by Faith Orr and Lauren McKenzie
Assault in Leith
October 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Faith Orr
A woman was assaulted and had her handbag stolen in Duncan Place in Leith early yesterday morning, according to police.
The 42-year-old victim was knocked to the ground by her assailant and kicked several times before he made off with her bag.
Police are describing the attack as “opportunistic,” by a man who decided to take advantage of a lone woman.
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman added: “Fortunately, the victim did not require medical attention and received only minor injuries, but she was left extremely upset by what happened.”
The woman had walked from the Lloyds TSB cash machine at the foot of Leith Walk, past Leith Primary School and across Duncan Place when the man attacked her.
The robbery happened at 6.20am and the suspect made off towards Leith Links. Police are appealing for any witnesses who may have been in the area at the time of the assault. The suspect is described only as being white, 6ft tall and with a slim to medium build.
There have been numerous attacks in Leith lately. Leith Walk (Richard Webb) / CC BY-SA 2.0
This is the latest in a number of crimes in the Leith area of Edinburgh. A man appeared in court yesterday over an alleged armed robbery in Salamander Court in Leith. The burglary happened less than a ten minute walk from where the female victim was assaulted.
A three-figure sum of money and electrical equipment was stolen during the raid on Sunday September 26.
David Sinclair from Victim Support Scotland, said: “Regrettably, in society today, we are seeing attacks in the street in broad daylight becoming commonplace. As the leading victim support organisation in Scotland we deal with upwards of 100,000 victim referrals every year so a spate of attacks in a particular area of the capital city is not news to us although of course we hope the police catch the perpetrators who carry out these attacks.”
Man Mountain
September 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A JUDGE in Ireland has issued an unusually ‘high’ punishment to a man who abused a policeman in County Donegal.
Joseph McElwee, 38, of Aughavennan, Rathmullan was ordered to climb Ireland’s holiest mountain at Milford District Court recently.
The court heard that McElwee had hurled a tirade of foul language at two officers outside a pub and told one member of the Garda to “go back to Mayo”.
Judge Seamus Hughes asked him if he had ever climbed Croagh Patrick in the officer’s native County Mayo.
He said: “I want you to come back in a month’s time with evidence that you did the four stations of Croagh Patrick, and say a few prayers.
“You then might have a different impression of County Mayo and its people, and it will be in recognition to your fellow Irish people especially those in the line of duty.”
McElwee’s solicitor told the court that drink was to blame for his client’s actions and that he had personally apologised to the officer in question.
He added that although the public gallery was finding the pilgrimage remarks funny he wanted to assure the judge his client was taking it seriously and wanted to know how McElwee would be able to prove he had climbed Croagh Patrick.
McElwee is due to appear in court again next month, and the judge warned he would have questions prepared: “You better have the answers, and I will know whether you are telling the truth or not,” he said.
Thousands of pilgrims visit Croagh Patrick every year. Credit: BBC
Recovering drug addicts forced from substance misuse service
December 2, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Methadone
By Faith Orr
Recovering drug addicts in Aberdeenshire are being forced to look elsewhere for treatment after a doctors surgery shut down its substance misuse service.
The Finlayson Street surgery in Fraserburgh have made the move following the retirement of Dr Sandy Wisely, who was made famous when he revealed the abundance of reforming drug addicts in the area and began freely handing out prescriptions for methadone and other drug replacement therapies.
The move has sparked fears of an increase in suicides and crime in the area.
Former drug addict, Colin Clark, told of his experiences at suddenly being taken off methadone: “It wasn’t good, the last time I saw Dr Wisely he gave me my usual prescription and when I went in to get my next one there was another doctor who said that Wisely had left and everyone was getting put on a reduction.
“My reduction started two days later and I was told I was to be taken off at a rate of 10ml a week. When I reducing I was okay but when I came off methadone altogether, I had to miss work as I had ill effects. Some of my friends even had seizures.”
This severe reduction is in contrast to government guidelines which suggest that for extreme cases methadone should be reduced by a maximum of 3 to 5 millilitres every week.
Devin Brown of Solid Rock Cafe, a drop-in centre for drug addicts in Fraserburgh, said: “I truly think Dr Wisely had a good heart when he started putting patients on oxycontin, nitrazepam, diazepam, opiates, sleeping tablets and valium but over the past 15 years he has created a monster.”
Devin also added that although he thought the scheme was ‘mental’ and would be tough for addicts, the reduction could partly be a good thing because it will force addicts to face their problem and take action.
Dr Wisely’s former patients will be referred to the alternative Kessock Road Clinic, but there is a six month waiting list for methadone treatment.
