The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fury as 400 objections over Uber ruled invalid
Fife Council officers have been accused of “rank incompetence” after more than 400 objections were ruled invalid and permission for Uber to open a booking office in Rosyth was granted. Uber Scot Limited applied for a licence to operate from the town’s...
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Radical plans place Fife Council future in doubt
Fife Council could be abolished under radical plans by the Scottish Government to slash the number of local authorities across Scotland from 32 to as few as six. The shake-up would create between six and 10 powerful regional authorities covering huge...
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Red tape blamed over Fife ferry link failure
The businessman behind the RosythFrance ferry plan says a “one-off opportunity” for Scotland has been lost after key figures dragged their heels and decisions got snarled up in red tape. Derek Sloan says Forth Ports’ surprise commercial decision sank...
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‘Butlin’ s’ jibe riles holiday park boss
A St Andrews holiday park owner will appeal Fife Council’s decision to refuse his £20 million expansion plan – and has taken aim at comments comparing his resort to Butlin’s. William Stewart, of Stewart’s Resort, said the comment by SNP councillor...
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Fife distillery strike set to bring plant to ‘standstill’
Production at Europe’s largest grain distillery could be brought to a standstill by more than two weeks of strike action, union bosses have threatened. Workers at Diageo’s Cameronbridge distillery in Leven will walk out as part of a dispute over jobs...
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Bid for a new European ferry link dead in water
The bid to create a new Fife to France ferry link has collapsed after partners could not agree on a long-term plan. Forth Ports confirmed yesterday that the line from Rosyth to Dunkirk would not go ahead, explaining the parties could not reach...
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Woman says she is ‘living in fear’ of council tenant neighbour
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 Fife edition No. 54,008 £2.40
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Calls for more powers to tackle antisocial ‘misery’
Cash-strapped agencies are passing the buck over antisocial behaviour in Fife that is making life a “misery” for residents, a councillor has claimed. Tom Adams told The Courier councillors are “increasingly on the frontline” but have limited powers to...
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Test drive car thief stole 10 days after jail release
A compulsive car thief with a “fixation” for motors stole a vehicle just 10 days after being released from prison. Connor Davidson had been jailed after stealing cars during test drives but 19 months in custody proved no deterrent. Instead Davidson...
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Victory in battle over Peggie case NHS documents
NHS Fife has been ordered to hand over documents relating to the Sandie Peggie trans row after The Courier fought for their release. The health board was told it had to produce records relating to a statement it released as a tribunal brought by Ms...
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Fife father facing trial for murder of baby son
A Fife father is to stand trial charged with the murder of his baby son. Ryan Lumsden, 28, is accused of killing Elijah Edwin Lumsden in late July 2025 at a property in Glenrothes. Elijah was just under three months old at the time. Prosecutors...
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Planners back holiday . park £20m expansion
Plans to double the size of a Fife holiday park have been recommended for approval, despite fears over road safety. Stewart’s Resort near St Andrews has submitted an application to add another 216 lodges to its park beside Cameron Reservoir. However,...
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Mobiles could be banned in schools
A Fife-wide ban on mobile phones in schools could come in from next year. A region-wide survey will be sent out to parents, pupils and teachers from next week as Fife Council moves towards introducing a blanket policy. Respondents will be asked to...
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Fife mum who ran teen drugs courier is jailed
A cocaine-dealing Fife mum who used a teenage boy as a drug courier to rake in more than £200,000 has been jailed. Elle Taylor, pictured, was sentenced to three years in prison having earlier pled guilty to charges relating to proceeds of crime and...
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Shock as man charged over graves ‘vandalism’ FIFE:
Several families have been left in shock after a number of graves at a cemetery in Lochgelly were damaged. A man has been charged with robbery and vandalism after an incident Ballingry Cemetery on Saturday. The 25-year-old is due to appear...
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Climate crisis fears for island’ s puffins
Experts fear “extreme climate events” are behind a dramatic drop in the number of puffins on the Isle of May. Naturescot and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology made a count of burrows at the island’s National Nature Reserve in the Firth of Forth...
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Fife drink-driver caused couple’ s death in crash
A college lecturer spent hours drinking on a Christmas night out, then got behind the wheel and killed a couple on a Fife road. Sophie Hynd, 33, caused a head-on crash with Jatinder Kaur while driving, despite having drunk heavily throughout the...
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Brother of tragic mum criticises abuser laws
The brother of murdered Fife mum Stacy Hunter has criticised Scottish Government plans to tackle misogyny as not “anywhere near good enough”. The comments were made by Sean Hunter on the same day Justice Secretary Neil Gray gave his commitment to...
