Greenock Telegraph
TRAPPED ON HER 70TH BIRTHDAY
A DISABLED pensioner is today spending her 70th birthday trapped in her flat because of a broken-down lift at her sheltered housing complex. Margaret Devaney had hoped to spend her big day celebrating with her friends and neighbours in John Galt...
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ROGUE RIDERS ARE PUTTING LIVES AT RISK
YOUNG people are riding e-scooters the wrong way down one of the busiest roads in Inverclyde, a Greenock councillor has warned. Natasha McGuire says she has received reports of young people riding in the wrong direction along the A78 in the south-west...
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SHOPLIFTING IS GETTING WORSE
SHOPS across Inverclyde are being hit by a surge in thefts as new figures reveal shoplifting has more than doubled in a year. Retailers told the Telegraph they are taking steps to protect their businesses, from removing popular target items from...
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END OF THE ROAD FOR . BELVILLE BLOCKS
OWNER-OCCUPIERS living in ‘unsafe’ blocks of flats in Greenock face losing their homes after being told that all the properties are set to be demolished. The Telegraph revealed last year that River Clyde Homes (RCH) had found the unsafe construction...
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‘THERE IS SO MUCH LOVE FOR JESSICA’
A COURAGEOUS girl who has undergone years of gruelling chemotherapy and brain surgeries to treat a tumour in her head has been given much-needed good news – after doctors told her family that her condition has stabilised for the first time in five...
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BULLRING DIVERSION ‘NIGHTMARE’
GREENOCK residents have raised fears that a ‘huge’ increase in traffic on a busy road is putting their safety at risk. The surge in vehicles on Regent Street and Lynedoch Street is being blamed on the work to demolish the Bullring roundabout and the...
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IT’S TIME TO ACT
SCOTLAND’S First Minister visited Inverclyde yesterday for crunch talks on the area’s jobs crisis – and left in no doubt about the need for action to match the Scottish Government’s warm words. John Swinney met Inverclyde Council’s leader, local MSP...
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PARTY’S OVER
A PAIR of party crashers have been jailed for more than a year after they broke up a Gourock birthday bash by threatening teenage revellers with blades. Stuart Taylor, 35, and Andrew Rennie, 26, barged into a property on November 12 last year and...
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‘PARKING PLANS WILL BE TRICKY FOR TRADE’
BOLLARDS will be installed on Greenock’s controversial cycle path as part of a raft of new measures to improve parking on West Blackhall Street - but furious business owners fear the plans risk making trading conditions even more...
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95p TOWN BACKS THE TON
MORTON directors praised the ‘overwhelming’ response of supporters who contributed more than £27,000 to a newly-launched fighting fund within just 48 hours.
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‘THE DAY WE NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD SEE’
A MIRACLE baby who wasn’t expected to survive when she was born 15 weeks premature has skipped off to school for the first time - a day her mum admitted she thought she’d never see. Little Freya Rose weighed less than a bag of sugar when she made her...
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Driver le woman with leg fracture
A DRIVER seriously injured a pedestrian while reversing at speed on a one-way street in Port Glasgow town centre, as she returned to her own vehicle, a court has heard.
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FURIOUS DAD SLAMS ‘FILTHY’ HOLIDAY PARK
A FURIOUS father has told how he had to endure ‘filthy and unhygienic’ conditions after forking out for ‘gold standard’ accommodation at an Inverclyde caravan resort to celebrate his daughter’s 10th birthday. Holidaymaker Richard McDowall slammed the...
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‘WRITING HAS HELPED EASE PAIN CAUSED BY END-STAGE . CANCER’
AN AUTHOR who is fighting end-stage cancer – and who went to school in Greenock at the same time one of Scotland’s best-known wordsmiths – says writing is giving him the strength he needs to live well with his diagnosis. Iain McGilp was diagnosed with...
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‘POSTAL LOTTERY’
A FED-UP Greenock man has hit out at Inverclyde’s ‘postal lottery’ after Royal Mail failed to deliver to his house for TWO months. Billy McVicar, who lives in Gibshill, ended up joining a queue at the Greenock sorting office to collect his own...
