Perthshire Advertiser
STRIKEACTION FORTEACHERS
Scotland’s largest teaching union has announced its intention to take industrial action in Perth and Kinross next week. Perth and Kinross Council is now preparing to have to close some schools and partially open some next Thursday, March 19 and March...
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MYSONANDHIS DYINGMUMWERE FAILEDBYCOUNCIL
A schoolboy was left alone with his dying mum in a squalid house - despite Perth and Kinross Council carrying out a home safety check five months before. Lauren (41) died from sepsis two days after being rushed to hospital when son Leo (13) found her...
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LOWKILLER LAUNCHES APPEAL
A gamekeeper who blasted his former colleague to death with a shotgun has launched a bid to clear his name. David Campbell (77) killed Brian Low (65) in a cold blood attack in woods in Aberfeldy, Perthshire. He disabled CCTV cameras at his home...
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WEALLHOPE YOUHAVE CLOSURE
Councillors in Highland Perthshire hope Aberfeldy murder victim Brian Low’s family can feel a sense of closure and justice as the man who murdered him was handed a 19-year jail term. Last week at the High Court in Glasgow, David Campbell (77) was...
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EX-GROUNDSMAN GUILTYOF LOWMURDER
A former head gamekeeper has been convicted of gunning down an ex-colleague in a brutal execution. David Campbell murdered Brian Low while the 65-yearold was out walking his dog on a remote track near Aberfeldy on February 16, 2024. Hooded Campbell...
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DIESELIN RIVERIS PROBED
Efforts to prevent any impact on the region’s water supply are underway after a botched robbery attempt led to diesel flowing into the waters around a Perthshire village. Residents in Killin – which is on the Stirling and Perthshire boundary – began...
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118 WEAPONS FOUNDINPRISON
Figures which reveal the extent of weapons smuggled into HMP Perth over the course of two years have been branded“staggering”by an MSP. The data supplied to the Scottish Conservatives by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) through a Freedom of...
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POULTRYFARM PLANAPPROVED
Plans to bring a derelict Perthshire farm back into use as a poultry farm - creating 20 jobs - have been given the goahead by councillors. There were 60 letters of objection and four in support, including the nearest resident whose family tenanted the...
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COUNCILUNDER FIREFORLACKOF £50MWASTE DEALINFO
Perth and Kinross Council has been criticised for the lack of information surrounding the termination of its £50 million waste contract. On December 18, the council announced it was terminating the 10year contract it began in August 2023 with Paprec...
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COPISQUIZZEDON ‘GLARING MISTAKE’
A police constable was challenged on whether he made a “glaring mistake” after initially reporting that a man who had been fatally shot on a track near Aberfeldy had died in non-suspicious circumstances. A murder trial heard that the body of Brian Low...
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GERMINATOR
Robotic cleaners are now being used in a Perthshire school and sports centre, following a successful trial. Tayside Contracts, which provides the cleaning service for Perth and Kinross schools, has insisted the aim “wasn’t to replace people”. The...
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FIELDOFDREAMS
Jeanfield Swifts Football Club’s ambitious plans for a £2.4 million development of its training facilities at Riverside Stadium are one step closer thanks to an almost £500,000 funding boost. The Perth football club, which first revealed the plans...
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RESPECTTHE EXCLUSION ZONE
A strong appeal has been made to drivers to comply with a Perth school exclusion zone for the safety of children amid a row over cars parking dangerously during pick-up times. This week councillors voted to reduce the size of the “challenging” zone to...
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DADDIES INCRASH TRAGEDY
Tributes have poured in for a young man who died in a car crash in Bridge of Earn. The 29-year-old has been named locally as Conner Nicoll, as his parents, brother and friends all shared heartfelt messages following his death on Friday, January...
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FLOODCHAOS SPARKSROAD EMERGENCIES
Yesterday brought weather chaos throughout Perth and Kinross as heavy rainfall closed a number of schools and roads across the region. A Met Office amber weather warning for persistent and heavy rain was in place for parts of Perth and Kinross from...
