After losing his job, Brian Little took his aunt’s bank card and used it to steal more than £1,600.

Little, 54, a first offender, of Eildon Road, Hawick, admitted stealing a bank card and PIN number at a house in Muir of Ord, Ross-shire, between January 2 and 12.

He also admitted using the card on six occasions at ATMs in Hawick to steal a total of £1,650 between January 29 and March 5.

On March 8, Little admitted attempting to steal money at an ATM at Morrisons, Mart Street, Hawick.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said Little had access to his aunt’s bank card and PIN number as he was helping her while his uncle – who has since died – was ill.

“He lost his job and, instead of simply withdrawing money for his aunt, he started withdrawing money for his own benefit,” explained Mr Fraser.

The fiscal explained that on March 8, when Little went to make a further withdrawal at the ATM at Morrisons, a “stop” had been placed on the card.

Defence solicitor Rory Bannerman said his client had legitimately used the card on a number of occasions on his aunt’s behalf.

“He helped her to move to the Borders, and then used the card to obtain money himself,” he explained.

“This is not a man who is heartless, but he lost sight of his responsibilities, and an element of greed crept in when he lost his job.

“The fact that this involved a member of the family, has left a bitter taste,” added Mr Bannerman.

“He has already sent her £80, and has given a further £50 to my office to pay to her.”

Mr Bannerman said Little, who is looking for work, knew he had “let the family down”.

“He is deeply ashamed of his conduct, and wants to repay his aunt and the community for his crime,” he concluded.

Sheriff Donald Corke, who described the offence as “a very serious breach of trust” deferred sentence for six months, until April 3 next year.

“During that time, I expect you to make genuine attempts to repay the money,” he told Little.

THERE are now hopes that Barrie Knitwear might soon be able to look at expanding the size of the workforce at its Hawick mill, following its takeover by luxury French fashion label, Chanel, writes Mark Entwistle.

Two weeks have now passed since news of the famous Paris firm’s acquisiton of the Barrie mill in the town’s Burnfoot Industrial Estate.

Last week, TheSouthern reported the relief felt the town that a deal had finally been signed, securing the jobs of 176 workers and the future of a 140-year-old local business.

There had been months of worry for employees, after parent firm, Dawson International, went into administration in August because of pension problems.

But this week, Barrie managing director, Jim Carrie, told TheSouthern there had been a “return of very positive feelings” in the factory, now that the uncertainty about the future has been removed.

“Employees have gone through a difficult period in their lives, but their continued commitment to Barrie has been a major feature during that period,” Mr Carrie told us. “Relationships between Chanel and Barrie have always been very strong and there has been a great deal of trust and confidence between us. The day-to-day working relationship with Chanel could not really be much stronger, but strategic plans will be developed to look at how the Barrie business can grow with the help of Chanel.”

Asked if there was any chance of worker numbers being increased, Mr Carrie told TheSouthern: “The numbers employed might hopefully increase at some point as strategic plans are developed and implemented, and we will start our initial discussions regarding the future over the next few weeks.

“The main thing to remember at this early stage is that the events of the last two weeks have been fantastic news for Chanel, Barrie and, crucially, for the employees.”

Speaking to TheSouthern from his Paris office, Chanel’s president of fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky, pictured above, said the acquisiton reflected the high regard in which Chanel held Barrie’s craftsmanship and skills and was a testament to the importance of knitwear in the French firm’s collections.

Mr Pavlovsky has now twice visited Hawick and the Barrie factory -– once for negotiations and on a second occasion last week to meet the employees.

And on the question of Chanel’s famously flamboyant creative director, legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld, visiting Hawick anytime soon, a Chanel spokesperson told us: “It is not on his agenda, but we will keep you informed if he decides to visit it.”

THE opening day of a complimentary health centre in Kelso earlier this autumn raised more than £500 for charity.

A champagne reception at Health for Life Spinal Wellness Centre in the town’s Bridge Street included viola music from local musician Stephen Tees and an art exhibition.

The event raised £540 for an Ecuadorian charity, Cenit, which supports disadvantaged young mothers and working children, and provides health care, education and skills training.