Colin, 32, added: “Now that I’m drug free, I suppose the reduction programme worked for me, although it was a nightmare at the time. I know other reforming addicts in the area are turning to crime to pay for drugs because they can’t get treatment at the Kessock. They are prioritising people for treatment now and people with children and those who are working are being put nearer the top of the list but even they still have to wait far too long.”
Mother lets 14 year old daughter have sex in family home
November 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Balfour and his 14-year old lover
By Faith Orr
A mum’s horrific decision to allow her 14-year old daughter to have sex with her boyfriend, 22, was slated as ‘outrageous’ last night.
The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allowed Daniel Balfour to have underage sex with the teenager in her home. She claims this was to protect her child.
The situation was slammed by politicians as Balfour stood trial for his crimes.
The SNP’s South of Scotland MSP, Christine Grahame, said: “This is completely outrageous. There is a major difference to not knowing and consenting to your 14-year old daughter having sex. This girl is in need of care and protection from her mother’s values.”
She added: “The male has been dealt with by the courts…if he was 15 then it could perhaps be looked at another way but he is 22 and deserves to be punished.”
Balfour admitted to the court of having had underage sex with the girl several times over a period of 6 months. It also emerged in court that Balfour was permitted to stay at the schoolgirls house three or four nights a week with the full knowledge of her mother.
This was even accepted by prosecutors who admitted that the relationship was entirely ‘consensual’ and that the mother had always allowed things to happen under her roof.
The mum revealed that she tried to stop the relationship on many occasions but when her actions failed she permitted it to take place in the family home.
She accepted that it was not legal but defending her actions the mum hit back in a letter to a local newspaper: “As many mother’s know, you can’t lock a 14-year old in their room until they are 16. After finding out the lad was 22, I did all I could to get them to end their relationship, as did her father.
“It was a joint decision to let the relationship continue, not just mine. I would rather know where my daughter is and who she is with than have her running around the streets getting into trouble.”
While many have condemned the mother’s actions Martin Henry, an anti-sex abuse campaigner, said: “This woman did what she thought was reasonable to protect her child. She tried to keep it as much under her control as possible because better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. She knew it was illegal but her focus was on making sure her daughter was safe.”
Balfour, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, pleaded guilty at Duns Sheriff Court to having underage sex with a 14-year old girl between April 1 and October 6. Sentence has been deferred until January 6 for background reports and Balfour has been placed on the sex offenders register for a provisional period of five years.
Shannon Matthews Case Continues
November 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Matthews led into court.
By Faith Orr
Karen Matthews, the mother of Shannon Matthews who went missing for 24 days earlier this year, joked about wanting to have sex with policemen during her daughters disappearance, a court heard yesterday.
A friend has told how Matthews has a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character, lively and joking in private but solemn and subdued in public. Natalie Brown said that Matthew’s behaviour included a ‘girly moment’ when a neighbour commented on a police officer having a ‘cute bum’.
Alan Conrad QC, asked her whether ‘Matthews said she wanted to have sex with him in a room upstairs’. Brown confirmed this but said it had happened as they were all ‘laughing and joking’.
Matthews, 33, is accused of kidnapping and falsely imprisoning Shannon as well as perverting the course of justice along with Michael Donovan, 40. It is alleged that Donovan kept Shannon prisoner at his flat in Batley Carr.
The court also heard that when Matthews was given the news that her daughter had been found she was more interested in a mobile ringtone than Shannon’s wellbeing.
Detective Constable Alexander Grummitt said: “My phone rang as I was driving her to the police station. She said she liked the tune and asked me to bluetooth or text it to her.” He also added that Matthews did not enquire once about her daughter’s welfare during the journey.
It has also emerged that Donovan has been assaulted in Leeds prison where he is on remand during the three-week trial. It is understood Donovan was punched twice, but was not seriously hurt.
The jury has been told Shannon was drugged and restrained with a strap tied to a roof beam after her mother hatched a plan to make £50,000 from her faked kidnap.
The case has been adjourned until Monday.
More details on the background to the case can be read here.
Fritzl’s Mother Also A Prisoner
October 31, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Josef Fritzl (right), his daughter Elisabeth (left) and her prison (below).
Josef Fritzl, the infamous Austrian who kept his daughter imprisoned in his basement, has now admitted keeping his mother locked in the attic.
It has emerged that Fritzl, 73, kept his mother in the bricked up room for years until her death in 1980 as revenge for her treatment of him as a child.
Fritzl, who is currently awaiting trial for the crimes against his daughter has claimed that he suffered severely at the hands of his mother while growing up: “I never received any love from her. She beat me and kicked me until I was lying on the floor bleeding. I had a horrible fear of her. She kept insulting me and told me I was a Satan, a criminal, a no-good.”