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‘Tinker Experiment’family forced to live in wartime hut
A Perth and Kinross Gypsy/ Traveller — whose family was forced to stop travelling and settle in a wartime hut at Bobbin Mill in Pitlochry — has called for authorities to “start seriously looking at reparations for those most affected” by the Tinker...
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PROTESTCHAOS SPARKSBUFFER ZONEAPPEAL
Safety ‘buffer zones’ could be created outside hotels housing asylum seekers following protests in Perth at the weekend. The First Minister — and Perthshire North MSP — John Swinney made the comments in response to the scenes at the Radisson Blu Hotel...
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COUNCILLOR’S APPEARANCE INCOURTON RAPECHARGE
A Perth and Kinross councillor has appeared in court charged with rape. Councillor Andy Chan (43) appeared at a private petition hearing at Perth Sheriff Court on Friday, January 9 where he faced a single charge of rape and sexual assault. He made no...
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LUCKYTOHAVE LOVEDYOU
Perth and Kinross Council’s leader Eric Drysdale has told how he was a “lucky man to have known and loved” his wife Elizabeth following her death on Boxing Day. The devoted husband says he has been bowled over by the support he has received since his...
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CRUCIALVOTEON WINDFARMPLANS
Perth and Kinross Council planners have recommended councillors object to a controversial wind farm due to the significant adverse effects on a national scenic area. Low Carbon submitted plans to the Scottish Goverment’s Energy Consents Unit to erect...
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TOPOFTHECLASS
A 70s pop star, a heritage kiltmaker, a retired school teacher and a doctor are among some of the prominent Perthshire figures to be recognised for their achievements in the New Year’s Honours List. Six people from across the region were named on the...
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CHRISTMAS KINDNESS
A Perthshire charity on the frontline of helping those most affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine have thanked the community for their generosity to a Christmas campaign for another year. Tayside and Strathearn Help for Ukraine (TASH) was established...
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BLAZEFLATS RAZEDTO GROUND
Demolition of the Scott Street building destroyed by a tragic blaze – which killed one man and left 50 families homeless – in Perth city centre has been completed. One person died when the devastating fire took hold in the early hours of Saturday,...
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COUNCILBINS £50M WASTEDEAL
Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) is terminating its £50million waste contract with Paprec Energies Binn Ltd. At a private meeting on Tuesday, councillors agreed to pursue a mutual termination of the current contract and award the residual waste...
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EMERGENCY DECLARED OVERCOSTS
A funding “emergency” has been declared in the region as figures show the council’s HSCP projected overspend is £4.4million. Latest statistics show Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) is facing the multi-million pound blackhole...
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VICTORYBYA SINGLEVOTE
Perth and Kinross councillors have narrowly voted to reject a strategy which would have seen council tax rise by a whopping 47 per cent in six years. If approved, the Band D rate would have soared from the current annual charge of £1,537 to £2,252 by...
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HOTELPLAN FOR FORMER COUNCILHQ
Perth and Kinross councillors have voted to approve plans to develop 1–5 High Street into a hotel and award developers £1.9million to restore the building. Councillors voted by 31 votes to six, with two abstentions, to nominate Lock Terrace Ltd to...
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JUSTICEFORMAISIE
The family of a Perth teenager who developed cerebral palsy following a lack of oxygen have won a legal case against NHS Tayside after the health board denied liability for her care. Maisie Wilkie was born on April 6, 2010 at a midwifery led unit...
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MYLEAP OFFAITH FORMUM
A Perthshire woman has told how she is proud to honour her late mum after a daring fundraiser raised almost £4000 for the oncology unit which cared for her when she was fighting cancer. Ruby Cunningham took on a tandem bungee jump with her friend Erin...
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TELLUSIF VIENNA’S DULL
Delegates from Vienna Tourist Board visited a tiny Perthshire village at the weekend to personally invite all the residents to the Austrian capital – to prove it’s not Dull. The tourist board came up with the idea of inviting the entire population of...
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£1m TOHELP WITHTHECOST OFCITYBLAZE
The Scottish Government has pledged to award £1 million to Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) to help meet costs incurred by the fatal fire at 41 Scott Street. A man died and several people were injured in the city centre fire, which started in the early...