The centre has six treatment rooms including a central community education room, set aside for public health and wellness talks and workshops. Therapies available so far include chiropractic, sports therapy, massage, personal and career coaching, physiotherapy, nutrition, and yoga.

NEWS that US-based high-tech manufacturer Plexus has been bucking the economic doom and gloom and managed to create more than 50 new jobs at its plant in Kelso in the last few months, has been welcomed in the town.

The company, which has its global headquarters in the American state of Wisconsin, confirmed to TheSouthern this week that a total of 57 new staff had been hired for its factory at the Pinnaclehill Industrial Estate in Kelso in the three months up until October.

The company told us: “Recruitment has been across numerous disciplines of the company’s business in Kelso, including manufacturing, warehousing, engineering, quality and purchasing.

“Driven by increasing demand from our UK customers, we are delighted to be expanding our team in Kelso,” stated Frank Zycinski, general manager of Plexus Manufacturing Solutions Kelso.

“Our people are our key differentiators. This facility continues to be an important part of Plexus’ strategy in Scotland and the growth demonstrates our continued commitment to developing engineering and manufacturing opportunities in the region.”

Plexus Manufacturing Solutions Kelso currently has 350 employees and has been offering what it terms ‘product realisation solutions’ since 2000.

Plexus manufactures complex, high-tech products and operates in a variety of markets, including those in the wireless infrastructure, medical, industrial, commercial, defence, security and aerospace sectors.

The company currently has 13 plants on three continents, with a total workforce of almost 8,000. Company headquarters are in Neenah, Wisconsin, with manufacturing plants in half-a-dozen US states, as well as in China, Malaysia and here in Scotland.

There is also a design facility at the Alba Campus in Livingston.

Local Scottish Borders councillor Simon Mountford (Con) said the recruitment figures from Plexus were excellent news and showed a vote of confidence in the quality of the Kelso workforce.

“Plexus has a well-earned reputation in its field and it is encouraging that a company of this calibre continues to invest in the Borders,” added Mr Mountford.

His fellow local Conservative, Councillor Tom Weatherston, commented: “This is very good news for the town, as a lot of businesses are facing difficult times just now and are having to let people go, so to hear of a locally-based company employing more staff at this time is very encouraging.”

And a spokesman for the Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce added: “To see a global company like Plexus having the confidence to expand like this, is in itself, a pointer to perhaps green shoots appearing on the economic horizon. It is especially good for us in the Borders with so many new jobs being created. This news, plus the decision a fortnight ago by Chanel to take over the Barrie’s business in Hawick, indicates that major manufacturing business has confidence in the Borders. Long may this trend continue.”

Parent company Plexus Corp has this month reported its fourth quarter adjusted earnings, which surged 26.9 per cent year on year, primarily due to higher sales and modest margin expansions.

Total revenue increased 10.5 per cent on a year-over-year basis to $594.8million, primarily driven by strong performance from all its business segments.

Gross profit increased 11.8 per cent from the year-ago quarter to $56.2million.

WIND farm developers could soon be forced to argue why their applications should be the exception to a general rule that the Borders now has enough such schemes, if a new regulatory policy is eventually adopted by the region’s planners.

Currently the planning system treats every wind turbine application on its merits, but that could soon change due to a possible new set of criteria which applications would have to meet in order to justify being an exception to the general proposition that the Borders is ‘full up already’ when it comes to turbines.

Planning officials at Scottish Borders Council are now proceeding with investigations into the possibility of adopting such a ‘by exception’ policy after consultation responses on the main issues for the next proposed Local Development Plan (LDP) flagged up high levels of public concern on wind farms.

The issue of the consultation responses to the main issues report was discussed at last week’s meeting of the full council.

Councillors heard there was “a strong body of opinion” that now considers the Borders to have reached saturation point when it comes to turbines and would prefer that such a ‘by exception’ policy is taken forward by the council.

In order to test this issue further, councillors endorsed the commissioning of a consultancy study, to report by the end of the year, that will set out what it calls a robust assessment in terms of economic benefit, landscape impact and community perception of current and future potential wind farm proposals.

Councillors agreed that finalising the wind farm element of the LDP should be delayed until the further studies were completed.

