Aerials in your area

Bathroom showrooms in your area

Blinds in your area

Builders in your area

Central heating in your area

Dentists in your area

Double glazing in your area

Estate Agents in your area

Florists in your area

Garages in your area

Hairdressers in your area

Health Clubs in your area

Hotels in your area

Hotels in your area

Kilt hire in your area

Kitchen showrooms in your area

Letting Agents in your area

Plumbers in your area

Pubs in your area

Removals in your area

Restaurants in your area

Satellite TV in your area

Skip hire in your area

Solar Panels in your area

Solicitors in your area

Jul 29 2012
Exclusive by Lauren Crooks, Sunday Mail

mega bar motherwell Image 4

THE manageress of a nightclub where girls stripped naked on the dancefloor to win cheap champagne has had her licence suspended.

But the Mega Bar in Motherwell will be allowed to stay open – despite the ban on boss Jacqueline Hillen.

She was in charge when the sleazy game run by DJ Stephen Sunnucks took place in May. Hillen claimed she was unaware of the game because a crowd was blocking her view.

But North Lanarkshire Licensing Board have suspended her licence for two months. And they issued the club, owned by Raymond Codona, with a written warning.

But the club will stay open under the management of another employee.

We told how a nine-minute video posted on You Tube showed Sunnucks, who dubbed himself DJ Daddy Cool, egging the six girls on. He told them to spread their clothes across the dancefloor and the one who made the longest trail won the champagne.

Girls cowered in embarrassment as jeering men looked on during the “Stretch Your Clothes” game. The women were given binbags to cover themselves up with but some chose not to and later could not find their clothes.

The shocking footage shows one spectator giving a girl her knickers back.

After the licensing board ruling, Hillen said: “This was an honest oversight on my part not to have patrolled the dancefloor to see what all the noise was about. I simply thought the DJ was running a game, like our DJs often do. If I had any idea this was the nature of the game I would have stopped it immediately.

“I’ve enjoyed 16 years in the trade without incident and feel disappointed that this has happened but I will of course learn valuable lessons.”

At the time, a shocked clubber told us: “The girls were aged between 18 and 22 and had been drinking cocktails.

“They were told that whoever made the longest line of clothes would win a bottle of cheap champagne. The inference was that if they took off their pants and bras they would be able to make a longer line.

“They were handed binbags to cover up but some of them didn’t seem able to use them and the whole thing just felt wrong. The girls panicked a bit when they couldn’t find their clothes and some of their underwear was gone.”

But DJ Sunnucks, 45, of Paisley, said: “I’m aware of licensing laws and know what’s acceptable. I’ve always tried to create a fun atmosphere but on rare occasions things can get a little out of hand.

“It’s important to get situations back under control when that happens but I don’t think the incident you’re referring to was particularly bad.”

We revealed the controversial game days after a couple were encouraged to have sex at a Coatbridge nightclub.

The pair were said to be trying to win £50 in drinks vouchers in the game at the Level 2 nightspot. They were undressing each other in front of a window and shocked clubbers.

Shocking footage showed DJ James Currie shouting “S**g her ! If you s**g her, we’ll give you £100.” The incident sparked a police investigation.

Jul 29 2012
by Marion Scott, Sunday Mail

Steven Rooney Image 2

BENTLEY-DRIVING businessman Steven Rooney thinks his Del Boy Trotter T-shirt with the slogan Luvvly Jubbly is a hoot.

But for the disgusted family of cancer victim Louise Kirkpatrick, it is just another sign of the millionaire’s breathtaking arrogance.

Louise died at the age of 44 – still waiting for more than £9000 from Rooney, who let her go from her job at his Falkirk-based ABC Events firm after she developed pancreatic cancer.

That was despite her going back to work just four weeks after ­undergoing radical surgery.

Brave Louise, who earned just more than £17,000 a year, struggled financially in her dying days despite being awarded £9352 by anemployment tribunal in September 2011.

The money was withheld for six monthsbefore Louise’s death – and Rooney still has no intention of paying what is due to her family.

Louise’s fiance Allan Douglas, 43, from High Valleyfield, Fife, said: “She was so dedicated to her job, she was only out of hospital for just over a week after a major operation when she started working again from home.

“We were relieved when Steven assured her she didn’t have to worry about her job.

“But a few weeks later, when we got news that the cancer was still there and Louise had to undergo more treatment, Steven called us into the office and told Louise in front of me that he couldn’t keep her on.”

