By ALISON CHIESA MORE than 50 seabirds have died in one of the worst oil spills to hit the north Caithness coast this year, conservationists said yesterday . The dead birds have largely been recovered from beaches stretching from Scrabster to Dunnet.

SCORES of oiled seabirds were washed ashore along a 20-mile stretch of the Caithness coast yesterday, sparking fears of an oil spill in the Pentland Firth. At least 50 birds were recovered between Thurso and Duncansby Head. Some birds had died, said RSPB Scotland.

By DAVID ROSS HIGHLAND CORRESPONDENT ALEX Salmond yesterday declared that the Pentland Firth would be "the epicentre of Scotland's future in renewable energy" as it officially became one of the country's first marine power sites.

By JOHN ROSS THE waters of the Pentland Firth are set to become the epicentre of Scotland's future in renewable energy with the equivalent power of 20 conventional stations, according to Alex Salmond, the First Minister .

By Stephen McGinty WHIPPED up white and spitting salty spray, the waves that crash against our coastline are charged with hidden energy. Driven by winds and currents across thousands of miles of the Atlantic, they pound beaches and cliffs with enough raw power per foot for 100 homes.