Evening Times

Oap Dies After Lorry Crash

A PENSIONER has died after being knocked down by a lorry. Colin Falconer, 76, of Westknowe Gardens, Burnside, was hit as he crossed Glasgow Road around 2pm yesterday near the Kingsgate Retail Park in East Kilbride.

Film Freebie for Pupils at City Schools

PUPILS will be able to enjoy free films at Glasgow Film Theatre throughout June. The Movie Mayhem programme comes from an idea by a group of 15 to 17-year-olds from Hillhead High School and is the culmination of a four-month project.

Mum Sues Over Canal Death

THE mother of a four-year-old boy who drowned after falling into a canal is suing the owners of the waterway. Connor Duncan, of Port Elphinstone, Inverurie, died after falling into the canal near his home in February 2003.

Damning Audit Report Slams Council Chiefs Inverclyde Authority Is Handed Five-Month Deadline to Shape-Up

A SCOTS council has been given five months to shape up after being accused of failing local people in a damning report. Audit Scotland says Inverclyde Council needs to take urgent action to address weaknesses in leadership and direction.

Lack of Funds Leaves Baby Molester Unsentenced Experts Reject Legal Aid Fees

A PERVERT facing jail for a sex attack on a baby could not be sentenced because legal aid rates for psychologists were too low, his lawyer claimed. A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh was told there was no psychologist's report available on Graham Forbes.

Top Artist Set for Exhibition in City

ONE of Scotland's best-loved artists will exhibit in Glasgow. Painter John Bellany will showcase his work at Glasgow's Mitchell Library.

Call to Recycle Old Yellow Pages

ENVIRONMENTAL bosses are urging people to go green and recycle their old Yellow Pages. Over the next few weeks, homes across Greater Glasgow will be receiving the new telephone directories.

Pub Backs Bid to Help Wildlife

THE National Wildlife Trust is teaming up with a pub to give people the chance to go green. The Osprey on Stewarton Road, Newton Mearns, will take part in National Wildlife Week by helping the trust recruit more members and volunteers.

Tycoon's Pounds-768 Mwindfall

ONE of Scotland's richest men is to sell his events business for pounds-768million. Conservative peer Irvine Laidlaw founded IIR in 1973.

Grand Day for Graeme

KEEPIE UPPY king Graeme Lightbody put his football aside to pick up the phone and win pounds-1000. The 43-year-old from Johnstone in Renfrewshire was the sixth person to grab a grand yesterday in the brilliant Evening Times competition Ring to Win.

The Student Who Became a Geisha has Night at the Opera She'll Never Forget Contest Winner Backstage with One of the Lucky Readers Who Won a Glamour Role On Stage

WITH only an hour to go until curtain up on opening night, the atmosphere is building and the adrenaline is starting to pump. Backstage at the King's Theatre, the mostly Ukranian cast of the opera Madama Butterfly are having their make-up done and putting on costumes.

Primary Pupils Win Safety Titles

TWO primary pupils have won the title of Glasgow's top junior road safety officers. Becky Orr and Shaun Docherty, both 11, attend St Francis of Assisi Primary, Ballieston. They won by writing a report about their experiences as road safety officers and listing their duties.

City Firm Lands Pounds-720,000 Order

DISTILLERY bosses have placed a pounds-720,000 order for a new dispatch building and loading bay. Work has started at the Chivas Brothers HQ in Paisley after the whisky producer placed a contract with Glasgow-based property maintenance firm Rok.

Your Product's Great . . .But Can You Recycle It?New Eu Rules Put Focus On Way Manufacturers Make Goods

INITIATIVES by the European Union to make businesses more environmentally conscious could lead to much head-scratching among Scottish manufacturers. Aseries of directives relating to EU producer responsibility legislation is to be introduced over the next 18 months and it will leave manufacturers querying every detail of their products.

Rosepark 2 Freed Without Charges

THE owners of a Lanarkshire nursing home where 14 pensioners died in a fire have been released by police without charge. As revealed in later editions of yesterday's Evening Times, Tom and Anne Balmer were detained and quizzed for six hours.

Scots Savings Drop to Six-Month Low

PEOPLE in Scotland are saving less than they did six months ago, a survey has claimed. The National Savings & Investments spring survey revealed the amount saved hit its lowest point since the survey began last autumn.

200 Escape Blaze On Train

AROUND 200 passengers were evacuated when fire broke out on a train. Virgin Trains said a "minor fire" broke out on its Birmingham- Edinburgh service between Dunbar and Drem, East Lothian, at midday yesterday.

Table Leg Gunman' Cops Held for Murder

TWO police officers were today arrested on suspicion of the murder of Scots painter and decorator Harry Stanley. Mr Stanley, of Hackney, east London, was shot in the head and hand by police marksmen in September 1999 after a table leg he was carrying was mistaken for a gun.

Nhs 24 Slammed for Lack of Staff and Leadership Report Says Scheme Had Problems From Day One

A LACK of leadership and chronic staffing shortages have plagued NHS 24 almost from day one, a new report claims. Areview into the troubled service also claims management glossed over the staff problems and did not fully consider the risks of the resulting delays in giving callers medical advice.

Airport's New Logo Is Pure Dead Ringer for My Design

IT COULD be a pure dead coincidence . . . but Glasgow designer Johanna Larson isn't so sure. Bosses at Prestwick Airport have produced a logo almost identical to her own top design label.