Macmillan Cancer ­Support teams encouraged Louise, mum of twins Callum and Rachel, 17, to take her case to a tribunal using new laws which protect cancer victims.

She won the unfair dismissal tribunal after Rooney failed to turn up at the two hearings. Events organiser Louise, from Carron, near Falkirk, had claimed Rooney, 44, breached equality ­discrimination legislation.

Allan, an employment development officer, said: “It says everything about this man’s ­arrogance that, with this case in the ­background, he is happy to parade around in this T-shirt.

“Louise fought hard to live and battled through the operation and two bouts of chemotherapy.

“We were told in November there wasn’t much more doctors could do. It was heartbreaking.

“Her last months were fraught with worrying about money.”

Under the Equality Act brought in two years ago, employers must not discriminate against a worker with cancer.

The new law allows time off for medicalappointments, job modification, working hour flexibility and breaks to cope with fatigue.

Rooney said: “I didn’t defend the action because it was too expensive. I told her I didn’t believe I owed her the money.

“I’d given her £1000 just before last Christmas as she was a single mum with kids. When she was off ill for three months, I paid her full wages.

“I didn’t sack her. When she got the bad news that the treatment hadn’t worked, she said she wanted to spend time with her kids and family.

“But she went to one of those no-win, no-fee lawyers and kind of laid it on thick. Because I didn’t defend it, it went through.”

Allan Cowie, Macmillan’s general manager said: “This case is very upsetting. We understand the pressures on the business community but this cannot negate their responsibility to employees diagnosed with cancer under the ­legislation.”

Aerials in your area

Bathroom showrooms in your area

Blinds in your area

Builders in your area

Central heating in your area

Dentists in your area

Double glazing in your area

Estate Agents in your area

Florists in your area

Garages in your area

Hairdressers in your area

Health Clubs in your area

Hotels in your area

Hotels in your area

Kilt hire in your area

Kitchen showrooms in your area

Letting Agents in your area

Plumbers in your area

Pubs in your area

Removals in your area

Restaurants in your area

Satellite TV in your area

Skip hire in your area

Solar Panels in your area

Solicitors in your area

Jul 29 2012
By Rory Cassidy, Sunday Mail

Brian Faulds pictured with Adam and Paul Christie

DETECTIVES probing three brothers over the murder of one of their friends found a stash of shocking beheading videos on one of their mobile phones.

Snuff movie clips of men having their heads chopped off were found on the mobile phone of 22-year-old Bryan Christie.

Christie was charged alongside his brothers Paul, 29, and Adam, 27, with the murder of Brian ‘Nightmare’ Faulds in Glasgow’s east end.

Paul and Adam were caged for a minimum of 24 years for last September’s killing.

Bryan Christie was convicted of the lesser chargeof attempting to pervert the course ofjustice.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard he helped his brothers dispose of Brian’s body like a bag of rubbish.

Afterthe trio’sconvictions, we can reveal that officers found the shocking torture killing videos on Bryan Christie’s mobile phone.

The sick footage shows men being butchered using axes and knives – the same weapons his savage siblings used to murder Brian.

In one clip, a huge knife was plunged into the neck of a defenceless man as he lay on the ground, killing him within seconds.

Another of the twisted films showed ahelpless victim being struck with an enormous axe – beheading him instantly.

The video ended with the man’s lifeless body lying on grass next to a tree stump.

The wound caused by the heavy axe was so clean that no blood could be seen on camera.

The horrendous images were shown to a clearly distressed Lady Smith at the High Court in Glasgow in April.

Bryan Christie’s lawyer, Paul Burns, told the court that the videos had no bearing on the evidence. He objected to the videos being used in the case against his client.

The extreme violence seen in the clips is shockingly similar to that used by Paul and Adam, who mutilated Brian’s body so badly that his head was split into four.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard they stuffed Brian’s corpse into a wheelie bin before dumping it next to the River Clyde and setting it alight.

Bryan Christie will be sentenced next month.

Jul 29 2012
Exclusive By Lauren Crooks, Sunday Mail

Marty Docherty

AN actor who stars with Tom Hanks in his latest film could be off to Hollywood – as pals in his local plan to turn a digital whip-round into a movie and send him to the premiere.

Marty Docherty, 38, landed the role of Hanks’s brother in the Warner Bros movie Cloud Atlas.

He spent days in Berlin shooting for the film alongside an all-star cast including Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Susan Sarandon.

