Lollipop men to use spy cameras to catch dangerous drivers

Robert Purves tries out his new lollipop stick

By Cara Sulieman

CAMERAS hidden inside the sticks used by lollipop men are being used by a Scots council to catch dangerous drivers.

The video pole was introduced by East Lothian Council today in a bid to make their crossing guides’ jobs safer.

The £1,050 poles are automatically activated when held upright, snapping the registration plates of any vehicles that fail to stop.

Robert Purves, 63, works as a crossing guide on Station Road in Haddington and hopes the new kit will help avoid a repeat of near misses he has had in the past.

Isabella Purves laid to rest

By CARA SULIEMAN & ALEXANDER LAWRIE

A PENSIONER who lay dead in her flat for five years before anyone noticed has finally been laid to rest.

The badly decomposed body of tragic Isabella Purves was found at her home in Edinburgh’s Canonmills area on July 2.

She was only discovered when a downstairs neighbour noticed water dripping through from Miss Purves’ flat above.

Police officers were forced to break down her front door in a stairwell in Rodney Street and push their way through years of unopened mail before making the gruesome discovery.