9am Briefing: Man dies of heart attack after car explodes outside his home

A 69-year-old man has died of a heart attack after a car exploded in a blaze outside his home.

The incident, which it is understood police are treating as suspicious, took place at about 8.30pm last night at Woodmuir Road, Breich, near West Calder.

Firefighters were called to the property at 8.30am where the car was “well alight” in a driveway.

The car exploded and it is understood the 69-year-old man went out to investigate, then he collapsed with a heart attack.

Fire-fighters used a defibrillator and performed chest compressions in an attempt to save his life, but he died at the scene.

* Plans to raise the cost of parking fines in Edinburgh and other Scottish cities to £100 have been thrown out by the Scottish Government.

The city council had asked for permission to raise the maximum fine from £60, alongside the councils of other cities including Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow.

But a confidential Scottish Government report has ruled that the move would be unfair because of the existing economic pressures on motorists.

* A French power giant that was in discussions about setting up a major renewable energy hub at Leith Docks is considering a move to England instead. Alstom has been looking closely at Leith as a possible destination for a plant where offshore wind turbines would be developed but is understood to have reached a deal in principle with a developer of an English windfarm - and will locate its new manufacturing plan nearby to cut costs.

City leaders today admitted that the news is “disappointing” but said that around a dozen firms have expressed an interest in setting up renewable energy plants at Leith Docks