PRESSURE CONTINUED to mount on the Scottish Prison Service last night as it emerged another man had absconded from an open prison in Tayside, bringing this week’s total to three.

THE CREDIT card provider of a disgruntled flyWhoosh customer yesterday appeared to admit it was legally obliged to refund the cost of cancelled flights—but still insisted the matter would have to go to court.

MORE THAN 30 people had to be evacuated from their homes last night after a fire in a disused Perth building.

A FAMILY home was severely damaged yesterday after a standard repair went horribly wrong, forcing a mother, two sons and their dog to flee the property in St Mary’s in Dundee.

A CALLOUS Perth mother who preyed on the elderly and disabled to fund her heroin addiction was jailed for 185 days yesterday after a sheriff branded her “downright nasty.”

THE DETECTIVE in charge of the investigation into the vicious stabbing of a 22-year-old camper at T in the Park last night said that he was following “positive” lines of inquiry.

THE NEW bridge at Kincardine is on schedule to open in November, according to the Government agency behind the project.

A FIFE fisherman landed an unexpected catch at Stenhouse Fishery near Burntisland recently, when he hooked a bat while angling at dusk.

LINKS between domestic and substance abuse were examined yesterday at a major conference in Perth.

THE CHIEF executive of Fife Chamber of Commerce has warned no business sectors will escape the credit crunch and has predicted it will take up to four years to restore balance.

THE SLOWDOWN in the national housing market does not appear to have had an effect on the removal industry in Dundee, according to one local firm.

DUNDEE IS still a good place to invest in property, if buyers follow the basic rules, one of the city’s leading agents said yesterday.

NORTH-EAST Fife’s normally buoyant housing market is feeling the bite of the credit crunch, with a downturn in the number of houses being sold.

POISONOUS GIANT hogweed flourishing along a section of the A92 Dundee to Arbroath road is to be killed off following intervention by a city councillor, writes Brian Allison, local government reporter.

HUNDREDS OF the most aggressive and persistent troublemakers and shoplifters have been banned from Dundee shops in the past year.

PUBLIC HEALTH Minister Shona Robison yesterday announced £4 million of extra cash to boost the number of breaks for carers.

A PERTHSHIRE businessman and his employees have stepped forward to offer their assistance to a Dundee war veteran.

A NUMBER of television viewers in Tayside and Fife are finding their set-top boxes no longer work due to transmission changes.