Liquor giant Diageo said a Scottish government task force has failed to find a plan that would rescue 900 jobs at two historic beverage facilities. A company restructuring plan calls for the closure of a Johnny Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock and a grain distillery in Glasgow, The Scotsman reported Wednesday. The plan provoked a protest march in Kilmarnock with 20,000 people participating.

By Fiona MacLeod THUNDER clouds rumbled ominously above the tram as it trundled through the streets of Aberdeen. For most four-year-olds, the experience would have been frightening, but for one little boy, it sparked a passion that would last a lifetime.

A MAN has been accused of trying to lure children away from a shopping centre with money. Christopher Hindmarsh allegedly tried to make a girl of 15 and her 14-year-old brother leave the mall in Irvine with him.

A HOSPITAL patient missing for nearly a week has been found safe and well. Robert Smith, who is a detained patient at Ailsa Hospital in Ayr, went missing on Tuesday last week. The 54-year-old was found at an address in the Kilmarnock area. He has now been returned to the hospital.

A HOSPITAL patient who was reported missing has been found, police said yesterday. Robert Smith, 54, who suffers from mental health problems, disappeared from Ailsa Hospital in Ayr last Tuesday. Mr Smith was found in Kilmarnock and taken back to the hospital.