Latest news with #USave
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow driver left teens 'scattered across car park' court hears
Steven Gilmour is said to have collided with the youngsters in Glasgow's Provanmill having earlier dropped off Super Noodles at his home. Six of the boys were described as needing hospital treatment following the incident on August 22 2022. Gilmour - a carer - has gone on trial charged with causing injury by dangerous driving. The 36-year-old is said to have been behind the wheel of a silver Vauxhall Corsa and drove at excessive speeds for the road conditions. It is claimed he lost control of the vehicle mounted a pavement and went in to a car park where the teenagers had been standing. Gilmour, of the city's Barlanark, denies the charge at Glasgow Sheriff Court. The trial heard from Gilmour's partner Erin Bowman, 35, who stated that she spoke to him on the phone earlier that day. READ NEXT: Man rushed to hospital after 'stabbing' on Glasgow street READ NEXT: Council speaks out over primary school's union flag letter Fiscal Danielle Docherty asked Miss Bowman if she could remember anything about his working day. She replied: "I asked him to pick up Super Noodles and drop them off after his next shift. Miss Docherty said: "Did he come home with them?" The witness said: "He finished his shift and before he started his next one he brought Super Noodles for our child then went to work." Miss Docherty later asked if Gilmour had went "out of his way" or if he had been delayed by the request, which Miss Bowman refuted. However, the fiscal referred to Miss Bowman's police statement in which she told an officer that her partner had been "running late." Miss Bowman stated that the next contact with Gilmour was when he called her in a 'panic' to say that he had been in an 'accident' and 'was not sure if he had hurt anyone.' Lee Porter, 41, told the court that he heard a "loud bang" outside his home around 5.20pm that day. The Glasgow city council gardener said he looked out of his window and "saw young lads scattered all over the car park." Mr Porter stated that he rushed to the community centre in his bare feet to attend to the boys. He said: "They were all in different positions - one was under a car, one or two of them were unconscious." When asked about the teenager under the vehicle, Mr Porter replied: "It was the front of the car on the passenger was obviously in shock with the motor on top of him." Mr Porter stated that he and Gilmour - who he identified in the dock - as well as one of the uninjured youths lifted the vehicle from the boy. The witness said Gilmour was also "in shock" and claimed that he did not know what had happened. He added: "Mr Gilmour then left the scene of the ran towards the USave shop on Royston Road." Miss Docherty said: "What did you do?" Mr Porter said: "I then left the boys, ran upstairs to put trainers on and then I went to the shop to get Mr Gilmour." Miss Docherty said: "What was he doing?" Mr Porter said: "He was trying to hide in there." The witness stated that he took Gilmour by the arm and handed him to the police officers who had arrived. Mr Porter claimed that he saw six of the eight boys be taken away by ambulances. Calum Weir, defending, asked Mr Porter if the atmosphere after the crash was hostile towards Mr Gilmour and he replied: "Yes." Mr Weir followed up: "It's not unreasonable for a person to try and remove himself from that?". Mr Porter again agreed. The summary trial, before Sheriff Patricia Pryce and no jury, continues in August.
