Freed Scots oil worker Alan Preston home after abduction

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE
A SCOTS oil worker kidnapped in Nigeria has returned home to his family.
Alan Preston, 50, from Pilton, Edinburgh, was last night recovering at home still traumatised from his ordeal in the African country.
Friends said that he was “still very distressed” by his abduction which started with a shoot-out that left his guard dead [...]

Scottish Courts witness bill tops £100,000 a year

 
by CARA SULIEMAN
SCOTLAND’S courts service is paying out around £100,000 a year bringing witnesses to court from outside Scotland.
In the last five years, £448,166.53 was spent on bringing witnesses to Scotland from the rest of the UK and overseas.
Last year was the highest with a whopping £105,621.34 paid out by the Crown.
But a new law [...]

West Lothian drug cop raids hit the jack-pot thanks to tip offs

By MICHAEL MACLEOD
DOPEY drug dealers who stole plant pots to grow marijuana were collared after neighbours phoned cops to report the garden thefts.
The tip off about disappearing plant pots was among 39 intelligence-based calls to police that led to 63 arrests in the past five days.
Undercover detectives had been monitoring suspected drug peddlers at around [...]

Missing chef Kirsty McManus found safe in Corstorphine

by LAUREN CROOKS
A WOMAN missing for almost a week after she disappeared after a Saturday night out with friends has turned up safe and well.
A huge hunt was launched for Kirsty McManus, 21, a chef from Newtongrange, Midlothian, after she failed to arrive home or turn up for work.
Lothian & Borders Police launched an appeal [...]

Paintball shooter escapes jail sentence

By PAUL THORNTON

A FORMER soldier has told how his life was ruined when a paintball worker shot a gun at him, blinding him in one eye.
Allan Weir, 25, said he lost his job and needs surgery to save his eye after Calvin Blyth shot a loaded paintball gun at his face.
Blyth was working as a [...]

Scots charity worker meets Barack Obama’s granny

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE
A SCOTS granddad delivering humanitarian aid to some of the world’s poorest children was left star-struck – after bumping into Barack Obama’s granny.
Charity worker James Harkins, 66, from Crossford, Fife, was in Kenya last month providing help to 40 poor orphans when he got the chance to stop and chat with the US [...]

Fears grow for missing Newtongrange chef Kirsty McManus

By MICHAEL MacLEOD & CARA SULIEMAN
FEARS were growing last night for the safety of a young woman missing since a night out with friends on Saturday.
Kirsty McManus, 21, from Newtongrange, Midlothian, hasn’t been seen since being with friends in bars around the popular Omni Centre in Edinburgh near the Playhouse Theatre.
The last confirmed sighting was [...]

Paul McBride QC brands George Foulkes MSP a “joke”

By Paul Thornton
A TOP QC who sparked controversy by switching his political allegiance to the Tories last night branded a top Labour Peer “a joke”.
Paul McBride QC, 44, withdrew his support of the Labour Party last week to join the Conservatives claiming that he had lost faith in their “incompetence”.
Mr McBride – now tipped for [...]

Shirley Manson victim of swine flu

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE
SCOTS rocker Shirley Manson is the latest victim of the recent outbreak of swine flu – after she had a tin of haggis confiscated by a US television show.
The Edinburgh-born musician was appearing with fellow Scot Craig Ferguson on his late night chat show on Tuesday when she admitted the show’s producers confiscated [...]

Singing star Susan Boyle’s brother has business X Factor

by LAUREN CROOKS
THE brother of singing sensation Susan Boyle is cashing in on her fame – with the launch of a new reality TV-style business.
Gerard Boyle, 54, set up Business Academy’s Business in a Box to allow entrepreneurs to start their own company instantly.
When wannabe business folk sign up to the scheme, they will be [...]