Scots A&E forced to give out ASBOs in bid to curb violence

A SCOTS A&E department has been forced to turn to ASBOs in a desperate bid to keep staff and the ill safe from violent patients.

Staff at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee are so sick of being abused by aggressive drunks that they have signed a groundbreaking deal with the council to slap antisocial behaviour orders on offenders.

Eleven troublemakers have already been warned under the scheme, the first of its kind in Scotland.

Two have been given final warnings and could even be banned from A&E if they offend again.

Prostitute who gave oral sex in cemetery has public indecency conviction quashed

By Cara Sulieman

A PROSTITUTE who gave a customer oral sex in a cemetery has had her conviction for public indecency quashed because there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she had meant to be caught.

Donna Fearn was originally found guilty of an act of public indecency after a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court.

It came after officers found her with a client in the Eastern Cemetery and Necropolis in Dundee on July 11, 2009.

Officers spotted her speaking to a man before crossing the road and entering the graveyard with him.

Woman taken to hospital after fire at Fife cottage

By Amanda MacMillan

A HOUSKEEPER was taken to hospital after a fire broke out at the cottage where she was working.

The fire at the cottage in Birkhill in Gauldry, Fife, tore through the ground and first floor of the property at around 1.30am this morning.

Part of the ceiling also collapsed internally.

A female housekeeper obtained slight burns and was taken to Ninewells hospital in Dundee.

The elderly occupier was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene at later went to a neighbour’s house.

The fire also caused a problem with surrounding water supplies.

Scotland saw 53 child abductions last year

By Oliver Farrimond and Cara Sulieman

SCOTLAND has seen 53 cases of child abduction in the last year, according to figures released today.

Although the term abduction can cover a range of crimes, the cases include a 14-year-old schoolgirl who was forced into a car and sexually abused before being released by her captor.

Strathclyde Police had the largest number of cases in the last year, with 33 children being held against their will.

Politicians have vowed to do all they can to improve the system, saying that any case of abduction is “extremely traumatic” for the families involved.

Serious road crash lands seven people in hospital

By Christine Lavelle

SEVEN people have been taken to hospital after two vehicles collided in Fife.

Two children were seriously hurt and three others injured after the people-carrier they were traveling in collided with the other vehicle.

All five have been taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, along with a woman who was driving the car.

The female driver of the other car – a Renault Clio – was trapped for almost two hours, while fire crews worked to free her from the scene on the A92, just south of the Tay Bridge.

She is believed to have multiple injuries, and was airlifted to Ninewells as soon as firemen were able to cut her out using a hydraulic extracting device.

Drivers under siege as idiots leave potential death traps on roads

By Christine Lavelle

MANIACS are laying potentially lethal traps across roads in Fife sparking fears someone will be killed unless those responsible are stopped.

Detectives are hunting the culprits after the latest incident in which a lamppost stolen from a building site was stretched across a busy route and struck by at least two cars.

Police also revealed that a previous incident just a short distance away involved a tree trunk being set up in exactly the same way – after it was sawn down for the deadly prank.

Councillor Peter Grant, who represents Glenrothes West and Kinglassie, said: “This is an act of unbelievable stupidity that could easily have led to someone being killed.

Flood warning as rain hits Scotland

Tourists sheltering from the rain

By Amanda Keenan

SCOTLAND was put on flood alert last night as heavy rainfall swept in across much of the country following weeks of sunshine which had caused some areas to issue drought warnings.

Flash warnings of heavy rain have been issued by the Met Office for large parts of Aberdeenshire, Moray, Tayside, Fife, Lanarkshire and the Lothian’s.

Persistent and heavy rain saw around 15mm fall within just three hours in some places early on and as much as 35mm was expected in others.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said it was monitoring water levels on rivers across Dumfries and Galloway – just weeks after the region was subject of a drought order application.

First a bookshop smash, now Alistair’s POW tale is iPad hit

By Michael MacLeod

THE memoirs of a 91 year-old Scottish former POW have become a surprise hit on one of the world’s biggest online bookstores.

Such has been the demand for Alistair Urquhart’s novel The Forgotten Highlander on Apple’s iBookstore that it is now listed on its front page.

In an unplanned PR scoop that marketing executives would strive for, it means the Dundee pensioner’s book will appear on the front page of the bookstore app on every one of Apple’s popular new gadgets, the iPad.

The book shines a light on Alistair’s harrowing ordeal after being captured by the Japanese during World War II.

Overlooked artist gets exhibition

By Cara Sulieman

AN OVERLOOKED Scottish artist is getting a rare retrospective of his work starting tomorrow.

John Maclachlan Milne was a contemporary of the Scottish Colourists movement and was highly regarded by collectors of the day.

But he has since been forgotten and only one exhibition of his work has happened since his death.

Starting tomorrow, the collection of paintings from the Dundee-born artist will be held at the Bourne Fine Art gallery in Edinburgh.

Drunk Dundee art teacher is struck off at GTC hearing

By Cara Sulieman

A BOOZY teacher has been struck off after turning up for work reeking of alcohol on three separate occasions.

Mary Gray had been given three months to prove she was able to bring her drink problem under control, but today education bosses decided she hadn’t made enough progress.

Ms Gray worked at Morgan Academy in Dundee when the alarm was raised after she arrived at the school smelling of booze in 2007 and 2008.

The art teacher – from Dundee – has now gone into counselling for alcohol dependency after the incidents on February 20 and March 21 2007, and March 13 2008.

But today the Disciplinary Sub-Committee of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) decided that she hadn’t done enough to fight her addiction and removed her from the teaching register.