Star gazers will be in the best place in Scotland to see sights like the Northern Lights

A NEW “dark sky” observatory – the first in Scotland – is to be built in Ayrshire

The Scottish Dark Sky Observatory will create a state-of-the-art visitor attraction for budding stargazers and astronomers inBritain’s only dark sky park.

The new facility will be located in Galloway Forest Park, one of only 10 parks in the world to be recognised by the International Dark Sky Association.

The new observatory builds on the park’s “dark sky” status and offers visitors a chance to observe the Northern Lights, the Milky Way, planets, comets and shooting stars.

The £680,000 project is receiving £94,000 in funding from the Scottish Government.

As well as attracting astronomers, the facility will be an educational resource for schools, colleges and universities. The project hopes to capitalise on the recent popularity of the BBC’s Stargazing Live programme, which captured the imagination of almost 3.8 million viewers this month.

The site chosen for the observatory is within a pristine landscape and has been confirmed the best possible by the Royal Observatory, with the darkest skies of the Dark Sky Park.

Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing praised the project.

He said: “Scotland has made an immense contribution to shaping the modern world through science and research excellence, and this new observatory builds on our reputation as a hotbed of innovation and ideas.

“The creation of a state-of-the-art, first of its kind inBritain, observatory will attract stargazers and astronomers from near and far. Almost four million people tuned into the BBC’s Stargazing Live programme and it is hoped that this new observatory will capitalise on the success of the show and capture the imagination of people of all ages.

“The Galloway Forest Park area enjoys some of the darkest skies in the world and this new facility will showcase the area’s stunning natural scenery and resources to attract new visitors and investment to Ayrshire.”

Observatory Manager Cath Seeds said: “We have worked so hard over the last two years to generate the enthusiasm and raise funds for this project. It is wonderful that we can come together today and officially start the construction of the Observatory.

“Often, the science can feel overwhelming, so we want the observatory to break down these barriers by bringing together astronomy, nocturnal natural history and arts and crafts inspired by the night sky.

“We also want to play a key role in the future development of this area. Great things are occurring and great talent is abundant. Our role is to improve science in our community, whether by inspiring the next generation of scientists or providing the spark needed by an inventor to produce something truly remarkable.”

Vicky Dann says after the first blessing the hauntings got worse

A SCOTTISH minister has been called in to perform two exorcism ceremonies at a haunted house.

The Reverend Keith Mack performed the special blessings at the home in Dalkeith, Midlothian, after Vicky Dann and her family continued to see “ghostly figures”.

The Rev Mack, Church of Scotland Minister at St Johns and Kings Park Church, carried out the first exorcism a fortnight ago but was called in again after the ghostly goings-on appeared to get worse.

He performed a second ceremony today, moving from room to room and saying a prayer in each one in a bid to cast out the spirits.

Rev Mack said: “Sometimes this kind of thing comes up and we have blessed a few houses, and it seems to have done the trick.

“However, it doesn’t seem to have worked fully here, it seems to have got worse.

“I will speak to a few other ministers and see what they would do.”

Miss Dann, 40, called the Reverend for help after being left petrified of the family home she shares with her two daughters Jenna, 18 and Emma, 11.

She started noticing the spooky goings on around two years ago and claims to have photographic evidence of orbs and other ghosts.

Terrifying

She also says her daughters regularly see ghosts in the two-bedroomed, detached property.

She said: “Emma swears that she sees a man with boots on, in a black suit and a cap coming through our door and disappearing down the hall.

“Jenna said she sees a woman with blonde hair and a white nightie standing in the hall.

“Every time we take pictures in the house we either get orbs or people we don’t know in them.

Rev Keith Mack has performed two exorcisms at Vicky's home

“You feel like you’re going mad,” she said. “It’s a weird thing to say but sometimes you can sense that somebody is watching you watching you. If I get the sense that someone’s watching me, I take a picture on my mobile.”

Miss Dunn has taken around 100 pictures which she claims prove the ghostly sightings are not a figment of her imagination.

Following today’s blessing, she said: “The whole thing took about an hour and he asked me after if I felt any difference. I’m not holding out much hope though.

“He said he had done blessings in the past but after he was here the last time it got much worse.

“My friends and family are all scared to come over. They felt really scared after seeing all my photos.”

Miss Dunn insisted she was once a “complete sceptic” about the supernatural.

She said: “If someone had told me this had happened then I would have just laughed, but it is terrifying. When I see the photos I can hardly breathe.”

