“The happiest, most loving, sweetest child in the world.”

The six-year-old girl who died in a tragic crash last weekend was “an angel walking on earth”, her funeral has heard.

Kourtney McCormick died “in the arms of her loving mummy and daddy” after she was hit by a van in the Springfarm Heights area of Newry on Sunday, June 21. Her death has led to an outpouring of grief in the local community and across Northern Ireland.

Mourners at her funeral on June 27 in St Brigid’s Church followed the family’s request of wearing bright colours in Kourtney’s memory, with a sea of pink, red, and white visible in the pews of the packed church.

Born on May 22, 2020, Kourtney was described by the priest as being the “youngest child in a loving family.” She died one month after celebrating her sixth birthday.

At the beginning of the funeral service, Kourtney’s siblings brought items she loved to the altar in her memory. They brought up her housecoat, which they said she would have never taken off; her school folder, for her love of attending St Patrick’s Primary and Nursery School; a flower lei to mark her love for the movie Moana; her teddy, and a toy dog to remember her love of animals.

Paying tribute, the priest said: “Kourtney had a wonderful life, which was albeit too short. Loving and caring Kourtney gave so much to her family and many friends.

“She loved school, and was annoyed when she was kept off for whatever reason. She made many friends there and was loved by the entire school community.

“She would come to mass with her family in this church on Saturdays, where she would love to run up and down the middle aisle.

“She would frequently say ‘I love you, you are my hero’ to family and friends – she would tell her mum and dad at least once a day.

“Her older sister, Jasmine, would bring Kourtney to McDonald’s for a treat and joke asking if she had money to pay, when Kourtney would say ‘it was your idea.’

“She loved getting her hair done, music, singing, and dancing. There was no end to the magic Kourtney brought to her family, siblings, and extended family. She was the centre of attention but would never leave anyone out.

“Blake, her special little friend who was one year younger, would join the family for dinner some evenings as they wouldn’t want to be apart. They were very close, good friends.

“Kourtney was an angel walking on earth, who will be remembered for her warm heart and presence.”

Following the communion, Kourtney’s siblings took to the altar to pay tribute. Her older sister, Jasmine, said “there are no words that come close to describe how perfect, happy, and loved our Kourtney was.”

She added: “The happiest, most loving, sweetest child in the world. My wee sister, the baby of the house, my baby.

“Our little sweetheart changed the lives of every single person no matter whether they knew her for her entire life, or if they had only walked past her once.

“Kourtney was the person who brightened any room she walked into, constantly had a smile on her face and so much happiness in her eyes, a child who enjoyed absolutely everything and loved absolutely everyone.

“Alongside being so loving, Kourtney was a true character who always acted herself and never changed for anyone. A child who loved the spotlight and being the centre of attention, but also made sure to put those around her first.

“Our baby was so full of life. She adored singing and dancing, would have sat for hours with some pencils and a piece of paper, drawing and colouring in, and had so much love for animals.

“She was so curious and loved God, forever enjoyed getting to watch movies and playing with her toys and friends and family, and most of all, she strived to make people laugh and just enjoyed being a child.

“Our princess was filled with innocence and warmth, a bright child with an unimaginably strong presence and personality, and most definitely what should have been an amazing future.

“She will never have been able to understand how much I or anyone else loved her, but I know that anyone who knows me knew how much I loved her.

“Not only did she love me and everybody else, she adored her mummy and daddy. Never let mummy run past her without giving her a hug and a kiss and telling daddy every single day, ‘daddy, I love you, you’re my hero.’ She truly did have them wrapped around her little finger.”

Jasmine added: “Life can be so cruel, and I know nobody will be able to understand why this happened to our baby who was so completely undeserving of this tragedy.

“To quote your favourite movie, Moana, there is nowhere you could go that I won’t be with you, and I know that you’ll always be with me, even though I can’t see you. You will never leave the side of our mummy and daddy, our brothers and sisters, Katie, Shane, Mya, Zac, and Georgia.

“We will meet again, and I’ll get to see that cheeky little smile in your eyes that were always filled with joy. Forever 6, my baby, stolen from us far too soon.

“But if love could have saved you, you would have lived forever. Squeezy hugs hopes forever, my girl, until I see you again.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

WASHINGTON (AP) — You’ve likely heard it since childhood: Don’t scratch that bug bite or rash, you’ll make it worse. But why would something that feels so good be bad?

A lot of things can cause itchiness, sometimes serious diseases. Whatever the cause, doctors have long warned that scratching too much can damage the skin. Now researchers better understand why even a mildly annoying itch could put you on an itch-and-scratch cycle if you give in.

