A former Marr College and Marr Rugby Club player from Troon is preparing to take on an extraordinary endurance challenge in aid of a charity close to the hearts of the rugby community. Ali Walker is set to run the famous North Coast 500 route, covering approximately 500 miles over seven days, to raise vital funds for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the charity established by Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir to fund research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Walker, who prev

Ayrshire is gearing up for a sleepless night of football as Scotland prepare to make their long-awaited return to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1998. Image - Scotland National Team Steve Clarke’s side will kick off their World Cup campaign against Haiti at 2am on Sunday morning, marking the end of a 28-year wait for Scotland fans who have dreamed of seeing the national team back on football’s biggest stage. Across Ayrshire, excitement has been building throughou

Football fever is sweeping Ayrshire and Stagecoach is marking Scotland's participation in the 2026 World Cup by temporarily renaming its number 11 service 'Steve Clarke's 11' in honour of one of the area's most celebrated sporting figures. Image - Stagecoach South Scotland The special tribute recognises the achievements of Saltcoats-born Clarke, whose leadership has helped Scotland reach the world's biggest football tournament for the first time in 28 years. For the duration

An inspirational Ayrshire teenager who refused to let cancer define his future has been recognised with one of Scotland’s most prestigious honours. Image - Pride of Scotland Connor Elliot, an 18-year-old Ayr United supporter, has been named the 2026 Pride of Scotland Teenager of Courage, after overcoming a devastating cancer diagnosis and going on to represent Scotland at international level in amputee football. Connor’s remarkable journey began in November 2022 when he was d

New camera technology will be deployed in Scotland for the first time to monitor the number of drivers who use mobile phones behind the wheel and don’t wear seatbelts . The issues are two of the ‘Fatal-5’ high-risk driver behaviours, with almost one in four road users killed on Scotland’s roads not wearing a seatbelt . As part of Scotland’s estimated 4.7 million daily vehicle journeys, around 169,000 drivers are estimated to not use seatbelts and over 28,000 may use handheld

The Scottish Parliament has voted to agree new powers for the Scottish Government to withdraw or suspend concessionary travel where an individual is found to be in breach of a forthcoming Code of Conduct. This will apply to all users of the National Concessionary Travel Schemes, which provides free bus travel for young people aged 5–21, people aged 60+, and people with qualifying disabilities. This work is part of a wider approach to encourage positive behaviour on Scotland’s

Great news breaking tonight. The “Spirit” aerospace jobs at Prestwick are secure. New name over the door of the main factory will be Prestwick Aerosystems. Doug Maclean Aviation Editor, 8th December 2025 Double good news for Prestwick and Scottish industry today as details released from Airbus in Amsterdam said that Airbus “has closed the transaction with Spirit AeroSystems for the acquisition of industrial assets dedicated to its commercial aircraft programmes.” Picture Airb

ScotRail has recorded its busiest day of 2025 to date, with around 340,000 journeys being made across Scotland’s Railway on Saturday, 8 November. The record number of journeys (337,441) exceeded previous peaks achieved in August during the Oasis concerts and the Edinburgh Festivals, which saw around 326,000 journeys made. It also marks the train operator’s second-busiest day under public ownership, which began in April 2022. A sell-out match at Scottish Gas Murrayfield betwee

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has boosted its staffing by bringing in almost 100 new recruits ahead of winter. The extra staff were announced today (Tuesday, 11 November) by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray while visiting the Service’s East Ambulance Control Centre (ACC) in South Queensferry. The new staff include 25 call handlers who are based in the Service’s ambulance control centres and 22 staff, including GPs, clinical advisors and advan

Local SNP MSP Siobhian Brown has backed the Scottish Government’s recent Land Reform Bill, which has passed its final stage in Parliament, giving more power over decisions on land back to local communities, including here in South Ayrshire. The Bill, dubbed the most radical land reform legislation in the history of devolution, includes a range of measures to improve decisions on land including: · Giving Scottish Ministers new lotting powers on land sales over 1,000 he

The Scottish SPCA welcomes today’s passing of the Housing (Scotland) Bill. This is a landmark step which means no one in Scotland should...

A new plan to ensure Scotland’s trunk road network remains resilient and reliable in the face of climate change has been published. The...

A petition against the rollout of Digital ID Cards on the House of Parliament’s website has reached nearly 2.2 million signatures this...

PM Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed in a speech this morning that Digital IDs will be rolled out by the end of this parliament in a plan to...

From 1 September 2025, you’ll pay the same train fare no matter the time of day or the day of the week you travel. What does this mean...

The Scottish Government has announced a further investment of up to £40 million through the second Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge...

More than £3 million has been awarded to a group of local authorities, supporting them to work in partnership with the private sector to...

In a first for rail travel anywhere in Britain, peak fares are set to be scrapped for good for customers travelling on ScotRail services...

ScotRail is encouraging fans heading to Oasis Live ’25 at Scottish Gas Murrayfield to travel by train, with extra late-night services and...

The Met Office has officially named Storm Floris, issuing a yellow wind warning covering Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England,...