She has also contacted Historic Scotland in the hope they can provide some answers.

She said: “I don’t want to move, but if we don’t get rid of them, I think we will have to move.”

A spokesman for Castle Rock Edinvar, the owners of the property, said: “Ms Dann has asked for our help in providing information on the history of the area. We will work together with her to find the best solution to this situation.”

A Midlothian Council spokesman said: “We received a public enquiry about the history of a specific area and –as per normal practice – responded.

Visitors from another realm? Or something else? What do you think?

Vicky claims this picture shows ghostly goings on near her daughters Jenna, left, and Emma, right, in the hallway of their home

Emma's jacket appears to have a face on it

Vicky says she photographed this orb in the bedroom of her home

Two faces appear in the living room of Vicky's Dalkeith home

Police say the man and woman stole hundreds of pounds

A 91-year-old man was left shaken after two thugs forced their way into his home and robbed him of hundreds of pounds.

A man and a woman broke into the elderly man’s home in the Leith area of Edinburgh at around 3.20pm today (Fri).

Police say the pair made off with a three-figure sum of cash.

It’s believed the pensioner was unharmed in the raid and did not require medical attention.

The man is described being around 40-years-old, 5ft 10ins, with a skinny build. He was clean shaven face and wearing dark clothing.

The woman is also thought to be around 40-years-old, 5ft 6ins, with a thin build.

Police said she had an aged face and long dark hair. She was also wearing dark clothing.

Police discovered 35 plants in the raid

THOUSANDS of pounds of cannabis have been discovered growing in a flat in Edinburgh’s Old Town.

A 50-year-old man has been arrested after police searched a property in Buccleuch Street yesterday.

Officers discovered 35 plants, along with various items used in the cultivation process.

Thousands of pounds of cash was also seized during the search.

The total value of cannabis recovered is around £18,000.

A police spokesman said: “This recovery will have undoubtedly made a significant impact in drug operations in the local area and we are delighted to have taken possession of these drugs before they could make their way into our community.

“Anyone with information relating to drug crime in their area is asked to contact police, or alternatively report the matter anonymously through the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

The man is scheduled to appear in Edinburgh Sheriff Court today.

Yang Guang, and his mate Tian Tian, are the most popular animals for adopters

THE pandas at Edinburgh Zoo have taken revenge on their poo-chucking penguin rivals.

Just weeks after the unruly birds pelted panda visitors with excrement, the bears have displaced them as the zoo’s most adopted animal.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs the zoo, today confirmed that the pandas already account for 16% of all adoptions.

The Chinese guests have taken the number one spot which was held for many years by various species of penguins, who have now been relegated to second, third and fourth positions.

Tian Tian and Yang Guang were backed up by another bear, as Walker the polar bear, who lives at the Highland Wildlife Park, was fifth choice.

King penguins took second place, followed by the Gentoo penguins and the Rockhoppers.

Tracy Hope, Assistant Development Manager of Membership and Animal Adoption at Edinburgh Zoo, said: “We’ve had an outstanding number of people adopt our pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang since they arrived at Edinburgh Zoo late last year.  Due to their incredible popularity it’s not a surprise how quickly they became the new ‘favourites’ for adoption.  Our king penguins had actually been top of the animal adoption list for the last seven years, but being very regal poised birds they seem to be taking the news very well.”

The pandas arrived in Scotland in December.

The Zoo's Rockhopper penguins pelted visitors with poo (Picture by Arjan Haverkamp)

They were flown into Edinburgh airport on a specially decorated plane in a 5000-mile journey from the Bifengxia panda base, near the Chinese city ofYa’an, which lies 700 miles south west of Beijing.

It was the now fourth-placed Rockhoppers that pelted panda visitors with their droppings shortly after the bears went on display.

The cunning birds used their height advantage – the penguin enclosure is further up the hill on which the zoo is built than the pandas’ home – to target animal lovers with plunging fire.

The pandas’ departure from China was the culmination of five years of campaigning by both the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and the British Government.

The panda loan is for a decade, and will cost the zoo £600,000 a year.

Coupled with the £70,000-a-year cost of feeding them bamboo (most of it imported from Holland), plus the creation of a £250,000 enclosure, the total bill will near £8million.

However, Edinburgh Zoo says it expects to attract at least a million extra visitors over the decade.

The paramedic had his personal rucksack stolen from his car yesterday morning

POLICE have hit out at the ‘disgusting’ theft of a paramedic’s rucksack from his ambulance.

Officers investigating the theft have said the thief is likely to be a local who was hoping to steal medication.

