Scam impersonating telecare support

The council has warned islanders of a scam impersonating telecare support staff.

Do not make payments over the phone and hang up if you unsure, it said in a social media post yesterday (Friday) afternoon.

“You will never be called and asked to provide bank details or payment over the phone,” the council said. “Telecare clients and their responders will always be contacted by a qualified person.”

Telecare, previously know as community alarms, is a service that offers a way to get help if you’re unable to help yourself in an accident.

Scam calls can be reported to the SIC’s trading standards team by phone (01595 744887) or email ([email protected]).

POLL: Should dogs be allowed on public bus services?

Dog owners have raised concerns about not being able to take their pets on public buses.

The problem was highlighted in feedback to a survey by the Shetland Dog Park committee attending the Doggy Day Out in Lerwick on Saturday.

The committee is trying to find a site to set up a park for owners to take their dogs for socialising and exercise.

But some were concerned that if it was out of town they might struggle to get there as they cannot take their dogs on the bus.

It meant some people in Lerwick felt trapped in town if they didn’t have access to a car.

While some areas in the UK do allow dogs on public transport, Shetland Islands Council does not – other than assistance dogs.

Some people are not comfortable around dogs and may have concerns about allergies, hygiene and safety.

What do you think? Should dogs be allowed on buses?

PollMaker

WATCH: Montage from the first night of Rising North Festival

Music lovers were spoiled for choice yesterday (Thursday) with a range of musical talent performing across Lerwick.

Venues across town hosted the first night of Rising North Festival which is set to run until Sunday evening.

Among the young musical talent to perform at Mareel was The Zumba Crisis who left the audience in awe with each member of the band demonstrating the ability to play numerous different instruments – which ranged from guitar, drums and vocals to the fiddle, saxophone, keyboard and the flute.

The Lounge had a range of heavy metal performers. First to the stage was Vagabond who wowed with covers from bands such as Alice in Chains and AC/DC.

Just across the road more heavy rock was on offer including death metal duo Grimlok who had the crowd headbanging and forming a moshpit.

Da Noost is set to hold a warm-up gig ahead of headliner High Fade’s performance at Clickimin this evening. The warm-up will take place from 1pm to 4.30pm and will feature Sigmund Danielsen, Kevin Tulloch and James Johnson followed by Keirynn Topp.

Shetland ponies set for fun weekend of jumping, gymkhana and judging

A weekend of Shetland pony-related fun, frolics and competition is growing near.

The Pony Breeders of Shetland Association’s 34th annual Viking Shetland Pony Show is taking place at the Cunningsburgh Showground on Saturday and Sunday.

“Not long to go now,” organisers said on Facebook.

“We are really looking forward to this weekend and hope all the exhibitors’ preparations are going well.”

Saturday is the Helen Thomson Memorial Fun Day with fun classes including jumping, an agility course and gymkhana games open to everyone to enter on the day.

Sunday is the more formal in hand and ridden showing with three rings for standard ponies judged by Susan Dunnet, small ponies judged by Jem Roberts, and performance ponies judged by Tony Bell.

The champions of each ring come together at the end of the day for the “supreme champion” to be awarded.

The champion will also be awarded a silver medal from the Shetland Pony Studbook Society.

Spectators are welcome.

Search for Viking Shetland Pony Show on Facebook for more information.

Lightning strike a powerful spectacle

Shetland saw an intense lightning storm on Wednesday night, as this picture by our Scord Views correspondent Mark Burgess shows.

Two people rescued from water after boat accident near Port Arthur

Two people were rescued from the water after the boat they were in was reportedly crashed into a “static object”.

Coastguard received reports of people in the water at Port Arthur, Scalloway, at 3.10pm today (Wednesday)

The coastguard rescue helicopter and ground teams were sent to the scene, along with the RNLI, but the pair had already been rescued from the water by the time they arrived.

A coastguard spokeswoman said there were no reported injuries.

Witnesses at the scene said the two men went overboard after the boat hit an object.

They reported seeing the boat travelling around unmanned in the harbour until it was taken under control.

The vessel was then towed to Hamnavoe.

Investigation into Tesco milk disposal

An investigation was launched after milk from Tesco was drained into the sea after a power cut spoiled food at the weekend.

Concerned members of the public raised the issue on Monday with police and Scotland’s Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), claiming the incident may have been illegal.

The supermarket apologised for all of the disruption caused by the power outage as well as not following the “strict policies” in place for food wastage.

When asked by The Shetland Times for comment, Tesco said said it was investigating the incident and reported it to Sepa.

“We have strict policies in place to dispose of all waste products, and we are sorry that these appear to not have been followed on this occasion,” Tesco said.

Sepa confirmed it had began to investigate the siutation and found it was milk that had come from tesco.

It said disposal down the drain was an “acceptable” solution for the supermarket to take but Tesco had decided to change how it was throwing away its spoilt milk.

“Having checked with Scottish Water, who confirmed that there were no issues at the pumping station, it appears there may be a misconnection within the store’s drainage system,” Sepa said.

It added it was satisfied there was “no risk” to the environment, given the quantity of milk and its “dispersal and dilution in the sea”.

Sepa said it would continue to investigate the misconnection.

