Child porn case thrown out after paperwork gaffe

Scotsman – THE case against a man charged with storing indecent images of children and grooming a 13-year-old girl has been thrown out of court due to a clerical error. Mark Webster walked free after being told his case was being dismissed because the indictment against him had not been signed properly by court officials. [...]

North-east twitchers ‘fly the nest’

STV – An Aberdeenshire couple are heading for one of the best – if most remote – birdwatching jobs in the world. David and Susannah Parnaby, from Ellon, will run the new Fair Isle observatory from next spring. The couple, and their 16-month-old daughter Grace, will be heading to the island, which is half-way between [...]

Grampian Police step up search for missing Ellon man

STV – Frank Paterson, 54, has been missing since Friday 23 July 2010 from his home address in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. The Grampian Police Force are stepping up their efforts to find him, and are asking the public to help. Mr Paterson was last seen in the Hospital Road area of Ellon by a friend but [...]

Crash-land pilot has a field day

Scottish Sun – A LUCKY pilot walked away unharmed from this plane wreckage after crash-landing in a field. The stricken Jabiru SK aircraft suffered engine failure and came down at a farm near Whiterashes air strip in Aberdeenshire.

Former cadet instructor had porn images of children

Press and Journal – A former Army cadet instructor has been jailed for two years after being caught with nearly 18,000 indecent images of children by a US government sting operation. Aberdeenshire man John Stuart was told he was involved in “the most terrible abuse of children”.

First minister enters row over land maintenance contracts

Press and Journal – Scotland’s first minister has waded into a row between a land maintenance company and residents on a north-east housing estate. Alex Salmond wrote to the managing director of Greenbelt Group to ask that the company hand over the ownership and control of open spaces on the Pines estate in Ellon to [...]

Donald Trump facing Aberdeenshire golf plans meeting

BBC – American tycoon Donald Trump’s vision of creating the “world’s greatest” golf course in Aberdeenshire could take another step forward. Councillors are due to meet in Ellon to consider whether Mr Trump has met a variety of planning conditions for the resort at Menie.

Man accused of attacking young driver with hammer

Press and Journal – Police were last night continuing inquiries into an alleged hammer attack that left a young driver terrified and her car damaged at an Aberdeenshire park-and-ride site. Driver Fiona Smillie claims her car lights were smashed in the incident at the site on the outskirts of Ellon. The 20-year-old said: “It’s where [...]

£135,000 electronic sign a waste of time, says councillor

Press and Journal – AN ABERDEENSHIRE councillor is “bitterly disappointed” in transport bosses for fitting a £135,000 electronic sign, which will later have to be torn down. Ellon and district councillor Gillian Owen said Transport Scotland is wasting council money by erecting the electronic sign on the A90 Aberdeen-Peterhead road.

Travellers make themselves at home at park-and-ride

Press and Journal – TRAVELLERS have set up camp at an Aberdeenshire park-and-ride site, bringing caravans, cars, vans, dogs – and even horses – with them. The group parked at Ellon on Monday night, just a couple of weeks after travellers took refuge there because they had been chased away by people throwing stones in [...]

Police seize drugs from aberdeenshire property

Press and Journal – More than £1,000 worth of illegal drugs has been seized from alleged dealers in the north-east after Grampian Police sent one of their new major investigation teams to rural Aberdeenshire last night. Four ounces of cannabis resin worth £750 was recovered from a property at Pitmedden at 8pm following a special [...]

Police officer sex assault charges dropped

BBC – A Grampian Police officer accused of sexually assaulting a vulnerable man and a woman has had the charges against him dropped.

Autistic graduate reveals how special school changed his life

Press and Journal – Most people will remember the step up from primary to secondary school as an exciting, if daunting, adventure but for James Cusack it was a miserable experience. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, at the age of 12, he floundered in mainstream classes at Ellon Academy in Aberdeenshire and [...]

Single sniff of wrong foods could kill boy

Press and Journal – Just the smell of peanuts, dairy products or shellfish could be enough to send Amoz Harrell into a coma – or even kill him.

Probation for man who exposed himself at schools

BBC – A man who admitted indecently exposing himself to young girls in the Aberdeenshire area has been given probation and community service. Philip Robertson, 51, targeted girls as young as nine during a spate of incidents at schools.

Firm answers animal sanctuary’s plea for help

A NORTH-EAST business has come to the rescue of a struggling animal sanctuary after an appeal in the media, reports the Press and Journal

Ellon artist’s take two – live on the internet

An artist from Ellon in Aberdeenshire is holding a live 24-hour social media art project.
Based on the crowdsourcing principle, Johanna Basford will take suggestions from people who contact her on Twitter, then stream the drawings live onto her website.
Joanna must like a challenge. At the time of writing, she posted on Twitter that sh was: [...]

Missing: Amanda Milne, Ellon

A 21-year-old woman has been reported missing from the Aberdeenshire area, sparking an anxious police appeal for information, erports the BBC

Supermarket chain acquires north stores

A new supermarket store launched last month has bought another four new stores in the north and north-east, reports STV

Volunteers send 7ft-high wall of parcels to the front line

A north-east team worked with military precision yesterday to help wrap and send out hundreds of goodwill parcels to troops who will spend Christmas on the front line, reports the Press and Journal here