January
Tributes poured in for a snooker ace as a rare brain disease claimed the life of Billy McCann, 61. Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob affects just one in a million people. Billy, of Northfield, Ayr, once beat Steve Davis in an exhibition frame and potted an incredible maximum score of 147.
Silly burger! Fast food worker flipped out smashing up Burger King in Ayr town centre causing £20,000 worth of damage. Craig Shearer took a hammer to the restaurant in broad daylight in a drink and drug fuelled rampage, leaving the eatery closed for a full day to repair damages.
Devoted wife and successful business owner, Liz Smith, discovered her constant dizziness was down to her conman husband. It was unveiled, David Smith, had not only been lacing Liz’ s meals with drugs, but also stole thousands of her hard earned cash.
And young mum, Sherena Goodwin, welcomed her first son to join the family in a surprise visit to the hospital. Sherena gave birth to healthy baby boy, David, after being admitted to hospital with complaints of back pain. The miracle addition surprised mum as she not only had no idea she was pregnant but was actually in labour!
February
The cast of blockbuster TV show, Outlander, ditched filming to save a stricken member of the public. Tiny fishing town, Dunure, was transformed into a film set, but scenes were put on hold as a 29 year-old woman fell close to Dunure Castle. Luckily show stars were on hand to help as she had to transported to safety by a TV truck!
Ayr Flower Show was a blooming tragedy as the outdoor event was axed after council chiefs pulled funding.
Paddy, the death row rescue dog, was saved by a muzzle and four month good behaviour order. Court prosecutors wanted to end Paddy’s life after he sank his teeth into a 19 year-old teenager.
Ayr ice-cream king, Philip Mancini, was crowned best in the UK at The National Ice Cream event. His vanilla scoop vowed the judges, winning him four trophies including the prestigious accolade of best in the land.
March
Singing sensation Craig Ward got through to the live finals of TV contest The Voice. Craig wowed the judges, receiving positive comments from Will.I.Am, Jessica Hudson, Gavin Rossdale and Sir Tom Jones- who picked the local lad to be on his team.
Family jeweller’s business that stretched back three generations to 1923 closed its doors for the final time. Henry Lyall shut up shop on Newmarket Street, with hardly any change to the original decor.
A pub cleaner discovered a body in the toilet the next morning as they arrived for their shift. The 53 year old victim had been left in Ayr’s West Kirk over night.
April
A reckless mother was so intoxicated she couldn’t even walk safely as she pushed her six-month old baby girl in her pram. Lisa Robertson admitted failing to provide adequate care to her child due to her “levels of intoxication”.
A father and son fire-fighting duo called upon reinforcements as Girvan base seek recruits. Stephen and Mark Challis are among the few fire-fighters at the base - with Stephen being on call for 120 hours a week.
A shameless couple performed X-rated sex acts on a park bench in a daylight romp. The couple didn’t even stop in their sex session as they were approached by police. The pair were seen by shocked members of the public.
We saw the first stages of Ayr Renaissance come to life as demolition of the old Riverside Block got underway. A wrecking digger smashed its way through the redundant building. In a bid to revitalise the Auld Town, future developments hope to put the heart back into Ayr.
May
More than 50 locals stepped out together for the Ayrshire Cancer Support Fun Run. The six kilometre run along Ayr seafront raised £2660 for the charity.
The elections saw some changes for South Ayrshire. SNP made a shock grab of power. South Ayrshire’s youngest ever councillor, Ian Davis, put himself at the forefront of a Conservative surge as he won the ballot in Ayr North.
Yours truly was crowned Scottish Weekly Newspaper of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards. The Ayrshire Post was hailed best in the business out of, at last count, 117 local papers across the country.
A distressed dolphin was rescued by local police as the officers pulled off their boots to get “Danny the Dolphin” back to deeper waters.
June
Ironmum-of-four, Rachel Borland, completed the hardest race on earth as she ran, swam and cycled for a total of 140 miles. Rachel managed to squeeze in 4am workouts before her kids were awake. It was her fourth time completing the Ironman event in Lanzarote.
Well it certainly wasn’t hailed Lanzarote’s shores as Ayr beach was designated Toxic with sunseekers being wanred to stick to the sand. Scotland’s busiest beach was hit with a poor rating by SEPA.
Prince Charles kindly helped with the restoration of New Cumnock’s open air pool, thanks to a £30,000 cash injection from the Dumfries House Trust.