The allegations emerged after a report by forensic psychiatrist, Dr Kastner, was leaked to the Austrian press. The information was gained from six sessions with Fritzl in which he gives an insight into his twisted mind: “I locked my mother up in a room at the top of the house, I then bricked up the window so that she never saw daylight again.”
Fritzl’s mother had worked as a servant while raising him alone after an acrimonious divorce. Fritzl had continued to live with his mother and moved his wife and children into her home.
During his mothers incarceration Fritzl had already begun building the cellar in the basement with the purpose of imprisoning Elisabeth, now 42. He lured his daughter into the dungeon in 1984 and she remained trapped there until she became seriously ill last year when he relented and agreed to take her to hospital. Doctors then learnt of her predicament and contacted police.
It is estimated that Fritzl raped his daughter 3000 times during her captivity after losing interest in his wife when she gained weight. He father seven children with Elisabeth, one of whom died shortly after birth, and believed himself to be a good family man: “I always took very good care of all of my offspring,” he told the physchiatrist, recalling taking games and toys to the dungeon. “When I was with them we would all sit together and talk or watch television or cook together. We celebrated birthdays, Christmas and Easter.”
Prosecutors are to demand that Fritzl be tried and sentenced as clinically sane but then be confined in an instution for the criminally insane for the rest of his life on the basis of Dr Kastner’s report.
He faces charges of manslaughter, in relation to the baby that died, as well as rape, coercion, incarceration and incest.
Charities In Crisis
October 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The voluntary sector in Scotland has been trying to weather the storm of the current financial crisis this past week. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisation’s Chief Executive, Lucy McTernan, has met with the Secretary of State for Scotland to discuss the issue of Icelandic bank deposits.
Ms McTernan said: “The voluntary sector in Scotland is facing troubling times, demand for its services is rising while income is uncertain and reserves continue to fall.”
The meeting was positive, with Jim Murphy expressing an interest in the voluntary sector and pledging to discuss the issues that had been raised with Westminster. Murphy sits on the new National Economic Forum in Westminster and has a major role to play in guaranteeing voluntary sector deposits which have been lost in Icelandic banks.
SCVO have also called on UK and Scottish Ministers to implement a four point plan which will help charities and voluntary organisations survive the turbulent financial climate.
The plan includes asking the UK Government to guarantee all voluntary sector bank deposits, which will ensure that charities can continue to operate with confidence. It also calls on the government to alter the rules around Gift Aid, a move which could mean a significant cash injection for charities.
Lucy McTernan is backing the plan: “I believe it is right that the UK Government give assurances that the assets of charities and other voluntary organisations will be fully protected from the economic downturn and I believe that the Government ought to take any action which will increase the funding going to charity, such as altering the rules for Gift Aid.”
The four point plan further asks that the UK Government use its new influence within major banks following their bail out, to ensure that their charitable foundations will continue to provide vital funding for good causes and that corporate social responsibility remains a high priority for the financial services industry.
SCVO are based in Edinburgh but operate throughout Scotland. They provide many services to the public including helping local people recover from drug and alcohol addictions and integrate back into society, they also assist people of all ages in gaining employment.
SCVO will be holding a meeting in November to evaluate the impact of the economic downturn and to look at ways in which voluntary organisations can collaborate to help each other through this difficult time.
A ‘Dooking’ World Record Attempt
October 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Locals in Peebles are to attempt to break a seasonal world record this weekend.
Around 200 people are expected to turn up at The Gytes Leisure Centre on Saturday to ‘dook’ for apples. The event is hoped to form a new world record for most people bobbing for apples.
The local businessman who came up with the idea, Euan Carr, said: “This event is for everyone to have fun and we hope to put Peebles on the map.”
Entry is free and those coming along are asked to bring a bucket with them. The event is not reliant on the weather as the forestry commission have supplied tarpaulins and plastic sheeting for it to be held inside if necessary. The community have also been pitching in and donating apples for the event.
The event is one of a series in which it is hoped to raise enough money to purchase Christmas lights. Mr Carr said: “The day is also to raise money for the town’s Christmas lights and we need about £4000. This payment means that the lights will belong to the town and we will not have to pay such a large sum in future years. We have been leasing them for the past three years but now it will only be the cost of erection and taking them down.”
There is no current record for mass apple dooking and a spokesman for Guinness World Records said: “We do monitor a category for ‘most people apple bobbing’ but there is no current record. There is a record held for ‘most apples bobbed by an individual in one minute’, it is 33 and is held by Ashrita Furman of New York and was achieved on 19 February 2008.”
The record attempt will be held at 5pm on Saturday 1 November at The Gytes Leisure Centre, Walkershaugh, Peebles. Although entry is free there will be a silver collection so donations are appreciated. Everyone is welcome, so go along and have some fun.
