9am Briefing: Homes evacuated after garage fire

MORE than 20 residents had to be evacuated from their homes and placed in emergency accomodation in South Queensferry after a fire broke out at a garage which contained a highly explosive acetylene cylinder.

A 200-metre exclusion zone was set up following the blaze at Hawes Garage on Newhalls Road yesterday.

Guests staying at the Hawes Inn on Newhalls Road were also evacuated and the pub was closed for the night.

Fire crews were expected to remain at the site today.

Fox on cancer ward

CANCER patients at the Western General were stunned to see a fox appear on their ward.

The animal had climbed at least two flights of stairs to get onto ward 3.

It was eventually cornered by staff, and a clean-up operation was launched to prevent infection.

NHS Lothian head of estates, George Curley, said: "We don't know exactly how the fox managed to get into the building. But at no point were patients at any risk."

Witnesses 'stonewalling'

A STRING of high profile British witnesses who refused to testify at a US Senate hearing into the release of the Lockerbie bomber were today facing accusations of "stonewalling".

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed tomorrow's hearing after key witnesses including former Justice Secretary Jack Straw, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and First Minister Alex Salmond turned down requests to attend.

Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat who was due to chair the hearing, said "no witness of consequence has the courage" to step up and clear the air but insisted it will be held "in the near future".

Memory returns for amnesia man

A MAN left with amnesia after being found with a headwound in the New Town has said many of his memories have returned but he still has no idea how he got injured.

Eugene Chousein, 22, says he has no idea what he was doing in the Capital or what happened, it was reported today.

Mr Chousein was discovered lying in Northumberland Street by a taxi driver last Wednesday night.

He said: "I remember everything about my life, my home and my family – but that day is still a complete blank."

Atkinson story headed for TV

A NEW TV detective is set to prowl the streets of the Capital.

Jackson Brodie, the creation of novelist Kate Atkinson, will feature in a new six-part series, Case Histories, adapted from the book of the same name.

The central character, a former police inspector turned private investigator, will be played by Jason Isaacs, who starred in Harry Potter and The Patriot.