On Thursday, September 3, police in Scotland were investigating a suspected firebomb attack on a detached home in Irvine, Ayrshire, which was deliberately set alight in the early hours. Firefighters battled the blaze for almost seven hours, leaving the scene at around 11.15am.
Images showed the soot-covered property badly damaged, with the garage roof close to collapse and the front door destroyed. Burnt-out items, including a mattress and a Rangers flag, were left among the debris. No-one is understood to have been injured.
Police remained at the property while officers carried out door-to-door enquiries in the surrounding estate. Police Scotland is treating the blaze as wilful and has launched an investigation. A spokesperson said: “Enquiries are ongoing and the fire is being treated as wilful.” Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said two appliances attended and there were no reported casualties.
Former lecturer admits killing couple in crash
Former college lecturer Sophie Hynd, 33, pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of Jatinder Kaur, 48, and her husband Satwant Singh, 64, in a head-on crash on the B981 in Cluny, Fife, last December. The couple’s 10-year-old son was seriously injured in the collision.
The court heard Hynd had been drinking cider, spritz, Prosecco and possibly a Guinness shot before deciding to drive home, with one colleague describing her as “pretty merry” and another as “pretty drunk”. Other motorists had called 999 after seeing her Nissan Qashqai driving erratically and swerving onto the opposite carriageway before it smashed head-on into the couple’s Volkswagen Polo.
Jatinder was pronounced dead at the scene, while Satwant died in hospital two days later after doctors determined his injuries were not survivable.
Helicopter search and armed response
Two men sparked a police helicopter search after being spotted “acting suspiciously” near HMP Low Moss in East Dunbartonshire. Officers were called to the prison in Bishopbriggs around 1.55pm on Tuesday, September 1, after reports of the pair in the area.
The men fled as police arrived, prompting an extensive search involving a helicopter and officers on the ground. Despite the efforts, they could not be traced and police confirmed neither man was a prisoner. Low Moss, on Crosshill Road, houses male prisoners including those on remand, short and long-term inmates and life prisoners. Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the suspicious activity.
Separately, armed officers swooped on a Fife home after reports of a man brandishing what was believed to be a firearm. Police were called to Caithness Place in Kirkcaldy shortly before 6pm on Wednesday, September 2. Photos from the scene showed officers in tactical gear outside a block of flats, with several marked police vehicles parked nearby. The operation followed a report of a man in possession of a suspected firearm. A 22-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
Ammonia attack in Glasgow
Gwen Dempster, 52, threw liquid ammonia over her friend during a row over a “scabby fiver” while the pair were shopping in Glasgow city centre. Dempster doused next-door neighbour Lee McCluskey after they became embroiled in a heated argument on Buchanan Street last November.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard McCluskey asked Dempster to go away after becoming upset by her comments. Prosecutor Lauren Aitchison said Dempster told her: “I don’t want a scabby fiver, I want £20 off you now.” McCluskey swung her shopping bag before a struggle broke out.
During the grapple, Dempster pulled a bottle of ammonia from her bag and threw it at McCluskey, hitting her head and body. The victim screamed that her skin was burning and was later found removing her clothes on the floor outside Sainsbury’s, with red marks on her face.
