Latest news with #SouthAyrshire
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Talented Ayrshire musician performs in national event at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Luke Parkhill was the South Ayrshire representative in the national event. Talented trumpeter Luke Parkhill from Belmont Academy, who is the current South Ayrshire Senior Young Musician of the Year, performed at the Scottish Young Musicians Solo Performer of the Year National Final at Glasgow's Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The competition, which is now in its fourth year, saw young people from each of Scotland's 32 local authorities come together to perform in front of a panel of judges, with Luke representing South Ayrshire. Depute Provost Mary Kilpatrick attended the event to cheer on Luke as he performed 'Oscar Bohme Trumpet Concerto – 1 st Movement' on stage.
The Sun
16-05-2025
- The Sun
Boy, 7, ‘brandished kitchen knife' at fellow pupil as Scots schoolkids left ‘terrified' and cops investigating
COPS are probing claims a boy of seven took a blade into a school to attack a classmate. The P3 pupil is said to have brandished a kitchen knife at Heathfield Primary in Ayr. 4 4 Furious parents hit out at school bosses as cops confirmed they are investigating a 'report of a child in possession of a knife'. It is claimed the P3 pupil brandished a kitchen knife at another lad before teachers confiscated it. He has since been excluded from school. But a letter sent by a council chief six days later only mentions that there was an 'incident' at Heathfield Primary in Ayr. The only official notification most parents received about the horror moment on May 8 came from Lyndsay McRoberts, South Ayrshire's Director of Education. She wrote: 'While we are limited in what details can be shared beyond those directly involved, please be assured that the school acted appropriately and with the best interests of all children at heart.' But one concerned mother, who asked to remain anonymous, criticised the school for failing to provide full details. She told The Scottish Sun: 'It's alleged the child came into school with a kitchen knife in his bag. 'He shouted at a boy and tried to make his way to another classroom. 'The teachers apparently stopped him and confiscated the knife. Moment pupil 'storms school with KNIFE' in front of terrified kids 'But the school have dealt with this dreadfully. I only found out about it through other parents. We weren't informed of anything that happened. 'We got a letter from the Director of Education nearly a week later. It didn't even specify what happened, never once mentioning a knife. 'It's all been kept very hush-hush. They've not taken into consideration the toll it has taken on the kids. 'They were terrified. This affects absolutely everybody in that playground and every parent sat at home worrying about their kids.' A spokesman for South Ayrshire Council said: 'We can confirm there was an incident in a P3 class at Heathfield Primary School last week involving a seven-year-old child. At no point were any pupils in the class or staff harmed or threatened. 'The situation was resolved without disruption to the wider school. The child involved was excluded. Parents/carers with children in the class were notified of the incident last week. 'The police were also informed along with all other relevant agencies. Wider communication on this was subsequently sent to all parents/carers with children at the school.' Police Scotland said: 'Around 9.20am on May 8 we received a report of a child in possession of a knife at a school in Ayr. Advice was given.' We told in 2014 how a teacher at Heathfield Primary suffered broken ribs and a black eye after being hit by a nine-year-old P5 pupil. Last month, cop were called to Mortlach Primary in Dufftown, Moray, after a blade was brought in. Also in April, a girl aged 12 was rushed to hospital after an alleged slashing at Hazlehead Academy, Aberdeen. The Scottish Sun has revealed plans for an anti-knife campaign by the parents of Kory McCrimmon, 16, who was stabbed to death by a 13-year-old thug in a Glasgow park last May.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Scotland marks hottest day of the year in long dry spell
Scotland has marked its hottest day of the year so far as temperatures in parts of the country rose above in South Ayrshire, and Tyndrum, in Stirlingshire, both recorded temperatures of 25.5C on beat the previous highest temperatures of the year on Monday by just 0.1C during the driest spring on record so far throughout the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said around half of the country was under a water scarcity alert. Forecasters have warned low levels of rain are ahead for large swathes of the country in coming rivers including the Clyde, Dee, Galloway and Nith are are subject to low water alerts. Sepa said the warm dry weather came off the back of a drier than normal winter and autumn last Johnson, Sepa's senior manager in water industry, said river levels were lower at this time in the season than in previous said the current alert meant people should be aware that water flows are beginning to "show some signs of pressure from the dry weather".Those