Ayr Advertiser
PERVERT BRIBED BOYS WITH GAMES CONSOLE CODES
A SOUTH Ayrshire sex attacker preyed on young boys by bribing them with codes to use on their games consoles. Ross Brogan gave one child more than £1,000 worth of tokens in exchange for lewd photos and videos.
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SOUTH AYRSHIRE FRAUDSTER’S JAIL SENTENCE COULD BE EXTENDED
A SOUTH Ayrshire fraudster with more than 100 convictions who “specialised in preying on the elderly” could have his latest prison sentence extended. Prosecutors have lodged an appeal against Robert Markward’s nine-year jail term. A hearing is due to...
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NURSE IS SENTENCED FOR VILE PICTURES
A MENTAL health nurse who collected thousands of indecent images of children out of “morbid curiosity” has been sentenced.
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CREEP SENT ‘12-YEAR-OLD GIRL’ NAKED PICTURES
A SEX offender caught sending explicit messages to an alleged child claiming “age is just a number” has been jailed – after urging the recipient not to let their parents find out. Edward Taylor, who told the court his name was Charles Lee, pleaded...
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‘EVRI-WHERE EXCEPT OUR VILLAGE’
FURIOUS residents of a South Ayrshire village fear their area has become a delivery backwater, with missing parcels set to spoil Christmas.
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KILLER BRANDED ‘DANGER TO THE PUBLIC’
A VIOLENT criminal branded “a danger to the public” has been jailed for life after murdering the son of his then-partner in a vicious knife attack in Troon. James Thomson was ordered to serve at least 19 years in prison before he can seek to apply for...
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AIRPORT DEAL COLLAPSES
A TURKISH company with links to the country’s controversial president was behind a collapsed deal to buy Prestwick Airport. The potential sale of the South Ayrshire site by the Scottish Government fell through last week, as confirmed by Deputy First...
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SEX OFFENDER SENT NAKED PICS TO ‘GIRL’
A SEX offender caught sending explicit messages to an alleged child claimed “age is just a number” - and urged the recipient not to let their parents find out. Edward Taylor, now an inmate at HMP Kilmarnock, admitted sending messages to a person he...
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‘NO ONE SHOULD GO TO WORK AND FEEL UNSAFE’
A SHOP owner in Ayr says he’s been left “fearing for his life” after being terrorised by a group of young yobs during a year-long spate of anti-social behaviour.
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MAN HOARDED CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
AN AYRSHIRE mental health worker caught hoarding child abuse images claimed he developing an interest in the sick pics after his work’s paedophile monitoring training. George Nish, 57, pleaded guilty to taking or permitting to be taken or making...
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Men’s Shed handed £20,000 funding boost
THE Ayr and Prestwick Men’s Shed charity has been handed a timely funding boost. The shed received vital funding from the National Lottery of £20,000, which will help pay rent and electricity for the next two years. Vice-chair Ronnie says that the...
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MAN FACES MURDER TRIAL OVER DEATH IN TROON
A MURDER trial has begun for a man accused of killing 22-year-old Callum Pollock. James Thomson, from East Ayrshire, appeared before a jury at the High Court in Glasgow this week in connection with the death of Mr Pollock in the town’s Ramsay Court...
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‘WE’RE THERE TO HELP PEOPLE GET HOME IN ONE PIECE’
[email protected] AYRSHIRE Street Pastors invited the Ayr Advertiser to join them on a patrol. We find out what a typical night involves and the reaction they receive.
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FLOODING AND BLACK MOULD FORCES OWNER OUT OF SHOP
AN AYR businesswoman says she has lost her livelihood after being forced out of her shop by black mould and flooding. Yvonne Don, owner of Smelly Heaven, claims she has had to remove her stock from her shop on Main Street. The businesswoman, from...
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BELGIAN RACING CAR DRIVER LEFT OAP IN COMA AFTER CRASH
A BELGIAN businessman left a pensioner in an induced coma after a head-on crash on the wrong side of a South Ayrshire road. Racing car driver Jimmy De Breucker smashed into the 72-year-old victim’s vehicle on the opposing carriageway of the A714,...
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CYCLE LANE PLAN IS BRANDED ‘NONSENSICAL’
AYR business owners have united in opposition against plans to rip up a town centre shopping street for a cycle lane, which they say could drive customers away.
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COMPLAINT INTO EX-COUNCIL CHIEF IS BEING PROBED
‘NO criminality’ has been established as part of a police probe into former South Ayrshire Council leader Martin Dowey. However, the Advertiser can reveal an Ethical Standards Commissioner investigation is ongoing into the Ayr West Conservative...
