Major emergency rescue operation launched in Perth
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service also received reports of an incident at Moncreiffe Island, in the River Tay.
An air ambulance, special operations teams, lifeboats and firefighters were among those involved in the search.
READ MORE: Bold plans to save Scottish BBC studios from 'fading into history' unveiled
Police said they closed Tay Street between Marshall Place and Canal Street while the search was carried out.
The nature of the rescue operation is currently unknown.
A police statement read: 'Around 7.45pm on Thursday, 14 August, 2025 we received a report of a concern for a person in the water near to Tay Street, Perth.
'As a result Tay Street is closed in both directions, from Marshall Place to Canal Street, for motorists and pedestrians.
'Emergency services are in attendance and people are asked to avoid the area.'
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service added: 'We received the call at 7.37pm to Moncreiffe Island.
'We have two appliances, a boat, crew, and two officers in attendance, with another appliance and boat on the way.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
6 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Enforcement action over 'unauthorised' development in Rob Roy village
It said its officers have, with the support of Police Scotland, issued an enforcement notice in respect of the "unauthorised placement of a static caravan and associated access works " in the picturesque village of Balquhidder, located 10 miles north-west of Callander. LLTTNPA said the notice requires "their removal as the owner has failed to heed all previous requests to do so". It added: "Following public warnings and enforcement action by the park authority on such unlawful activity on nearby land in 2022, the situation has unfortunately escalated. READ MORE: "In the Balquhidder area alone, land previously under single ownership has now been subdivided into approximately 45 plots. "These small plots, priced attractively from £7,000, are drawing buyers from across the UK and overseas who appear unaware of the significant planning constraints on what is environmentally sensitive land." Both a glen and village, Balquhidder lies at the head of Loch Voil and has the remains of a number of pre-historic sites including a stone circle, the Puidrac Stone, and a Neolithic burial chamber cairn to the east. It has many important associations with the archetypal Scottish hero immortalised by Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy MacGregor, who is buried at Balquhidder. The village attracts many visitors who come to see Rob Roy's grave in Balquhidder Kirkyard. Rob Roy lived and died in the village. After his principal creditor, James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose seized his lands, Rob Roy waged a private blood feud against the duke until 1722, when he was forced to surrender. Later imprisoned, he was finally pardoned in 1727. He died in his house at Inverlochlarig Beg, Balquhidder, on December 28, 1734. Unauthorised developments in Balquidder (Image: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority) Stuart Mearns, Director of Place at LLTTNPA, said: "We are concerned and frustrated by this continuing trend across the National Park of the marketing of small plots of land which are not suitable for development. We strongly urge vigilance from buyers. If a sale notice seems too good to be true, we encourage buyers to seek their own professional advice or from our planning staff before purchasing. 'We are also seeing a trend where some owners realising the land is not suitable for development, then seek to sell the land on. In one case, this has been with the creation of further smaller plots. While we are proactively engaging with new owners and seeing development works removed, in some cases unfortunately there are some that are not heeding our warnings. "This unauthorised activity raises serious concerns including in respect of pollution, risk to environmental designations and unsafe road access. These plots of land are very unlikely to receive planning permission given they are in typically within the countryside and sited on flood plains on environmentally sensitive or protected landscape and typically have no formal access or infrastructure. 'If those enforcement notices we issue are not complied with, we will not hesitate in utilising our statutory powers, including options that are a last resort such as forcibly removing any structures.' LLTTNPA said it has also reported an increase in complaints from members of the public, neighbouring landowners and community organisations in the Balquidder, Crainlarich and Gartocharn areas - raising concerns about compliance issues and seeking reassurance about planning processes. "Unfortunately, there have also been reports of intimidating behaviour towards community members at the Balquidder plots", LLTTNPA added. LLTTNPA said that, to proactively address the issue, it is working closely with local communities and partner agencies including local councils, Police Scotland and SEPA. It will also convene a multi-agency meeting this month "to discuss any wider and coordinated steps that public bodies should consider". "Anyone considering purchasing any land in the National Park with the intention of developing should seek advice from suitably qualified persons or contact the National Park Authority's planning team in the first instance", LLTTNPA noted.