The council’s deliberations coincided with Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond announcing a new target to generate the equivalent of half of Scotland’s electricity needs from renewable energy by 2015.

Mr Salmond revealed the target at the RenewableUK conference in Glasgow this week, but it comes, ironically, at the same time as controversy erupts over claims by Westminster, energy minister, John Hayes, that the UK had enough onshore wind farms.

And SBC planning committee vice-chair, Councillor Nicholas Watson (Leaderdale & Melrose, BP), thinks an ‘exception only’ policy is now the best way forward for this region to deal with turbine applications.

“So many wind farms have now been built that we have to be extra careful about future development. And I feel an ‘exception’ basis would be the best way as part of a new policy in the Local Development Plan.”

But Mr Watson admits there are serious risks that such a policy faces being challenged by Scottish Government ministers.

He said: “That’s why have to tread carefully. Any policy has to be well backed up with information and turbine studies.

“I don’t know of any other local authority in Scotland which operates such a policy, but the Borders has now reached tipping point when it comes to turbines.”

Planning chief Brian Frater told councillors last week that any new policy would have to be “robust and based on best evidence”.

Councillor Michael Cook (East Berwickshire, Ind), executive member for HR and Corporate Improvement, told the meeting that wind farms were the cause of more polarised opinion than anything else when it came to planning issues.

“There is a general perception in East Berwickshire, when it comes to wind farms, that the area is under seige by developers, he said.

Mr Cook said in strategic [government] terms, the policy on wind farms was “misconstrued and anti-democratic” in terms of council policy.

Mr Frater added that such a policy would need to be supported by the government, so decisions were not overturned by reporters.

Leading Borders anti-wind farm campaigner, Professor Jack Ponton, who chairs the Save Lauderdale campaign, said it would be “wonderful news” if SBC was to adopt an exception-based policy on turbines.

“But it comes at a time when Alex Salmond is calling for even more turbines to cover the Scottish countryside, so SBC would be up against people [government ministers] who want more wind farms but don’t have to live near them in the Borders,” commented Professor Ponton.

“But I think this shows that Borders councillors are listening and responding to the opinions of the local communities they serve.”

BROKEN springs are the main cause of vehicles failing MOT tests in the Borders, it has been revealed.

It was East Berwickshire councillor Jim Fullerton who raised the issue, lodging a question for last week’s October meeting of the full Scottish Borders Council.

Mr Fullerton said the high incidence of broken springs would indicate that potholes on local Borders roads were to blame and asked the local authority’s Executive Member for Roads and Infrastructure, Gordon Edgar (Selkirkshire, Ind), what he intended doing about the situation.

It was an inspection of local MOT centres in the region by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency which revealed the large number of broken springs – the highest in Scotland, according to Mr Fullerton, who was the elected member holding the roads portfolio under the previous administration.

Replying, Mr Edgar said it would indeed be worrying if the Borders figure for failed MOT tests due to broken springs was the highest across all of Scotland’s regions.

“The council, as the roads authority under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, manages and maintains all such roads in their area as entered onto the list of public roads,” explained Mr Edgar.

“Roads are the subject of regular inspection and defects are noted. If a defect is considered of significance, termed a Category 1 Defect, it is reported and the defect rectification process enabled.

“In the case of a significant pothole this could involve the filling with temporary repair material until a full, longer life solution can be implemented. I am sure that Councillor Fullarton will be aware that the Executive on November 20 2011, approved an additional £650,000 spend on roads and street lighting, with £300,000 allocated to road patching and overlays.”

And to laughs from the assembled councillors in the chamber, Mr Edgar quipped: “The portfolio holder therefore intends to continue with the fine work his predecessor did.”

However, Mr Fullerton warned that the local authority faced inflation of 20 per cent in the costs of roads materials in the near future: “This means we are facing a halving of our roads budget in four years’ time if something is not done about it,” he commented.

Responding, Mr Edgar said that during the budget process, the Environment and Infrastructure Department was always pressing to ensure there were adequate funds made available to maintain roads in the Borders.

Back in January, it was reported that damage caused to vehicles by potholes on Borders roads had resulted in compensation payouts totalling more than £14,000 since 2007.