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Parents and pupils given say on school mobile phones ban
Parents and pupils are to be consulted on the possibility of banning mobile phones in Fife schools. Fife Council has been looking at introducing a blanket policy across its primary and secondaries amid a range of fears arising from phone use. These...
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Emergency search for pair missing in mine
A major emergency response was launched after two people failed to return from exploring a mine. Fire crews and paramedics were deployed to the area between Cupar and Freuchie at around 8.40am yesterday. Police Scotland said the response was sparked...
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Resident hits out over broken Fife road signs
Concerns have been raised over broken road signs being left untouched between Anstruther and St Andrews for two years. Several signs along the B9131 are broken, dirty or are missing, claims Anstruther resident James Braid. Mr Braid, chairman of...
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Game on:
Chris Purdie needs no medal to be a winner for Scotland Shopping district is bucking the trend of decline
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Family slams sentence on drug-stealing carer
The family of a nursing home resident left to “suffer unnecessarily” by a carer who stole her medication say they are devastated by the sentence handed out to the woman. Fiona Sweet, pictured, was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work after...
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Chemical giant fined over Fife plant leaks
Faulty pipework led to five separate leaks of highly flammable hydrocarbons at the Mossmorran chemical plant in Fife, a court has heard. Petrochemical giant ExxonMobil was fined £267,000 after pleading guilty to an offence which contravened the...
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Family says huge data centre will ‘spook’ its horses
A massive 600-megawatt data centre planned on farmland just yards from a Fife family’s cottage “will spook their horses and endanger their children”, they say. Russell and Adele Seath’s home is the closest to the Auchtertool farmland earmarked for...
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Health board cuts service for parents over staff shortage
NHS Tayside has been forced to scale back health visitor input for new parents due to lack of staff. The health visitor service supports families from late pregnancy until a child reaches school age. Contact is made with families by the service at a...
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High street is bucking trend of town decline
While other high streets are struggling, Newport is buzzing with independent businesses thriving on the town’s main thoroughfare. With its mix of independent shops, bustling atmosphere and just one vacant unit – now being renovated and seemingly soon...
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Pregnant woman made escape through window
A violent boyfriend twice assaulted his pregnant partner before she was forced to escape from her own home through a kitchen window. A sheriff told abuser Ben Clark, pictured, to expect a jail sentence after his vicious attacks in April this...
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Anger over delays in ‘badly managed’ town revamp work
A local politician says he has “lost faith” in Fife Council’s ability to deliver a £4.7 million regeneration project in Inverkeithing, following a series of “embarrassing” delays to the works. Several projects have been beset by a raft of delays and...
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Eatery boss hits back at Reform UK’s visa claims
The manager of a popular Indian restaurant has hit back at Reform UK after the rightwing party claimed the business brought up to 200 workers and dependants to Britain on sponsorship visas. Zulfiqar Ali, who runs Jahangir in St Andrews, says he is...
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Kiltwalk a steptacular effort by all for charity
The Dundee Kiltwalk brought a wave of tartan, fundraising and community spirit to Dundee and north Fife yesterday, as walkers took part in one of Scotland’s best-known charity events. The event offered participants two routes, giving walkers the...
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Stroke survivor is back singing again
A Fife singer-songwriter has returned to the stage eight years after a stroke left him struggling to speak. David Kilgour, 54, is a long-standing folkrock and indie musician known by his stage name Saus. David, pictured, spent years performing around...
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Fife teacher found guilty of sex attack on teen girl
A Fife secondary school teacher has been convicted by a jury of sexually assaulting a 15-yearold girl on two occasions. Cameron Montgomery, 28, touched and rubbed the girl’s leg as they watched a movie at his home in June last year. At the time he...
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Repairs to fire-hit waste site building cost £150k
Fire crews spent 15 days tackling a blaze at Ladybank Recycling Centre in May, with the complex only reopening to the public on June 15. More recently, firefighters battled a large blaze at the site for around seven hours on July 22.
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Bus station disorder crackdown revealed
Police have revealed how they are tackling youth disorder at a Fife bus station after a series of high-profile incidents. Last month, an exclusive The Courier Focus survey revealed Fife residents had been left “terrified” of travelling on buses due to...
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Doctors said poet’ s MS was depression
A Fife woman living with multiple sclerosis has told how her symptoms were initially dismissed as depression. Georgi Gill, 51, from Burntisland, was 28 when she was finally given the news she had relapsing remitting MS – the most common form of the...
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Fife jobs under threat at drinks firm plants
Staff at two Fife plants owned by drinks giant Diageo have been put at risk of redundancy as the company prepares to start a major cost-cutting programme. Chief executive Dave Lewis, pictured, unveiled the plan to make £742 million of savings to boost...
