OAP sues council for cleaning truck scooter smash

By Oliver Farrimond

A FURIOUS pensioner is suing her local council after one of its trucks destroyed her mobility scooter.

Nancy Smith, 74, was making her way from her home in Millgate, Winchburgh, when the cleaning truck reversed into her scooter.

She feared she would be crushed to death by the comparatively huge yellow truck, which left her scooter irreparably damaged.

The driver told Nancy he thought he had run over a packet of crisps

The terrifying incident has left Nancy housebound for five weeks and suffering frequent panic attacks and nightmares.

Cyclist doesn’t know if she was hit or fell

By Cara Sulieman

A CYCLIST has been left with such horrific injuries after a suspected hit and run that she has no idea what happened.

The 27 year-old woman fractured her collar bone and damaged her head after the crash.

Last night she was stable in hospital but police issued an appeal for witnesses in a bid to find out whether she was hit or fell off her bike.

She was cycling along Edinburgh’s Easter Road just before 8.30am on Tuesday morning and is thought to have been struck by a car turning on to Dalmeny Street.

Shops selling high heels for kids as young as three

By Michael MacLeod

PARENTS have criticised retailers for selling two-inch high heels for girls as young as three.

The trend was sparked after Tom Cruise and wife Katie dressed their three year-old daughter Suri in the shoes.

Health experts warn they can damage youngsters’ feet, cause lower back pain and arthritis.

Shops including GapKids, Asda and Next are under fire from parents group Mumsnet, whose members described the range as “more suited to a lap-dancing club than the feet of a young girl.”

Porter quits 5-star hotel while stealing £7,000 of booze

By Michael MacLeod

A NIGHT porter stole 15 bottles of booze worth over £7,000 from a five-star hotel shortly before handing in his resignation.

Former soldier Alan Weir, 26, used his security card to open the Prestonfield House Hotel’s wine cellar and made off with the wine and spirits.

He quit his job later that night, but was caught on CCTV and tracked down by police.

The stash discovered in Weir’s home was described by police as “the best stocked wine cellar in Dalkeith,” according to his former colleagues.

Man seriously injured in assualt

By Cara Sulieman

A MAN was left seriously injured after being attacked by a group of youths in the capital.

The group of four or five males pounced on the victim as he was walking onto London Road in the Abbeyhill area of Edinburgh.

The thugs – all aged between fifteen and sixteen years old – knocked him to the ground and injured his eye.

He later required surgery on the injury after the brutal assault.

Glass face smash victim ‘too scared’ to go out

By Andrea McCallum

A CARER left scarred after a drunken thug smashed a glass into his face says he is now too scared to go out to the pub.

George Cowe, 39, was left with scars to his face after unemployed Barry Rutherford launched the unprovoked attack in a pub.

Now George says his life has been affected to the point where his family fear for his safety every time he leaves his home in Eskview Avenue, Musselburgh.

He said: “I don’t go out any more, really, and I have only been out once since the incident.

12-year-old girl airlifted to hospital after horse fall

By Oliver Farrimond

A TEAM of medics were last night treating a 12-year-old girl for serious head injuries after she was airlifted to hospital after falling from a horse.

An RAF rescue team was scrambled to a private beach at Seacliff in North Berwick shortly before lunch-time yesterday (tues) after an ambulance crew initially called to the scene ruled her condition was too risky for her to be ferried by road.

The girl suffered injuries to her head and hands, but described by a Coastguard spokesman as being “conscious” during the take-off and landing of the Sea King helicopter.

The chopper crew from RAF Boulmer in Northumberland was called out shortly after 11.10am and arrived at The Meadows near the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh by 12.30pm.

Hospital staff at the Sick Kids confirmed they were treating the schoolgirl but were last night still awaiting permission from her family before releasing any further details of her name or condition.

Horse bolts for freedom day before the snip

By Oliver Farrimond

A RACEHORSE made a dramatic bid for freedom on the M8 – just hours before he was due to be castrated.

Frisky mount Trade Price had finished third at 20-1 hours earlier in a race at Musselburgh racecourse, before he leaped into the front section of the horsebox.

After its driver pulled into the hard shoulder near Hermiston Gate on the outskirts of Edinburgh, vets were called to sedate the horse so he could be cut free after trapping himself.

Fire crews then cut through the partition with a special saw.

Trainer Ian Semple, 61, said that the three-year-old horse had been unusually spirited in recent races and that he had decided to castrate him.

Woman rushed to hospital after van smash

By Oliver Farrimond

A WOMAN has been rushed to hospital after her van careened off a dual-carriageway near Livingston.

Lothian and Borders Police say that the white van drove off the A98 dual carriageway shortly before 5pm, leaving the woman trapped inside with leg injuries.

Ambulance crews fought to free her with spreading and cutting equipment, and after a gruelling hour the woman was transported to Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary with reported head trauma.

Police, ambulance and fire crews attended the scene of the crash at the A98 interchange between Craigshill and Howden.

Top tory’s son impales foot on spike in snowman blunder

By Oliver Farrimond

THE son of a top Tory has had his hopes of becoming student union president dashed – after he impaled his foot on a spike.

Edinburgh University student Oliver Mundell – whose dad is Conservative MP David Mundell – was climbing over a fence in the city’s George Square so he could build a snowman with friends.

But he slipped and the metal spike pierced right through his foot, leaving him skewered on the fence.

Two fire engines raced to the scene and Mundell had to be cut free using a hacksaw before he was taken to hospital.

Now he faces a month of campaigning for student president from a wheelchair – dubbed his battle bus – after having reconstructive surgery on his foot.

Hapless Mundell, 19, said: “I had my foot on a wooden board propped against the fence, which gave way and the spike went straight through my other foot.

“It took seven firemen about fifteen minutes to cut my foot free – I’m looking at a lengthy spell in a wheelchair now.”

He denied that he had been drinking before the accident in the early hours of Monday morning.

His father David Mundell has been Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland since 2005, and is the only Conservative MP to represent a Scottish constituency in the Westminster parliament.

Oliver, whose campaign slogan is ‘Funding, Feedback, Freedom’, called his father at 3am to say that his foot had been impaled and that he was being cut free.

He said: “He’s been to visit me in hospital since – he was quite alarmed when I gave him the news.

“Although I don’t totally agree with his political views, I do think the Conservatives give people a clear set of beliefs and values.

“They’re just not necessarily the same as mine.”

The news of his injuries comes just days after campaigning for the prestigious role officially started.

And although the wound might give his competitors a head start they insist there was no ill will towards the Divinity student, from Moffat.

Liz Rawlings, who is also running, said: “None of us want to win this by default by injuries to our competitors so I wish him a speedy recovery.

“It’s an unfortunate injury and hopefully it won’t affect his campaign too much.”

But current EUSA president Adam Ramsey said: “It’ll be very hard work for him to campaign properly – there’s a lot of steps to climb in Edinburgh.

“Running for president is certainly not very easy if you have a hole in your foot.”

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue confirmed they were called out to the incident at 1.30am on Monday morning.

This is not the first time a hapless young conservative has caused embarrassment to the Tories.

In January of this year, 23-year-old Matthew Lewis was thrown out of the party for dressing up as Madeleine McCann, and then boasting about it to fellow Tories.