Darren Day banned from roads for drunken drive

By Michael MacLeod
 
FADING stage star Darren Day has been banned from the roads after police caught him drunk behind the wheel of a Mercedes.
 
The 41 year-old was said to have smashed the car into a lamppost at 4am a week before Christmas in Edinburgh, where he was performing in the Queen-themed We Will Rock You stage show.
 
But today (Wednesday) prosecutors dropped the crash charges when Day confessed to having 58 microgrammes of alcohol in his breath – nearly double the drink-drive limit – when arrested in the capital’s Manor Place.
 
Day – who appeared in the first ever I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here jungle gameshow – also admitted failing to stop to give his name and address to police. 
 

Cancer dog left to die because owner was “embarrassed”

By Michael MacLeod
 
A ROTWEILLER with cancer had to be put-down after its owner dumped it because he was “too embarrassed” to take it to a vet.
 
Colin Clark abandoned his 10 year-old pet when a tumour grew on its paw.
 
The 35 year-old tied the dog to a fence in Edinburgh’s Trinity Road last June and left it to starve. 
 

Schoolboy left “hobbling” after janitor’s crash

By Michael MacLeod
 
A JANITOR who drove over a schoolboy’s toes has been fined for fleeing the scene of an accident.
 
Ronald Greig, 51, left the nine year-old primary school pupil “hobbling” with cuts and bruises on his feet.
 
The janitor claimed he didn’t see the youngster, but got a £400 fine and five penalty points after pleading guilty yesterday (Wed) to failing to report an accident.
 
The boy was returning to school to find a phone after being locked out his house, Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard.

Iron Age gold displayed for the first time

By Andrea McCallum

ANCIENT gold jewellery uncovered by a Scottish local has gone on display for the first time.

The Iron Age torcs – or neck ornaments – were dug up by Stirlingshire man David Booth, who had never used a metal detector before.

And now the treasure will be on show at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh for just three weeks.

The four items – which date back to between 300-100BC – are of major historical significance as they show the wealth and connections of Scots at the time.

Dr David Caldwell, from the Treasure Trove Unit, said: “The Treasure Trove Unit and National Museums Scotland are aware that there is huge public interest in this find.

“Therefore the Treasure Trove Unit has come to an agreement with National Museums Scotland to put the torcs on public display at the museum for a limited three week period.

“This will enable as many people as possible to see these magnificent Iron Age objects before they are valued and allocated.”

Visitors can now admire two ribbon bands and half an ornate torc of southern French origin – the only one of its kind in Britain.

And a unique braided gold wire torc shows strong influences of Mediterranean craftsmanship.

Scottish law states that property which is lost or abandoned – or has no obvious owner – belongs to the Crown.

But Mr Booth could be in line for a massive reward.

The Treasure Trove Unit works on the Crown’s behalf and displays the goods in public museums around the country.

Susan Boyle steps out in style in home town

By Andrea McCallum

SCOTTISH superstar Susan Boyle stepped out in style in her home town yesterday (Wednesday) as she ventured to the local shops.

The 48-year-old left her home in Blackburn, West Lothian, with a beaming smile and posed for photographs in her new gear.

Her outing comes just a week after reports of erratic behaviour – and growing concern for her ability to cope with stardom.

But with her welcoming gestures and care-free attitude she looked ready for anything.

New touch-screen system to rival Bond gadget

By Rory Reynolds

ADVANCED touch-screen technology from blockbusters like Quantum of Solace and Minority Report could soon be commonplace in boardrooms across Scotland.

New technology developed by Edinburgh Napier University has pioneered a virtual boardroom, where colleagues can throw emails to each other across a huge touch screen table.

The technology echoes the scene in the latest Bond movie, where maps, documents and pictures are quickly passed around, enlarged and viewed in the MI6 HQ.

And it echoes the famous scene in Minority Report, where Tom Cruise uses both hands of a walled sized screen to explore the minute details of a crime.

The Interactive Collaborative Environment was originally developed for big corporate firms, but its creator reckons it could be in schools and homes within five years.

Hundreds turn out to give Bentley dad a special send-off

By Rory Reynolds

THE SOUND of more than a dozen rumbling Bentleys filled a quiet graveyard yesterday to honour a lifelong collector of the famous British brand.

More than 400 friends and fellow car collectors turned out to pay their respects to Eddie Ewart, who spent his life buying and restoring the luxury firm’s models.

The body of the Edinburgh hotelier arrived at Mortonhall Crematorium in his own Bentley hearse that his devoted son had converted.

Fraser Ewart turned the R-Type 1953 saloon into a hearse to for Eddie’s last journey, saying: “It’s exactly the way he would want to go.”

A banjo, trumpet and saxophone trio cheerily played Eddie’s coffin into the crematorium, to the jazz tune of Carry Me Back To Old Virginia and When The Saints Go Marching In.

Three week blanket of snow leaves ski industry booming

By Rory Reynolds

SKI centres are reporting a huge boost in business after the three-week blanket of snow left Scots heading for the slopes.

The white Christmas has fuelled interest in skiing, with bosses saying that the Winter Olympics could send Scotland ski crazy this year.

One centre in Glenshee, Aberdeenshire, said that it had had to hire EIGHT times its usual number of staff.

And they have nearly seen an entire season’s visitors in the last three weeks alone.

Another centre in Edinburgh reported double the number of usual visitors, with a one mile traffic jam of skiers waiting to hit the slopes.

Scottish NHS Boards slammed by Ombudsman

By Cara Sulieman

SEVERAL Scots health boards have been slammed by the Public Services Ombudsman over a series of complaints by patients – on the same day that NHS Scotland was revealed as being the least efficient in the UK.

Jim Martin, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, has highlighted six cases where complaints were upheld against NHS Boards.

In his January report, which was delivered to the Scottish Parliament today (Weds), Mr Martin said that the cases “speak for themselves in the suffering many of them describe”.

The “stories of inconvenience, pain, distress and suffering” uncovered by the Ombudsman included an elderly woman with dementia who suffered in silence for two months before NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde finally diagnosed her broken leg.

Expert claims gap may have led to toddler’s death

By Andrea McCallum

A SAFETY expert claimed a decision to increase the gap in an office balcony by just 5cm may have led to the tragic death of a 21-month-old boy.

Leanne Hunter said if the gap had been 10cm – as originally planned – little Ben McCreath would not have fallen through.

Ben’s mother Louise watched in horror as her son plunged 15-feet to his death from the first floor of Edinburgh’s Princes Exchange building.

She had been visiting her office – where she works as a part-time receptionist – with Ben on her day off on Valentine’s Day, 2006.