But he admitted to pals Ian Bustard and Martyn Robertson over a pint in Glasgow’s Griffin Bar that he couldn’t afford the trip to Los Angeles for the star-studdedopening night.

The pair – both documentary film-makers – have hatched a plan to get him there so he can become Scotland’s next blockbuster star.

They are making their own movie charting his journey, titled Marty Goes To Hollywood, and have launched a Facebook appeal,getmartytohollywood.

They hope the Scottish public will get behind Marty by donating to the project to help raise the £10,000 needed to send him to LA in October. Last night, Marty, 38, said: “I can’t believe they have done all of this after just a weeconversation in the pub.

“Obviously, going to the premiere doesn’t guarantee me anything but it definitely won’t hinder me and I think it could open doors.

“I have been acting for 15 years so, if I’m ever going to get to Hollywood and really make it there, then now’s the time. When I was in Berlin filming, I shot scenes with Halle Berry and Hugo Weavings, who was in The Matrix. I met Hugh Grant in make-up and he was so nice.

“They were interested in what I wasdoing and who I was playing. I couldn’tquite believe I was there.

“I really hope I can go to the premiere. It’s such an all-star line-up and I’m sure it will be spectacular.”

Ian and Martyn, who between themhave 30 years’ experience inthe film and entertainmentindustry, have set up meetings for Marty with a host ofScots-born stars includingRobert Carlyle, Gerard Butler and Brian Cox.

They will also organise for him to speak with casting directorsand producers.

Ian, 41, said: “When you are part of the hottest property in town, you soon become the hottest property in town yourself. That’s why he has to be at that premiere.

“When Tommy Flanagan was inBraveheart, he went over to LA for thepremiere and never came back.

“We want the Scottish public to see the great opportunity Marty has and support him. He is well known here having had parts in Dear Green Place and Still Game.

“But Hollywood is the next step and we want to follow his journey as he tries to get there. He will be swapping the hills ofCastlemilk for the hills of LA.”

Martyn, 31, said: “He has a good chance here and we want the public – both here and in America – to get behind him.

“We have set up a crowd-funding website where people can buy things like the chance to have their name on the credits of the film or a signed DVD from Marty.

“The items for sale vary from about £4.50 to £800. We want people to have fun with it.

“Yes, this is about a local boy who has done well but it’s much more than that too.”

The Cloud Atlas crew shot some ofthe scenes for the film in Glasgow lastSeptember.

Jul 29 2012
Exclusive by Lauren Crooks, Sunday Mail

mega bar motherwell Image 4

THE manageress of a nightclub where girls stripped naked on the dancefloor to win cheap champagne has had her licence suspended.

But the Mega Bar in Motherwell will be allowed to stay open – despite the ban on boss Jacqueline Hillen.

She was in charge when the sleazy game run by DJ Stephen Sunnucks took place in May. Hillen claimed she was unaware of the game because a crowd was blocking her view.

But North Lanarkshire Licensing Board have suspended her licence for two months. And they issued the club, owned by Raymond Codona, with a written warning.

But the club will stay open under the management of another employee.

We told how a nine-minute video posted on You Tube showed Sunnucks, who dubbed himself DJ Daddy Cool, egging the six girls on. He told them to spread their clothes across the dancefloor and the one who made the longest trail won the champagne.

Girls cowered in embarrassment as jeering men looked on during the “Stretch Your Clothes” game. The women were given binbags to cover themselves up with but some chose not to and later could not find their clothes.

The shocking footage shows one spectator giving a girl her knickers back.

After the licensing board ruling, Hillen said: “This was an honest oversight on my part not to have patrolled the dancefloor to see what all the noise was about. I simply thought the DJ was running a game, like our DJs often do. If I had any idea this was the nature of the game I would have stopped it immediately.

“I’ve enjoyed 16 years in the trade without incident and feel disappointed that this has happened but I will of course learn valuable lessons.”

At the time, a shocked clubber told us: “The girls were aged between 18 and 22 and had been drinking cocktails.

“They were told that whoever made the longest line of clothes would win a bottle of cheap champagne. The inference was that if they took off their pants and bras they would be able to make a longer line.

“They were handed binbags to cover up but some of them didn’t seem able to use them and the whole thing just felt wrong. The girls panicked a bit when they couldn’t find their clothes and some of their underwear was gone.”

But DJ Sunnucks, 45, of Paisley, said: “I’m aware of licensing laws and know what’s acceptable. I’ve always tried to create a fun atmosphere but on rare occasions things can get a little out of hand.