Across Scotland, payouts to drivers for vehicle damage caused by potholes have cost local authorities more than £1.7 million over the last five years.

And following the 2010-11 winter, SBC estimated that the repair bill to the region’s roads would be £8million, despite them spending £275,000 on temporary repairs during the winter.

Earlston 23

Hawick Linden 38

RBS EAST LEAGUE DIVISION TWO

IN THE most unusual start to any match, after awarding a penalty to Earlston in the first couple of minutes, which the kicker managed to miss, the referree indicated that a shout from the touchline could have caused him to miss it, stating he wanted it taken again.

This time, he converted. This is a new one for the law book.

This incident certainly didn’t put off the Teries, and after great work from from Barry Sutherland and Terry Skeet, Gary Wardle’s lovely inside pass to Nathan Murray saw him finish it off.

Then, from inside his own half, Skeet released Wardle, who absolutely blasted his way through the Earlston defence to score, and, just before the break, Sean Goodfellow’s run took play to the Earlston line, where he fed the ball inside to the ever-present Murray, who crossed for Sutherland to convert.

However, some poor tackling by Linden let Earlston back into game with a try either side of the interval, the first one converted.

Both sides exchanged penalties, before Linden pressure resulted in No8 Graeme Colville scoring at the posts. Sutherland converted and touched down himself midway through the half.

Earlston replied with a nice try., but Sutherland kicked two late penalties to put the result beyond doubt.

This was a cracker of a game, with some excellent handling from both sides and some cracking tries, especially from Linden.

Peebles 23

Musselburgh 15

RBS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE B

PEEBLES secured a vital win over promotion rivals Musselburgh, and continued their 100 per cent record at The Gytes.

A defeat to league leaders Musselburgh, who defeated Peebles 35-11 on the opening day of the season, could have spelt the end of the homesters hopes of climbing into the National League.

The signs were ominous early on as Greg Raeburn missed two kickable penalties but the fly half made amends by scoring a try in the corner.

Peebles deserved their lead but when flanker Dalton Hall was yellow carded for a high tackle, Burgh came back into the game. However, they could not break through to leave the score 5-0 at half time.

Raeburn extended Peebles lead with a three pointer at the start of the second half but Musselburgh replied through Craig Veitch’s converted try, a David O’Hagan penalty and a Mike Scott touchdown.

At 15-8 down, Peebles needed a strong finish to the match and produced one, scoring 15 unanswered points.

Firstly, Callum Scott and Conor Blyth combined for the latter to score, which Raeburn converted well.

A fine penalty from Raeburn then put his side ahead again at 18-15, before Scott added his second try of the game to seal the points.

Peebles now trail new leaders Howe of Fife by four points, with only the league winners gaining promotion.

Hawick 55

Stewart’s Melville FP 21

RBS NATIONAL LEAGUE

GAVIN GIBBON reports from Mansfield Park

GREENS supporters were treated to another try-fest on Saturday as Hawick racked up nine tries to demolish Stewart’s Melville.

With Rory Hutton at his enigmatic best and Lee Armstrong and Scott McLeod full of running in the backs; and Shawn Muir, Lindsay Gibson, Stuart Graham and Nick Mactaggart all powerhouses in the pack; the result should never have been in doubt.

But the home side kept their supporters on tenterhooks until midway through the second half before running away with the win.

McLeod got the scoreboard ticking over in the third minute as he took advantage of a typical Hutton break through the defence.

Neil Renwick added the conversion and Armstrong was next to go over just minutes later.

Poor discipline in the home ranks allowed Chris Dansteegt to rumble over from a line-out.

But Hawick were back on top soon after and Gary Johnstone scorched down the line to score, before Armstrong claimed his second try of the afternoon – and the bonus point – right on half-time, with Renwick adding the extras.

Mactaggart grabbed a try his play merited just minutes after the restart as he took advantage of quick ball through the backs and Renwick converted.

But this seemed to stir Stewart’s Melville into action and a double from captain Craig Marshall, both converted by Hanning, drew them to within 10 points.

However, the Greens found that extra gear and an opportunist score from Kieran Willison calmed the nerves.

