Briefing: Firefighters tackle flat blaze

FIREFIGHTERS battled a serious blaze at a block of flats in Saughton Mains Park this morning.

The fire broke out in a top-floor flat in the block, which contains 16 flats, just before 7am and spread to the roof of the building.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said it had initially been reported that people were trapped inside the building, but was unable to confirm if anyone had been injured.

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She said residents in the block had been evacuated from their homes but not everyone had been accounted for so far.

She added: "Due to the fire conditions all our crews have fully evacuated and are fighting the fire externally."

A spokesman for the Ambulance Service said two ambulances were still at the scene but nobody had yet been transported to hospital.

Nine fire appliances were in attendance, as well as more than 30 firefighters and four senior officers.

Derek Riordan forced out of comedy club

HIBS ace Derek Riordan was reportedly forced to leave a city nightspot after regulars acted as bouncers and threw him out.

The player is said to have been confronted by a group of customers who pointed out that he was in breach of a restriction order by being in a comedy club in the Omni Centre.

They showed him the door after security staff were said to have turned a blind eye.

Scotland striker Riordan, 27, is currently barred from all Edinburgh nightclubs as part of the Unight security scheme.

1 million to be spent on potholes

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THE amount of money Edinburgh is to spend on fixing potholes in the first three months of the year is reportedly set to double again to almost 1 million – five times the original budget.

Road chiefs have dramatically increased their winter maintenance budget, covering the period from January to April, after this month's cold snap led to an increase in the number of defects.

The city council would normally spend 200,000 on road maintenance in the first three months of the year, but this has already risen to 500,000 and is set to increase again to 960,000 after the state of the Capital's roads were assessed following the thaw.

Man taken to hospital after crash

A 60-YEAR-old man had to be taken to hospital after a collision in Gorgie last night.

Ambulance staff said the man had been injured in the collision on Balgreen Road, which happened just before 6:30pm.

He was later taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment, although his injuries were not thought to be severe.

Two cars were involved in the crash, and Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene as there were concerns that petrol was leaking from one of the vehicles.