Hoy drained after Olympic heroics

CHRIS Hoy has revealed he is mentally and physically drained following his Olympic gold hat-trick win, it was reported today.

The Edinburgh star is said to have admitted feeling more relief and exhaustion at his triumph, than exhilaration.

He is quoted saying: "To finally get this finished is a wonderful feeling."

Hoy revealed his Olympic training pushed him to the edge of his endurance, often worrying about loosing by a close margin.

He said: "When I was out on the track, I would visualise all I had gone through. What would happen if I lost the gold on a thousandth of a second?

"Instead, I lined up, knowing no one had trained harder. It gave me enormous confidence."

Man attacked and mugged

A MAN was knocked to the ground and mugged on London Road.

Police are appealing for witnesses after the attack, which saw a group of three men set on the victim and steal his bag, which contained a range of expensive items.

The 31-year-old was walking east past the small lodge house on the south footpath at 5.30am on Sunday when a group of men engaged him in conversation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131 or Crimestoppers in confidence and complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.

Don't stop building, say business leaders

BUSINESS leaders are warning developments in Edinburgh must not be put on hold until an inquiry into the Capital's world heritage site status is complete.

Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce claimed a halt, called for by Unesco director Koichiro Matsuura, would be "catastrophic" for the city.

Councils confident of pay deal with strikers

LOCAL authority officials are confident they can reach a pay deal with striking workers, it was reported today.

COSLA spokesman Michael Cook said: "The only way to resolve this is by negotiation and I urge unions to meet us and jointly reach a solution."

Around 200,000 local authority workers across Scotland took strike action yesterday over a 2.5 per cent pay deal which unions have rejected.

Woman passes driving test. . aged 76!

A WEST Calder kilt shop worker has passed her driving test at the age of 76 - first time around, it was reported today.

Corsa owner Ella MacDonald, a kiltmaker for the Queen, was tired of making the three-hour trek from her Ayr home to West Calder every day by train.

So she decided to take to the roads armed with L plates, passing her test after two years of lessons with no faults.

Ella, of R&I MacDonald Kiltmakers, is quoted saying: "I love driving my wee car."