Knifeman admits sparking four hour stand off with police

The siege on Caledonian Place last year

By Paul Thornton

A MAN has admitted sparking a four-hour stand-off with armed police after going beserk with a knife.

Denim MacLeod, 28, self harmed himself then used a serrated kitchen knife as a weapon to keep police at bay during the incident at his flat in Caledonian Place in Edinburgh.

A neighbour fled the flat in terror but his brave girlfriend stayed with him as police tried to coax him out of the home last August.

Eventually they managed to persuade the “agitated” MacLeod to give himself up and he was arrested and treated for his self-inflicted wounds.

Today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court he admitted a breach of the peace. MacLeod also admitted possession of a hammer during a mass brawl on a separate occasion.

Teacher struck off after gun attack

Allan Dickson leaving court in March 2009

By Cara Sulieman

A GUN-WIELDING teacher has been struck off after firing an air rifle at a teenager to frighten off a gang he claimed had attacked him.

Allan Dickson was fined £1,000 after he admitted two firearms offences at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March last year.

Dickson, 33, was suspended by Midlothian Council following the incident which he said was “totally out of character”.

And today (Tuesday) the Disciplinary Sub-Committee of the General Teaching Council (GTC) struck him off for at least a year after deciding he was not fit to teach.

SuBo jumps on the bus to go shopping

By Andrea McCallum

SINGING sensation Susan Boyle today (fri) prepared for the launch of what is expected to be her multi-million selling debut album launch on Monday – by going shopping in Bathgate.

And showing the celebrity status hasn’t gone to her head she even travelled the short distance from Blackburn by bus, stopping off at her favourite store to buy a new outfit before her appearance on this weekend’s X-Factor.

Casually dressed in a rain coat and black trousers, and sporting her signature Burberry scarf and a splash of red lipstick, SuBo showed no sign of nerves as she wandered along the West Lothian town.

The star walked confidently from her house past the local primary school before being called over by a friend outside the newsagents.

The blonde bespeckled woman, in her 50s, shouted across the street to SuBo before walking over to have a chat.

The assassination of Paris Hilton

By Cara Sulieman

HOTEL heiress Paris Hilton is in for a shock if she visits Edinburgh this summer – the cast of a new play are planning her assassination.

The production, called the Assassination of Paris Hilton, is by London based group Racked Theatre.

It sees two girls in the bathroom of a nightclub in Holywood planning the star’s death because they are sick of celebrity culture.

But the writer insists that she has nothing against Hilton herself and the play is about celebrity rather than any particular star.

Megan Ford, an artistic director of the theatre group and writer of the play, said: “I feel the need to mention, that despite the controversial title, the play is not an attack on Paris Hilton, but rather a depiction of female relationships and the culture of celebrity worship.”