And John Coutts came in off his wing to combine well with Hutton, who sent McLeod racing in to all but seal the victory.

With 10 minutes to play, however, there was no thought of relaxing and captain Greg Cottrell took advantage of some quick thinking from replacement David Lowrie to reach the half century.

And Hutton crowned a fantastic performance with the final try of the afternoon.

Hawick: N. Renwick; J. Coutts, G. Johnstone, L. Armstrong, S. McLeod; R. Hutton, G. Cottrell; S. Muir, L. Gibson, L. Launders, C. Smith, K. Willison, N. Mactaggart, S. Graham and K. Davies. Subs: M. Landels, D. Lowrie, B. Keown, G. Anderson and S. Anderson.

Hillhead Jordanhill 39

Jed-Forest 22

RBS NATIONAL LEAGUE

THE Royal Blues were disappointed to come away from this game with nothing to show for their efforts, but everything they did was quickly matched and more by Hillhead.

Jed-Forest were only on the park seven minutes and were down by 12 points after Hills winger Leslie then centre Holland went over for tries, Butler converting one of the scores.

The Riverside Park men replied with a try by Gregor Young after 17 minutes, converted by Iain Chisholm, but their opponents came back at them immediately with a try from hooker Macmillan after 20 minutes.

Jed went on to pressurise the home line and were judged to be held up after twice crossing the line. Also, they had a couple of scoring opportunities that were stopped after passes were deemed forward.

However, Chisholm managed to convert a penalty to take the half-time score to 17-10.

The second half came to life after 15 minutes play when first Hills scored a converted try, quickly followed by a touchdown for Young.

The home side again reacted quickly with another try, again followed by the visitors when Young scored his third try which was converted by Chisholm,

Jed started to chase the game, looking for a bonus point, but were unable to capitalise on any pressure. Hills had the last laugh when scrum half Macpherson scored an opportunist try in the final minutes.

Next week sees a pre-match lunch for ex-players and guests. After this, there is not a home game for seven weeks, so they are hoping for a good crowd to cheer the team against league leaders Watsonians.

Jed-Forest: A. Ions; D. Grieve, N. Bates, S. Scott, G. Young; G. Elder, D. Grieve; M. Weekley, R. Goodfellow, I. Chisholm, D. Gobby, E. Scott, G. Young, D. Wallace, L. Young. Subs used: G. Slorance, S. McDonald, S. Raeburn, G. Taylor, J. Sudlow.

Kirkcaldy 13

Hawick YM 13

RBS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE B

HAWICK YM’S hopes of securing a third successive promotion took a dent as they drew with struggling Kirkcaldy.

The Redskins looked in a good position to do the double over the Fifers - having beaten Kirkcaldy 18-6 on the opening day of the season - when they raced into a 10-0 lead through Neil McCombe’s penalty and prop Garry Douglas’ barge over try.

Craig Letham replied with three points for the home side, but a McCombe kick meant YM held a ten point half time lead.

Kirkcaldy started the second half with a bang as centre Mark Wallace produced some nice skills to set up winger Gavin Welsh for a try near the posts.

Letham levelled the match with another penalty and surprisingly there were no more scores between the two sides.

Heriot’s FP 19

Gala 34

RBS PREMIERSHIP

FIONA SCOTT reports from Goldenacre

AFTER taking two weeks out to play in the British & Irish Cup, Gala were back to league business last weekend.

After a stuttering start, they managed to secure a five-point victory to put them in a cracking position at the top end of the table with two games in hand.

It took the Maroons a while to settle into the game, but George Graham’s men showed their mettle in the middle section of the second half to run in a rapid try-tally which effectively sealed the game.

On the whole, coach Graham was a very happy man at full-time, which is more than can be said for his state of mind after the first 40 minutes.

“It was just their attitude,” he told TheSouthern.

“We scored a try within the first few minutes and then we took our foot off the gas.

“I gave them a bit of a talking to at half-time and they came out and showed what they are capable of doing.

“Playing in the British and Irish has definitely made a big difference. For that you need to be bigger, faster and stronger and it was a great learning experience for them.

