A Monifieth woman has been named as the victim of a three-car crash in Broughty Ferry.

Police Scotland officers attended the crash at St Vincent Street around 4.30pm yesterday and later confirmed that a woman had died.

She has been named as 85-year-old Vanda Grewar.

It’s understood Mrs Grewar may have taken ill at the wheel.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Her family are understandably upset by their sudden loss and have said that she will be greatly missed.

“Inquiries into the full set of circumstances of the incident are on-going and Tayside Division would appeal for anyone who may have information that could assist officers with their inquiries to contact Tayside Division on 101.”

As with all sudden deaths, a report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Joe Fitzpatrick has held onto Dundee West for the SNP, with Shona Robison returning to Dundee East, as the SNP look to form the next Scottish Government.

It was an awful night for Labour after their constituency vote collapsed, returning only three seats.

However the Tories have gained a number of seats in Scotland, an unthinkable feat just a few years ago.

Joe FitzPatrick said: “Thanks to the Dundee City West electorate for putting their trust in me and the SNP take forward their hopes and aspirations.

“The SNP is dedicated to addressing inequality across Scotland, and I vow to do that here in Dundee, to make sure every child has the same opportunities in life.

“Thanks to my team for all their hard work, and thanks to the election staff, the returning officer, and my fellow candidates.”

The SNP has tonight won an historic third term as Scotland's government. I pledge to be First Minister for all of Scotland. #SP16

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 6, 2016

The Dundee West result saw the SNP take a 3% swing from Labour as the nationalists had more than double the number of votes.

In Dundee West the SNP had 16,070 (58% of the vote) to Labour and Jenny Marra’s 7,242 (26%).

And the Conservative vote in the constituency was up 4% with 2,826, Lib Dems had 1,008, and the TUSC had 642.

Shona Robison said her fourth win in Dundee was a “humbling experience”:

“I’m very, very pleased and excited and honoured.

“This is my fourth election win in the constituency and every time it becomes more humbling.

“You get a sense of people putting their trust in you over a long period of time, and that brings with it a responsibility as well, and I give a pledge to the city’s constituency that I’ll continue to work very hard on their behalf and to continue the regeneration of the city.”

Meanwhile both seats in Angus were retained by the SNP.

Turnout in the county had initially been forecast to be as low as 40%, but Angus south came in at 56.81%.

And in Mid Fife and Glenrothes, the SNP also held on, with new MSP Jenny Gilruth heading to Holyrood with a majority of 15,555 to Labour’s 7,279

The nationalists also took the Cowdenbeath and Dunfermline seats from Labour and held Kirkcaldy.

On another historic night for the SNP, some supporters took particular pleasure in the fact the party had taken every parliamentary seat in Glasgow for the first time.
The SNP’s Westminster leader Angus Robertson said it was an “amazing” achievement to gain all eight MSP positions.

A bounceback by Liberal Democrats saw leader Willie Rennie return to Holyrood in North East Fife, while the party also took Edinburgh Western from the SNP and held on to the Orkney and Shetland islands.

Nicola Sturgeon described Labour’s collapse  as “quite staggering”.

Accepting victory in her Glasgow Southside constituency, Ms Sturgeon said the SNP had “made history” by winning its third Scottish election in succession.

The SNP have held on to both seats in Angus, amid a night of drama at the count.

Graeme Dey gained 15,622 votes to keep Angus south, while Mairi Evans held Angus north and Mearns with 13,417 votes.

The counts eventually came in after a number of delays to the announcement, and a Lib Dem candidate did not take the stage after taking ill and being treated by paramedics.

A close second to Ms Evans was the Conservative Alex Johnstone who gained 10,945 votes, followed by Labours John Ruddy on 2752 votes and Lib Dem Euan Davidson on 2265  votes.

Following the result Mairi Evans said it would be an honour and a privilege to go forward to serve the people of the constituency.

However the Conservative candidate closed the SNP majority in Angus South by gaining 11,318 votes.

Labour candidate Joanne Mcfadden gained 3,773 votes and Lib Dem Clive Sneddon took 1,216 votes.