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‘I RISK MY LIFE JUST TO CROSS . ROAD’
A DISABLED man says he’s being forced to risk his life because of a lack of dropped kerbs near his home. Wheelchair user Mohammad Moghadamshad, who is known as Shad, says that in order to reach his nearest bus stop, he has no alternative but to go on...
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SUPERMARKET SWIPE
A SUPERMARKET worker punched his colleague in the face after they had an argument about stacking shelves in the run-up to Christmas. Paul Molloy, 37, admitted to hitting a fellow staff member at the Tesco store in Port Glasgow last year.
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DAD-OF-4 EX-ARMY TRANSLATOR JAILED FOR . TAXI RAPE
A FORMER translator for the British Army who raped a Greenock woman in his taxi has been jailed for seven years. Abdul Nabizada, 36, subjected the female passenger to the horrific ordeal on a journey in Edinburgh in 2021. Jurors at the High Court in...
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‘WE ARE JUST WAITING FOR THE ROOF TO COME OFF’
A FRUSTRATED homeowner who says she is just waiting for her property’s ‘dangerous’ roof to come crashing down is pleading for housing bosses to carry out repairs. Afghanistan veteran Anne Marie Boggie told the Telegraph she is facing serious issues...
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MUM RAISES FUNDS FOR TREATMENT
A DEVOTED Inverkip mum who is battling a life-limiting condition is raising money to fund pioneering stem cell treatment which she hopes will allow her more years of making memories with her daughter. Nicole McKenzie was diagnosed with Multiple...
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ABUSER SPARED JAIL AFTER ASSAULT . LEFT WOMAN WITH MEMORY LOSS
A VIOLENT brute who struck a woman so hard on the head that she lost her memory has been ordered to pay £3,000 in compensation to the victim. Street, admitted to repeatedly hitting the woman on the head and causing her to fall to the ground with a...
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OFFICERS ASSAULTED ‘ON WEEKLY BASIS’
LEADING figures in local policing say an ‘unacceptable’ level of physical abuse is being directed towards officers. New statistics show that the area’s police were subjected to assaults on a weekly basis in 2025 – with staff injured on at least 15...
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GANGS OF YOUTHS VANDALISE GARDEN .
GANGS of youths have caused damage worth thousands of pounds at an award-winning community garden in Greenock. Vandals have repeatedly targeted the Belville Community Garden, breaking equipment and scrawling graffiti over the building and nearby...
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‘TRAPPED’ BY ROADWORKS
A SEVERELY disabled man who suffers from a degenerative bone condition says he feels trapped in his home because of the disruption caused by major Greenock roadworks. Alex Story, who lives in Branchton, says that he can no longer get the bus to where...
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SCAMMERS TARGET REFUGEES
SICK scammers have used a twisted online scheme to target Ukrainian families who were forced to flee to Inverclyde from their war-torn country. Marina Gorbunova, founder of Inverclyde Ukrainian Club, says the group were duped by fraudsters who were...
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FURY AS GARDEN LEFT COVERED IN SEWAGE
A HORRIFIED Greenock resident has hit out at a failure to fix a broken drainage pipe which is spewing sewage into his garden for months. Outraged Robert Hotchkiss, 65, has turned to environmental health in a bid to get the public health hazard...
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TEEN’S MUM ‘DISGUSTED’ BY CHURCH VOLUNTEER’S SENTENCING
THE mum of a teenage girl who received a series of ‘inappropriate’ messages from a 66-year-old Greenock church volunteer says she was ‘disgusted’ to see him escape with a £450 fine. Bruce Renfrew pleaded guilty to a charge of behaving in a threatening...
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HOSPICE UNIT WILL SHUT FOR WEEKS5
ARDGOWAN Hospice’s inpatient unit in Greenock is to close for up to a month amid challenges around the recruitment of senior medical cover. The Telegraph understands arrangements are being made to move patients currently being cared for in the ward to...
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MIRACLE ON THE MOUNTAIN
A GOUROCK mountaineer says she’s lucky to be alive after a horror accident left her trapped on Europe’s highest mountain - sparking a miracle rescue which was led by her firefighter fiance. Lucy McKeegan and partner Calum Jamieson, a Greenock...
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WASP HIVE SWARMS FLAT
A FRUSTRATED Greenock tenant who has ‘come under attack’ from thousands of wasps in his home has slammed housing bosses for failing to help him - and his pets. Craig McDonald, who lives in a top-floor flat in Kelly Street, has been forced to flee the...
