local sense of place. Tourism groups throughout Scotland have also recently approached us to get involved in the campaign as it offers great collaboration opportunities to work together.”

Earlier this year ferry operator Caledonian Macbrayne had to apologise for issuing a map which put hotels and bed and breakfasts on the wrong islands.

Errors included hotels in Barra which were placed on the map 50 miles away in Skye, and A South Uist hotel was wrongly placed on North Uist.

The company had to reprint 175,000 copies of its Explore brochure, which was designed to be guides to visiting Scotland’s islands, after the local businesses reacted with fury.

VisitScotland published research recently which showed tourism was not affected by Scotland’s wind farms, contradicting the views of American billionaire Donald Trump.

Gael Mackinnon collapsed on Sunday morning after a night out with friends during which she talked about her plans for the future.

Gael, who worked part-time as a barmaid, was enjoying a sports science degree at Edinburgh University.

Gail was sporty and enjoyed jogging daily.

Just days before she died, a joyful Gael had been reunited with her brother, Euan, after he returned from Australia.

Her 24-year-old sister, Dawn, broke the news to friends on Facebook, writing: “She died after a heart attack.

“I can’t express how amazing she was. Many thanks for everyone’s support, she was truly loved by everyone.”

Gael, from Bathgate, West Lothian, grew up on a farm, and attended the Rudolph Steiner School in Edinburgh.

Her brother, Euan, is understood to live in Australia and flew back to Scotland on Friday.

An excited Gael wrote on her Facebook page that day: “Off to get Euan Mackinnon at the airport.”

She told close friends it was the first time she, Euan and Dawn had been together for a long time.

Gael was known at the pub where she worked for never taking a day off sick in four years.

Brenda Henderson, manager of the Southsider pub in Newington, Edinburgh, said: “She was just the most gorgeous barmaid, very bubbly and so loved by every member of staff and customers.

“We always said she was the most gorgeous barmaid at the Southsider, but she was also hard working and reliable – if anyone needed a shift covered, she would be the first person I asked.”

She added: “We are still in a complete state of shock. She was very healthy and never took a day sick off work. Gael used to jog around Arthur’s Seat everyday and planned to talk part in a Moonwalk for charity this year.

“She also enjoyed practising her sports massage skills on other members of staff.

“It is really sad because before she died she was the happiest I had ever seen her.

“When she didn’t turn up for work on Sunday it was the first time she had missed a shift and I was just so shocked when her aunt called us to say what had happened.

“Gael was really enjoying her sport therapy course at Edinburgh University and also loved being on her family’s farm. She particularly enjoyed lambing and things like that.”

The student’s love of sport and adventure took her to Cuba two years ago, where she went rock climbing with friends.

Gael’s friends paid moving tribute to the tragic youngster on her Facebook page.

One friend, Connor Stewart, said: I’m really going to miss your cheery attitude to life, you were such a hard working person and still managed to stay smiling no matter how hard your busy life got.

“Nothing will be the same without you, the bus trips past the sea will always remind me of you. Thank you so much for all that you gave me and I hope you are in a better place, Goodbye

Evelyn Jellema, who had known Gael since her school days, said: “I am devastated that the world has taken such a wonderful life from us, you were the kindest, sunniest person I have ever had the privilege to know and I will miss you more than words can say. love you always and forever more, rest in peace.”

Rachel Barr added: “My beautiful friend, I can’t believe that you are gone. I’m completely devastated and can think of nothing to say other than that I have a million things I wanted to tell you.

“My time with you will always be in my thoughts and I know you have touched the lives of so many others and will live on in their memories too. I wish with all my heart that you would come back now but, failing that, please rest in peace. I love you.”

The Scottish firm has asked fans to come up with names for a new ale to commemorate Diageo’s failed bid to stop them winning Bar Operator of the Year.

Diageo was forced to apologise for trying to pressure the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) in to withdrawing the gong, even threatening to pull its advertising.

Brewdog are sad that they still haven’t received the award.

Brewdog said today that they have still not received the award trophy – 10 days after the Glasgow awards ceremony was plunged into chaos.

The company have now revealed on their Facebook and Twitter pages that they are planning a new beer to mark Diageo’s spectacular PR disaster.

The firm wrote: “Might brew a beer to commemorate the Diageo Scandal. But what should we call it?”

Some of the more creative suggestions from beer fans include “Scandale” and “Fail Ale”.

A spokeswoman for the firm, based in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, said: “They are indeed thinking about it, although nothing had been decided as yet with regards to beer name or content.”

The BII had engraved Brewdog’s name on the award when representatives from sponsors Diageo – whose brands including Guinness, Smirnoff and Baileys – overruled them.

Farcical scenes ensued as the intended new recipients refused to accept the honour. The BII apologised for bowing to pressure and confirmed Brewdog as the winners.

But James Watt, the co-founder of BrewDog, said the company had still not received its award.

He said: “We think the Diageo CEO should hand deliver us the award with an apology in person.”

He added: “For a business like BrewDog, awards can make a huge difference.”

A spokeswoman for BrewDog added: “No-one from the BII has confirmed either way as to whether BrewDog will receive the award, but from a moral standpoint they’re disappointed with the whole incident which makes a mockery of the awards process.

“BrewDog won the award for their outstanding bar division and the recognition is important to them.”

BrewDog was founded five years ago by Mr Watt and school-friend Martin Dickie after they entered their homebrew into a Tesco taste competition.

Within this time the company has grown from a £30,000 brewery to a turnover of £7million.

This year’s projected revenue is £12million.

No-one was available to comment from Diageo.

The firm has previously blamed the scandal on a “serious misjudgement by Diageo staff”.

Dakota, a seven year old cross breed, originally arrived in the Scottish SPCA’s care as a stray three years ago.

Unfortunately, after being found a caring new home he was taken back in February due to his owner’s personal circumstances.

Dakota was originally rescued as a stray

Staff at the charity’s Ayrshire and South West Scotland Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre are keen to ensure Dakota finds somewhere permanent where he can spend the rest of his life but have had virtually no interest from people wishing to take him on.

Centre manager Marion Hainey said, “Dakota is such a friendly and affectionate dog who absolutely loves going for walks and playing with his toys.

“However, he is very quiet in his kennel which may be one of the reasons he’s been back here for three months and has had no luck.

Despite being rehomed, Dakota is now back in the care of the Scottish SPCA

“The fact he can’t go to a household with young children or other animals is also making it more difficult to find him a new home.

“Dakota does tend to get overly excited when meeting other dogs so he would benefit from an owner with the confidence and experience to work on this with him and help him become the true star we know he is.

“We are longing to find him the home he can grow old in and have all the love and attention he deserves.”

Anyone interested in taking on Dakota can call the Scottish SPCA Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999 and ask to be connected to the Ayrshire and South West Scotland Centre.