STV News
5 days ago
- STV News
Driver left eight teens 'scattered across car park' after alleged hit and run
A driver left eight teenage boys 'scattered across a car park' following an alleged hit and run, a court heard. Steven Gilmour is said to have collided with the youngsters in Glasgow's Provanmill having earlier dropped off Super Noodles at his home. Six of the boys were described as needing hospital treatment following the incident on August 22, 2022. Gilmour – a carer – has gone on trial charged with causing injury by dangerous driving. The 36-year-old is said to have been behind the wheel of a silver Vauxhall Corsa and drove at excessive speeds for the road conditions. It is claimed he lost control of the vehicle, mounted a pavement and went in to a car park where the teenagers had been standing. Gilmour, of the city's Barlanark, denies the charge at Glasgow Sheriff Court. The trial heard from Gilmour's partner, who stated that she spoke to him on the phone earlier that day. Fiscal Danielle Docherty asked if she could remember anything about his working day. She replied: 'I asked him to pick up Super Noodles and drop them off after his next shift. Ms Docherty asked: 'Did he come home with them?' The witness said: 'He finished his shift and before he started his next one he brought Super Noodles for our child then went to work.' Ms Docherty later asked if Gilmour had went 'out of his way' or if he had been delayed by the request, which the woman refuted. However, the fiscal referred to the woman's police statement in which she told an officer that her partner had been 'running late.' The woman stated that the next contact with Gilmour was when he called her in a 'panic' to say that he had been in an 'accident' and 'was not sure if he had hurt anyone.' A witness told the court that he heard a 'loud bang' outside his home around 5.20pm that day. The Glasgow City council gardener said he looked out of his window and 'saw young lads scattered all over the car park.' The man stated that he rushed to the community centre in his bare feet to attend to the boys. He said: 'They were all in different positions – one was under a car, one or two of them were unconscious.' When asked about the teenager under the vehicle, the man replied: 'It was the front of the car on the passenger side…he was obviously in shock with the motor on top of him.' The man stated that he and Gilmour – who he identified in the dock – as well as one of the uninjured youths lifted the vehicle from the boy. The witness said Gilmour was also 'in shock' and claimed that he did not know what had happened. He added: 'Mr Gilmour then left the scene of the crime…he ran towards the USave shop on Royston Road.' Ms Docherty asked: 'What did you do?' The witness replied: 'I then left the boys, ran upstairs to put trainers on and then I went to the shop to get Mr Gilmour.' Ms Docherty said: 'What was he doing?' The witness replied: 'He was trying to hide in there.' The witness stated that he took Gilmour by the arm and handed him to the police officers who had arrived. The man claimed that he saw six of the eight boys be taken away by ambulances. Calum Weir, defending, asked the man if the atmosphere after the crash was hostile towards Mr Gilmour and he replied: 'Yes.' Mr Weir followed up: 'It's not unreasonable for a person to try and remove himself from that?'. The witness again agreed. The summary trial, before Sheriff Patricia Pryce and no jury, continues in August. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Record
08-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Disposable vapes ban flouted across Scotland including shops linked to Anas Sarwar's family's firm
Our investigation uncovered retailers still brazenly selling outlawed devices despite the single-use vape ban coming into force on June 1. A new ban on disposable vapes is being flouted by shops across Scotland - including stores franchised by Labour leader Anas Sarwar's family's firm, the Sunday Mail can reveal. Despite a nationwide ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes coming into force on June 1, a Sunday Mail investigation has uncovered some retailers that are still brazening selling outlawed devices. Our investigator was able to buy a selection of banned single-use vapes including one Elfbar disposable at a Glasgow city centre USave store which has links to Sarwar's family's wholesaling business. While the shop is an independent retailer, it trades under the USave banner which is franchised by United Wholesale (Scotland), set up by the Scottish Labour chief's father, millionaire businessman Mohammad Sarwar. When confronted by the Sunday Mail, UWS stressed both stores were independent retailers and it had no say over how they operate from a legal standpoint. However the firm added that it had spoken to the first shop who said the sale had been an 'oversight' and all other vapes in-store were compliant. A spokesman for UWS said: 'All the stores referenced are independent retailers, UWS does not own them. 'It would be inappropriate to suggest any wrongdoing by UWS. Everything we sell to retailers is fully compliant and the change in the law is supported by the company. 