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‘Violent' rapist jailed for horror attack against woman at Scots property

‘Violent' rapist jailed for horror attack against woman at Scots property

Scottish Sun03-06-2025
FIEND CAGED 'Violent' rapist jailed for horror attack against woman at Scots property
A "VIOLENT" rapist has been jailed over a serious sex attack at a Scottish property.
David Colquhoun was convicted of rape at the High Court in Paisley today.
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The 45-year-old was convicted of rape at the High Court in Paisley today
Credit: Alamy
The 45-year-old committed the horror attack against a woman at a property in Renfrew back in April 2023.
He is due to be sentenced on Monday, June 30.
Detective Inspector Euan McMillan said Colquhoun is now "facing the consequences of his violent, sexual attack" on the woman.
He added: "We acknowledge it can be difficult for victims of sexual crimes to come forward and I would like to commend the woman for reporting Colquhoun.
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"I hope this outcome provides her with some form of justice.
"We are committed to tackling all forms of sexual violence and I would urge anyone who wishes to report a crime, to come forward.
" You will be fully supported by our specially trained officers and partner agencies.
"There is no time bar to reporting, regardless of when it happened, please contact us so we can fully investigate."
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Glasgow Silverburn TK Maxx bosses blasted by angry Milton dad
Glasgow Silverburn TK Maxx bosses blasted by angry Milton dad

Glasgow Times

timean hour ago

  • Glasgow Times

Glasgow Silverburn TK Maxx bosses blasted by angry Milton dad

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King's Theatre Edinburgh: Descendants of a 'message in a bottle' discovered in 120-year-old theatre's walls
King's Theatre Edinburgh: Descendants of a 'message in a bottle' discovered in 120-year-old theatre's walls

Scotsman

timean hour ago

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King's Theatre Edinburgh: Descendants of a 'message in a bottle' discovered in 120-year-old theatre's walls

Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A descendent of a workman who built a Scottish theatre and whose signature was found in a bottle hidden in a wall during a refurbishment has told how she had not been aware of her family connection - despite living a stone's throw from the iconic venue. Valerie Moar, who has lived in Edinburgh all her life, said she and her sister, Irene McCullough, had visited the theatre often as children, but had not realised their family had a link to the building. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Her ancestor William Begg's signature was among 16 names found on a piece of paper put into a bottle and concealed in Edinburgh's King's Theatre when it was built in 1906. Irene McCullough and Valerie Moar are related to decorative plasterer, William Begg. | Valerie and Irene The bottle was found hidden behind a plaster crown above the theatre's auditorium in December by a donor to the theatre. The donor was on a tour of the 119-year-old building, which is undergoing a major refurbishment, when they made the discovery. Ms Moar's story, and that of other descendants of the signatories of the paper, are to be told as part of the new People's Archive, an online project celebrating and exploring the heritage of the historic theatre. The message in a bottle found at the King's Theatre during refurbishment works. Picture: Poppy Thompson | Scotsman The archive, launched today and compiled by volunteers, offers free online access to a wide selection of archival materials from the King's Theatre. These materials span more than a century of history, including programmes, historic photo galleries, playbills, newspaper clippings and oral histories. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When the theatre reopens next year, amateur historians will also be able to book time to physically trawl parts of the archive. Much of the archive has been donated by individuals who have performed, worked or attended productions on the King's Theatre stage over decades. William Begg, a decorative plasterer who worked on the King's Theatre, pictured here with his wife. | Irene Ms McCullough, a keen family historian who recalls regular visits to the theatre to see ballet as a child with a family member, said: 'We knew William Begg was a decorative plasterer and the basic stuff about his life, but not what he'd worked on or anything about him as a person. When we saw his name on the [message in a bottle] list, I had a feeling it was him. I sent an immediate email to Valerie, saying 'look what I found'. 'I didn't know it was definitely our man until I contacted the theatre, but I had a strong feeling.' Contributed Ms Moar said: 'We didn't realise the connection, but mum and dad used to take us to the pantomime at the King's Theatre every Christmas.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She recalled a part-time job at a catering firm when she was a student in the 1980s, working at a post-show reception for actors at the theatre, who were performing A Midsummer Night's Dream. 'We were told that we could sit quietly at the back and watch,' she said. 'I thought 'oh, well, we'll see'. I hadn't read anything like that since school. And it was absolutely astonishing. I can still remember it vividly today. 'If I'd realised our connection to the building of the theatre, I'd have been getting the binoculars and lifting them up and checking out the plaster work. Although I think everybody who goes to that theatre does that anyway, you can't not look up, it is so beautiful.' Ms Moar even once worked on an art project for a calendar, where she painted an exterior view of the theatre. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I painted the King's, and I did little scenes going on behind each window,' she said. 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Another ancestor, Karen Dickey, the great–great-granddaughter of William Cruikshank, uncovered her link to the past through a chance conversation. Her husband, John, an Edinburgh taxi driver, had dropped off a member of the construction team at the theatre site. The couple have now been presented with a framed copy of the letter found in the bottle. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Dickey said she remembered being shown a plaque with William Cruikshank's name on it at the theatre by her grandmother. The archive will be available online. | Greg Macvean Photography 'As a child, I thought it was incredible that I had a relative who had built something so monumental,' she said. 'It is amazing that the bottle was kept when it was found and wasn't just chucked out as rubbish.' Abby Pendlebury, heritage engagement manager for Capital Theatres, said: 'The People's Archive is a digital exploration into the 119-year history of the King's Theatre story. 'It has everything from programmes to photographs. We have personal letters and paintings, as well as the letter which was uncovered as a message in a bottle. From this, we have been able to dive into the stories of some of the people who worked at the King's and were involved in some of the construction of the King's.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad

