The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
£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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Cash and drugs seized during Fife police raids
Class A drugs and a “substantial” sum of cash were seized yesterday in police raids at Glenrothes properties. The Courier was given exclusive access to accompany detectives during the operation, which began at Police Fife Division HQ shortly after...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Swinney tells of agony over Murrell SNP case
First Minister John Swinney described the Peter Murrell saga as “agony”, after his party’s former chief executive was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for embezzlement. The Perthshire MSP spoke to journalists following Murrell’s...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MSP to unveil business support for high streets
Fife MSP Jenny Gilruth has backed the Courier’s Fresh Start campaign before announcing plans to boost towns and cities across the region. The SNP finance chief is expected to announce details in a statement at the Scottish Parliament today. Our...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Fife widow frustrated over pension shambles
A Fife widow is at the end of her tether after battling for 18 months to access her late husband’s pension. Since her husband, Bob, died in 2024, Evelyn Marchbank, 84, has been in limbo. Evelyn, pictured, is among thousands of people affected by...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Fair City influencer:
Bafta-winning TV star reveals top spots in her hometown
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Friends of tragic teen plan memorial walk
Two friends of Fife teenager Phoenix Birkett are set to undertake a 320-mile trek in his memory. Josef Watt and Jason Marais will walk from Wick to Dundee to raise awareness for mental health, starting in July. They will be raising funds for mental...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
University halls closed as legionella detected
Residents staying at a St Andrews University halls of residence have been moved out after “higher than expected” levels of legionella bacteria were detected. Agnes Blackadder Hall at the North Haugh is being disinfected after routine testing...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Novice driver admits to causing fatal Fife crash
A novice teenage motorist caused a fatal road crash just one month after passing her driving test. “Inexperienced” Shanyse Wudinge was travelling too fast in her Vauxhall Corsa on a bend of the A909 CowdenbeathBurntisland road and crossed into the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
OAP left a ‘prisoner’ thanks to broken lift
A 96-year-old woman has been unable to leave her top-floor flat for almost a fortnight because the lift to her sheltered housing accommodation is broken. Maime Brown, a former nurse who lives on the third floor at Bathgate Court in Cupar, said she...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Plea for research after shock cancer diagnosis
A Fife mum is calling for more funding for research into little-known lobular breast cancer that can be missed by normal breast checks and mammograms. Fiona Corps, 55, received a breast cancer diagnosis while her daughter, Jessica, was being treated...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Fifers celebrating birthday honours
Six people from Fife have been recognised for their contribution to public life in the King’s Birthday honours list. David Currie, chairman of global technology firm Proserv, has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Housing project left in limbo after builder goes bust
A multi-million-pound affordable housing project in Fife has been left in limbo after the contractor went into liquidation. Last year Glenesk Homes was appointed to deliver the £5.4 million affordable housing development on Burntisland Road in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
New £15m Kirkcaldy community hub thriving
Saturday, May 23, 2026 Fife edition No. 53,909 £2.75
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
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...
Read Full Story (Page 1)