SNP hold Angus south and Angus North and Mearns

— Lindsey Hamilton (@LindseyhamL) May 6, 2016

After being announced as the winner, Mr Dey told the Tele nothing could be taken for granted in an elections campaign.

“We fought an energetic, positive campaign that took us to all the towns and villages in Angus,” he said.

The turnout in Angus South exceeded expectations with  56.81%  of people, 32,052, voting.

Following the announcement a delighted Mr Dey thanked his team for their dedication and hard work.

Kirstene Hair said she was “absolutely delighted” with the result.

“We have more than doubled our vote in Angus South.

“I have only been standing for three months and it has absolutely paid off.

” This result shows the tide is turning. We have completely slashed the SNP majority. ”

Dey previously had a majority  of 58%, which has dropped to 48%.

There was also drama at the Saltire Centre in the early hours just before the Angus south result was announced.

Lib Dem candidate Clive Sneddon is understood to have taken unwell.

Paramedics were called and attended to him.

However, he did not require to go to hospital.

He also did not appear on the platform for the announcement of the count.

A Dundee couple claim they were asked not to return to a caravan park due to noise made by their children, including their autistic son.

Barry and Libby Holman have spent several recent weekends taking their five children and two dogs to Foresterseat Caravan Park, by Forfar.

But on their most recent visit, they claim they were told by the site’s owner that “I’d rather you didn’t come back”.

The family, who only bought their caravan last year, said three of their children — Jade, 10, Jack, eight, and Ewan, seven — have ADHD.

Jack and Ewan are also autistic and Jade ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). Their other two children, Paige, nine, and Brodie, one, were also with them on the trip.

Barry, 31, from Kirkton, said: “We had been to the caravan park the last couple of weekends and given a pitch in the corner — which had been great, as it gave our kids space and we didn’t have too many neighbours nearby.

“Last weekend we decided to go back up to the park as we had really enjoyed taking the kids there but we weren’t given our usual pitch and were placed right in the middle of the site, which meant we were fairly enclosed.

“Jack is autistic and he took a meltdown, as he wasn’t used to the area and it took more than an hour to calm him down.

“My daughter Jade had gone to the park within the camp and she was laughing and giggling but was approached by a female member of staff and told to be quiet and that they didn’t want to hear any more noise over the weekend.

“When Jade came back and told us this we were obviously mindful and wanted to respect the rules, and we kept a closer eye on the kids.”

The family say they offered to move to another pitch, but Barry added: “I explained we had a few issues with autism in our young family and also ADHD, and that a pitch away from the campsite would be beneficial to us but the owner said: ‘I’d rather you didn’t come back.’ ”

A Foresterseat spokeswoman said: “We had no idea that the children were autistic or ADHD. The family were constantly breaking park rules and other park users were complaining.”

the SNP held on to their seat in Angus South — albeit with a reduced majority.

In a long night at the Saltire Centre in Arbroath, the result was eventually announced after a number of delays.

There was also drama after the Lib Dem candidate Clive Sneddon took ill and had to be treated by paramedics.

Graeme Dey gained 15,622 votes to keep the constituency in the hands of the Nationalists.

However, the Conservative candidate Kirstene Hair narrowed the SNP majority by winning 11,318 votes.

The turnout in the constituency exceeded expectations with 56.81% of people — 32,052 — voting.

Following the declaration, a delighted Mr Dey thanked his team for their dedication and hard work.

And he told the Tele that nothing could be taken for granted in an election campaign.

He said: “We fought an energetic, positive campaign that took us to all the towns and villages in Angus.”

Ms Hair said she was “absolutely delighted” with the result, adding: “We have more than doubled our vote in Angus South.

“I have only been standing for three months and it has absolutely paid off.

“This result shows the tide is turning. We have completely slashed the SNP majority. ”

Mr Dey previously had a majority of 58%, which has dropped to 48%.

Mr Sneddon is understood to have taken unwell and an ambulance was called. However the candidate, who gained 1,216 votes, did not require to go to hospital.

Labour’s Joanne McFadden polled 3,773 votes.

Dundonians have been enjoying temperatures warmer than Benidorm, Bucharest and Barcelona as the country is gripped by a heatwave.

