Cake means parties not tiers for divorcees

By Rory Reynolds

BAKERS are seeing a boom in the number of people looking to celebrate the end of their marriage – with a divorce cake.

Cake makers across Edinburgh have seen a surge in popularity of the specially designed cakes – with some even asking for figures of a bride attacking their groom to be stuck on the top.

And some have even requested bizarre anti-wedding cakes, such as bright purple Parma Violet flavoured creations and even one covered in jet black icing.

The cakes are most often the centrepiece for a divorce party, with some ex-wives even having firms that usually organise hen or stag nights, prepare the event for them.

Karlie MacGregor, 35, is taking 20 pals to Newcastle to celebrate becoming single after splitting from her husband of 10 years.

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Scottish NHS rocked by claims of pest infestation

By Oliver Farrimond

SCOTLAND’S hospitals are being plagued with infestations of bugs, mice and cockroaches – sparking furious calls for more money to be spent on cleaning up the NHS.

An investigation has revealed the problem is so bad in places that one health trust – NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – has had to spend more than £70,000 in the last year alone on exterminators and other defences.

The total is twice as much as the next highest authority, and the total number of incidents runs to more than 1,000 since the beginning of August last year.

But expert microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington said that pest problems were such an extent that it could be a sign that some of Scotland’s best known hospitals “might not be fit for purpose.”

Prof Pennington, who chaired the Pennington Group inquiry into the 1996 Scottish E Coli outbreak, said: “If you have hospitals with long-standing pest control problems, then it’s a sign that the premises might not be fit for purpose.

Yobs make frail pensioner’s life hell with abuse and brick attacks

By Rory Reynolds

A FRAIL pensioner said he has been made a prisoner in his own home by yobs thought to be as young as just SEVEN.

Graham Bilsland, 72, said he has been subjected to a life of hell for three weeks by an 18 strong gang of teeny terrors throwing bricks and screaming abuse at his home, day and night.

He says both boys and girls are involved in the torment him at his home in Leith, Edinburgh, – and fears they are even using an air gun to target him.

The former national manager for Ede & Ravenscroft Tailors said he is now too terrified to go to sleep after he found an airgun bullet-hole in his bedroom window.

Wheelchair-user Graham – who underwent a triple heart bypass last year – has developed a string of health problems, including panic attacks, due to the abuse.

Organised crime gang staked out plant before £20,000 heist

By Rory Reynolds

POLICE are hunting an organised gang after they raided a steel works and made off with more than £20,000 in high value metal.

The culprits cut the chains to the outer gates of 3D Precision Engineering in Kirkcaldy, Fife, before driving a saloon car through the building’s roller shutters.

It is thought that the incident – which occurred on Sunday evening around 9.10pm – is the result of weeks of meticulous planning and preparing by the criminal gang.

The company, based at the Mitchelston Industrial Estate, use high-end inconel steel – a quality material which is used to manufacture parts and shape material for use the oil industry.

Scott Bonnar, director of the steel firm, said that the one of the thieves might even have been in the building in the weeks before the raid.

Scottish hedge campaigners take their thorny issue to the Scottish Parliament

By Oliver Farrimond

A HEDGE-BUSTING campaign group took their fight to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh yesterday.

Scothedge – who represent hundreds of Scots whose lives are blighted by high hedges – presented a dossier on the thorny issue to MSPs at Holyrood.

The document – named “A Growing Problem” – highlights the key issues for MSPs, who are currently undergoing a consultation on the issue, due to end on November 13.

Dr Colin Watson, Scothedge campaign leader, said: “We have been fighting for years against the problem of ‘vegetation tyranny’ caused by high hedges in Scotland and the effect it can have on victims’ lives.

“In England and Wales there was legislation passed in 2003 to help address the problem, but in Scotland there is no legal framework in place to help victims.

Three arrested after high-speed pursuit through city

By Rory Reynolds

POLICE have arrested and charged three youths after a high-speed car chase through the streets of Edinburgh.

The three have been charged with dangerous driving and theft after allegedly stealing a Peugeot 306 and tearing through the narrow lanes of the city’s Old Town.

A police vehicle chased the alleged joy riders through the Cowgate – which is lined with bars and clubs – at around 12.15am.

The pursuit continued across town towards Portobello and the shores of the Forth with the car narrowly missing pedestrians.

The teenagers, aged 15,16 and 19, tried to escape by fleeing the stolen vehicle and running into the suburban streets of Bingham in the east of the city.

Ex Hibs and Arsenal striker red-carded from the roads

By Michael MacLeod

FORMER Hibs frontman Dean Shiels has lost his driving licence after running a red light in his convertible Mercedes.

The 24-year-old ignored a red light in the capital’s London Road in July 2008, before his move to Doncaster Rovers during the January transfer window.

He initially denied passing the red light as he thought his blonde girlfriend might have been driving the car.

But the Northern-Ireland striker travelled back to Edinburgh yesterday (Wed) to admit the charge at Edinburgh Justice of the Peace Court.

He was fined £160, with his defence agent saying he “certainly has earnings” to pay it.

Shiels claimed he had “no particular recollection” of passing the traffic light on London Road, close to Hibs’ Easter Road stadium.