Perth FM News 11/11/10

Drug Dealer Jailed

A Perth Drug Dealer described by police as "head of a local crime group" was yesterday jailed for almost five years after he was spotted selling heroin from a stash near a school. Christopher Crowder hid wraps of the Class A drug in a plastic tub in bushes at Bute Drive – the road on which Perth Grammar and the St John’s Campus stand. He was snared by police surveillance soon after leaving prison early after conviction for a similar offence. Gang member Murray Christie was also caught with drugs and jailed yesterday.

Longer Hours for Parking Attendants

New shifts are to be introduced for Perth & Kinross Council's Parking Attendants in November. The new shifts are designed to maximise traffic flow during the busiest times of the day, and to enable fair and consistent use of the parking bays by visitors to Perth. This will ensure that people will be able to access local businesses more freely. The Council receives numerous complaints about parking including vehicles being parked indiscriminately on yellow lines and the misuse of disabled parking bays. It is hoped the new shift pattern will help to alleviate these problems. The move has been criticised by The Association of British Drivers who believe the move will deter shoppers from coming to Perth.

Give it up for Baby Scheme

A young Coupar Angus mum-to-be is giving her unborn baby the best start in life by successfully giving up smoking through NHS Tayside’s Give It Up For Baby (GIUFB) scheme. Eighteen-year-old Shannyn Nicoll has been smoke-free since signing up to the scheme around four months ago. She is due her first child in January, and began smoking when she was 14 and would smoke around 15-20 cigarettes a day.
When she discovered she was pregnant, Shannyn's midwife recommended she try the GIUFB scheme. Shannyn signed up at her local pharmacy, Davidson in Coupar Angus, and has passed her carbon monoxide test every week. "The first few weeks were difficult but the pharmacist really helped by offering me patches to stop the cravings," Shannyn explained.