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EXCLUSIVE
SOUTH Ayrshire Council is owed an eye-watering £12 million in unpaid council tax, the Advertiser can reveal. And nearly 4,300 people are said to be owed money from overpaid council tax. The authority’s current council tax system was put in place in...
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‘WE WERE ALL DEVASTATED’
THE family of an Ayr toddler have described how their world “flipped upside down” after a leg fracture turned into a rare cancer diagnosis. Lily-ann Larmour is currently undergoing life-saving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is...
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MAN ADMITS HAUL OF INDECENT IMAGES
A FORMER student has admitted possessing thousands of indecent images after previously claiming he had been the victim of a “cyber attack by a hostile nation”. Jack Marshall pleaded guilty at Ayr Sheriff Court last week after he was caught with the...
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Robotic surgery hailed as a ‘gamechanger’
A CUTTING-edge Robotic Assisted Surgery (RAS) programme at Crosshouse Hospital is being hailed as a “gamechanger” for patients and staff across Ayrshire. Since its launch in summer 2023, the system has transformed patient care, cut recovery times, and...
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NEW DRIVER LEFT CYCLIST WITH BRAIN INJ URY
A NEWLY-QUALIFIED driver left a cyclist in hospital for more than a month with a traumatic brain injury after smashing into her while speeding. Finlay Paton admitted dangerous driving and causing serious injury, permanent disfigurement and permanent...
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DANGEROUS BIKER CAUGHT IN 120MPH COP CHASE
A DANGEROUS motorcyclist struck an officer with his bike and rode the wrong way around a roundabout during a 120mph police chase. Emilio Gonzalez pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, as well as driving while uninsured.
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WOMAN FACES MURDER CHARGE AFTER DEATH OF MAN IN AYR
A WOMAN has appeared in court charged with murder following the death of a man in Ayr. Jade Bell made no plea to the accusation during a brief hearing held in private at the town’s sheriff court on Friday, July 18.
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‘HELP US TO GET ANSWERS FOR MARK’S FAMILY’
POLICE in Ayr are urging members of the public to come forward with any information about the death of Mark Blackwood in Ayr. Cops say they are treating Mr Blackwood’s death last weekend as murder, and insist that they are ‘fully committed’ to getting...
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‘TRANSFORMATIONAL’ AIRPORT DEAL COULD CREATE HUNDREDS OF LOCAL JOBS
THE latest boost in Prestwick Airport’s “positive future” has been hailed as ‘transformational’ for the wider South Ayrshire economy. It was revealed last week that the next Red Arrows jets are set to be built at the airport - and hundreds of jobs...
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AIRPORT ADMITS SAFETY FAILURES AFTER WORKER’S DEATH
PRESTWICK Airport bosses say they “deeply regret” safety failures which led to a worker’s death. Lawyers for the Scottish Government-owned airport pleaded guilty last week to breaching The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 following...
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WOMAN CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLING £417K FROM NURSING HOME
A WOMAN has been accused of embezzling more than £417,000 over six years from a nowclosed Ayr care home while employed in the payroll department.
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PRESTWICK AIRPORT LANDS £1.2M DEAL
PRESTWICK Airport’s burgeoning reputation as one of the UK’s most important transport hubs has been strengthened with the award of a £1.2 million Ministry of Defence contract. The South Ayrshire site has received a huge boost after being chosen to...
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MUM SPEAKS OUT AFTER DRUNK DRIVER JAILED
THE mother of a crash victim who now requires round-the-clock care after a traumatic brain injury told how the family’s lives will never be the same after a drink driver was jailed.
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‘WOMEN’S AID HELPED CHANGE MY LIFE’
A WOMAN who was subjected to a campaign of rape and domestic terrorism for two decades has spoken of her trauma after her abuser Michael Christie was locked up for 16 years. The woman said that she eventually revealed the “daily” abuse to police, and...
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WOMAN, 62, CHARGED WITH ‘SEX ASSAULTS ON TWO BOYS’
A WOMAN has been charged with alleged sexual abuse offences involving two young boys in Ayr. Sonia Murray Piper pleaded not guilty to two charges of sexual assault and indecent communications to both male child complainers when she appeared at Ayr...
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MAN ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER SET TO FACE TRIAL
A TRIAL date has now been set for an Ayr man accused of attempted murder. Culzean McCulloch appeared for a brief hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, May 16, where not guilty pleas were tendered to a trio of charges. The 31-year-old will...
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ABUSER JAILED FOR ‘CAMPAIGN OF TERROR’
A RAPIST has been jailed for 16 years after being convicted of a campaign of sexual assaults and domestic terror stretching back more than two decades.