The warm weather arrived at the weekend and is set to last most of the week — with the mercury rising to 18C at its peak.

Beachgoers, sports enthusiasts and al fresco diners were seen making the most of the seasonal weather across Tayside.

Some businesses saw record sales for the year as a result.

• Nostalgia: Fun in the sun through the years in Dundee

Angie Creaney, bar manager of Broughty Ferry Golf Club, said the weather had given the venue its busiest few days of 2016.

She said: “We had a special function last weekend and we matched it this weekend just through regular sales. The weather brought people out, along with their smiles and their wallets.

“Our outside area was particularly busy as people enjoyed a drink in the sun.

“The weather improved our custom threefold compared to our other weekends this year.”

Antonia Caira, owner of Visocchi’s Italian cafe in Broughty Ferry, said the venue went through a record amount of ice cream for the year on Sunday.

She said: “It was very, very busy on Sunday. Saturday was busy as well but Sunday especially — we were mobbed all day.

“It was definitely the busiest we’ve been all year.

“The weather hasn’t been that good this year — so this was certainly welcomed by us all here.”

A spokesman for Angus Council said its country parks were noticeably busier at the weekend too.

He said: “Crombie and Monikie Country Parks were very busy all weekend with the car parks full.

“Visitors came to enjoy the scenery, our adventure playgrounds and activities within the parks.

“Watersports activities started at Monikie on Saturday with the bonanza ‘come and try’ event on all weekend. In all, 40 people tried out windsurfing, canoeing and sailing.

“The Christian Aid-sponsored walk and BBQ at Crombie, cancelled last year due to bad weather, benefitted greatly from the warm weather, with 50 entrants.”

Forecasters have said the sunny weather will continue today through to Thursday, but will drop by Friday as more cloud appears.

THE parents of a Tayside boy could face an agonising wait of up to six months to discover whether any negligence contributed to his death.

Leylan Forte, four, died at home in Montrose on April 27 last year after becoming seriously ill over a weekend.

The toddler, who attended Armitstead Child Development Centre Nursery in Dundee for a spell, was found to have died from dehydration, gastroenteritis and norovirus.

Leylan suffered from cerebral palsy, suspected autism and an eating disorder. He was also unable to communicate.

His mum and dad, Leanne Smith, 39, and Wayne Forte, say they called NHS 24 several times before he died but claim they were persistently told a doctor would not be sent out. Yesterday, a significant clinical event analysis (SCEA) began, to establish the background and sequence of events that led to Leylan’s passing, as well as trying to identify any contributing factors in management or organisation systems.

Leanne said that to still have no answers more than a year on from her son’s death was difficult to accept.

She said: “This is just the beginning and it’s taken us a year to even get to this stage. We just want to know if they had done something differently, whether Leylan would still be here or not. We definitely think so anyway, but we have to wait for this report.

“If they did find negligence it could take several more months to get anywhere further forward. The problem is that there’s no closure for us and it could be up to six months before we get the findings of the SCEA report.”

And Leanne said losing Leylan was still just as hard to deal with now.

She added: “There are days where I don’t cope. Today I can speak about it, but others I can’t do it without breaking down because I’m just so fragile.

“People say I am amazing and I am a tower of strength, but I’m not. People don’t see me when I go home.”

She added: “It’s crazy how long it takes to get answers. But I just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else’s child.

“I hope lessons can be learned from this, but I think I’ve got a big fight on my hands.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: “As we are currently carrying out a review, it would be inappropriate for us to comment.”

A man had to be rescued by firefighters this morning after the car he was travelling in overturned.

Emergency services were called to the A90, just south of Brechin, near to the Bervie Chipper following the one-car smash at about 8.30am.

The man was freed from the vehicle by firefighters before being tended to by paramedics.

It’s believed the casualty was not seriously injured.

Delays on the main Dundee to Aberdeen route were reported as the inside lane was blocked while the incident was being dealt with.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were notified by the ambulance service at 8.26am.

“It was reported that the vehicle had landed on its side.

“Firefighters removed one male casualty from the vehicle and administered first aid. He was then handed into the care of the ambulance service.

“Fire crews then made the scene safe before leaving the scene at 8.55am.