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Party exodus sees Fife Tories hit ‘rock bottom’
Fife Council’s Conservative group has hit “rock bottom” after yet another councillor left the party, its leader has admitted. James Leslie, pictured, became the fifth Fife Tory to quit the party in 15 months. His decision on Monday afternoon comes a...
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Fife mum’ s death sparks fears over new bail laws
Domestic abusers should not benefit from new bail laws, a victim support charity has said in the wake of a Fife mum’s murder. Stacy Mair, from Falkland, was found dead at her home in Renfrewshire alongside the body of her husband Jim last Monday. Mrs...
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Man arrested after girl found injured at industrial estate
A man has been arrested over the suspicious death of a nine-year-old girl after she was found critically injured at an industrial estate in Arbroath. Emergency crews were called to Elliot Industrial Estate at 12.02am yesterday. The youngster was...
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Action to boost Fife child vaccine uptake
Work to increase the uptake in MMR2 vaccinations across Fife is continuing as the region falls below the target of 92%, sitting at just 87.3%. Lochgelly, Cardenden and Benarty councillor Rosemary Liewald raised the issue of the vaccine for measles,...
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Medals haul:
What’s the secret of Games success for Stirling University athletes? Mum of autistic son created support group to make him feel included
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Fourth Fife Tory councillor quits in last 18 months
A fourth Fife Conservative councillor in the past 18 months has quit the party, nine years after he was first elected. When he won the seat in 2017, Darren Watt, pictured, became the first Tory ever to represent Cowdenbeath. But now he will sit as an...
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Police treating death of Fife mother as murder
A Fife mum’s death is being treated as murder after she and her husband were found dead at their family home. The bodies of Stacy Mair, 35, and Jim Mair, 43, were discovered by police at a cottage in Houston, Renfrewshire, on Monday morning. Stacy...
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Village activists display opposition to data hub
Fife villagers made their opposition to a planned £5 billion data centre on their doorstep plain as developers arrived to speak to them yesterday. Activists with placards and loud hailers gathered at Auchertool village hall to voice strong objections...
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£6m for NHS to reduce surgery waiting times
John Swinney has given NHS Fife £6.8 million to try to tackle surgery wait times. The first minister, pictured, announced the cash during a visit to the orthopaedics National Treatment Centre at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy yesterday. As of May 31...
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Fife beach on brink of losing bathing status
Kinghorn beach is on the brink of being downgraded to a non-bathing standard. The water quality will almost certainly be graded as “poor” for a fifth successive year, which would lead to it being stripped of its designated bathing water status. The...
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Family trauma: Nature’s playground:
A look back at 2000s: In 2007 pubgoers were urged to keep it quiet on the way home John tells how his childhood was stolen by unit for unmarried mothers Families enjoy the benefits of socialising in outdoor group
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Calls to close recycling centre after second fire
Calls have been made for the closure of Ladybank Recycling Centre after a second major fire in two months. Firefighters spent more than seven hours battling the latest blaze at the Lower Melville Wood landfill site on Wednesday. The outbreak came...
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Recycle hub hit by second major fire
Firefighters returned to a Fife recycling centre yesterday to battle a new outbreak. Shredded waste caught fire at the Lower Melville Woods Waste Facility near Ladybank yesterday afternoon. After the alarm was raised at 1.18pm, a fire service...
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Kingdom defence industry may get a Burnham boost
Andy Burnham’s new-look government could come with financial benefit for places across Fife, according to local MPs. New chancellor John Healey wants more cash for defence and they see this as a potential boost for a key industry in the kingdom. It...
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Fife abuser sentenced after chilling threats
A domestic abuser who threatened to kill his partner and “eat her heart” has been placed on a curfew. Aaron Ireland pled guilty to engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive at addresses in Fife spanning nearly six years. The court heard the...
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Professor takes legal action in gender row
A Fife academic and human rights lawyer is suing Scotland’s rights watchdog over claims she was harassed and discriminated against for expressing gender-critical beliefs. Dundee University professor Dr Claire Methven O’Brien, pictured, has begun legal...
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Firefighters called back to Tentsmuir
Fire crews were back at Tentsmuir Forest for the second time in two weeks yesterday. Smoke could be seen billowing from the forest from as far away as Monifieth. Two fire appliances were seen making their way through Tayport just after 1pm...
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Nurse too scared to use buses due to youth disorder
A Fife nurse and the victim of an alleged bus station attack in Dunfermline have called for harsher punishments for offenders after a spate of incidents at local transport hubs. The nurse contacted The Courier to tell how she was too scared to use...
