The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)

AI boss pledges one-toone objector meetings

The man behind plans for a giant £5 billion Fife AI data centre has pledged to hold one-on-one sit-downs with worried residents opposed to the scheme. Mark Wilson, pictured, director of the ILI Group, also promised to ensure the 25-hectare, 600 MW...

Fife schools report 25 violent incidents a day

More than 5,400 incidents of violence, aggression and threats were recorded in Fife schools last year, new figures have revealed. The latest data was highlighted in an annual health and safety review which went to Fife Council’s finance, economy and...

Scotland’s youngest fan to join the Tartan Army

A Fife tot is set to become Scotland’s youngest fan at the World Cup. Kennoway couple Jason and Charlotte Macpherson are taking all three of their children to the United States – including the newest arrival, five-week-old Isabella. Siblings Edward,...

Scan-tastic art:

Kirsty’s brain scans are now a V&A exhibit A job that isn’t rubbish: Ex-police sergeant is now detecting fly-tippers

Courier’ s tax campaign wins Holyrood backing

The Courier’s campaign to breathe new life into our high streets and shopping districts has won a crucial Holyrood vote. Less than a week after The Courier, The Press and Journal and The Sunday Post jointly launched the Fresh Start initiative for...

Lecturer alleges Israeli ‘brutality’ while in custody

A St Andrews University lecturer claims he was beaten and stabbed in the hand during five “brutal” days in Israeli custody. Dr Antonis Vradis, pictured, a St Andrews University Court member and geography reader, was among hundreds of proPalestinian...

Why Raith move could halt Robertson’s ‘moaning’ – Hundreds of estate cows face slaughter

More than 270 cattle are to be slaughtered at a Fife farm after government inspectors found “non-compliance with regulations” during a visit. Falkland Estate was found to have 271 cattle that were unidentifiable and untraceable. The cattle were then...

Villagers ‘do not want’ massive AI data centre

Community councillors insist residents are strongly opposed to plans for a huge AI data centre close to their Fife village. An application submitted by the ILI Group requests a 600MW data centre, called Cato, on land north-west of Auchtertool, near...

Fresh Start

Our high streets are struggling...but it doesn’t have to stay this way. For the first time, The Courier, The Press and Journal and The Sunday Post are joining forces and calling on the Scottish Government to relax business rates rules to give our local...

Pupils bullied and threatened online

More than 160 Fife pupils revealed they have experienced bullying online and been contacted by strangers on social media. And alarming numbers of children reported seeing inappropriate content without searching for it, commonly on Tiktok. The...

Fife villagers saved from mass eviction

Fife villagers who were facing homelessness are now planning a party after being saved from mass eviction. Fife Council has unanimously agreed to bring 26 homes in West Wemyss, Coaltown of Wemyss and Denbeath into public ownership in a £3.3 million...

Shell fined £450k over chemical leak in Fife

A Russian ship worker suffered burns to 10% of his body after 300 kilos of highly flammable propane vapour escaped from a vessel in Fife. Vladimir Volkov spent five days in hospital in his homeland after the error on November 1 2018 on board the MV...

Worker injured after accident at paper mill LESLIE:

A man has been hospitalised after reportedly becoming trapped in machinery at a Fife paper mill. An emergency response – including multiple police vehicles, an ambulance and a critical care paramedic – descended on Sapphire Paper Mill on Glenwood...

Controversial head not returning to primaries

Fife parents have been told a controversial head teacher who gave primary school pupils a book by a sex offender teacher will not return to her role. Lucy Jess, pictured, who later apologised for the decision, has been absent from her position as head...

Mouldy home a living ‘nightmare’ for family METHIL:

A Methil family say they are living in a “nightmare” as damp, mould and water continue to damage their council home over a year after the issue was reported. Jade Doctor says the Morar Street property has had ongoing problems since early 2025 when a...

New £15m Kirkcaldy community hub thriving

Saturday, May 23, 2026 Fife edition No. 53,909 £2.75

Waste centre fire to keep burning

The fire at Ladybank recycling centre will continue to burn for several more days, the fire service has confirmed. Firefighters have been at the Lower Melville Wood site since the fire broke out 10 days ago. Senior fire service officer Lee Turnock...