When approached by The Shetland Times, Scottish Water said: “We checked our infrastructure and everything was working as it should.”

SIC environment chairwoman Moraig Lyall was unaware of the pollution when asked by this newspaper on Monday but said she would be disappointed to hear if any substance was illegally dumped into the sea.

“I would not be terribly happy with things going into the sea, if they are not supposed to be,” Mrs Lyall said.

Last Friday a power cut, which was experienced briefly across Shetland, caused the store’s fridges and freezers to malfunction. The units were unable to keep the products cool enough for sale to the public.

This meant almost all of the products had to be binned, with shelves left bare over the weekend.

An apology was issued, with customer notices displayed on shelves.

In response to questions from The Shetland Times, Tesco said: “We are sorry for the inconvenience caused and are working to get this issue resolved. We currently anticipate frozen and chilled food to be available again at our Lerwick Superstore from Monday.”

It added the food which was taken from the shelves as a result of the power loss would be “converted into animal feed or turned into energy”.

Indeed, that was the case as staff members were packing the shelves with new stock at lunchtime on Monday.

UPDATE: Tesco says sorry after power cut affects chilled and frozen sections

Tesco expects to see chilled and frozen foods return to its Lerwick store from Monday, after a power cut caused disruption at the store.

The supermarket issued an apology today (Saturday) after yesterday’s outage meant the shop’s fridges and freezers lost power.

Engineers were called in to make repairs, while stock was taken from the shelves.

Customer notices were displayed on the empty fridges at the supermarket in the south end of Lerwick, which explained the store lost the use of all of its fridges and freezers.

In response to questions from The Shetland Times, Tesco said: “We are sorry for the inconvenience caused and are working to get this issue resolved. We currently anticipate frozen and chilled food to be available again at our Lerwick Superstore from Monday.”

It added the food which was taken from the shelves as a result of the power loss would be “converted into animal feed or turned into energy”.

POLL: Is the council’s Scatsta hydrogen deal good enough?

A multi-million pound deal has been agreed to build a green hydrogen hub next to the disused Scatsta Airport.

Shetland Islands Council and energy giant Stakraft made the announcement on Wednesday.

The lease will secure an annual income of £1.13m for the SIC.

Statkraft has also agreed to pay the council community benefit at a rate of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity – equivalent to around £2m per year.

The SIC said it would many the funds to be used to “lever further funding for strategic projects”.

There will also be jobs and income from the shipment of products through Sullom Voe Harbour.

Political leader Emma Macdonald said the project aligned with the “Fair Share for Shetland” principles – which aims to ensure the community benefits as much as possible from the development of new energy projects.

But when councillors discussed new community benefit principles in February, based on a report the SIC commissioned by Voar and Aquatera, members expressed a desire to secure the more ambitious benefits outlined in the report.

The old benchmark of £5,000 per MW was seen to be outdated and insufficient.

Members wanted to developers to go further and provide a share of revenue from their projects – with a figure of 2.5 per cent stated for hydrogen projects.

Having failed to secure the more ambitious targets, some councillos are understood to be disappointed with the deal.

Shetland Greens member Alex Armitage said he was “furious with the way that Shetland Islands Council has capitulated to corporate power”.

“Instead of learning from the mistakes of the Viking windfarm it seems as though we are repeating them.

“To say I’m disappointed is an understatement; I have never felt such visceral anger at an SIC decision.”

Several councillors, including depute leader Gary Robinson and harbour board chairman Robert Thomson, have also expressed doubt about the viability of green hydrogen as a technology.

Statkraft has itself announced that it would stop developing new hydrogen projects.

It will be seeking investors to take on the Scatsta project.

What do you think? Is the deal a good one?

Poll Maker

Dream come true as Shetland otters are to feature in David Attenborugh documentary

A wildlife expert’s childhood dream has come true after he offered his otter expertise in an upcoming David Attenborough documentary.

Shetland otters are set to feature in the renowned naturalists’ latest series which has been titled as Parenthood.

Isles photographer Brydon Thomason described the otters featuring in the series as a “huge” achievement.

“We have helped showcase otters to audiences across the world in a UK or Scottish based context, but now they are being showcased in a global context,” he said.

“For Shetland otters to be profiled at this level, holding their own alongside an A-list cast of the most amazing mums in the natural world is huge.”

Mr Thomason said the opportunity was a tremendous “honour” both in terms of the people he got to work with as well as the platform which it gave to Shetland otters.

“To work with the sensational team at Silverback again – widely known as one of the best natural history production companies in the world – sharing the species we love the most at the highest level, really is such a privilege.

“But for the story to be told through the world-renowned narration of Sir David Attenborough, really is a true honour.”

“From a personal perspective, to share Shetland’s otters at this level is everything. A childhood dream realised, career goal reached and lifelong ambition achieved all in one.”

He added the project was even sweeter as he was able to work on it with fellow Northern Isles wildlife experts.

“Sharing this experience with my dear friends Richard Shucksmith, Raymond Besant and Billy Mail, made the whole experience all the more special,” he said.

“We are all massively grateful to the amazing team at Silverback and all the amazingly talented and wonderful people we worked with.”

Shetland’s otters will feature in the Ocean episode of the series which is set to air on Sunday at 7.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.