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‘Miracle’ baby thriving after neonatal care
A family who were told their premature baby “wouldn’t make it” are enjoying life back at home with their now thriving seven-month-old. Shannon Fernie and Gary Goldie, from Glenrothes, welcomed baby Hope on December 8 last year. However, they were...
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AI boss in doubt . over data centre
A huge data centre proposed for the Fife countryside may now be in doubt. Mark Wilson, chief executive of the ILI Group, wants to build a £5 billion centre on countryside near the former Mossmorran site. He now fears a proposed moratorium by the SNP...
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Police treating death of man as unexplained
A man’s death is being treated as unexplained after police descended on a quiet Kirkcaldy street. At least two police vehicles and an ambulance car were called to Mill Street near Stark’s Park at around 5pm on Sunday. Police have said there are no...
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Fife uni racks up £195k bill in row with rector
St Andrews University has spent at least £195,000 in a lengthy battle with its rector since tensions first flared due to the war in Gaza. The institution paid £65,480 on an investigation into Stella Maris following her claims Israel was committing...
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Baby joy and degree all within 24 hours
On Thursday afternoon, Clare Hart was in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, after giving birth to her first child, Sol. But by yesterday morning, the newborn baby was at the Caird Hall, kitted out in a tuxedo, as his mum walked across the stage to receive...
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Shock as dog dies in ‘ferocious’ house fire
An investigation is under way after a dog died in a Fife house fire on Wednesday evening. Fire crews were called to Main Street in Crosshill shortly before 10pm. Six appliances were sent to the scene as firefighters spent hours bringing the blaze...
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Failed Fife homes project was not put out to tender
A £5.4 million housebuilding contract was awarded to a now-defunct developer without a tendering process for other bidders, The Courier can reveal. The project for 25 affordable homes in Kinghorn is partly completed and in limbo after Dundee-based...
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GP practices with . 6,000 patients set to lose contractor
NHS Fife is searching for a new operator of two Fife GP practices with patient lists of nearly 6,000 people, after the current contractor announced its intention to pull out. Ayrshire Medical Group gave notice of its plans to end its General Medical...
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Former Fife Tory leader speaks out on Labour switch
A Fife councillor who has made the switch from the Conservatives to the Labour Party says she was “uncomfortable” with a number of her former party’s positions on different issues. Kathleen Leslie announced she had resigned as leader of the region’s...
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Teenager killed in early morning Fife car crash
A teenager has died following an early morning crash yesterday near Kelty. The B914 was closed near the junction with the A823 after the collision at 2.25am. Emergency services remained at the scene throughout yesterday. The two-vehicle crash...
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Fife mum warns of swimming danger
A Fife mother warned of the dangers of wild swimming as she marked the sixth anniversary of her son’s death at a local beauty spot. Keivan Ulhaq died at Lochore Meadows in June 2020 and for mum Sheena, every year she relives that nightmare day. “I...
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Police could use tagging spray on menace bikers
Fife police could soon be using DNA tagging spray to tackle the menace of illegal motorbike and scooter use. Selecta DNA Tagging Spray can be aimed at the bikes, clothing and skin of offenders. The fine mist from the handheld spray does not harm the...
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Drones over Fife to bring bang-free Bonfire Night
Fife could celebrate Bonfire Night with drones and lasers rather than fireworks this year. Organisers Leven Community Council say the bang-free event is a quieter, safer and environmentally-friendly alternative to the usual pyrotechnics. Set on Leven...
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Seized e-bikes linked to ‘life-altering’ accidents
A public meeting has been called in Fife to discuss the rising antisocial use of illegal electric bikes and scooters. It comes as The Courier can reveal that dozens of the machines that have been seized by police are linked to serious crime and...
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Drones could tackle antisocial behaviour
Drones could be used to help tackle antisocial behaviour in Perth and Kinross, the council leader has suggested. Members of the finance and resources committee had previously agreed to allocate an additional £150,000 to recruit extra visitor rangers...
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Tributes to farmer in Fife tractor tragedy
The “heartbroken” family of Fife farmer John Wilson, who died when his tractor overturned, have paid tribute to their loved one. Mr Wilson, known locally as Jock, died in an accident at Waulkmill Farm, just off the A985 near Dunfermline, on...
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Rural crime spree targeting farmers
Farmers across Perthshire and Stirlingshire are being targeted in a rural crimewave, according to claims in Holyrood. Stirling MSP Alyn Smith and First Minister John Swinney made the link to their areas after a 14% increase in the cost of rural crime...
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Stress takes its toll on Fife Council workforce
Stressed-out Fife Council workers are averaging more than two weeks of sick days a year each, new figures have revealed. And long-term absence, along with difficulty recruiting new workers to vacant roles, is having a significant impact on those still...
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