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CHRISTMAS KICKS OFF IN PERTH
Perth town centre was packed at the weekend as the Christmas lights were switched on and the countdown to the big day began. Thousands turned out, and were treated to a raft of entertainment introduced by hosts Stephen Mulhern and Lionel Vinyl. Perth...
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‘GOTOJAILIF YOUWANTAN NHSDENTIST’
A councillor has claimed the only way to get an NHS dentist is to ‘end up in prison or a care home’ as concerns are raised about the shortage of services in the region. Kinross-shire ward councillor Willie Robertson (pictured right) slammed the...
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LEADERIN COUNCIL TAXRISE WARNING
Perth and Kinross Council’s leader has warned council tax rates in Scotland could rise “by up to five per cent just to fund social care” as costs soar. Council leader Eric Drysdale will meet with the cabinet secretaries for Finance and for Health and...
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NEW £10M BOOST FORSCONEPALACE
A major £10 million Scone Palace development to create a “world class visitor attraction” has been approved. The plans – which have been 10 years in the making – were presented to Perth and Kinross Council’s Planning and Placemaking Committee on...
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HOTELGREEN LIGHTDESPITE FLOOD FEARS
Plans for the council’s historic former Perth chambers and offices to be converted into a hotel look set to be greenlit tomorrow, despite objections from both SEPA and PKC’S flooding team. The plans to convert 1-5 and 15-18 High Street into a...
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BODY-CAMS CANHALT COPATTACKS
A fresh call for police across Perth and Kinross to be issued with body-worn cameras has been made after figures revealed the level of violence committed against officers in the region. Mid Scotland and Fife Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser is pushing...
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SCHOOL STAFFMEMBER CHARGEDWITH PUPILASSAULT
A member of staff accused of assaulting a pupil at a school in Perthshire has been charged. The alleged incident took place on September 1 after the alarm was raised, with police soon attending the campus at the Community School of Auchterarder...
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INSIDE TODAY:BUMPER 8-PAGE PUZZLES PULL-OUT
Perth Grammar pupils will now be asked to store their mobile phones in classroom boxes during lessons starting from next week as changes to the school policy were greenlit. The school has updated its mobile device policy following consultation with...
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EARTHQUAKES ROCK REGION
Perthshire was hit by three earthquakes within 17 minutes of each other, with local residents fearing there had been “an explosion”. People were woken up by light shaking in their homes yesterday (Monday) morning after a 3.3 magnitude earthquake hit...
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DOCTORLEFT SCARRED BY DOG ATTACK
A doctor was left scarred for life after being attacked by a dog — which went on to bite an eight-year-old boy just a few months later — during a house visit in Perthshire. The city’s sheriff court heard how the woman (71) was left covered in blood...
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PARKING SCAM WARNING
Drivers in Perth have been warned to be on their guard following the discovery of a wide-scale parking ticket machine scam. Perth and Kinross Council said the QR code scheme was the “largest single incident of this type” in the region, with a total of...
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£3.2MCOST OF SCOTT STREET TRAGEDY
The fire on Perth’s Scott Street – which tragically claimed the life of a man – is estimated to cost the council over £3.2 million. In the early hours of Saturday, June 14 a fire destroyed 41 Scott Street; a man died, others were injured and 55...
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BAGSEARCHESAS STONEOFDESTINY EXPERIENCE WELCOMES VISITOROF RETURN
Visitors to Perth’s Stone of Destiny exhibition will now have to undergo bag searches at the museum as it reopens to the public this week after being closed for almost three months. The Stone of Destiny Experience at the city’s £27million museum will...
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COUNCILTOPAY£326K OVERHUBDELAYROW
Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) has had to fork out £326,000 following a contract dispute over the 15-month delay completing the £3.4 million development of The Hub in Letham. The development’s contractor Clark Contracts sought payment for an...
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THERE’S NO QUICK FIX
A libraries chief says there is“no quick fix”to ensuring closure-threatened services continue across Perth and Kinross. Kenny Mcwilliam, head of Operations and Support Services at Culture Perth and Kinross, addressed members of the local authority as...