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CALL FOR INQUIRY AMID CHAOS AT COUNCIL
CALLS have been made for a probe into the awarding of contracts by South Ayrshire Council amid turmoil at the local authority. Following a chaotic meeting last week, the council has been left without a leader, depute leader or provost as the fallout...
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TEEN FLIPPED CAR IN HIGH-SPEED CRASH
A CARELESS teen driver has been banned for a decade after causing a female passenger to be ejected through a rear window when he crashed and flipped his car. Brandon-Lee Semple, 19, caused serious injury to two women after driving the vehicle...
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New outdoor jobs initiative launched
A NEW programme has been launched to help adults in South Ayrshire find outdoor employment. The council’s thriving communities team created The Outdoor Learning Programme to offer training within outdoor learning. Running from January to March, the...
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SERIOUS ASSAULT BROTHERS AVOID JAIL
TWO brothers who knocked a man unconscious in a pre-Christmas brawl outside an Ayr pub have avoided jail for the serious assault. Marcus Bonaldi, 25, admitted the offence last year when he appeared with co-accused Louis Bonaldi at Ayr Sheriff...
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CINEMA CHAIN IS STILL ‘INTERESTED’ IN AYR VENUE
AN Irish cinema chain remains keen to launch a venue in Ayr, years after a failed bid to open up in the town’s recently sold former Kyle Shopping Centre. Arc Cinema director Brian Gilligan said: “We would be very interested in having a cinema in Ayr...
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‘JUSTICE SERVED’ SAYS ABUSE VICTIM
THE victim of a terrifying abusive relationship has claimed “justice was served” after her former partner was jailed for more than three years. Kirsty Lambie has bravely decided to speak out after Levi Gray, also known as Thornhill, was sentenced at...
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‘I WILL ALWAYS LOVE HER’
TRIBUTES have been paid to a murdered Ayr mum who suffered more than 130 injuries in a senseless torture killing. Susan Turner’s partner of 24 years shared his memories of the “harmless” woman after both her killers were jailed.
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PAIR JAILED FOR BRUTAL TORTURE OF AYR MUM
TWO Ayr killers who inflicted more than 130 injuries on a mum in a horrific torture murder have been jailed for life. Michelle Ramage and Ryan Hill returned to the High Court in Glasgow last week for sentencing after being convicted last month of...
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‘CHILDISH’ AND ‘CRIMINAL’ VANDALISM SLAMMED
TRUMP Turnberry has slammed a “childish, criminal act” after protesters targeted the South Ayrshire resort over the weekend. Activists from Palestine Action have claimed responsibility for the damage at the site, which took place in the early hours of...
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MAN WHO GRABBED GIRL IN UNDERPASS SPARED JAIL SENTENCE
A CHEF who followed a teenager and then tried to grab her in an underpass has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds in compensation after coming “very, very close” to custody. Kieran Mullen was spared a jail term when he returned to Ayr Sheriff...
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CAFE OWNER FEARS FOR BUSINESS AFTER FLOOR COLLAPSED
AN AYR café owner fears he could be made homeless after he was forced to close his business due to a collapsed floor. Allan Winters has operated the North Harbour Café in the town for just under two years and has enjoyed a successful period of trading...
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Nurse who fell asleep on shift is suspended
AN AYRSHIRE nurse has been suspended after she fell asleep while working a night shift - and failed to provide a patient with care. The 12-month sanction was imposed on Aime Johnston following a misconduct hearing held by industry watchdog the Nursing...
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SEX OFFENDER JAILED FOR ABUSE OF FIVE GIRLS
A SEX offender found guilty of historic abuse involving five young girls in Ayr has been jailed. PAGE 5
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SUSPECT ADMITS MURDER OF AYR WOMAN
A SUSPECT on trial accused of murdering Ayr woman Susan Turner almost two years ago has admitted killing her. Michelle Ramage had been accused along with her then-partner Jason Bell, 51, and Ryan Hill, 27, of attacking 41-year-old Miss Turner in 2023....
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CREEP JAILED OVER SEXUAL MESSAGES TO SCHOOLGIRLS
A SEX offender who called schoolgirls “beautiful” and told another “I love you” has been jailed after admitting to creepy indecent contact with three children.
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MSP praises work on new support building
MSP Siobhian Brown has welcomed news that a new staff support building at NATS in Prestwick is on the horizon. The Ayr politician has revealed that a contractor has been appointed for the £6 million project, with completion scheduled for September...
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SETTING SAIL
THE new ferry MV Glen Sannox has finally made its first official passenger journey into Brodick Harbour. Passengers boarded the vessel at Troon Harbour yesterday to get their first taste of travel aboard the lifeline service.
