Talk of the Town: Log on to vent anger at 'useless' council

West Lothian Council has been inundated with complaints regarding the state of secondary routes, which has left some county residents stuck in the snow in their own housing schemes.

Though the council says it has spread more grit on county roads so far this year than it did throughout the whole winter period last year, many residents have logged on to Facebook to vent their anger.

The page – called West Lothian Tax Payers for Gritted Streets & Filled Grit Bins – says: "Are you sick of the council failing to grit your street and fill your grit bins? Then join this group to show your disgust at the lack of service we have had."

Shedding light on UFOs

EDINBURGH is rightly celebrated around the world as the best place to enjoy Hogmanay, and this year there were suggestions that the Capital's reputation for a party might have spread even further.

Several people from across the city have been in touch with the Evening News to raise concerns about UFOs seen massed across the night skies on 31 December, as thousands took to the streets to toast the New Year.

These bright orange lights seen darting around miles above the city were similar to UFO reports from across the country over the last year, but while we would love to think extraterrestrial visitors would make Princes Street their first stop on Earth, there is a more mundane explanation.

The lights were in fact candle-lanterns, being set off from various points including Calton Hill, as part of the celebrations.

That said, the large number of green men seen stumbling around Edinburgh on 1 January was most definitely real.

New addition to Leith police

RESIDENTS living in the Capital's traditional red light area have long campaigned for more frequent visits from the "Old Bill".

Now they have finally got a permanent police presence, but it's not exactly what they were hoping for. Instead of Lothian and Borders' finest keeping an eye on them round-the-clock, it is members of Sun Hill nick watching over them, thanks to an illuminated ITV3 billboard on the corner of Salamander Place and Salamander Street advertising the latest series of The Bill.

Just a shame these cut-out coppers can't say "you're nicked".