Fife MSP becomes new deputy first minister

Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP Jenny Gilruth, pictured, has been chosen as Scotland’s new deputy first minister. Ms Gilruth, who had been serving as education secretary, becomes John Swinney’s second-in-command in Holyrood after Kate Forbes stepped down...

Fife lecturer aboard Gaza flotilla when Israeli forces intercepted

St Andrews University says it is trying to establish the whereabouts of a lecturer who was aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla intercepted by the Israeli military. Geography lecturer Dr Antonis Vradis told bosses at the institution he was joining the...

Owner heartbroken as pet dies after dog attack

Fife Council is investigating after a beloved labrador died on the operating table following an attack by another dog. Heartbroken Mandy Pullar said nine-year-old Major was fatally injured on Friday May 8. Mandy, from Kennoway, had left her pet with...

Fife air pollution levels ‘hazardous’ after blaze

The air pollution level in Fife is “among the worst in the UK” with residents reporting a strong burning smell from the Ladybank fire. Concerns were raised by Cupar residents on Saturday as efforts to extinguish the blaze at the Lower Melville...

Information chief blasts Fife Council response to blaze

Scotland’s information commissioner has blasted Fife Council over its public response to the Ladybank recycling centre blaze, saying it is among the worst he has ever seen. David Hamilton, a former senior police officer, made the surprise intervention...

Trapped staff fled waste blaze by climbing fence

Recycling centre workers found themselves trapped as a huge blaze engulfed the site and had to scale an eight-foot fence to escape, it has been revealed. Union bosses told The Courier that staff at the Lower Melville Wood site, near Ladybank, reached...

Reworked designs cost Fife shipbuilder £140m

Defence giant Babcock has revealed it took a £140 million hit last year due to major reworks of Royal Navy frigates built in Fife. The Rosyth yard has been tasked with constructing five new state-of-the-art Type 31 ships as part of a £1.25 billion...

Huge waste site blaze seen for miles around EMERGENCY:

Around 40 firefighters and a dozen appliances tackled a huge fire at a Fife waste facility yesterday. The blaze broke out in landfill waste at the Lower Melville Wood site, around one mile north of Ladybank. Smoke could be seen for miles around and...

Mum of Fife teen ‘loses all hope’ as body found

A mother has described the devastating moment police told her a body had been found in the search for her missing teenage son. Phoenix Birkett, 17, was last seen on the Tay Road Bridge on April 8. On Sunday his mum Lisa Tarling was informed after a...

Taxpayers lose £580k after Fife firm collapses

Taxpayers will be left more than £580,000 out of pocket, despite resolution in a dispute between Fife’s Buffalo Farm and its bank regarding the failed firm’s mortgage. And creditors due more than £1.5 million will not get a penny as the administration...

SNP sweep Fife as Swinney returns to Bute House

Fife stayed firmly in SNP hands as the party swept four constituencies, while Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie stormed to another emphatic win in North East Fife. Jenny Gilruth, pictured, held Mid Fife and Glenrothes for the SNP, joining David Torrance...

R&A makes history with first-ever female captain

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Andrews has announced the firstever female captain in its history. Claire Dowling, pictured, will St begin her year in office after the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course in...

SNP poised for big wins but no overall majority

The SNP looks set for convincing wins in Tayside and Fife in today’s election – but could fall short of a majority. A final poll last night suggests the SNP will win each first-past-the-post constituency in Courier Country by a tidy margin, except in...

Red tape ‘fuelling Fife homelessness crisis’

Fife is facing “catastrophic” levels of homelessness unless the Scottish Government addresses bureaucratic red tape and rising costs within the private rented sector, an estate agent has warned. More than 2,600 people were declared homeless in Fife...

Biker suffered brain damage after crash

A motorcyclist suffered a traumatic brain injury and can now only give “yes or no” responses following a horrific crash in Fife, a court heard. Biker John Shearer struck a car as it pulled into a junction on the A985 near Gallows Loan, near Culross,...

Celebrity-owned Fife bar aims to do better

The new chief at a celebrity-owned St Andrews sports bar has admitted the report card for the venue’s first six months says: “must do better”. Promising to be a unique spot for food, drinks and fun, Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake’s T-Squared Social...