“It’s important to get situations back under control when that happens but I don’t think the incident you’re referring to was particularly bad.”

We revealed the controversial game days after a couple were encouraged to have sex at a Coatbridge nightclub.

The pair were said to be trying to win £50 in drinks vouchers in the game at the Level 2 nightspot. They were undressing each other in front of a window and shocked clubbers.

Shocking footage showed DJ James Currie shouting “S**g her ! If you s**g her, we’ll give you £100.” The incident sparked a police investigation.

Jul 29 2012
Exclusive by Russell Findlay, Sunday Mail

Jamie Stevenson

CRIME boss Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson is back on the streets – less than halfway through his prison sentence for laundering £1million of drugs cash.

Scotland’s most powerful mobster has been enjoying meals at expensive restaurants and socialising with pals after being allowed home for a week each month.

Stevenson – who was also accused of shooting dead his best friend in an underworld hit – was put behind bars in September 2006 when he was arrested after a four-year surveillance operation by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.

He was later sentenced to 12 years and nine months for money laundering. But, we can reveal, he is now allowed out of Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee – just five years and 10 months later.

A source said: “He seems determined to show his face all around town to deliver the message that he’s back and, as far as he’s concerned, nothing has changed.

“A lot of people are surprised that he’s being allowed out so early. Some are not too pleased about it for a number of reasons.”

Stevenson, 47, has been spotted at Bothwell Bar Brasserie, which is run by his friend Stewart Gilmore.

He and his cronies have also dined at upmarket Italian restaurant Il Pavone in Glasgow’s Princes Square shopping centre.

And Stevenson has joined friends at various other restaurants and hotels, including Glasgow’s Hilton Garden Inn.

A Sunday Mail investigation can today reveal that the Parole Board for Scotland could recommend Stevenson’s total freedom as early as February next year.

However, the final decision on his release will rest with Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.

Yesterday, Labour justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald said: “I’m surprised to hear this and that anyone in these circumstances should get out of jail before the halfway point of their sentence – far less so when the conviction is of someone involved in organised crime.

“The only circumstances where that would be conceivable would be if someone completely changed their lifestyle. But even then that should not be before they’ve served half their sentence.

“I’m sure the victims of these crimes – and with drugs there are direct and indirect victims – will also be surprised at this.”

To prepare Stevenson for his release, prison bosses have allowed him to stay a full week each month at his modest flat in Burnside, near Glasgow.

On Friday, we watched him leaving the property with his wife Caroline and driving off in a silver Audi.

A prison service insider said: “The Parole Board expect the prison authorities to have allowed home visits to test suitability for release ahead of the first eligible parole date. In Stevenson’s case, that’s next February.

“There are conditions attached which vary but usually include the obvious ones like not mixing with other criminals and staying only at the designated address.

“For prisoners sentenced to more than 10 years, the Parole Board make their recommendations to the Justice Secretary, who then decides whether to release on licence.

“Stevenson is trying to keep his nose clean to convince the Parole Board that he poses no threat to society.

“But, given his high profile and significance, it’s inevitable that the authorities will be careful before making any final decision.”

Stevenson headed a global smuggling gang with a multi-million-pound turnover when he was brought down by the SCDEA’s Operation Folklore, which seized £61million of drugs.

He faced drug and money laundering charges along with eight other suspects, including his 53-year-old wife.

But his lawyers struck a deal with the Crown Office to admit money laundering in exchange for his wife’s freedom and the drugs charges being dropped.

Stevenson’s stepson Gerry Carbin Jr, 32, was also jailed – for five years and six months – but was freed in 2010.

Stevenson was previously arrested for the murder of Tony McGovern, 35, who was gunned down in Glasgow’s Springburn in 2000. But prosecutors dropped the case through lack of evidence.

A gangland source said: “He does not fear any kind of reprisal from Tony’s brothers, nor does he regard any other criminals in Scotland as a threat or even as rivals. He did not fear any other operation in Scotland before he was jailed. Why would he now?”

Two years ago, the Sunday Mail exposed a backdoor deal when the Crown handed back Stevenson’s £300,000 watch collection, which had been seized under proceeds of crime of legislation.

Last June, he was sent back to high-security Shotts jail in Lanarkshire from an open prison after a major SCDEA drugs probe, Operation Chilon.

Detectives believed that the gang they investigated was controlled by Stevenson.

Haulage firm boss Charles McAughey’s home was one of 11 targeted in raids. In 2009, we revealed that French police had found 684kg of pure cocaine worth £31million in a lorry owned by McAughey.