How did they find out? In part by putting tiny “cones of shame” onto mice to uncover what happens on a cellular level when an itch gets scratched — or left alone.

They also gained insight into why a good scratch at least at first brings a sigh of relief. After all, not just people and other mammals scratch, even fish do. The commonality suggests there must be some evolutionary reason and the mouse experiment hints at a little germ protection — but still not a reason to scratch.

Expect a more swollen, itchier spot if you can’t ignore that bug bite

Dr. Daniel Kaplan, a University of Pittsburgh dermatologist whose lab studies immune reactions in skin, was exploring a run-of-the-mill type of itch called allergic contact dermatitis, caused by irritants such as poison ivy or nickel in jewelry.

Kaplan’s research team put a rash-inducing irritant on the ears of mice. Normal mice scratched and inflammatory immune cells rushed to the site, increasing swelling. The rash was much milder in mice bred with defective itch-sensing nerve cells. But was the difference really the scratching?

Normal mice put into collars like those veterinary “cones of shame” so they itched but couldn’t scratch gave the answer: They, too, had much less swelling and fewer inflammatory cells.

Kaplan said that evidence matches people’s everyday experiences that scratching really can make things worse.

Ignore a mosquito bite and the itch is “gone in five or 10 minutes for most people,” he said. “But if you start scratching it, it’s your friend for a week,” getting itchier and more inflamed.

The immune system’s first responders can help — and hurt

To understand what was happening in the skin, Kaplan’s team took a deeper look at mast cells, among the immune system’s first responders. When called into action, they release compounds that can help fight germs or toxins — or, through a compound called histamine, trigger itchy allergic reactions.

Scientists have long known that allergens can activate mast cells. But other signals can summon mast cells, too, including pain. And when we scratch, “we tend to scratch until it starts to hurt,” Kaplan noted.

Pain-sensing nerve cells release a chemical messenger called substance P. In findings published last year, Kaplan’s team reported that substance P can activate mast cells through a different molecular pathway than allergens do — a double whammy that explains why scratching further inflames itchy rashes or bites.

Then why does a little scratching feel good?

If we experience pain like touching a hot stove, we’ll learn not to do that again. Yet relief from a good scratch, in evolutionary terms, is positive feedback. Why?

One long-held theory is that it may help creatures slough off parasites like fleas or mites. But Kaplan also was intrigued by other labs’ findings that mast cells could fend off a common type of skin bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. So his team infected mice and then repeated the cone-of-shame itch experiment. Sure enough, those that scratched had lower levels of that germ on their ears, maybe because of the extra inflammation or some other mast cell-related compound.

But that’s not enough of an upside to change the health advice.

“Ultimately, scratching is deleterious,” Kaplan stressed. “You should avoid scratching,” he said, although acknowledging that it’s “easier said than done.”

Here’s how to handle a minor itch

What fights an itch depends on its cause and there’s a need for better treatments. For now, antihistamines and certain other drugs for hives can tamp down some itchiness triggered by mast cells. Drug companies are experimenting with other approaches called MRGPRX2 blockers that target the pathway Kaplan’s team linked to scratching. Kaplan hopes better understanding of that pathway eventually could help skin diseases such as chronic eczema.

For the summer itchiness of bug bites, poison ivy and other types of contact dermatitis, dermatologists recommend anti-itch balms such as hydrocortisone cream, calamine lotion or oatmeal baths.

Another trick from Kaplan: Menthol-containing creams can temporarily fool the skin into sensing cold instead of itch, just long enough that “if you don’t scratch, then you break that itch-scratch cycle,” he said. “It’s like a cheat code.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Swimmers looking to cool off in the heatwave are having police called on them for aggravating wildlife at Hampstead Heath.

More than a dozen swimmers were found on Friday in the nature pond, cooling off among the swans.

They had seemingly ignored the barbed wire and glaring signage erected by the City of London Corporation.

Hampstead Heath Constabulary and ParkGuard battled to bring them back to the land, but many Londoners are desperate to cool off as the city’s lack of free blue spaces mean many resort to breaking the rules.

Before Covid-19, the Hampstead Heath ponds used to be free with no booking required.

Lidos have also become oversubscribed, leaving little option for people desperate to escape the heat.

And those in poorer areas suffer the most in heatwaves, as their access to green and blue space is limited.

On Collingwood Estate in Sutton, south London, residents say they are ‘cooking’ and suffering heat exhaustion with temperatures reaching 30C by 4am, they told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Mayor of London announced he will improve access to these spaces in his ‘Heat Ready London’ plan.