Fire-hit hotel to be bulldozed and new venue constructed

The owner of the historic Fife hotel destroyed in a devastating fire this week has said the building will have to be demolished and a new venue built in its place. Dundee businessman Graham Bradley, who recently reopened St Michaels Inn after a...

Affordable home plans lost after council error

A mistake by Fife Council led to plans for new affordable homes in St Andrews being scrapped and replaced with more than 1,000 student rooms. Proposals for the former Madras College site at Kilrymont originally included 160 houses, with almost a third...

Mum heartbroken over son still missing in Tay

A mother has spoken of her heartbreak weeks after her teenage son disappeared in the River Tay. Phoenix Birkett, 17, from Guardbridge, was last seen on the Tay Road Bridge in the early hours of April 8. Despite extensive searches of the river,...

Fife traders count cost of roadwork disruption

Businesses in Lundin Links are counting the cost of five weeks of disruptive roadworks. One shopkeeper has lost half his daily takings during works outside his premises. And after being denied compensation, Zaphar Iqbal, pictured, fears he will never...

Police survey reveals Fife officers’ concerns

The concerns of police officers working in Fife have been revealed in new survey results. The staff poll was carried out in October last year and the results, which cover everything from management to working conditions, were released in a freedom of...

Locker room row ‘took over my life’

NHS Fife nurse Sandie Peggie says she thinks constantly about the Kirkcaldy hospital changing room row with trans doctor Beth Upton that sparked the high-profile employment tribunal. Both lives have been turned upside down by the bust-up at Victoria...

Fife designer styles singing star Harry

A Fife fashion designer has gone from graduating to dressing Grammy-winning pop star Harry Styles for his latest music video. Kate Dewar, a former Bell Baxter High School pupil from Newburgh, runs menswear brand Keogh Dewar alongside fellow designer...

‘Vindictive hoax’ over body on farm rumour

A farmer believes he is the victim of a “vindictive” hoaxer linking him to the disappearance of Fife man Allan Bryant after another anonymous note was sent to The Courier. A third letter was sent to our Meadowside office in Dundee claiming the missing...

Wellness hub to go ahead on mine site

A multi-million-pound eco-wellness centre at a former opencast coal site has been hailed as “ambitious, exciting and overwhelmingly positive” for Fife and Scotland. Plans to transform the old mining site at St Ninian’s, just off the M90 at Kelty, were...

Charity funded despite ‘abysmal’ performance

An organisation set up to improve Kirkcaldy will continue to be funded by taxpayers – despite there being “precious little evidence” it has delivered any benefits to the town. Love Oor Lang Toun was launched six years ago and is supposed to act as a...

Legionnaires’ leaves dad seriously ill in hospital

A father from Fife is stuck in hospital in Turkey after falling seriously ill with Legionnaires’ disease. Kyle Matthew, 30, flew to the Turkish resort of Icmeler for what should have been a dream family holiday with his fiancee Staci Wilson and their...

Police watchdog to probe fatal crash

A police watchdog will investigate a crash that killed two men near Kinross. Emergency services were called to a serious collision on the M90 near Milnathort at around 11pm on Friday. A grey Ford Kuga was seen driving northbound on the southbound...

Inside Magazine:

Meet the husband and wife living life in the fast lane

Inside £7.4m affordable homes transformation

A £7.4 million project to bring a prominent Dunfermline city centre building back into use as affordable housing is close to completion. New City House is a regeneration project transforming former council offices into high-quality, energy-efficient...

Hospice charity’s £20m fundraiser

A children’s hospice charity has launched a £20 million fundraising appeal that it says will help “reimagine what children’s palliative care can be”. The More than a Hospice appeal launched by Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (Chas) aims to...

Heartbreak and hope for couple in donor appeal

A Fife couple have spoken of their heartbreak and hope as they back a campaign calling for more people to consider egg and sperm donation. Natasha and Callum Ferguson, from Rosyth, are on the waiting list for an egg donor after Natasha was diagnosed...