“Two appliances, one from Forfar and one from Brechin attended.”

A man has been charged after a dog was allegedly mauled to death by another dog.

Police received a report of a dog being attacked at West Links in Arbroath at 9.30am on Tuesday.

The dog died shortly afterwards due to its severe injuries.

Today, police confirmed a 60-year-old man had been charged.

A statement from the force read: “Police Scotland can confirm that a 60-year-old man has been charged in connection with dangerous dogs offences after an incident at West Links, Abroath at 9.30am on Tuesday May 10.

“A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

The early summer heatwave that has been enjoyed by many across Dundee and Tayside this week appears to have fizzled out.

The area looks set for chilly temperatures and drizzle – just in time for the weekend.

Earlier this week we were soaking up the sun, some more inventively than others, and cracking out the barbecues, but now it might be time to look out the jumpers over the next few days.

Revellers at Perth Racecourse for Ladies Day basked in temperatures of 20C, while Wednesday saw the mercury rise to 21C. The area was even warmer than the likes of Barcelona.

This weekend, though, we won’t be able to look forward to such warmth. Today is expected to reach just 11C while Saturday and Sunday are likely to be slightly warmer at 12 or 13C.

Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the Met Office, said that the weather is returning back to normal for this time of year.

He said: “It seems that the high temperatures that we saw last weekend and earlier this week are behind us for the time being.

“Today we’ll see clouds begin to increase especially going in to tomorrow. There could be some rainfall but it will be slight.

“Temperatures will drop and we’ll see a cold front moving through the north-east of Scotland.

“It will be quite chilly with the thermometer peaking at around the high-single figures to 11C.

“Tonight we’ll see clear skies and it will be mostly dry. However, this could see isolated parts higher up see temperatures drop to as low as -2 or -3C. In general, tonight will be much colder.

“Going into Saturday and Sunday it will be a little bit warmer but there was also be a bit more showers. This could change to frost through the night.”

An off-duty police officer helped a woman to safety at Arbroath cliffs yesterday.

The alert was raised just after 10pm following concerns for the woman.

The Arbroath lifeboat was called out to attend as well as three coastguard teams, but the woman was helped to safety by the police officer.

A spokesman for the Coastguard said: “There was an incident last night.

“We got the call from police at 10.05pm and then we got the Arbroath lifeboat out at 10.10pm and it was about 11pm we stood the lifeboat down.

“We had our coastguard teams from St Andrews, Carnoustie and Montrose in attendance as well.”

Three Royal Marines have been sentenced to military detention for their part in an initiation ceremony which involved subjecting a colleague to “40 minutes of depravity and naked humiliation”.

Carlo Nicholson, who was made to drink from a paddling pool full of urine and vomit, said he was left feeling suicidal following the “joining run” event – watched by 80 drunken men – and carried out by 45 Commando, based at Royal Marine Condor in Arbroath in May 2014.

Marine Ian Tennet, 22, Lance Corporal Scott Simm, 26, and James Taylor, 27, who is now a lance corporal in the Royal Marines Reserves, were all sentenced for a charge of ill-treatment of a subordinate.

Tennet was sentenced to 11 months and two weeks’ detention, while Simm and Taylor were both sentenced to eight months.

A fourth defendant, former Marine Ryan Logan, 25, was sentenced to 220 hours of unpaid community work for battery and disgraceful conduct of a cruel kind.

Sentencing the defendants at Portsmouth Naval Base’s court martial centre, Judge Advocate Robert Hill said the event had been “40 minutes of depravity and naked humiliation”.

He said: “The suggestion has been made it was nothing more than a rite of passage, and its purpose was not to humiliate, harm or distress but to harness bonding, and is something all Royal Marines Commandos have gone through – but it’s no more than conduct that brings disgrace on the Commandos involved.”

He said the defendants had been described during the court hearing as “scapegoats” and added: “It is not the purpose of this court to set itself up as a board of inquiry.

“It has been noted with considerable concern that more senior non-commissioned officers haven’t found their way to the court martial system. Had they done so the likely position they would face is a starting point of a term of imprisonment.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Nicholson, who is suing the Ministry of Defence over his treatment, said: “The incident has left me feeling like I just want to be alone and I am pushing people away. This includes my girlfriend and daughter.

