NR Crime Watch

Forres accident: Moray Police wants your help

Police in Moray are appealing for witnesses following a road traffic collision on the A96 near Forres. The incident happened around 7.25pm on Tuesday, 5 November just to the west of Findhorn Bridge at the junction for Kintessack. The crash involved a black Toyota GT86 and a red Citroen DS3. The female driver of the Citroen was taken to Dr Grays Hospital in Elgin for treatment. Her injuries are non-life threatening. The male driver of the Toyota was uninjured. The road was closed until around 10.45pm to allow for recovery of the vehicles.

Police Constable Hector Bryden of Forres Police Station said: “We are carrying out inquiries to establish the full circumstances which led to this crash. We would urge anyone who has information and has not yet spoken to police to come forward. “In particular we are keen to speak to the the driver of a lorry and a white Audi which were both travelling eastbound around the time just before the incident happened.

Support the police, support your community, anyone who can help with the inquiries is urged to call 101, quoting incident 3754 of 5 November.

NR Crime Watch

Lossiemouth woman admits to drug trafficking

A woman from Lossiemouth has admitted to supplying cocaine, heroin and the sedative called Etizolam. The mother of two said she got involved in the illegal trade because her children were threatened by a criminal gang and unless she cooperate by using her house as a “safe house” , her children would be harmed. Police raided her house after receiving a tip off, they found cocaine worth over £260,000, Etizolam worth at least £60,000 and heroin worth £30,000. The 29 year old Sasha Peel will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on 5th December.

NR Politics

UK Prime Minister visit Moray ahead of election

Moray MP Douglas Ross (r) with the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Pic credit: Eric Cormack

The prime minister has urged voters to use next month’s general election to call a halt to Nicola Sturgeon’s plans for a second independence referendum.

Boris Johnson was speaking as he visited a Diageo distillery near Elgin on Thursday afternoon. Mr Johnson said only a vote for the Scottish Conservatives would stop the SNP’s plans to “break up the UK”. He was adamant that only the Scottish Conservatives who could “keep our fantastic United Kingdom together and prevent another referendum next year”.

He added: “We are the party that is saying come on, let’s get together as a whole UK, let’s get Brexit done, get this thing over the line and then get on with bringing our great country together and unleashing the potential of the whole UK.

Mr Johnson said the other choice for prime minister was Jeremy Corbyn, who he claimed had “done a deal” with the SNP that would “get him into power in exchange for agreeing to another referendum even although the last one was meant to be once in a generation”.

He also used his visit to pledge to review the amount of tax paid on a bottle of whisky, which the Conservatives said would allow it to “develop a system which provides better support for domestic drink producers”.

NR Crime Watch

Car vandalism in Buckie on the rise

Police in Buckie are appealing for information following vandalism to several cars within the town centre overnight on Thursday, 31 October to Friday, 1 November, 2019.

The incidents happened in Banff Street, Milton Drive, Cluny Place car park, High Street, South Pringle Street and West Church Street.

In total twelve cars were reported to have been damaged to police with an estimated cost of damage of around £15,000 to £20,000.

Sergeant Dave Cooper of the Buckie Policing team said: “It is disappointing to hear of the mindless acts of vandalism to a number of vehicles in Buckie. The inconvenience and financial burden that this has placed on the owners of these vehicles is considerate.

“There are a minority in our communities who feel this sort of behaviour is acceptable, but I want to be clear that, it is not.

“We are following all lines of enquiry to make sure that those responsible are found. I would urge anyone with information or who may have seen anything to come forward.”

Those with information should contact police on 101 quoting incident number 0865 of Friday, 1 November, 2019 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

NR Crime Watch

Elgin drivers on police watch

Road Policing Officers in the North East of Scotland have carried out a series of coordinated patrols and road checks in Elgin last weekend, which saw nearly 40 separate offences detected and 23 motorists being charged or warned.

The operation on Friday 1 November was conducted in response to local complaints about an increase in antisocial driving in the area.

A significant number of drivers were stopped in relation to a range of offences, including lighting defects, driving without insurance, using a mobile phone and speeding. Two vehicles were seized and a further one was prohibited from being used on the road.

Sergeant Andy Meikleham, from the Elgin Road Policing Unit, said: “This operation was all about challenging and educating road users, to improve safety and reduce the number of injuries on our roads.

“While the vast majority of drivers gave us no cause for concern, it was disappointing to see so many offences being detected in a short period of time. I was particularly concerned that some of the vehicle defects we discovered could have contributed to future collisions.”

“This is the latest in a number of targeted operations that we have carried out in the North East and we have even more planned in the next few weeks and months.”

NR News

Woman’s body found in Moray river

Credit: Police Scotland

The body of  61 years old Jacqueline Ullmer, has been found in River Spey at Garmouth near Fochabers. She was declared missing two months ago.

Det Insp Donnie Macdonald said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Jacqueline and we are supporting them through this difficult time.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all those who have assisted us in this extensive inquiry.” Mountain rescuers, a coastguard helicopter and police divers were involved in the effort to find her. Extensive searches were made of woodland and the River Spey at Carrbridge.

NR Crime Watch

Elgin Woods attack claims 83 year old life

Pic credit: Police Scotland

Police were called to Birkenhill Woods near New Elgin on Monday after three people were attacked by a man believed to Ben in his mid 30s. A Aberlour Parish Church of Scotland minister and his wife suffered head injuries. The 83 year old deceased has been named as Frank Kinnis. The two other people have now been named as Reverend Morris and Mrs Janette Smith.

NR News

Explosives found in Keith waste disposal centre

Pic credit: JasperImage

Staff of the Keith waste disposal centre have been praised for “averting a potential tragedy” after they found a package containing 60 explosive detonators. As a result of the discovery, they helped to avert tragedy which could potentially claim lives of other workers further down the processing line in the landfill. The police were called to the scene and bomb disposal experts later carried out a controlled explosion. The recycling centre was closed off to the public after the devices were uncovered. There is no information as to who left the boxes for recycling, but the contents were described as being “of some vintage” and are likely to have been left over from nearby quarrying sites.

NR Health

Moray hospital closes to admission

Fleming Hospital and Aberlour Health Centre will no longer be able to admit sick patient due to staff shortages. Instead, patients who would have been treated at the Fleming Hospital in Aberlour will now have to travel to Stephen Hospital, about five miles away in Dufftown.

The situation is said to be a temporary measure by the Health and Social Care Moray until more staffing is out in place. Out-patient appointments at the Fleming Hospital are not affected.

The Social Care Moray added that “Staff at both Aberlour and Dufftown are frequently having to work through breaks as well as working extra hours as a result of a number of staff vacancies resulting in us being unable to reliably safely staff both sites at the moment.”

NR Accident

Crane overturns on A96

Pic credit: JasperImage

A mobile crane overturned on the A96 road in Moray between Alves and Elgin at around 10:15 Monday morning. Fortunately no lives were lost. Fire service from Forres and Elgin and a heavy rescue unit from Inverness were sent to the scene to rescue the driver who suffered serious injury.