9am Briefing: One of Scotland's most vaulable artworks sold for £30m

ONE of Scotland's most valuable works of art has been bought by the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles for nearly £30m.

Turner's Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino, which had been on loan to the National Galleries of Scotland, will be lost to the nation.

It was sold by a descendant of the 5th Earl of Rosebery who bought the painting in 1878 while on honeymoon with his wife Hannah Rothschild.

House prices soar

HOUSE prices in the Capital have soared in the past year as the number of properties sold rose by almost a third.

New figures show that the value of the average property in East Central Scotland rose sharply from 191,095 during the second quarter of 2009 to 212,921 in the same period this year.

A report by Santander also revealed that Edinburgh is now home to 1665 homes valued at more than 1 million – up from just 16 ten years ago.

However, experts expect price inflation to start to cool later this year as the number of houses coming on the market begins to rise.

Firefighters cool heated canisters after fire

FIREFIGHTERS attempted to cool superheated acetylene canisters this morning after a fire at a farm in East Calder.

At least 11 appliances were on the scene after a fire broke out last night at Coxydene farm at 11.10pm. Crews were hampered by poor water supplies to the area.