Chilon resulted in the SCDEA seizing 242kg of cannabis worth £1.21million and the jailing of three men for a combined 15 years.

Jul 29 2012
By Heather Greenaway, Sunday Mail

Sally Magnusson with husband Norman Stone

IT might be her first children’s book but Sally Magnusson made sure it was a real family affair.

The BBC Scotland newsreader, who unveils her hero Horace the Haggis in our exclusive photoshoot today, enlisted her husband, TV producer Norman Stone, to do illustrations for the fun-filled story.

Her children Jamie, 26, Siggy, 24, Anna Lisa, 22, Rossie, 20, and Magnus, 17, were there right at the start when she invented the lovable character one rainy Easter eight years ago.

Sally, 56, admits falling a little in love with the cuddly hero of Horace and the Haggis Hunter – and hopes the world will too.

The broadcaster said: “It was the Easter holidays eight years ago and we were stuck inside because of the rain. I asked the kids what they thought made a good book? They told me ones that had the right balance of laughter and fear.

“We started inventing characters and I came up with a haggis called Horace while the kids made up other animals who could befriend him.

“I typed away like mad for an hour and, by the end of it, I had the makings of a children’s book. It was lots of fun but I was busy and filed it away.

“A couple of years ago I dusted it off, wrote a proper draft and sent it to publishers inLondon, who rejected it because they said no one would know what a haggis was.

“After feeling a bit deflated, I sent it to publishers Black White in Edinburgh and, thankfully, they loved it.

“I’m really excited to see what peoplemake of Horace. I have already written the next book in the series and have dozensmore in my head.”

The Songs Of Praise presenter said: “All the kids have had input into the story of Horace. They also helped Norman bring him to life in the drawings.

“I didn’t realise it when I was writing but some of the characters have similar personalities to my children.

“My son Siggy used to spend hours in front of the mirror when he was younger gelling his hair so that’s why Horace keeps a tube in his pouch.

“My daughter Anna Lisa is convinced I based bossy Martha mouse on her and Dijon the robin is based on a little bird who visited our garden for years.”

Sally, the daughter of broadcasting legend Magnus Magnusson, who passed away five years ago, says her dad would have loved Horace, as would her mum Mamie Baird, who died in April.

She said: “I don’t think my father knew about the haggis but I can just imagine him laughing at it until tears rolled down his face.

“Before my mum got dementia, she was a great limerick writer and there is alimerick in the next book.

“She would have loved Horace and would have probably danced about in the costume.”

Sally, who is working on a book about dementia, said writing about Horace was light relief.

She added: “Dementia is a very serious subject and it was nice to escape into Horace’s world.

“My mum was an incredible lady and we all miss her very much.”

Sally’s hero, who can be followed on Twitter and Facebook, was brought to life by her TV director husband.

Norman, 62, who runs successful film company 1A Productions, would love to see Horace turned into an animation.

He said: “It’s early days yet but Horace has lots of potential as an animation. He’s cute, fluffy and cool, as well as extremely contemporary.”

Norman, who created and directed Shadowlands for the BBC, admits he has not eaten haggis since drawing Horace.

He said: “Our house is now a strictly vegetarian haggis home. None of us can bring ourselves to eat the real thing since Horace became part of the family.”

Horace and the Haggis Hunter, which is Sally’s seventh book, is about a huggable haggis who is homeless and hunted.

He finds refuge among the animals of Acre Valley but the haggis hunters are out to trap him.

A flower-eating fox, a loyal mouse,a gossipy rook, two magpies on Twitter and the Mole Patrol all try to help Horace escape.

But does he get caught and boiled for dinner by evil farmer McPhee?

Sally, who had the surreal honour of introducing Prince Charles and wife Camilla as BBC Scotland weather forecasters during their Jubilee tour of Scotland, admits swapping the serious world of newscasting for the fantasy world of Acre Valley was like a rollercoaster.

She said: “I would be caught up all day in news stories and then, at night, I’d have to start thinking about what colour nail varnish Stacey the magpie should wear. It was surreal and refreshing.”

Her family’s involvement continued into our special shoot when Sally’s daughter Anna Lisa volunteered to dress up as Horace in the fabulous costume made by prop maker Ruth Bailey.

Anna Lisa said: “I am really proud of my mum and dad. They’ve both worked really hard on Horace.

“He reminds me of my childhood and I know kids are going to love him.”