“You have to be all this and more accurate in everything you do and in the second half today they went out and did that. When we do play at the tempo and pace that we can play at, then we are a very, very dangerous side.”

And so it looked as the game kicked off. After forcing their hosts back into their 22, Lee Millar went on a jinky run to the line to open the scoring in the fourth minute with an impressive try which he converted.

Anyone who thought a whitewash was on the cards, however, was mistaken.

Heriot’s rose to the challenge and after missing a penalty attempt Graham Wilson got his name on the scoreboard in the 12th minute when he converted a try from Max Learmonth.

Gala battled on without gaining much ground until, after much hard work from the pack, a drive to the line resulted in Craig Robertson grounding the ball.

Again, Heriot’s responded in kind. This time Struan Cessford ran in, with Wilson making the conversion to edge the hosts in front. The battle raged on at an alarming rate and Gala encamped themselves in the Heriot’s 22. Perseverance paid off and eventually the visitors were rewarded with a penalty which Millar banged over on the stroke of half time to edge Gala in front 15-14.

A spell of stalemate ensued for the first 15 minutes of the second half, with neither side willing to give an inch. The visitors were first to show a chink and Heriot’s were awarded a penalty which Wilson missed. Straight away, George Graham’s men looked to make amends and did so with a flourish.

Three tries in the space of seven minutes from George Graham, Gav Young and Robertson again, two of them converted by Millar, put the game out of sight.

Gala: A. McLean; G. Somerville, C. Auld, B. Turner, C. Robertson; L. Millar, George Graham; L. Pettie, R. Anderson, E. McQuillin. Gary Graham, O. Palepoi, C. Keddie, E. Dods, K. Mein. Subs: C. MacKintosh, T. Weir, S. Cairns, J. King, G. Young.

Berwick 41

Langholm 11

RBS EAST DIVISION ONE

BERWICK proved the better of the two teams who find themselves already fighting relegation.

Gareth Hill and Niall Cubbon exchanged penalties before Dan Law squeezed through for the opening try, Hill slotting the conversion, as well as another two penalties. Further tries came from James Patterson and Lee Douglas, with Hill adding the extras.

In reply, Cubbon managed another three-pointer. Into the second half, another Hill penalty was followed by Langholm scoring what was to be their last points from a try by winger Gavin Campbell.

But further touchdowns from the Blacks’ Paul Pringle and Michael Brennan saw the home side win fairly easily.

Melrose 29

Stirling County 35

RBS PREMIERSHIP

STUART CAMERON reports from The Greenyards

Melrose had a first half they’ll want to forget at The Greenyards on Saturday.

They leaked four tries in the opening period against a Stirling County side which had been heavily beaten 87-10 the week before at Bedford.

The amount of mistakes made by Melrose was uncharacteristic. Even without the likes of Fraser Thomson and Bruce Dick in the backline, there were talented boys on the park wearing the black and yellow, but it just didn’t happen for them and when Stirling ended the first period 28-3 up, thanks to four tries from Sean Kennedy, two from Rory Hughes and one by Danny Gilmour, the alarm bells were ringing.

Brian Archibald converted all four touchdowns. Melrose’s only points came from a penalty by Richard Mill.

The second half saw Melrose getting their act together – it was a much better performance, and passes which went astray earlier in the game were finally going to hand. Their shape was better.

On 53 minutes, John Dalziel scored a try following a series of forward assaults on the County line. Andrew Skeen converted, but two minutes later, Hughes ran in for his hat-trick, and with Archibald bagging the extras, the 25-point deficit was restored.

On the hour, Tongan winger Usaia Kalamafoni Jr scored in the corner, but it never should have been awarded. The ball was dropped over the line and not even close to being grounded. There was a high tackle which prevented him from touching down, but in that case a penalty try should have been awarded, with the conversion being taken from in front of the posts. But Skeen took the kick from the touchline and hit the post. It was a big decision by referee Rob Dickson and one which would help Melrose get two bonus points.

Wayne Mitchell came off the bench to get his first try of the season – a typical “Mitchell Burrow” – and Nicky Little got the home team’s fourth. Both were converted by Skeen to get to within six points.