Gang of youths filmed brutal attack on teenager as mum feared for daughter's life
Gang of youths filmed brutal attack on teenager as mum feared for daughter's life

Daily Record

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Record

Gang of youths filmed brutal attack on teenager as mum feared for daughter's life

Ashley Manning said her daughter Murren was enjoying a day at the beach when she was followed by the group of teens. A Scots mum has spoken out about her anger after a gang of youths allegedly attacked her daughter and filmed the incident. Ashley Manning, from Musselburgh, East Lothian, claims her daughter Murren, 13, was at the beach with friends on Sunday, June 29, when another group began following them. ‌ The 37-year-old said the horror attack has left the schoolgirl "traumatised". She told our sister title Edinburgh Live: "She was at the beach with a couple of her friends having a lovely time. ‌ "She went down into the sea and she left her jewellery at the top and they took her jewellery and they fired it in the sea, saying 'that's what you get your cheeky little cow, giving me digs'." When Murren denied giving them dirty looks, her mum said she was threatened by the girls, who refused to let her climb back onto the pier. She was able to call her mum and make her way to the bus stop to come home. A concerned Ashley called a friend to take her to the bus stop, but by the time she arrived, the youths had caught up with Murren and set upon her. In shocking footage shared with Edinburgh Live, she can be seen surrounded by a group of girls. One grabs her hair and starts striking her, before the others start joining in kicking and stamping on her before one kicks her in the face. Ashley continued: "I was going 'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, please just keep her alive until I get there, just please keep her alive. ‌ "They were about to start battering her again and obviously they saw my car. They ran away up and then down another alley to the beach and I got there and her crocs were lying in the middle of the road, her handbag was everywhere. She was covered in blood." Ashley said one of the girls earlier tried to make Murren address her as a 'princess' and say sorry for giving her 'dirty looks'. She said: "They just took advantage of her, they've sniffed her out a mile away because she's soft and gentle and they took advantage of her. But you know what, fair play, because she went for it when they attacked her, she went for it and every single kick in the head that she got, she got back up." ‌ She got Murren home to safety before involving the police, but is still "seething" this happened to her daughter. She added: "I'm just so angry and I'm so angry at the police's attitude as well. I called 999 and I said my daughter's just been attacked by 20 of them, her head's been bounced on and everything and waited an hour in my friend's car with her all busted up, obviously I wanted to make sure she was safe and cleaned up and stuff so I phone back an hour later and 'there's incidents in front of you', I came home, cleaned her up. ‌ "They came at lunchtime on Monday and [the officer] took a statement and he was basically saying 'This happens all the time.' And I'm just like, nah, you know what I'm not having this. "They sent out one officer and it was lovely and all that, don't get me wrong, but basically told me that the chances of anything happening to any of them are slim. I'm so, so angry and I don't know what to do. I'm at the end of my tether." Thankfully Murren suffered only scrapes and bruises, but her mum said she is struggling mentally and was scared to go to the supermarket following the incident due to the crowds. Ashley is worried that she will be affected by this for the rest of her life while the youngsters responsible won't face any consequences. ‌ Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. She explained: "Every single one of them should be charged and taken in and maybe put away for a couple of months. Like if you do something that serious, where you're going to kick on somebody's head and take their life away from them potentially, you should be seriously, seriously punished. "There's no excuses for that whatsoever. I'm 37 and I have never in my life had to be like that. She's 13 and she is tiny. She's a size 6 and she's only 5 ft. For her to get that and still be walking. It's a miracle and I really do think that they should be charged and it should be on their criminal record for the rest of their life and that they should get three months in a detention centre. I think they should be taught right from wrong. "It's going to take me years to get over this, and Murren may never get over this, she's deeply traumatised, and I just hope one day it never happens to them or their family." Inspector Alan King, from Haddington Police Station, said: 'Around 7.05pm on Sunday, 29 June, 2025, police received a report of the assault of a 13-year-old girl by a group in the Musselburgh area. "No injuries were reported and the caller requested officers attend the following morning, which they did as agreed. Enquiries are ongoing and officers will engage with local schools in due course."

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