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‘I LOVE YOU’: MAN’S CREEPY MESSAGES TO SCHOOLGIRLS
A SEX offender who called a schoolgirl “beautiful” and told another “I love you” has been remanded in custody after admitting to communicating indecently with children. Repeat offender Andrew Hay, who has previous convictions for similar crimes, will...
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HONOURS FOR PAIR NAMED IN KING’S LIST
TWO South Ayrshire residents have been awarded an OBE and an MBE in the King’s New Year honours list. Maybole’s Marguerite Hunter Blair has been named an OBE, whilst Stephen Neilson from Troon has been honoured with an MBE. Marguerite, 65, moved to...
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MAN GUILTY OF CHILD SEX ABUSE
A PRESTWICK man has been found guilty by a jury of 11 charges of historic child sexual abuse involving five young girls following a trial at Ayr Sheriff Court. Brian McCulloch was added to the sex offenders register and will be sentenced next year...
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TEACHER AVOIDS JAIL OVER UPSKIRT PICTURES
A FORMER Ayrshire teacher who suffered a “catastrophic fall from grace” after being caught with a haul of voyeuristic images has been spared a prison sentence – despite a sheriff warning that women needed to be ‘protected’ from him. Brian Smith has...
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SEX OFFENDER CAUGHT SHARING INDECENT IMAGES
A SEX offender who shared social media messages stating that he ‘loved lil teens’ has pleaded guilty to hoarding hundreds of child abuse pictures. Mark Webster confessed to taking, permitting to be taken or making indecent images between April 20 and...
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BEAUTICIANS SPARED JAIL FOR TRYING TO SNEAK DRUGS INTO FESTIVAL
TWO beauticians from Scotland were spared jail for attempting to take class A drugs worth up to £6,720 into a festival. Kira McNicol and Erin Hobdell appeared at Chester Crown Court recently.
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CAMPUS COP ‘DISCUSSED SEX LIFE’ WITH PUPILS
A POLICE constable scolded by a sheriff for inappropriate behaviour and ‘discussing his sex life’ with South Ayrshire pupils has been cleared of indecent acts towards a schoolgirl. John Stewart was found not guilty of sexual activity directed at the...
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MAN ‘MENACED INTO’ SMUGGLING DRUGS IN SUITCASE
A DALMELLINGTON man has been jailed for importing cannabis through Prestwick Airport after feeling ‘menaced into it’ by his cousin in Spain. Edward McConville pleaded guilty to charges of importing two class B substances. The 54-year-old had admitted...
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TEACHER ADMITS TAKING UPSKIRT SNAPS OF STUDENTS
A PERVERTED ex-Ayrshire school teacher has admitted taking secret, inappropriate, pictures of his former pupils and colleagues. Brian Smith took the upskirt images while he was employed as an English teacher at both Stewarton Academy and Wellington...
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MAN AVOIDS RAP FOR THREATS BUT JAILED FOR THEFTS
AN AYR man who behaved aggressively at a car wash after a woman was reportedly sexually assaulted was let off for threatening behaviour – but given more jail time for shoplifting. Jack Neasham returned to Ayr Sheriff Court last week after he admitted...
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MUM LEFT FIVE KIDS ALONE IN FILTHY HOUSE
A YOUNG mum who left her children alone in a fly-infested home smelling of faeces and urine in Ayr has been given community service. The 32-year-old, who we have not named to protect the identity of her children, appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court on...
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Couple had been accused of ‘failing’ to seek medical care PARENTS CLEARED OF KILLING SICK 15-MONTH-OLD SON
THE Girvan parents of a sick child who later died have been acquitted of killing him following a twoweek trial. Craig Herdman, 46, and Paula Freitas, 37, stood trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of culpable homicide against their 15-month-old...
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SEX OFFENDER JAILED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
A SEX offender who “felt entitled” to view thousands of sick child abuse photos hidden in his computer has been jailed after being arrested at his Prestwick home. Perverted Mark Cashman was locked up for 20 months at Ayr Sheriff Court and will be...
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‘Carburettor icing’ most likely cause of Prestwick plane crash
“CARBURETTOR icing” has been blamed as the most likely cause of a light aircraft crash near Prestwick Airport earlier this year. The Piper PA-28-181 suffered a loss of engine power and was forced to land 1.5 miles from the airport, hitting a tree and...
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DRUG FARMERS PLEAD GUILTY
TWO drug farmers have admitted to producing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis after a ‘large-scale’ cultivation was found in a former furniture store. Albanian nationals Altin Laskaj, 30, and Kristjan Begu, 33, both pleaded guilty at...
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