Despite a big effort at the finish, County’s defence held out and the delight among the Stirling players at the final whistle showed what it meant to them as they pulled off the shock of the day.

Worryingly, it was Melrose’s fourth home defeat of the season.

Greenyards stalwart Stuart Johnson said: “We weren’t clued in at the warm-up. It may have been in the back of our minds that Stirling had conceded 87 points the previous week, but we should have been up for this game following our own result against Llandovery.

“Too many missed tackles and errors from last week’s game carried over to the first half this week.”

Melrose: S. Chalmers; L. Mallin, R. Mill, J. Helps, U. Kalamafoni Jr; A. Skeen, B. Colvine; N. Little, A. Walker, G. Holborn, R. Ovens, R. Miller, J. Dalziel, G. Runciman and A. Nagle. Subs: W. Mitchell, C. Arthur, S. Johnson, S. McCormick and A. Jessop.

Kelso Rotarians, planted 11,000 crocus bulbs last Saturday in just over an hour.

It was done in record time thanks to the help of members of the Spirals Youth Group, and their youth leaders, plus the kind loan of a turf lifter from Lloyds Tractors, Kelso. The first stage of this project in October 2011 began with the planting with 6,000 crocuses on the grass verge on the A698 between the roundabout at Station RoadPlans are underway for a third stage in 2013.

Ghouls, witches and wizards appeared at Makerstoun Village Hall on Saturday to partake in a halloween party.

Afterwards, they went guising to raise money for the Makerstoun Firework Night.

Stow 3

Hawick United 4

BAL DIVISION B

TEN-man Hawick United defeated fellow Division B pacesetters Stow in a seven-goal thriller.

At a soggy Stow Park, Stow broke the deadlock with an early strike and shortly after, United had Daniel Bouglas red-carded following an off-the-ball flare up.

However, Michael Moir equalised for the Teries and then put the Tangerines in front.

Stow fought back to get on level terms, only for Ross Scott to put United ahead again, tucking away a pass from Dale Caswell.

Scott then did the business again with the goal of the game when he took on two men before curling a glorious shot into the back of the net.

In a hectic finish, Stow reduced the leeway and pushed for an equaliser, but Hawick held out.

Peebles Rovers 2

Burntisland Shipyard 3

EoS FIRST DIVISION

PEEBLES Rovers threw away a two-goal lead, and had two players sent off, including manager Jason Girdwood, to slump to another defeat.

Rovers started the game well and deservedly went ahead on 18 minutes as Craig Edgar hammered a shot beyond Burntisland goalkeeper Martyn Melia.

Rovers stopper Kris Lennie made a vital save to deny Thomas Williams’ header from hitting the net, but instead Peebles doubled their advantage just before the break.

Captain Greig Shortreed swung in a corner which the Fife visitors failed to clear, and Charles Nwanze stabbed the ball past Melia.

Just when boss Girdwood looked set to gain his first win, Shortreed was sent off for a second booking with more than 30 minutes still to play.

Shipyard had a sniff and made their numerical superiority count as Ryan Rutherford and Owen McCue scored in quick succession.

Peebles were now on the back foot and Lennie was forced into a superb double stop to deny Williams and Rutherford.

Just as it seemed Peebles would hang on for a point, Rutherford’s free kick was headed into the top corner by Williams as Burntisland snatched victory.

To top off a wretched second half, Girdwood, who had come on as a substitute, was also sent off for a second booking by whistler Gianluca Marini.

Peebles Rovers: K. Lennie, A. White (J. Girdwood), P. Hunter (A. Gorrie), S. Gordon, A. Williamson, D. Linton, P. Conaghan, G. Shortreed, C. Edgar, N. Cairns, C. Nwanze (G. Manson).

Lothian Thistle Hutchie Vale 7

Selkirk 0

SOUTH CHALLENGE CUP SECOND ROUND

KENNY PATERSON reports 
from Saughton Enclosure

THE only positive aspect to emerge from this cup tie for Selkirk – as manager Mike McKinnon acknowledged afterwards – was that they did not concede double figures.

It was a real possibility at half-time as Lothian Thistle breezed into a 5-0 lead, which could easily have been more.