who use water abstracts from rivers and lochs for business reasons should consider this before extracting it, she added. Ms Johnson told BBC Radio's Lunchtime Live: "We can restrict the amount of water that is taken but we would only do that when we've had really sustained dry periods and there are really low flows in the rivers."We've had below average rainfall throughout the winter and last autumn as well, and spring has been fairly dry."So we have come into the summer season with flows than we might expect to see. It has been very warm and dry."She added: "They are lower at this time in the season compared to other years." Will we ever see the rain? So is Scotland now a dry country, albeit in the weather sense?In Leuchars, Fife, it had not rained for 24 days as of Tuesday a whole, the UK is only running at 80mm of precipitation – making it the driest spring on record so Scotland weather presenter Kirsteen MacDonald said parts of the country were going into their fourth straight week without said "scarcely any" rain is forecast for the coming days, but some areas could see heavy showers over the weekend."High pressure will dominate our weather throughout the rest of this week and into the beginning of next week, resulting in settled conditions with lots of sunshine," she said."Temperatures will remain significantly above average for many too."By Sunday, we are likely to have some heavy, thundery showers break out in central and south western areas. "However, this is some way off in terms of forecasting, so the detail is subject to change."
The National
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Scottish Tory council boss steps down 'temporarily' amid police probe
Martin Dowey, the leader of South Ayrshire Council and husband of Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey, has stepped back from his role amid the ongoing investigation sparked by a story in the Sunday Mail. In the recording, taken at council offices in 2023, Dowey is also reported to have told a businessman he could help him win a multi-million-pound deal to demolish the fire-damaged Station Hotel in Ayr. READ MORE: Maggie Chapman survives in key Holyrood committee role as SNP oppose Tory motion Dowey insisted that as a former police officer he knew 'the law and I respect it at all times' – claiming he had 'reported the approach from this individual to the police and the local authority myself long ago because I suspected something was not right'. On Monday evening however, he went a step further, saying: "I have decided to step aside temporarily as leader to prevent this becoming a distraction from important local issues. "I would welcome a further detailed investigation to fully clear this up." At a meeting of the council cabinet chaired by depute leader Bob Pollock on Tuesday morning, South Ayrshire chief executive Mike Newall made a statement which has been read as a swipe at Dowey. While not mentioning Dowey or his comments directly, Newall made it clear his words were a result of the Conservative councillor's attack. He said: 'I'd just like to take this opportunity as chief executive to thank all council employees for all their hard work in delivering essential council services. 'I know that the corporate leadership team respect and appreciate their endeavours and values their contribution towards making a difference every day in South Ayrshire. 'Any suggestion to the contrary is wholly unfounded. 'I am sure that every member of the cabinet would fully endorse this.' A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'We are in receipt of correspondence and it is currently being assessed.' A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Council added: 'We note that this matter is with Police Scotland, and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.'
Daily Record
29-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
South Ayrshire Council chief backs staff in wake of leader's "f*****g useless" rant
The chief executive of South Ayrshire Council has taken a thinly veiled swipe at the local authority's leader, Martin Dowey. Conservative Councillor Dowey, who last night said he intends to temporarily step down from the leadership role, had described council officials as "f****** useless" in a recorded conversation with a construction company boss. He had also claimed he could sack senior officials, complaining about the slow pace of progress at the council and suggesting he could help the company win a contract. At a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Depute Leader Bob Pollock on Tuesday morning, South Ayrshire CEO, Mike Newall, made a statement backing staff. While not mentioning Cllr Dowey or his comments, he made it clear his words were a result of the Conservative councillor's attack. He said: 'I'd just like to take this opportunity as chief executive to thank all council employees for all their hard work in delivering essential council services. 'I know that the corporate leadership team respect and appreciate their endeavours and values their contribution towards making a difference every day in South Ayrshire. 'Any suggestion to the contrary is wholly unfounded. 'I am sure that every member of the cabinet would fully endorse this.'