Sir Sadiq told Metro: ‘It is not just an issue of the environment, but of social justice. In the 2022 heatwave, we saw 400 premature deaths, 4,000 going to A&E, extreme challenges to our public transport and big pressure of the fire service.’

But it is not just during the heatwave. Over New Years, watching fireworks at iconic spots became ticketed and commercialised.

It was only 12 years ago in 2014 when London’s New Year’s Eve firework display became ticketed for the first time.

And popular free viewing spots such have started to be closed off to the public.

Primrose Hill, Parliament Hill, St James Park, Greenwich park and Vauxhall Bridge all close before the main event begins.

The City of London Corporation told The Standard: ‘As well as our own Constabulary, we’ve put additional security and patrols in place across the Heath, particularly around the Lido and Model Boating Pond.

‘Entering any other water body is extremely dangerous and risks both lives and wildlife.

‘We want all visitors to enjoy their time on the Heath, and we’re asking everyone to behave responsibly, and respect the space and those who care for it.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: Why do heatwaves ‘hit different’ in the UK?

MORE: UK heatwave latest: Extreme heat weather warning extended again

MORE: Readers discuss the UK’s continued heatwave

The three-time Wimbledon champion has opened up on his time in jail

Tennis legend Boris Becker has opened up on his time in prison, admitting that he “literally lost everything” and “95 per cent” of his former inner circle are now “gone”.

In 2022, the six-time Grand Slam champion was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for hiding £2.5 million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts, having been declared bankrupt five years earlier. He was released from prison after serving eight months of his sentence and was deported from the UK following his release.

Under the terms of his deportation order, he is currently barred from entering the UK but has revealed he is in negotiations with the Home Office to have the ban overturned.

While a long-time pundit on the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon – a tournament where he won the men’s singles title on three occasions – the 58-year-old was left out of the broadcaster’s punditry line-up last year while banned.

Having also decided not to return to his homeland of Germany following his deportation, Becker has now settled in Italy, living in Milan with his third wife, Lilian, and their seven-month-old daughter, Zoe, while returning to punditry work for the likes of Sky Italia.

In a new interview with the Telegraph, he has opened up on his eight months in prison and the impact that his time inside has had on his life following his release.

“When you are incarcerated, you literally lose everything,” he said. “All that is left is your personality, your character. So you have to dig down inside to ask, ‘OK, who am I? Is this going to kill me, or is this going to make me stronger?’

“Each month, it gets a little bit better, you get closer to yourself. You think, ‘What went wrong for me to end up in Wandsworth?’ You have to be convinced you will survive. And once you do, the question is ‘What do I do when I get out?’

“That’s why the comeback happened so quickly, because I was already preparing while inside. I wasn’t whining, I wasn’t making other people responsible for my mistakes. I said, ‘OK, I f****d up’.

“With the help of my wife and a very small group of people, I started to select who was with me, who was not with me. What would be my first move, my third move? It becomes like a really long, good chess game.”

While he has been supported by Lilian and close confidants, including Novak Djokovic, Becker admits that “90 per cent of [his] former circle is gone”.

“Probably even 95 per cent,” he added. “That doesn’t mean I don’t say hello – I see their numbers and I write them a friendly ‘No’.

“I find [people] look at me and shake their head, saying, ‘We can’t believe you’re back. How did you do it?’ And then I think to myself, ‘How should I take this? Are you happy for me or not?’ It’s the response I see the most.

“Both privately and professionally, people can’t believe that I’m back in life, back in business, back in freedom.”

Becker has now been absent from four successive Wimbledon championships and admits that SW19 is what he misses most while banned from the UK, describing it as his “birthplace”.

“I don’t think I miss London, but I miss Wimbledon,” he explained. “It’s my birthplace, in a sense.

“I feel so close to the club, to the courts. I have a story on every court, in every corner, in the locker room, in the car park. I probably know Wimbledon better than anyone else alive.”

Two major storm systems pounded Japan on Saturday, causing landslides and floods and leaving one dead and several injured, media and officials said.

The storms, Mekkhala and Higos, have dumped heavy rain and damaged roads as Japan experiences its annual rainy season.

A man in his 70s died and three others were injured after a house collapsed in a landslide in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Friday, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported.

Television footage from Kyoto showed the Kamo River swollen with churning, muddy water. A flooding alert was issued in parts of Kyoto, Osaka and other areas in western Japan.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said more than 30 homes were flooded in Nara and Hiroshima on Friday. Heavy rain also disrupted some train operations and flights in the area.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched a drone assault targeting Bahrain while a ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday, likely Tehran’s response to overnight airstrikes by the United States.