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ONLINE TROLL HARASSED GANGSTER’S FAMILY
A GREENOCK loudmouth who led a campaign of harassment on social media against the family of a firebomb gangster has narrowly avoided jail time.
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‘I’D PREFER PRISON TO THIS HOME’
A DISABLED woman who claims she is “trapped” in her flat has said she would be better off in prison. Rochelle Rodger, 54, has cerebral palsy, fibromyalgia and a string of other health conditions and says she cannot get out, despite a lift, because of...
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FUNDRAISER PAYS TRIBUTE TO THREE WOMEN TAKEN BY CANCER
A COMPASSIONATE young Greenock woman has raised more than £1,000 for charity by braving the shave in honour of three of her loved ones who lost their lives to cancer within just three years. Abbie Rennie, 20, stood in solidarity with people who have...
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‘SCUNNERED’ SHOP OWNER SLAMS STORE RAID
A ‘SCUNNERED’ shop owner whose premises were broken into just a few months ago has been left sickened after another brazen thief pinched a charity tin from her store. The crook was caught on camera helping himself to items from community shop Helping...
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CARE WORKER STRUCK OFF AFTER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
A GREENOCK care worker has been struck off after a watchdog found he sexually harassed a colleague and dishonestly claimed sick pay. The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) removed David Odigie from its register after a Fitness to Practise Panel...
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MAN PULLED FROM WATER IN DRAMATIC 4AM RESCUE .
THE crew of a Clyde pilot boat have been praised for their bravery and quick thinking after rescuing a man from the water off Greenock’s Esplanade. Conway Smith, right, and his colleague Craig McNeil, left, were on board the Clydeport pilot vessel...
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OUT OF LINE
UNRULY louts are carrying weapons, making racist remarks and attacking staff on Inverclyde’s railway lines, shocking new figures reveal. Statistics released by ScotRail to the Telegraph under freedom of information laws show that more than 1,200...
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TRIBUTES TO LOCAL LEGEND
A LOCAL legend who supported countless generations of young people and helped run a thriving community centre has sadly passed away. The devastated family of Donald ‘Dodds’ McFadyen have paid a touching tribute to the former youth worker following his...
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CARE FIRM CLOSURE FEARS
THE distraught boss of an Inverclyde care company fears he will have to close his business after suffering what he claims has been ‘unfair treatment’ at the hands of Inverclyde Council. Jim Steele, managing director of Karma Healthcare, told the...
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REDUCED CUSTODY CAPACITY AT NEW POLICE BASE EX-IBM SITE IS HAILED AS ‘MODERN’ AND ‘COST-EFFECTIVE’ DESPITE FEWER CELLS
POLICE chiefs have confirmed the new Greenock station will have a reduced custody provision as the longawaited plans are officially unveiled. The new facility will be based at the former IBM site on the A8, as revealed by the Telegraph last month.
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MORE THAN 15,000 PILLS CONFISCATED IN JAIL
DRUGS, injection kits, phones and weapons are among the thousands of illicit items confiscated at HMP Greenock in the last five years. More than 15,000 pills have been confiscated as a result of searches at Greenock prison since 2021, including...
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‘THIS IS OUR WAY OF LOOKING AFTER AUDREY’S MEMORY’
THE memory of a popular Greenock nurse who tragically died at the age of just 39 is being kept alive by her devoted sisters as they raise money to mark a decade since her passing. Leah Downie and Michelle McGowan are fundraising for Ardgowan Hospice...
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GOLDEN TICKET
A GREENOCK dad and devoted football fan who tragically lost his son to cancer earlier this year has been given a lovely boost thanks to the Telegraph. Ronnie Whyte, who has been following the Ton for 61 years, has won a season ticket to...
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PORT FEES TO HIT £3M
THE operator of the port of Greenock is on course to rake in millions of pounds this year from cruise ship charges. According to the Clydeport Schedule of Common User Charges, each of the 77 vessels expected is facing estimated fees of nearly £40,000...
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GREENOCK FIREBOMB GANGSTER COULD DIE IN JAIL
A GANGSTER serving a lengthy prison sentence for a series of horrific attacks in Greenock could be behind bars for the rest of his life. Crown representatives asked that Robert Warnock be considered suitable for an ‘order for lifelong restriction’ -...
