Mystery of the vanishing cars in Potter writer’s patch

By Michael MacLeod

GANGS of thieves have nicked over £330,000 worth of cars in the space of two months from JK Rowling’s neighbourhood.

They have swiped 36 vehicles from Morningside, Edinburgh, including two top of the range Subarus, a Toyota Avensis, a Vauxhaul van and a Volvo C70.

After breaking into houses in the swanky city suburb and stealing car keys, the mobs move on to raid other homes before making off in the stolen get-away cars.

Police believe thugs are also specifically targeting upper-class homes in the Grange area where Scotland football manager George Burley and hated former RBS boss Fred Goodwin live.

Once inside, the thieves have taken jewellery, credit cards, cash and electrical goods, often during broad daylight.

Rubbish continues to pile up as council prepares for the festival

By Cara Sulieman

AS BINS across Edinburgh spill over into the street, the city council are trying to ensure the public that they are doing everything they can to tackle the stinking backlog.

But in the leafy suburbs of Morningside and the Grange, where the city’s more famous residents reside, there is no sign of the waste that is piling up elsewhere.

The pavements outside the houses of the shamed banker Fred Goodwin and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling are clear of rubbish, whilst communal bins overflow outside the busier city centre tenements.

And Edinburgh City Council yesterday revealed they have now hired more private contractors to try and get the city clean again in the week before the festival season starts.

Kids banned from seeing new Harry Potter movie

By Michael MacLeod

CHILDREN have been banned from watching the long-awaited new Harry Potter film at a Scots cinema – quicker than you can say expelliarmus.

Special adult-only screenings of the Half-Blood Prince blockbuster – which has a 12A certificate – begin today (Friday) after film fans complained that kids were too noisy.

They said younger fans could ruin the magic of the silver screen by talking to their friends or forgetting to turn their mobile phones off.

Now all under-18s will be turned away if they want to join adults at the Vue cinema in Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal.

Cinema boss Mark de Quervain defended the idea saying he was confident it would prove popular with fans.