GIRLS SAVED IN SOLWAY DRAMA

TWO young girls were rescued after their inflatable toy boat was swept away by the tide in Fleet Bay, near Gatehouse of Fleet.
They were saved by a man who raced out to their rescue in his kayak and held on to their flimsy craft until the arrival of the Fleet Bay inshore rescue boat.
It has sparked a warning from coastguards that parents must watch their children carefully and that small inflatables can be swept away very quickly in the fast flowing Solway Firth tides.
The girls aged 12 and 13 had been playing in the waters near Sandgreen Caravan site when they were suddenly swept away by the tide and power of the nearby River Fleet.
A coastguard spokesman said the alarm was raised by the mother of one of the girls and a man on the shore spotted the girls in trouble. He had gone out in his kayak and kept them safe until the arrival of the rescue services.
The girls, although shocked and cold, were unhurt and were taken back to Sandgreen by the inshore lifeboat. They are believed to be staying locally and were reunited with their family.
Liverpool Coastguard co-ordinated the rescue and called out coastguard teams, RAF Valley rescue helicopter as well as the  Port William Inshore rescue boat.
Paul Parkes, Watch Manager, Liverpool Coastguard, said: "I am pleased to say the two girls were found safe and well, but had drifted a mile from their original destination and were found by a canoeist who assisted them with a tow until the Fleet Bay Independent Rescue Boat arrived on scene and took them back to Sandgreen."
He added: "We would like to remind the public that inflatable toy boats can easily be blown out to sea; if you do use them always ensure they are tethered to an adult who is standing at the waters edge with them.
"Inflatable boats and toys must not be used in an offshore wind. If people do find themselves being swept out to sea on an inflatable boat or toy, we advise you to stay with the boat or toy and shout for help, waving arms if possible. Do not attempt to swim for shore if out of your depth."

DRINKS FESTIVAL MAN BANNED

A DRIVER who failed to take advantage of a voluntary police drink-drive test scheme at a music festival has paid the ultimate price.
John Bland (44) left the Wickerman Festival at Dundrennan, near Kirkcudbright, on Sunday morning but  was caught over the limit soon after.
Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court heard that Bland, a joiner of Park Road, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, was spotted in High Street, Dalbeattie, where they thought he had a flat tyre.
But procurator fiscal depute Bob Morrison said that when police carried out a breath test on him he was found to be over the limit.
Bland admitted driving his car in Dalbeattie on July 24 with 41 microgrammes of alcohol in his blood, only SIX over the limit of 35 microgrammes.
He was fined £180 and banned from driving for 12 months by Sheriff Shirley Foran.
The fiscal said that police at the weekend Wickerman Festival had been offering an opportunity to take a voluntary breathlyser test so that people leaving the festival could check their fitness to drive on public roads.
Dumfries and Galloway Police said that nearly 500 motorists had taken advantage of the initiative.

NEWSAGENT JAILED FOR 11 MONTHS

A NEWSAGENT who ran a mail order business distributing obscene videos and DVDs has been jailed for 11 months at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court.
Ronald Smart, 42, of Abercromby Road, Castle Douglas, was told by Sheriff Shirley Foran that he had shown a complete disregard for the law by committing this offence almost immediately after a previous penalty had been imposed on him for virtually the same thing.
She discounted his sentence from one of 15 months to 11 months but said that Smart had shown a complete selfish disregard for his family and she had a duty to the public and there was no alternative to a custodial sentence.
She also thought that some of this material which he was distributing may well have adversely affected members of the public and there was a general abhorrence by members of the general public for this type of thing.
 She said: "This may not have been for sexual gratification but appears more to me to have been a commercial enterprise."
The newsagent admitted selling obscene videos and DVDs at an earlier hearing and a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act is to be held later this year.
Smart pleaded guilty to distributing obscene material with a view to its eventual sale or distribution from Barry Smart newsagents on the town's King Street between February 11, 2005 and November 12, 2007.
The court was told that police seized 148 videos and 199 DVDs on February 6, 2009, when they raided his King Street shop in Castle Douglas.
They contained extreme material, with a view to their eventual sale and distribution and were said to contain lurid films featuring scenes of extreme degrading sex acts including bondage, orgies and other obscene material.
The Court also heard that Smart had run a mail order business with a Country Durham business partner, making thousands of pounds and it had been estimated that his share was around £20,000 but that was disputed by his agents.
The police had also obtained lists of customers of Smart from computers and police had called at houses and addresses in many parts of the country.
Smart earlier denied a charge of taking, permitting to be taken or making four indecent images of children, which was accepted by the Crown.
Agent Bill McVicar argued that a custodial sentence would not be appropriate in this case and the public interest would be better served by imposing the maximum period of probation and a community penalty.
He also said that Smart could benefit from an alternative sentence to prison so that issues could be focused on and dealt with.  Mr McVicar said Smart's  social circle had become limited because of the publicity in the local press and he continued to be involved with people he had been involved with before.
It would be better, he said, to prevent him from becoming involved with such people in the future and help him understand the difficulty society has with regards to pornography.