Daily Record
7 hours ago
- Daily Record
Chilling true crime documentary about 'Scotland's most controversial murder' leaves viewers baffled
The Amazon Prime Video documentary delves into the brutal 1994 murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood on a small Scottish island that was a cold case for years before an arrest was finally made. Amazon Prime Video has a number of gripping true crime docuseries on its streaming platform with one recently uploaded programme about one of Scotland's most controversial murder cases leaving viewers hooked. The Orkney Assassin: Murder in the Isles was uploaded to Amazon Prime earlier this summer and recounts the chilling 1994 murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood, a waiter at the Indian restaurant Mumtaz in Kirkwall, in a 90-minute documentary. The 26-year-old Bangladeshi national was brutally gunned down by a masked man in front of horrified diners, including families with children. Before his murder, Mahmood had been planning to return to Bangladesh and marry his girlfriend after working on the island the year before he was killed. After the shocking crime, the assassin vanished, leaving a long lasting impact on the island that still resonates today. The unusual case is now under scrutiny once more after the Orkney Assassin landed on the streaming platform in June. At the time of the crime, 15-year-old Michael Ross was the main suspect and was questioned but was never charged. The case gained notoriety due to Ross' young age and the fact he was an army cadet but he was ultimately released. However, after a lengthy 14-year investigation, a breakthrough in the case occurred when a witness came forward and said they had seen Ross on the night of the murder. Ross was finally convicted of Mahmood's murder in 2008 at the High Court in Glasgow. Upon hearing his guilty verdict, the ex-Black Watch soldier attempted to flee court before he was arrested. Ross' car was later found in a nearby supermarket car park, filled with weapons and camping gear, which he had been planning to use whilst on the run before his escape plan failed. Despite all this, Michael Ross has always insisted he is innocent. He is currently serving a 25-year sentence at HMP Shotts in Lanarkshire, one of Scotland's highest security prisons. Since his imprisonment, he has attempted to escape three times, which he claims are efforts to bring his case back into the public eye. His family, including father and former policeman Eddy Ross, mother Moira, and other members of the Orkney community are campaigning for his release as part of the J4MR - Justice 4 Michael Ross group. Viewers have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the documentary as one wrote on Letterboxd: "Worth a watch but be ready to shout at the TV." Another wrote on X: "Put on the Orkney Assassin documentary. It's such a surprising case. I would have been about 7 when it started and I was on Lewis - which tends to have a lot of connection with Orkney - but I don't remember this case at ALL." A third remarked: "Watching The Orkney Assassin, and it shows the difference between the islands and the mainland. Stuff like this simply doesn't happen on the islands. Hell, they don't even lock their doors!" The 1994 murder continues to divide the Orkney community to this day with local newspaper reporter Ethan Fleet explaining "There are a lot of inconsistencies and unanswered questions surrounding the case and the investigations that preceded the trial, dubious witnesses whose evidence seems to be rather important in the case, changing positions. Things like that got my interest in that." Prosecutor Brian McConnachie KC added: "I think there's always going to be two sides." He described the Orkney murder as a "challenging" case and his most high-profile one, saying: "The number of times I have been asked about the case is incredible by comparison to any other case I've ever been involved in."
Scotsman
10 hours ago
- Scotsman
Prisoners who break jail rules 'should be barred from early release'
The Scottish Tories made the call amid a rising number of incidents Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Prisoners have broken rules in jail almost 100,000 times since the start of 2022, prompting calls for inmates who do so to be exempt from early release. New figures have revealed the number of inmates who broke the rules increased from 6,017 in 2022 to 6,659 the following year, and reached a peak of 6,904 in 2024. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the first seven months of this year alone, 4,556 prisoners have broken the rules, according to figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives under under Freedom of Information laws. The number of Scottish prisoners who have broken prison rules has increased every year since 2022 | PA Meanwhile, the number of individual rule breaks increased by 44 per cent between 2022 and 2024, rising from 22,318 in 2022 to 30,926 the following year, before increasing again to 32,128 in 2024. With the data also showing a further 14,618 rule breaks in the first seven months of 2025, there has been a total of 99,990 rule breaks over the period January 2022 to July 2025. One individual prisoner is responsible for 143 rule breaches, the statistics showed, with other inmates having accrued 111 and 105 breaches while in custody. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meanwhile, 60 of the 312 prisoners who were freed early in February and March this year as part of Scottish Government efforts to tackle overcrowding were reported to have broken prison rules during their time in jail. Holyrood last year passed legislation to change the release point for those criminals serving prison sentences of under four years, so they will be freed after 40 per cent of their sentence, down from 50 per cent. Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: 'No inmate who is found breaking prison rules should be considered for early release. At least somewhere in the justice system criminals need to realise that actions have consequences. 'These alarming figures are symptomatic of a prison system being utterly failed by a complacent SNP government making up policy on the hoof. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'If prisoners are willing to break the rules in the controlled environment of a prison, then they will have no problem breaking the law and endangering communities when they are back on the streets. 'The rising number of rule breaches shows clearly that prisoners feel emboldened to do whatever they want behind bars, knowing their actions won't impact on their prospects of early release under a government desperate to cover its long-term failures with short-term, knee-jerk responses. 'Victims will feel that justice isn't being served but this also shows that the SNP aren't even equipping our prisons to properly rehabilitate offenders.' A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Our population, which is already extremely high and complex, continues to rise rapidly. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'This has an increasingly destabilising effect on our establishments, with staff unable to do the critical work of building relationships and supporting rehabilitation, and prisoners frustrated by the impact on their daily lives and the opportunities available to them. 'We need to see a reduction in our population, so we fully support people in our care, reduce their risk of reoffending, and help build the safer communities we all want to see.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The rising and increasingly complex prison population remains a major challenge as it does across the UK and we are taking sustained action to reduce it.
