War breaks out at sheltered accommodation

 

Priscilla Cairns (Left) and Betty Mitchell (right) survey the damage

By Cara Sulieman

ACCUSATIONS of election rigging were just the start of what has become a power struggle between two different factions at a sheltered accommodation complex.

Now a police investigation has been launched into vandalism at the centre as tensions start to run high between the old rage pensioners.

It is understood that a long-running dispute between different cliques at the Calder Gardens accommodation in Sighthill, Edinburgh has led to the communal pool table being vandalised.

And it is not the first time the table was targeted – a previous incident saw all the balls being stolen.

Scots island ripped apart by feud involving Queen’s Composer

By Alexander Lawrie

A TINY Scots island community has been ripped apart by a feud involving the Queen’s composer and his elderly, disabled neighbours.

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies has been forced to call in the police after he claims his life has been made “hell” by the actions of Jim White and his wife.

The move comes after Sir Peter, 75, and his live-in partner Colin Parkinson, took the unusual step of contacting the Queen’s representative, Orkney Lord Lieutenant Anthony Trickett, and appealing for help “given Sir Peter’s position as Master of the Queen’s Music”.

The composer claims Mr White has been taking photographs of him and his partner outside their home on the Orkney island of Sanday, which has just 550 inhabitants.

Edinburgh family from hell kicked out of home following years of racist abuse

By Alexander Lawrie

A FAMILY from hell has been booted out of their council home after neighbours were forced to endure a three-year campaign of race hate abuse.

Mum-of-five Sarah Hutton, 36, and her kids were evicted by housing officers after a catalogue of serious complaints were lodged against them.

They stood accused of a string of allegations from harassed neighbours including racially-motivated assault, racist abuse, vandalism and threats to neighbouring families.

One family of ethnic neighbours was forced to flee their home in the Wardieburn area of Edinburgh after allegedly suffering years of terror and racial abuse from the Hutton family.

Officials from Edinburgh City Council and police arrived at the Hutton home on Thursday to execute the power of eviction.

Baby narrowly missed being showered in glass

Andrew Girdwood and Fiona Wallace with baby Chloe

By Cara Sulieman

A BABY has had a miracle escape after sick yobs smashed a brick through a bedroom window – showering her moses basket with razor sharp shards of glass.

Tiny 11-week old Chloe Girdwood only cheated injury because she was ill and being comforted in the arms of her doting mum Fiona Wallace when the thugs struck.

Last night Fiona, 25, revealed it is the THIRD time in as many weeks that her Linlithgow home has been targeted – leaving her and partner Andrew Girdwood, 28, living in fear.

She said: “I don’t want to think about what could have happened to her.”

Edinburgh resident fuming over Sir Fred’s “special treatment”

By Cara Sulieman

A MUM has hit out at the special treatment former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin received from the police when his house was vandalised.

Janet Langlands, 51, has had the windows of her Fiat Punto smashed in twice in the past few months – and said she had to wait EIGHT hours for police to show up at her Edinburgh home.

She said: “The police obviously feel that they have got more important things to do and they’re not giving me the same sort of service as Sir Fred got.

“I read in the paper that they appeared within about five minutes to his home and obviously they don’t think it’s as important to get to me.”

Arrived within minutes

When Sir Fred’s house and Mercedes were broken at his Grange home last week, police arrived within minutes and stayed for hours after the initial attack.

But when Janet found the back windscreen on her silver car had been vandalised when she went to leave for work at 8am on Monday, it was a different story.

When she called the police assistance number, the mother-of-two was told it could take up to four hours for officers to arrive.

“Absolutely ridiculous”

She said: “I thought they would have been here before four hours. I didn’t think it would be eight hours, especially since it’s the second time that it’s happened.

“I don’t know why it took so long, it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Janet’s car was first targeted last December, when both the front and back windscreens were broken.

That time police took around five hours from the time of her call to attend at her home on Sydney Terrace.

Red stones

Two large red stones were found at the scene, one on the ground close to the car, and the other on the rear parcel shelf.

Janet doesn’t understand why she has been targeted by the vandals, but is disgusted at the way the police have handled it.

She said: “My car was the only one I the street that was damaged.

“There are much fancier cars than mine up and down the street. I don’t know why anybody would want to do that to my car, it’s just crazy.

“I can’t fathom it out at all. I’m not the sort of person who causes any arguments, I’m just a normal working mother.”

No special treatment

But police deny that Sir Fred was given any special treatment, saying that calls are responded to on the basis of priority, not location.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: “Calls are responded to according to priority, with ongoing crimes or threats to personal safety being given a higher priority than those where a crime has already taken place and the accused is no longed in the vicinity.

“In the case of the incident last Wednesday, police were responding to the activation of a security alarm which could have indicated there was a threat to personal safety.

“All personal attack alarms or similar alarm calls are treated as a priority, irrespective of the address.”

Church vandals chased off by flower arrangers 046

By Karrie Gillett

VANDALS have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to one of Scotland’s finest medieval churches after going on a window-smashing spree.

The sickening attacks destroyed six of the historic church’s windows – including two stained glassed panes which are more than 100 years old.

And a group of flower arrangers were inside St Michael’s Church in Linlithgow when it was bombarded with stones.

But the cowardly gang of youths ran off when two of the women inside started chasing them away towards the West Lothian town centre.

The parish minister Dr Stewart Gillan said having kids pelting a window which dates back to 1885 was a sad day for the church and the community.

He said: “It’s totally senseless. They have been bashing away at some of the most beautiful and historic windows in Scotland.

“They probably had no clue just what it was they were doing exactly but you would love to sit them down and tell them.

“I am sure they gave it no thought at all but it breaks your heart to see it.”

The church sits beside the historic Linlithgow Palace and one of the destroyed decorative windows was put in place to commemorate the money gifted by King David in the 13th century to build it.

Mr Tom Pollock – architect and parishioner of the iconic church – said it was tragic to think people had nothing better to do than throw stones at such a precious building.

The conservation expert – who was involved in a five-year preservation work on the ancient building – said it was particularly sad for him as it is his local church.

He said: “What on earth do they think they were doing to their heritage?

“I thought young people were meant to be proud of being Scottish but here they have damaged a very important part of our history.

“This doesn’t depict any pride at all when you go about vandalising a building which is right at the heart of this community.

“It’s just very, very sad that these people have nothing better to do than go out and attack the precious fabric of this church.”

The damaged windows are repairable but the church will now have to be covered in scaffolding to carry out the work.

One of the windows was erected in memory of The Challenger Expedition of Charles Wyville Thomson, a professor of Edinburgh University who is credited with laying the foundations of oceanography as he was the first to chart the seven seas.

The other window commemorates the money gifted by King David 1 to build the church and features King David, St Andrew and St Brigid.

Police are now appealing for help in finding the group of youths responsible for the costly damage.
Inspector Hugh Murphy of Lothian & Borders Police slammed the attacks as severe acts of vandalism.

He said: “This was a senseless, mindless act. It was also reckless – they could have hurt someone inside.
“This wasn’t a prank, it wasn’t high-jinks; it was criminal damage that hasn’t just damaged the fabric of the church but also the community.

“I would ask those responsible to think long and hard about what they have done.”