Other UK News In Brief

Bridge Tragedies Probed

A second construction worker has died after falling from a bridge. The latest victim fell onto a ledge while working on the Tay Bridge. Transport Police have said inquiries surrounding the circumstances of the death are ongoing. It was on Thursday that the man fell from a ladder. The day before another tragedy occurred on the north side of the Forth Rail Bridge. The man fell approximately 150ft onto scaffolding below the railway tracks at around 9pm on Wednesday. Emergency services were called out but the worker died at the scene of the accident. The Railway Inspectorate has been informed and a British Transport Police spokesman said: "British Transport Police received a report of a man having fallen from a ladder in the north side of the Forth Rail Bridge. "The man, who was a contractor, died at the scene."

Teen Sex Accused In Court

An 18-year-old man is due to appear from custody today following a sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl in Alva, central Scotland. The incident occurred on Monday evening to the rear of the mill centre next to Cochrane Park. Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen a small blue estate car in the car park sometime between 7pm and 9pm. Anyone with information can contact Central Scotland Police on 01786 456000 or information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Til Death Us Do Part

While a report, by the Office for National Statistics, did not analyse the reasons why divorce rates had fallen, it has shown that the number of divorces in England and Wales has fallen for a fifth successive year to their lowest rate for 29 years. In 2008, the divorce rate in England and Wales decreased by 2.5% to 11.5 divorcing people per 1,000 married people, compared with 11.8 in 2007. Divorces in Scotland fell by 10% from 2007 to 2008, while divorces in Northern Ireland decreased by 4.8%.

Death Driver Guilty

A 19-year-old motorist who hit and killed a cyclist on the A1 in Cambridgeshire has been found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. Major Gareth Rhys-Evans, 37, was killed when he was hit by Katie Hart's Ford Ka at Eaton Socon on 3 May 2009. Hart, of Little Paxton, Cambs, told Peterborough Crown Court she did not see Maj Rhys-Evans, originally from west Wales, until she felt an impact, but father-of-two Major Rhys-Evans was wearing the distinctive colours of the armed forces as he cycled.

(BMcC/GK)