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STONEOFDESTINY EXHIBIT CLOSURE KEEPS VISITORSAWAY
Perth Museum is losing around 100 to 130 visitors a day as a result of the Stone of Destiny Experience being closed. The museum’s centrepiece has been closed since a police incident on July 12, 2025 when the display case surrounding it was smashed. A...
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HUGE BLADE LANDS ON FOOTPATH
Residents near a towering 250-feet wind turbine in Perth were startled by an “almighty crack” in the dead of night as it crumbled, leaving a tangled mess of metal on the ground. The wind turbine, located at insurance giant Aviva’s Pitheavlis base in...
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GOLFCLUBFACING CRISISAS HOUSING BIDKO’D
A historic Perth golf club’s future now hangs in the balance after its planning application to develop 175 homes on part of its course was refused. On Wednesday, September 10, Perth and Kinross councillors voted to refuse Craigie Hill Golf Club’s...
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HOMESPLAN COULDBEOUT OFBOUNDS
A historic Perth golf club’s controversial plans to build up to 175 homes on half of its course have been recommended for refusal by Perth and Kinross Council’s officers. Craigie Hill Golf Club submitted plans to reduce its course from 18 holes to...
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ACADEMY’S WELLBEING FAILURE
Perth Academy is making “insufficient progress” in improving pupils’ wellbeing, according to an education watchdog report – almost two years after a poor inspection raised concerns. Perth and Kinross Council pledged to support the school to raise...
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LEADERCLAIMSCOUNCIL ‘SHORT-CHANGED’ BY£1.2MIN FUNDINGCUT
Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) leader has accused the UK Government of a “momentous mistake” in reducing s predicted funding allocation by £1.2 million. Last year the UK Government estimated PKC would be given £5m to deliver collection and...
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FREE RACING TICKETS
The Perthshire uncle and cousin of three Scots brothers currently on a rowing odyssey across the Pacific completed their own challenge on the Tay in support of their intrepid family members. Jamie Maclean (67) of Tibbermore, and his 28-year-old...
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£721m DEBTMOUNTAIN
An investigation has discovered Perth and Kinross Council amassed £721 million of debt by the end of 2024/25. The local authority’s mountain of debt soared by 13.9 per cent from the previous year. The increase is higher than the Scottish average and...
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CHEERSAND TEARS
A Perth man diagnosed with terminal cancer at the turn of the year, had to “dig deep” — both physically and emotionally — to complete his part in a recordbreaking, fund-raising charity event. Tommy Kennedy covered 18 of the Dundee Kiltwalk’s...
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RIVERTRAGEDY
A hero plumber has told of the moment he desperately tried to rescue a man swept away by the River Tay — months after he received a bravery award for saving a woman. Stewart Miller (54) raced out on his jet ski to try and trace a man who had vanished...
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SHARINGWINIS RIGHTUPDAVIE’S STREET
A kind-hearted Perthshire grandad has told how he has been sharing the wealth after scooping £1.02m in the Postcode Lottery — including helping his beloved golf club buy a new tractor. Davie (63), from Bridge of Earn, has commissioned a luxury...
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£36MREC CENTRE IS DELAYED ...AGAIN
The long-awaited handover of Blairgowrie’s £36m recreation centre has been delayed – again. It is the latest in a series of setbacks surrounding the state-of-the-art facility, initially expected to open in December last year. Leaks were discovered...
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IT’SAMIRACLE I’MALIVEAFTER FIREHORROR
A dad has spoken of his ordeal after he was “set on fire” at a house party in Perth. David Owen (36) suffered horrific burns to 16 per cent of his body in the incident which unfolded at a flat in Perth. The father-of-one said he was enjoying a night...
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OAPSLIVING INFEAROF YOBATTACKS
Elderly Perth residents say they are “living in fear” following a series of vandalism incidents which left a number of North Muirton homes damaged. Police have launched an investigation and Perth and Kinross Council has offered support to residents...
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IS HERE! CUTSCOULDRISKLIVES
Lives could be at risk if the number of Perth frontline firefighting appliances are cut according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). Their warning comes as Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) chiefs announced a public consultation into changes at...