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CLUB’S CHARITY DAY RAISES £1,600 IN MEMORY OF YVONNE NEW JAIL IS HIT BY ANOTHER DELAY
BUILDING work on a new prison for Inverclyde isn’t expected to begin until at least 2031 – more than 20 years after plans to replace the ageing HMP Greenock were first announced. The Telegraph has been told there will be no ground broken on a...
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LIFE-CHANGING £10M HUB OPENS ITS DOORS
A NEW £10 million hub in Greenock is set to transform the lives of adults with complex physical and learning needs by unlocking access to groundbreaking therapies in a state-of-the-art setting. The doors are now open at the Inverclyde Integrated...
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MURDER TRIAL DATE IS SET
A SUSPECT is to stand trial charged with the murder of a man in Wemyss Bay last year. Sean Ward, 22, allegedly killed Raymond Cosgrove (inset,right) in a knife attack at Wemyss Bay Holiday Park. Police were called to a report of a man having been...
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IT SYSTEMS CHAOS
DOCTORS and patients in Greenock have hit out after hundreds of desperate patients faced chaos trying to get access to their GP following a change to a new IT system. The Cochrane Medical Practice, at Greenock Health Centre, was swamped with long...
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FROM TRAGEDY TO LEGACY
A SUICIDE prevention charity set up after the tragic death of a 14-yearold girl while she was in care has saved more than 100 lives. Safe Harbour, based in Inverclyde, was founded by former residential support worker Duncan Shaw after the death of...
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CONCERNS OVER ‘DANGEROUS’ FLOODING ‘DAD DIED TWO DAYS AGO – NOW I’M RUNNING IN HIS MEMORY’
PORT Glasgow Juniors’ manager is set to take on one of the country’s toughest charity challenges in honour of his father – just two days after his dad’s passing. Tam Jamieson signed up for the 42-mile leg of the Great Glen Ultra Marathon with his...
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‘WE WILL NOT GET ANOTHER NATALIE’ .
THE parents of a much-loved woman have been left heartbroken after she passed away at the age of just 36 following a sudden cancer diagnosis. Greenock mum-ofone Natalie Murray was told she had cervical cancer on February 13 and the prognosis was...
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SEX ATTACKER IS FACING LIFE IN PRISON OVER HIS 5-YEAR REIGN OF TERROR BODY FOUND IN SEARCH FOR MISSING ANDREW
A BODY has been recovered in the search for Andrew Cochrane, who was reported missing from Greenock last week. Police Scotland said a man’s body was discovered in a wooded area near Bridgend Road.
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SPIKING LEFT TEEN FEARING . FOR HER LIFE
A TALENTED teenager has told how she feared for her life after a sick criminal used a needle to spike her with a date-rape drug while she was on holiday with her friends. Former Rangers and current Morton women’s footballer Taylor Coulter was so ill...
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DAUGHTER KEEPS DAD’S MEMORY ALIVE
A DEVOTED daughter whose dad died in a tugboat tragedy when she was just eight months old is raising cash for the charity that helped her family through their darkest days. Nina Humphreys’ father Stephen was one of three men who tragically lost their...
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FLOODING CHAOS AT HOSPITAL
URGENT calls for action to address water ingress at Inverclyde Royal have been made after shocking footage showed rainwater flooding into key areas of the hospital during Friday’s thunderstorms.
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RCH ORDERED TO IMPROVE BY WATCHDOG
RIVER Clyde Homes has fallen short of safety standards in key areas such as fire safety and damp and mould management - and has been ordered to take action by the nation’s housing watchdog. A new report from the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR)...
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LEAKS ARE FOUND ON FIVE IRH FLOORS
UNDER-FIRE health chiefs have admitted that there is water pouring into busy wards across FIVE floors in Inverclyde Royal Hospital. The Greater Glasgow Susan Lochrie [email protected] and Clyde health board has revealed the scale of...
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‘OVERRUN WITH RATS’
A GREENOCK man has hit out after being placed with his family in a ‘run down’ homeless flat he says is plagued with rats and covered in mould. Outraged Gary Taggart, his wife and two sons were moved into the temporary accommodation in Finneston Street...