They are appealing for members of the community to come forward and identify him.

The theft happened yesterday morning as the paramedic was on duty tending to a local resident.

He parked the ambulance car outside a flat in Edinburgh’s Firhill Loan, and when he returned he as shocked to discover his rucksack was missing.

No medical equipment was taken, but the paramedic was distressed to find some of his personal possessions had been stolen.

Inspector Stevie Dollan, based in Oxgangs, is in charge of the unit investigating into the case.

He described the theft as ‘disgusting,’ and said: “I think it’s worrying with us, because the paramedic was dealing with a caller nearby.

“My officers are working on the basis that he probably thought he was stealing a bag containing medication.”

Sickened

Police are looking for a man seen rifling through the stolen rucksack shortly after the theft.

He is described as white, between 18 and 25-years-old and wearing a dark jacket, dark trousers and dark shoes.

After making off with the rucksack the thief dumped some of the possessions at the nearby St Mark’s Primary School.

Officers are now checking CCTV records, and are using the recovered items to carry our forensic checks.

Insp Dollan continued: “There is quite a strong community in that area, I would ask members of that community to come forward.

“They will have been sickened by the theft.”

“I think it’s likely that the person has told a friend

“We’re working on the basis that it’s someone who is local.”

He also said the paramedic was ‘disappointed’ after the incident, which happened between 7.40am and 8am on Thursday.

Insp Dollan said: “He’s obviously concerned by it as well, the vehicle was obviously an ambulance.

“I think he’s more disappointed that it has happened than anything else.”

A police spokesman said: “No medical equipment or documentation was taken during this theft. However, the paramedic is understandably distressed at the loss of his personal possessions.

“Anyone who was in or around Firhill Loan yesterday morning and saw anything suspicious is asked to contact police immediately.

“Similarly, anyone who saw the man seen rummaging through the rucksack and can help identify him is also asked to come forward.”

Anyone with any information can contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The 64-year-old caught the disease at Hartwoodhill Hospital

A SCOTS health board has been fined £24,000 after a patient contracted a deadly disease.

The 64-year old female patient was being treated atHartwoodhillHospital, which is run by NHS Lanarkshire, when she became gravely unwell.

She was admitted toWishaw GeneralHospital, where it was discovered that she was suffering from pneumonia and severe sepsis and was diagnosed as having Legionnaires’ Disease.

She was treated with intravenous antibiotics, but medics were forced to perform a tracheotomy to help her breathe on 1 December 2008.  She returned to Hartwoodhill Hospital on 23 December.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”) identified that legionella bacteria was present in three sources in the water system at the hospital.

Two of those sources, including the shower used by the patient on a daily basis, matched the strain of legionella bacteria that had caused her illness.

The HSE investigation also established that a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks from the potential presence of legionella bacteria to persons using the facilities had not been carried out, nor was there a safe scheme in place to manage and control the risks of exposure to that form of bacteria in the water system at Hartwoodhill Hospital.

At the time of the discovery of the legionella bacteria, the premises were in the midst of a demolition programme, which had the potential to disrupt the water system.

Fewer patients were in the hospital resulting in reduced demand on the water supply and the demolition work would have increased the possibility of dirt and debris, which would provide a source of nutrients for the bacteria getting into the system.

Both of these factors would have increased the overall risk of the system and should have triggered a review of any assessment in order to decide whether any additional measures would be required to maintain control of water quality.

Following the case, Elaine Taylor, Head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Health and Safety Division, said: “Over a significant period of time there was no suitable and sufficient assessment or management of the risks of there being legionella bacteria at Hartwoodhill.  This resulted in members of the public, including patients who were relying on the hospital for their care, to be exposed to a risk from the bacteria.  For one lady that exposure resulted in her contracting Legionnaires’ disease, becoming very unwell and requiring surgery.  The events were entirely avoidable.

“It is vital that there is proper and effective management of water systems when the potential presence of legionella bacteria is a risk.

“Legionnaires’ disease is a very dangerous illness and those who fail to manage their systems adequately and expose persons to risk of contracting it, whether private companies or bodies such as Health Boards, can expect to be prosecuted.”

HSE Inspector Mike Orr said: “This investigation highlights the importance of having robust management arrangements in place to ensure that the risk from legionella is controlled. This is particularly important where potentially vulnerable groups, such as patients in hospitals, are at risk.

“Responsibility for implementing the arrangements should be assigned to a competent senior manager and the effectiveness of the arrangements should be subject to monitoring.”