“As a direct result I have been having suicidal thoughts.

“I feel like the water-boarding was the point where I snapped because it was a physical fear and I was panicked.”

The victim, who has since left the service, added: “I have completely lost my faith in the brotherhood of the corps.

“When I first joined the marines, I intended to make a career out of it. However, I do not feel I can go back to work because wherever I go, I will always be that guy – the guy who reported it.”

James Bruce, representing Simm, who pleaded guilty, said: “His admissions show his remorse and maturity.”

He said that the father-of-one had continued to serve in the Royal Marines and was “highly thought of” by his commanding officer.

Kathy Bradshaw, representing Tennet who was found guilty after a trial, said that he had not become involved in the ill-treatment of Mr Nicholson out of “malice or nastiness”.

She said: “He is not a bully. He didn’t do it because he had any bad feeling towards Mr Nicholson, he didn’t do it because he thought it was degrading or meant to be humiliating.

“He did it out of a lack of judgment in an ethos that the joining run was seen by the vast majority of the other joiners as a tradition, as a bonding experience.”

Lieutenant Commander Neil MacLennan, defending Taylor, from Birmingham, who now works as a security guard for a production company and who pleaded guilty, said that he had sought to protect Mr Nicholson.

He said: “L/Cpl Taylor knew Mr Nicholson was generally disliked by the men. With a crowd of 80 drunken men surrounding this event there was a real risk that matters may have very quickly escalated.

“He wanted to keep a watchful eye on Mr Nicholson as well as he could.”

Fiona Edington, representing Logan, who pleaded guilty, said that the water-boarding was “not article three torture, it was a very, very limited incident”.

During the initiation event, described in court as a “rite of passage”, Mr Nicholson, along with other newcomers to the unit, was forced to run naked around the camp with bottles and milk and lemonade taped to his arms.

He was made to lie down in the paddling pool containing urine and vomit while eggs were thrown at him, as well as to fight other marines while naked and covered in cooking oil.

He was also made to eat dessert spoons of chill, cinnamon and curry powder, eat dog food out of a mess tin while on all fours, eat lard and swallow liquid through a funnel as well as made to consume the contents of a mess tin filled from the paddling pool which also contained a rollmop herring, lard and cider.

The court heard that Logan was solely convicted in relation to the “water-boarding incident” where he placed material over Mr Nicholson’s face and poured water over it while others watched, but he was not involved in the other offences.

THE parents of a Tayside man who was found dead in his home have told how they’ve been left with a “big void” in their family.

Bradley Hirst, from Carnoustie, was found dead aged just 36.

Parents Phil, 66, and Sheila, 62, also from Carnoustie, today told the Tele of their heartbreak at their son’s passing.

Phil said: “Bradley was full of life and would never sit still. He was always doing something.

“He was a cheery, fun-loving guy. Everyone who ever met him liked him.

“He was just a great lad in every way. We spoke all the time. We are a very close family.

“It is really hard to come to terms with what has happened.

“He moved away from Carnoustie but he always called it home. He loved the place.

“He will leave a big void in the family. We were always in touch, whether that was on the phone, in person or via Skype when he was abroad.”

Bradley was born in Johannesburg but moved to Scotland when he was two.

After a brief stint living in Edinburgh, he moved to Carnoustie where he lived for his young life.

He attended Carlogie Primary before moving on to Carnoustie High School.

At 16, Bradley decided to take an apprenticeship in telecommunications with the Ministry of Defence and left for Portsmouth for four years.

The role saw him spend time working in some of the UK’s most best-known naval bases including Faslane, Helensburgh and Coulport.

He then moved to Dubai — where his brother Garrick was living — and worked a number of jobs before securing work in the oil industry.

The work experience he gained in the Middle East would eventually see him move to back to Scotland and take up residence in Aberdeen — where he lived until his death — to work in the oil industry.

While Bradley was working in Dubai he came home for his brother’s son’s christening where he met future wife Katriona.

The pair hit it off immediately and Katriona decided to visit him in Dubai for a week. Their fate together was sealed when a week turned into three due to the Icelandic volcano eruption.