The visitors shored up their defence slightly in the second period, but in truth Thistle had started their warm-down 20 minutes from full time.

And it means Selkirk have now conceded 15 goals in their last three games.

Afterwards, a dejected McKinnon did not know why his team had performed so poorly, but vowed to continue as manager to try and find an answer.

McKinnon said: “I don’t know where to go from here. Myself and (assistant coach) Aaron Biggs have tried everything.

“I can’t understand why things have gone wrong as pre-season was great and we matched Celtic and Hibs sides who were both better than Lothian Thistle.

“I’m determined to turn it around. If I didn’t think I could, I would think about my position.”

Saughton Enclosure in the south west of Edinburgh is as welcoming as a Serbian stadium is to a Mediterranean footballer, but it held good memories for the Souters having beaten their Premier Division opponents 2-1 in the Qualifying League in August.

However, those happy thoughts were wiped within 120 seconds of kick-off, as the impressive Craig Stevenson set up a somehow unmarked Stephen Anderson to score from 10 yards.

Left back Stevenson deservedly got on the score sheet on 22 minutes with a superb free kick which left John Dodds with no chance.

However, the Selkirk stopper will be disappointed to let an Alan McDonaugh free kick from 40 yards bounce past him – albeit it through a crowd of players beforehand – and into the top corner on 29 minutes.

Thistle were in the Selkirk penalty box more often than Silvio Berlusconi is in the dock of an Italian court, and the homesters added a fourth in the 33rd minute as Matthew Costello was given far too much time to stab the ball into the net from a Stevenson corner.

And Costello’s centre half partner Richie Wilkes completed an embarrassing first half for Selkirk by heading in a fifth goal four minutes before the break.

A double change at half-time saw Jonny Watt and David Battle introduced, but the wave of attacks continued in Dodds’ direction.

Anderson added his second goal thanks to a sublime chip after robbing Barry Milven of the ball in the 48th minute.

And Thistle’s super seven was complete 21 minutes from time as Jordan Finnie’s cross was sidefooted home by Ross Elliot.

Watt thought he had grabbed the merest of consolations when he headed beyond Kevin Swain in the Lothian goal, but an offside flag denied Selkirk even that.

Selkirk: J. Dodds, K. Munro, D. Johnson (R. McManus 58), J. Higginbottom, B. Milven, L. Stephen, M. Holness, L. Pyrkosz, J. Gibson, J. Adamson (J. Watt 45), R. Pepper (D. Battle 45).

Craigroyston 2

Gala Fairydean 1

SOUTH CHALLENGE CUP SECOND ROUND

JOHN CLAYTON reports from St Mark’s Park

Craigroyston were on the front foot for much of the first half with the Gala defence having to work hard to contain them.

As an attacking force the visitors created very little, and any efforts they did have were of no danger to the Craigroyston keeper.

Ten minutes from half-time, the home side took the lead when their winger skipped down the right wing and delivered a cross into the six-yard box that the centre forward stabbed home beyond the stranded Turnbull.

Gala may have considered themselves fortunate to go in only one goal down, but they began the second half with more resolve and began to create their own chances. A cross into the Craigie box was half-cleared to Jay Wilson on the edge of the box and he looped a shot over the keeper and into the top corner of the net to bring the scores level.

Gala had their tails up now, and Scott Nightingale had a good shot pushed wide for a corner and then set up Marc Berry, who shot wide of the goal, only minutes before he was replaced by Geri Rossi.

Craig Tyson was off the field with a dead leg when a through-ball found the Craigroyston centre forward suspiciously offside, but as he bore down on Turnbull, the back-tracking Darren Bowie attempted a challenge that only succeeded in playing the ball into his own net for what turned out to be the decider.

Tyson returned to the fray but was quickly substituted by Boyne and Greg Hay replaced Billy Miller, but this was just not going to be Gala’s day in what was a lacklustre performance after the previous week’s heroics.

Gala Fairydean: E. Turnbull, P. Young, C. Tyson (D. Boyne, 70 mins), D. Bowie, G. Lothian, B. Miller (G. Hay, 76 mins), J. Wilson, G. Gass, M. Berry, S. Nightingale (G. Rossi, 60 mins), J. Hay.