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COUNCIL SET TO GIVE WAY ON PARKING
ANGRY traders who raised concerns about the impact of West Blackhall Street’s cycle lane on their businesses look to have won concessions from council bosses. In a letter sent to traders and seen by the Telegraph, Inverclyde Council has outlined...
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‘TRAPPED AT HOME’
ELDERLY and disabled residents living in a Greenock housing complex are ‘trapped’ in their flats after being plagued by lift problems for NINE months. Residents Netta Fletcher, Joe Cooney, Margaret Sweeney and Anne Cowdens have all spoken out about...
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EXCLUSIVE
A FORMER IBM site on the A8 is set to be the location for the police’s new headquarters in Inverclyde as force chiefs finally close in on a deal to replace the existing station.
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TOP MARKS FOR SOPHIE DESPITE SEVERE SEIZURES
AN INSPIRATIONAL teenager who was diagnosed with epilepsy after biting a chunk out of her tongue in her sleep and collapsing during an important exam has spoken about her battle with the condition. Severe seizures put Sophie McLaughlin’s education in...
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HAMMER HEIST AT SALON
A SHOCKED salon owner whose shop was targeted in a ‘horrible’ early-morning raid has hit out at the hammer-wielding thief who inflicted hundreds of pounds of damage on her business. Jill Harley, who runs The Salon on Argyle Street, arrived at the...
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FIRE CUTS SET TO GO AHEAD
CONTROVERSIAL proposals to axe firefighter posts in Greenock are set to be approved at a meeting of service chiefs next week. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board is set to meet on Monday, June 22, to consider the outcomes of its nationwide...
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DAUGHTER’S TRIBUTE AFTER DAD’S DEATH
THE family of a beloved dad who collapsed and died outside the Oak Mall earlier this month have thanked the incredible members of the public that did everything they could to save him. Robert Magee took unwell outside Greenock’s main shopping centre...
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FAMILY FIGHTS ON FOR EILIDH
THE father of a brave Greenock teenager who was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder around 12 years ago has spoken of the challenges faced by his family as his daughter fights to lead a normal life. Eilidh Birney, 16, was diagnosed with Kabuki...
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TURNING THE TIDE
A MAJOR milestone in the development of the new CalMac ferry Glen Rosa was reached this week at Ferguson Marine as one of its engines sparked into life for the first time. The Telegraph visited the yard on Thursday for an exclusive look inside the...
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‘APPALLING’
POLICE officers were injured and arrests were made amid disorder in Greenock on Wednesday night when protesters gathered outside a migrant hotel. Three officers sustained minor injuries after items were thrown at them, and two police vehicles were...
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£100M TO IMPROVE HOUSING
INVERCLYDE’S biggest landlord has outlined plans to invest £100 million in modernising and improving its housing stock in Inverclyde over the next 10 years. But the area’s MSP says he wants to see more detail on how River Clyde Homes (RCH) will spend...
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BEST FRIEND HELPS MUM FIGHT FOR GOODBYES
A DETERMINED mother who lost two beautiful babies has teamed up with her devoted friend to help grieving families spend more time with their little ones after they have passed away. Danielle Wilson is raising money to buy cuddle cots - specialised,...
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‘OUR GARDEN HAS BECOME A SWAMP’
A GREENOCK couple have spent hundreds of pounds trying to fix a drainage problem that has plagued their home for more than a decade and turned their garden into a swamp. Jim and Janice MacDiarmid, both 61, spent years trying to find a solution to the...
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‘TERRIFYING LEVELS’ OF ABUSE FOR 18 MONTHS
A THUG who subjected his partner to ‘terrifying levels’ of abuse over an 18-month period has been jailed after a sheriff described his actions as some of the worst she had ever heard. Brian Craig tormented his victim between February 2024 and July...
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ABANDONED HOUSING TO BE REVIVED
AN abandoned social housing scheme in Greenock’s east end could be resurrected after a major developer expressed interest in taking it on. homes in Strone Farm on Glenbrae Road, unravelled four years ago.
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MAN ACCUSED OF MURDER BID AND ABDUCTION FULL STORY
A MAN is to stand trial charged with the attempted murder of a woman who allegedly climbed out of a window and hung from a ledge in a bid to escape him. Michael Glancy, denies the charges.
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