'We will continue to provide guidance to our customers, emphasise compliance and make them clear on the consequences of any failure.' In 2017, Sarwar announced he was relinquishing all shares in the wholesaler amid revelations it had not been paying all its staff the real living wage. However a report this year found his household was still benefiting from a £57,000-a-year dividend from the family firm via shares held by his wife. The firm boasts more than 500 stores under the USave and Day-Today banners. At the city USave store in St George's Cross, we picked up the now banned Elfbar disposable as part of a 'five for £20' deal, with the other four e-cigs similar in appearance but labelled as legal 'prefilled pod kits' rather than disposables. At another USave shop in the city centre, disposable vapes were not on display but when asked, the shopkeeper fetch a banned Higo Crystal Bar disposable vape from a back room. However the wholesaler told the Sunday Mail independent shops operating under its banners are free to purchase goods from other wholesalers as well as UWS and it does not stock the Higo range of products bought at the second shop. The new ban means that shops and supermarkets will no longer be able to sell disposable vapes but they can sell rechargeable and refillable devices. However in convenience stores and vape shops across Glasgow, we were able to purchase Elfbar disposable pods, Lost Mary disposable pods, and SKE and Higo Crystal Bar single-use vapes after workers sourced outlawed stock from under the counter or back stock rooms. Reacting to our findings, Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater said: 'The vast majority of retailers will have upheld the law and ceased the sale of disposable vapes - but there are some who will do all they can to bend the rules, even more so in these early weeks when there will undoubtedly be left over disposable vapes in stock to profit from. "There must be appropriate enforcement of the ban and monitoring to ensure it is followed. 'Disposable vapes are single-use plastic. They are harmful to health and also to our planet when they are discarded and end up littering our streets, beaches and green spaces.' The Sunday Mail visited a total of 15 shops and were sold unlawful vapes in six separate stores. That includes a shop branded the 'Glasgow Super Store' near Glasgow's Barras market which sold us an Elfbar disposable off the shelf. At a store called 'Newsmart' in central Glasgow, the shopkeeper didn't display single-use vapes but had a box with contraband under the counter, selling us a SKE Crystal single-use vape. In Bridgeton in the city's east end, one newsagent and another 'Best-One' convenience store sold us illegal disposables which were all available on display. In the newsagent, a shop worker admitted he knew about the ban but was just trying to shift the last of his old stock - selling us two Lost Mary disposables for £10 but insisted the rest of his vapes were legal. The illegal vapes we collected were clearly single-use because there was no facility to recharge the devices or refill the e-liquid pods. Other stores sold us legal vapes branded as prefilled pods that look similar to the old disposables - with sweet candy flavours like Cola Ice and Gummy Bear - which have been criticised for enticing kids to take up the nicotine-based products. Because these products have charging ports and pods which can be removed and replaced, they are deemed compliant with the regulations. Critics say disposable vape users will continue to use these products in the same way because of their cheapness, throwing them away after use. Sources told the Sunday Mail the sale of disposable vapes remains rife up and down the country despite the June 1 ban, with reports of illegal trading in Edinburgh, Kilmarnoc k, and Falkirk. Some 8million polluting disposable vapes, which contain single-use plastic and lithium, are disposed of incorrectly or littered in the UK every week. In Edinburgh, responsible local vapes firm VPZ - which backs the ban on single-use vapes but has repeatedly warned about loopholes - said the first week of the ban had been chaotic amid chaos and confusion over the new rules. They also say Trading Standards officers are stretched too thin to enforce it - and criticised 'weak' starting fines of just £200. Presented with the Sunday Mail's findings, Jamie Strachan, operations director at VPZ, said: 'I'm not in the slightest surprised you've found illicit vapes are still being sold in many shops across Glasgow. 'It matches with the picture we're seeing up and down the country. 'A walk through many towns and cities across Scotland would not suggest a ban is in place... in its current form, it is not effective. 'This is because fines start at just £200 - generously reduced to £150 if retailers pay within 14 days. The reality is that without robust enforcement, the rules will simply be ignored. 'Unfortunately, products that closely resemble the now-banned disposables - often with removable pods or mouthpieces - are flooding the market. 'These new devices look and feel essentially identical to their predecessors, with the same bright colours and sweet flavours that appeal to younger demographics.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Glasgow City Council's Trading Standards department vowed to follow up on the Sunday Mail's findings. A spokesman said: 'From June 1 this year it has become illegal to sell single-use vape products that cannot be recharged or refilled. 'We have written to all premises in Glasgow registered with the Scottish Government who sell vapes to highlight the ban and advise on how to deal with non-compliant stock.' He noted while fixed penalty notices start at £200, non-compliant shopkeepers can be prosecuted with fines of up to £5000 and two years in prison.