Phil said that one of Bradley’s biggest passions was martial arts.

He added: “He was a blackbelt in kickboxing and competed when he was younger.

“He ran a martial arts club in Dubai when he was there too.

“He would try anything — he snowboarded, wakeboarded, played rugby when he was young — nothing was off limits.

“The thing about Bradley is that he was as Scottish as you can get, even though we are originally from England and he was born in South Africa.

“He was amazingly patriotic, he loved Scotch whisky and he made sure that he was wearing his full kilt when he got married.

“One of my memories of Bradley that really showed what he was like was when we were visiting in Dubai.

“We went to the beach and we had barely got there when he said we should play with a frisbee — bear in mind this is a man in his thirties.

“Next thing we knew there were about 14 people playing but slowly we started to drop off. By the end it was him and an Iranian man left. He just wouldn’t give up.”

Bradley’s funeral — to which all family and friends are invited — takes place today, starting with a short service at 12.15pm in the Church of the Holy Rood, Maule Street, Carnoustie.

Proceedings will then move on to Parkgrove Crematorium, Friockheim, at 1.30pm. Donations will be taken for cancer charities at the church and crematorium.

AN UNINSURED teenage driver led police on a 12-mile jaunt through northern Fife — then forced motorists to take evasive action as he performed a dangerous overtake.

Bryan Laird, 18, from Forfar, made off from Cupar and didn’t stop until he had reached the Tay Road Bridge.

Along the way, he almost collided with other vehicles in a saga which was branded “dangerous” in court.

Laird, of Yeaman Street, has now been banned from driving.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard that Laird was spotted by police driving a car which had no insurance at Bank Street, Cupar, at about 6pm on April 23.

Fiscal depute Joanne Smith said: “Officers followed the accused a short distance in a police vehicle.

“He stopped at a footpath in such a way police thought was unsafe.

“Officers approached his vehicle but the accused drove off.”

Laird then drove along the A92 towards the Tay Road Bridge, followed by police. The fiscal continued: “There is no suggestion that he exceeded the speed limit at any point.

“He approached the Wormit junction and overtook vehicles while approaching a blind bend.

“The manoeuvre forced him to brake and other drivers also had to brake sharply to avoid a collision.”

All traffic was then brought to a halt and police approached and spoke to Laird.

He admitted having no insurance or a driving licence and said: “I just like driving.”

Laird admitted driving a car dangerously by failing to comply with traffic signs and overtaking on a blind bend when it was unsafe to do so, causing other drivers to take evasive action to avoid a collision, at Bank Street, Cupar, and the A92 Tay Road Bridge roundabout, Fife, on April 23.

He also admitted driving without insurance and driving without a licence, at the same locations and on the same date. Sheriff Alastair Brown said: “This appears to be a gross misconduct which could’ve caused serious injury, for which no compensation would’ve been offered because he has no insurance.”

Sentence was deferred until June 10 for reports and Laird was disqualified meantime.

A girl with cerebral palsy who completed a life-changing operation has gone under the knife again as she continues her battle to walk like any other youngster.

Brooke Ramsay, 11, had spasticity in her lower limbs reversed in 2012 but, as she continues to grow, she still has a fight to try to walk with her legs aligned.

An X-ray last year showed that while the effects of cerebral palsy had been changed, she then developed knock knees, which causes the feet and ankles to be further apart than normal and can lead to difficulty walking as well as knee pain and a limp.

As a result, Brooke, of Carnoustie, had metal plates inserted into her knees to try to straighten them and after having them removed on Monday, the procedure has been deemed a success.

Dad Stewart, 42, said: “Brooke had an X-ray last year where they got her with her knees together and they measured the distance between the inside of her feet.

“The measurement was quite substantial.

“So they put metal plates inside of her knees so that as she grows it stops her knock knees.

“The problem is, she has grown so much in the last few years that even with physio it’s hard to keep her legs straight.

“The operation in 2012 means it’s nothing to do with the brain anymore, it’s not the spasticity now, it’s just the muscles tightening.”

Brooke has had casts fitted which will stay in place for four weeks. These are aimed at stretching her calves so she doesn’t have to walk on her toes so much.