Beach polo returns to Elie

Beach polo returned to Elie on Sunday, when dozens of players and spectators gathered on the sands. It was the second tournament to take place on the beach beside The Ship Inn. Three teams – the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, St Andrews University and...

Wheelchair user stuck on buses amid failures

A Fife wheelchair user has slammed Stagecoach for constant failures resulting in her being “held hostage” on buses. Rusted and broken equipment is often rendering buses inaccessible, Isabelle Gaim-Marsoner, pictured, has said. Classed as mechanical...

More than 150 quality pages packed with features, interviews, news and sport

Friend to walk 10 miles in memory of tragic Charlie

The best friend of a Fife boy who died months after a brain tumour diagnosis is walking 10 miles in support of a childhood cancer support group set up in his name. Charlie Melville died at his Tayport home on March 2 of a childhood brain cancer and...

Police seal off woodland after man’ s body found

Woodland in Leven was sealed off by police yesterday after the discovery of a man’s body near Bawbee Bridge. It was shortly before 9am when officers attended the scene, pictured, after a man was found to be unresponsive. At least six police vehicles...

Roadworks defended amid Fife disruption

Fife Council has defended the way it manages roadworks following months of disruption in Guardbridge, pictured. For more than a year now, motorists have been forced to endure heavy congestion due to a £20 million energy project. And their woes were...

Two towns in region bid for culture title

Two Perthshire towns are vying to be crowned the first ever UK Town of Culture. Building on the success of the UK City of Culture, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport launched the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition in January. Towns have 31...

Partner’ s death leaves footballer heartbroken

Rachel Borthwick, the partner of Dunfermline Athletic player Graham Carey, has died from cancer at the age of 36. The midfielder revealed yesterday Rachel, pictured, died on Sunday with her parents by her side. She received a fourth breast cancer...

Showjumper in coma after competition fall

The family of an international eventer from Kinross say they “remain positive” after a fall during a competition left her in a coma. Louisa Milne Home, 46, fell at a British Showjumping competition at Bogenraith Equestrian in Aberdeenshire on February...

Hero brothers ‘never thought of the danger’

A man who battled a gang of crowbarwielding thieves alongside his brother says the pair never thought for a second about their own safety as they foiled the attempted break-in. Euan and Scott Waddell fought off the shop raiders – who twice tried to...

Fife leader’ s ‘bizarre rant’ in teacher row

The leader of Fife Council has called on the first minister to sack Scotland’s education secretary over her handling of the proposed teacher strikes. David Ross, pictured, has accused Jenny Gilruth of excluding councils from discussions with teaching...

Staff member dies on college campus

scene, paramedics attempting to save with the man. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 11.10am on Friday March 20, we were made aware of a medical matter at a college in Dunfermline. “Emergency a services attended; however, 65-year-old a man...

Heroic residents hailed for foiling crime gang

A gang of thieves were said to be foiled in their attempt to break into a Fife shop after being confronted by brave locals. Officers were called to the Leslie Mini Market on the High Street shortly after 2am yesterday. Shop owner Sahid Houssain said...

Fife pupils’ performances fill audiences with Glee

Hundreds of primary school choirs took to the stage for the opening night of the Glee Challenge 2026 Fife sectionals at Alhambra Theatre in Dunfermline on Tuesday. Over three nights, schools from across Fife will perform to packed audiences,...

Water level at site of tragedy ‘borderline’ too high, FAI hears

A countryside ranger described water levels being “borderline” too high on the day a Fife man died while leading a canyoning group in Dollar Glen, an inquiry has heard. Ruaridh Stevenson, 39, from Cupar, pictured, got into difficulties attempting to...

Cafe boss ‘gutted’ over complaint against dog

A Fife cafe owner has been left “a wee bit disheartened” after a customer reported her to environmental health officers for letting her wellloved dog off its lead at the venue. Nichola Bruce, who runs One Two Three Cup of Tea in Tayport, says her...

Driver, 87, dies after two-car Fife crash

A driver has died following a two-car crash on the A92 in north-east Fife. The 87-year-old man died in Ninewells Hospital after the collision near Rathillet, close to the turn-off for Gauldry and Balmerino, at around 10.40am on Saturday. He was...