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CONCERNS AS B-LISTED BALHOUSIE SCHOOL SITE FACES DEMOLITION ALARMOVER ASBESTOSRISK AFTERBLAZE
An 82-year-old woman has died and a 58-year-old woman remains in hospital following a two-car crash. Police are now appealing for information following the collision near Glenfarg, in Perthshire, on Saturday, July 12. The incident occurred at around...
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TRIBUTESTO HOTELBOSS
Tributes have been paid to Pitlochry Hydro Hotel general manager Chris Stanton who has died following his fight with cancer –just months after marrying his fiancée in front of hundreds of their loved ones at the hotel. In March this year Chris married...
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Marriedaftercrashhorror ONTHEWARD
A Perthshire couple proved that love conquers all by tying the knot in hospital after the groom was involved in a life-changing motorcycle accident. Roddy and Polly Mcdonald, who live near Coupar Angus, were married in front of friends and family in...
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POWER FAILURE
It is feared Perth jobs will be lost as city-based energy giant SSE pushes ahead with plans which could see hundreds of jobs cut. Unite the Union said over 300 SSE jobs across Britain and Ireland were at risk with 150 in SSE Renewables - based at the...
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Miracle pup Vilo found alive
A Chihuahua who survived for nearly two weeks in a gutted Scott Street building ravaged by fire has been rescued thanks to local animal lovers. The puppy called Vilo, which means“to live”or“to thrive and flourish”in Slovakian, was feared dead in the...
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BLAZERESIDENTS RETURNHOME
The first group of Scott Street residents displaced by the fire in a nearby tenement block have been able to return to their homes. The blaze destroyed 41 Scott Street and ongoing demolition work means it is unsafe for other nearby residents and...
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TEA-LEAFJAILED
A fraudster who conned luxury businesses into buying tea he claimed was grown in Scotland, making more than £550,000, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years. Thomas Robinson (55) claimed to have cultivated the tea at his Perthshire estate but in...
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‘THELAST THING PERTHNEEDED’
Perth’s MP Pete Wishart said a second ferocious blaze in the space of a week is “the last thing the city needed”. He spoke after flames ripped through the former Balhousie Street Primary School building on Sunday— a week after an inferno in Scott...
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FIREFIGHTERS ‘SAVEDMANY LIVES’
Brave emergency service workers have been praised for their heroic efforts in responding to the horrific Scott Street fire which claimed the life of a man. Witnesses told how desperate residents were forced to jump and shimmy down drain pipes for...
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FATALBLAZELEAVES CITYIN SHOCK
Perth is in a state of shock following a devastating city centre fire which claimed a man’s life and injured several people including a child. An eight-year-old girl was among those hurt in the tenement blaze that took hold in the building on the...
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THIRDTIME LUCKYFOR NEWSTORE
Councillors have voted to approve a new £5.5million Aldi in Perth - for the third time. They went against officers’ recommendations to approve plans for the supermarket chain to replace its Glasgow Road store with a larger store on Necessity Brae,...
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BUSINESSPLAN CANKEEPBELL’S CENTRE RUNNING
Campaigners fighting to save Perth’s iconic Bell’s Sports Centre have hatched a business plan to keep the facility running. The Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network proposal is being sent out to every Perth and Kinross councillor. It calls for...
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BLADEONTHICK
Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) is offering to train local people to use scythes - a medieval chopping blade - to cut overgrown grass. Safety concerns have been raised about the ancient hand-tool which some staff have already been shown how to...
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YOURTEA’S OOT, PAL
Thomas Robinson supplied Edinburgh’s Balmoral and other big hotels with “authentically Scottish” single-estate tea from his Wee Tea Plantation in the region’s Amulree. The chancer even claimed tea he supplied to five-star The Dorchester in London was...
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THUGSJAILED FORATTACK ATFESTIVAL
Two thugs who left a university lecturer blinded in one eye after a “cowardly” attack at a Perthshire music festival have been jailed for a total of 10 years. Patrick Kerr (33) and Simon Tierney (38, right) turned on the man, who also needed a metal...
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