Stewart added: “As well as the cast, it also looks probable that she will need to have a calf lengthening operation.

“They’ll wait until she has stopped growing as it can only be done once.

“We’ll just continue with physio and they’ll keep tabs on that at her assessments.

“Ultimately, the goal is for one day she can walk without anyone noticing that there has ever been anything wrong.

“So far she’s doing really well.”

Secondary pupils throughout Tayside have joined in the uproar over a “catastrophic and disastrous” exam paper they sat last week.

Hundreds of local teenagers have signed a petition calling on the Scottish Qualifications Authority to lower the pass mark for the National 5 maths exam.

Many have told the Evening Telegraph they were left in floods of tears during and after the exam — which they claimed was too difficult.

Others have said they now have serious concerns that their future careers or university places could be affected as a direct result.

Sixth-year pupil Tyler Johnston, 17, of Menzieshill High School, said the exam was not what she had been expecting.

“I have been studying for this exam for ages and practised using loads of past papers — and what we were asked to do was nothing like what I had studied for,” she said.

“I signed the petition because so many other pupils have also spoken about how difficult they found it and something needs to be done.

“I am hoping to go to university to study to be a primary teacher but if I don’t pass this exam it will definitely ruin my chances. I think it is totally unfair on all of us who sat the exam that it was so difficult.

“Exams are stressful enough without something like this happening.”

Tyler’s mum Pam Bolger said: “It’s upsetting that she put in hours of work and this happens.

“She told me she didn’t think she had a chance of passing. We will just need to wait and see now.”

Chloe McAteer, 16, who goes to Carnoustie High School, said she too found the exam very difficult.

She told the Tele: “I think so many students will have found it a problem.

“This is the second time I have sat my National 5 maths exam and I really need to pass it as I want to join the RAF.”

Chloe’s dad, George McAteer, is a lecturer at Dundee and Angus College in Arbroath.

He said: “When I spoke to Chloe she said that many pupils had been upset following the exam.

“As a lecturer I know that if exam papers are unnecessarily difficult it puts pupils at a complete disadvantage. It sound like this paper was way too difficult.”

Jack Pohler from Monifieth High was another local pupil who complained about the difficulty of the exam. His dad, Dr James Pohler, said Jack felt downhearted.

He added: “He put a lot of work in for this exam and it is upsetting that this happened.”

The national petition’s creator said: “The exam consisted of two papers — a non-calculator and a calculator. The second paper was challenging which is expected of course as examinations aren’t supposed to be a breeze, however paper one was catastrophic and disastrous.

“Not only was some of the content unseen before, but it was unlike any other past papers.”

An SQA spokesman said: “We are confident the National 5 maths exam provided candidates with a fair opportunity to show their understanding of the subject. It was designed in line with past and exemplar papers and according to our course and assessment specifications.

“We know the exams period can be a stressful time for young people and their families and are aware of the concerns raised.”

Dundee City Council’s education spokesman Stewart Hunter, said pupils shouldn’t worry. “As a department we will look at this and if there is an issue we will do what we can.”

Angus Council’s spokesman said: “We are presently speaking with our schools to gather their views on the examinations.”

A major blaze has completely gutted large parts of the derelict Strathmartine Hospital on the edge of Dundee.

The fire broke out at the former psychiatric hospital around 7pm yesterday causing the roof to cave in and completely destroying the first floor.

A spokeswoman for Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that they were called to the hospital at 7.09pm yesterday.

Smoke and flames could be seen rising from the building from miles around.

The fire service spokeswoman said four appliances from MacAlpine Road, Kingsway and Blackness Road were on the scene for around three hours.

Strathmartine hospital on fire again pic.twitter.com/zrv0JvXGKQ

— Blair Johnston (@Dee_Pin) May 17, 2016

A total of 23 firefighters, some using aerial water jets fought the blaze.

“The blaze caused a full collapse of the roof and completely destroyed the first floor of the building,” she said.

She confirmed that appliances would visit the site today and that an investigation would be carried out.

A spokeswoman from Police Scotland confirmed that they were aware of the fire and that Scottish Fire and Rescue were investigating.

We’ll have more on this in today’s Evening Telegraph.