The motorway will be resurfaced around 60 miles from where it crosses the border

TRANSPORT Scotland is investing £220,000 in renewing section of one of Scotland’s busiest motorways.

Work on the rural section of the M74 motorway, which links Scotland with the north of England, will begin next week.

The scheme, delivered during two weekends in February, will address signs of cracking and potholes in the carriageway and replace it with a fresh road surface more resilient to winter weather.

Amey, Transport Scotland’s operating company in south west Scotland will resurface nearly two kilometres of the southbound carriageway next to Happendon Services.

Works will start on Friday 3 February at 10pm and continue throughout the weekend until 6am on Monday 6 February.  They’ll resume again the following weekend.

Colin Mackenzie, Amey’s account director explained: “Replacing two kilometres of motorway is a significant operation but we’ve designed the works in two halves so that the job can be done at weekends avoiding delays for commuters.”

A contra flow traffic management system will keep motorists safely on the move past the works area while keeping the personnel on-site protected from high-speed traffic.  One lane will be maintained in each direction and signs will guide drivers wishing to access Happendon Services.

Scots students who have failed to return books on time have racked up enormous fines

LAZY and selfish Scottish students have squandered at least £5m in fines for failing to return library books on time.

The nation’s colleges have fined students at least £4,825,541 for overdue books since January 2008, official figures reveal.

Edinburgh University tops the list at £592,000, including one scholar who was forced to pay £1,050 for hanging on to text books.

The figures also reveal that at least 21,000 text books are currently missing from Scotland’s university libraries.

Student leaders regularly complain that many undergraduates are forced to live in poverty but taxpayers’ group said the figures showed they were their own worst enemy.

The figures, provided under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, was second-worst for library fines at £576,300.

Neighbouring Glasgow Caledonian University was not far behind at £524,000, while Glasgow University levied £496,700 in fines.

Aberdeen University hit students for £482,500 but the city appears also to have the most conscientious students when it comes to returning books. Robert Gordon University has charged a relatively low £71,545 in fines since 2008.

As well as hitting students in the pocket, the failure to return books means big gaps are opening in the library shelves.

Glasgow Caledonian admitted that 5,284 books are missing. St Andrews University said that 4,113 books are missing worth a total of £111,586.

Across Scotland, a total of 21,623 text books are known to be missing. If the average value of the books lost by St Andrews is applied, the total value in Scotland is at least £584,000.

It appears that Scotland’s future teachers are among the worst culprits for failing to return books.

At Edinburgh University, “Positive Teaching in the Primary School” by author Frank Merret was the most likely book to go missing in the last five years.

Responsibility

But light-fingered business students are also in the frame.

At the University of the West of Scotland, among the most pilfered texts are “Taxation: Finance Act 2009″ by Alan Melville, “Strategic Management, Awareness and Change” by John Thompson, and “Industrial Organisation: competitive, strategy, policy” by John Lipczynski.

The problem of massive library fines is even preventing, or delaying, undergraduates from getting their degrees.

At least 1,800 students were told over the period they could not graduate until they had paid their fines.

The University of the West of Scotland, which has campuses at Ayr, Dumfries, Hamilton and Paisley, confirmed that 214 students have not graduated for failing to pay off fines.

Despite the huge bills being paid by the students, the universities cap their fines at a relatively low rate, £25 for Glasgow University and just £8 at Abertay, Dundee.

In some cases, it is cheaper for a student to steal a book from the library and pay the maximum fine rather than buy it.

The Director of Tax Payer Scotland, Eben Wilson, said that students should be more responsible with their spending if they wish to continue to get their fees paid for.

He said: “Students need to take a bit more care of the money being provided to them by Scottish taxpayers before they ask for more.

“Racking up thousands of pounds on fines due to their own tardiness isn’t helping themselves or their universities in times of austerity.

“In fact, it’s likely that the money wasted in fines will not be recoverable, and in the end it will be paid by other more disciplined students in lower bursaries and higher costs for their universities.”

Education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservative party, Liz Smith said: “The loss of revenue from so many unpaid fines puts into sharp focus how much extra money could be in the system if people acted responsibly.”

“Although Library fines are not large they are intended to provide an incentive to return books and borrowers should always be public-spirited and adhere to them.

A spokesman for the University of Edinburgh said: “We feel that our fines are fair and set at a level that encourages students to return books on time for the benefit of all library users.

“We always send notices to warn students that books are overdue prior to any charges being incurred.”

The National Union of Students declined to comment.