A TAYSIDE boy who is battling a rare genetic syndrome has been admitted to a high dependency unit after his breathing difficulties worsened.

Four-year-old Blake McMillan was born with MECP2 Duplication Syndrome, which triggers mental and physical issues.

The condition has left the youngster completely immobile and in need of support with his breathing.

Blake was taken to hospital with breathing difficulties on Monday.

He is currently in the high dependency unit at Ninewells Hospital receiving treatment, including steroids, antibiotics and inhalers.

His mum Jenny today told the Tele that Blake had suddenly taken ill. She said: “You just never know what is around the corner with something like MECP2 — Blake can deteriorate extremely rapidly.

“We had been at a paediatrician appointment on Monday at Armitstead Child Development Centre at King’s Cross and he started off well in the appointment.

“Everything was fine until about 20 minutes into it, then everything changed.

“His temperature suddenly shot up and his breathing became laboured. We had to take him to Ninewells.”

In January, Blake was left “fighting for his life” after he began struggling to breathe.

On that occasion, he was taken by ambulance to Ninewells and put on full life support in the high dependency unit.

Jenny feared Blake may not make it and doctors warned that he might not survive being ventilated.

He was too sick to be transferred to Glasgow for treatment when doctors recommended it, but Blake fought through and survived — although Jenny fears that this latest setback could be similarly terrifying to the one in January.

Jenny wants to raise awareness of how a seemingly innocuous virus like the common cold can be life threatening for someone in Blake’s position.

She said: “Every time he gets unwell, I’m terrified that he gets like he was in January.

“This is what happens when Blake gets something as simple as a cold. His sister and carer had the cold, he caught it and now he is very poorly.

“Caring for someone with a condition like Blake has is such a rollercoaster, as he can deteriorate so rapidly without warning.

“I just hope this stay in hospital is nothing like the last one.”

A CARE worker has been struck off after he “slapped” a colleague and challenged his co-worker to a fight.

Gordon Riach is a former residential support worker at Rossie Young People’s Trust in Montrose, which provides residential care.

He faced allegations from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) in a hearing at Compass House in Dundee.

It was alleged that Riach had behaved in a “threatening manner” towards a colleague at the facility, named only in an SSSC report as AA, by challenging him to a fight outside.

He was also accused of striking or slapping the same colleague on the face, and in doing so, “caused harm and/or placed AA at risk of harm”.

The incident was said to have taken place in July last year, while Riach was employed there. The SSSC found that Riach had committed misconduct after he admitted allegations against him.

He was further accused of failing to comply with an interim order placed on his registration in November last year, whereby he was required to submit evidence to the SSSC on a monthly basis — which he also admitted.

David Mitchell, head of operations at Rossie, said: “Rossie Young People’s Trust does not comment on matters relating to individual mambers of staff. Rossie is highly committed to providing a safe working environment for all staff and young people.

“Our policies and governing codes of conduct ensure transparent employee responsibility to treat colleagues and young people in our care with dignity and respect.”

Addressing Riach in its report, the SSSC said: “Social service workers and other workers have the right to expect that they will be treated with dignity and respect and their health and safety protected by their social service colleagues.

“Your behaviour in challenging your colleague to a fight and then physically striking him across the face constituted a failure to treat your colleague with dignity and respect, demonstrated an unacceptable disregard for your colleague, was a misuse of power and position and was behaviour which was incompatible with a person registered with the council.”

It said the incident had happened “at a secure unit for troubled and vulnerable children, some of whom may have been exposed to violence in the past”.

However, the SSSC said Riach had “demonstrated regret” after the incident.

Riach couldn’t be reached for comment.

Police have launched a search for a missing 15-year-old boy.

Officers are looking to trace Kyle Potter who was last seen at 12.30pm on Tuesday in Forfar’s South Street.

Police believe Kyle, who is from the Glasgow, may still be in the Forfar area.

He is described as being 5ft 5in tall, of slim build, with short brown hair.

When last seen Kyle was wearing grey jogging bottoms and a grey sweatshirt.

Anyone who knows where Kyle is or who has information that could assist Tayside Division in tracing him should call 101 or speak to any police officer.