The attacks across the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the U.S. reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict.

The U.S. had launched its airstrikes in response to an Iranian drone attack on a ship trying to get out of the strait on Thursday, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the uneasy ceasefire in the war.

Meanwhile, a multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the strait to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic — likely setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran.

Bahrain condemns Iran’s drone attack

That Iran targeted Bahrain likely was not coincidental. The kingdom has been one of the strongest critics of Iran and is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. It just hosted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s foreign ministers, which ended with a call for an end to Iran’s attacks and the strait to be completely open.

A statement from Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said a “number of Iranian drones” targeted the country. It called the attack “a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents.”

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard earlier on Saturday issued a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency saying it had targeted several locations “of the U.S. terrorist army in the region.”

It did not name what areas were targeted.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said the military struck Iranian missile and drone locations and coastal radar sites in the overnight strikes.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who has led the American negotiations with Iran, said on social media Friday night that Iran should “pick up the phone” if there are disagreements about the ceasefire agreement.

“But violence will be met with violence,” Vance said.

The U.S. and Iran are still negotiating terms of the deal, including issues such as getting ships through the key strait and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the interim deal, the two sides have 60 days to work out the details.

As summer is officially here, many will be cooling down by enjoying a sweet ice cream, and one shopper now claims to have found the “cheapest” one in an unlikely place

As most parts of the UK have recently been through a record-breaking heatwave which saw record temperatures of up to 37.1C in certain areas, it’s no surprise that many will have been enjoying an ice cream or two to help cool themselves down.

Whether you’re an ice lolly devotee or prefer to dig straight into the tub, there’s no shortage of refreshing goodies to help you keep cool. However, many will have noticed that ice cream, like most other goods, has increased in price, as it can be difficult to find a 99 that actually costs 99p in modern times – albeit not impossible.

But now, one user claims to have found “the cheapest” ice cream in all of Britain, and it’s not from a supermarket or an ice cream van, but at a store you might not have expected.

Taking to Facebook, the account “Very British Problems” went on to share their bargain find for their 1.3 million followers to see.

“It’s sunny so I’ve come for surely the cheapest 99 in Britain. Such a cheap 99 that it’s a 95!” they wrote on the post, which included a photo of the advertised ice cream in question, confirming that the price was just 95p from Swedish furniture store Ikea.

“I’ll probably not feel the benefit of the savings once I’ve spent £400 on cupboards,” they added in the comment section.

Ikea’s soft serve ice cream is described on their website as a “traditional soft ice based on milk and cream” with a classic vanilla flavour.

However, people were quick to point out one alleged “mistake” with the Facebook post, which was that it couldn’t actually be called a 99 because it didn’t come with the classic Cadbury Flake.

“Not a 99 without a flake though!” one person wrote. Another user explained: “Without a Flake it’s just a Mr Whippy. You need that stick of crumbly chocolate goodness to make it a “99”.

Someone else said: “It’s 95p because there’s no Flake. The Flake would take it up to the average UK price of £6.50.”

What is a 99 ice cream?

In British culture, a 99 is a popular ice cream cone (usually vanilla soft-serve) that contains a Cadbury Flake bar that’s been inserted into the ice cream.

Created at the Cadbury’s factory in Birmingham, England, the Flake was originally designed to be a cuboid and to fit into a wafer. By 1930, Cadbury’s was selling half-length Flake “99s” specifically for serving in ice cream cones. These were marketed under the name 99 Flake and sold loose in boxes rather than individually wrapped like the traditional Flake.

The early “99 Flake” took the form of an ice cream sandwich. It consisted of a Flake bar inserted between two servings of ice cream, then placed between two wafer biscuits.

However, the origin of the “99” ice cream remains a mystery. Some believe the name traces back to 1922, when a man called Stefano Arcari opened up an ice cream shop in Scotland at 99 Portobello High Street.

He would apparently break a Flake in half and then place it in the ice cream to serve to his customers, taking inspiration from the shop’s address for the ice cream’s name.

But others speculate that the “99” Flake was so-called to honour the i Ragazzi del 99, “the Boys of ‘99”. They were a group of soldiers born in 1899 and so the last to enlist in the First World War.

Some also believe it was called a 99 because it used to cost 99p, which may have been true in the 90s or early 2000s, but was far from the truth when they first originated in the early 1900s.

“No chance to saying goodbye, no transition parents evening, no closure.”

Parents and schoolgirls have been left devastated after private school Alderley Edge School for Girls closed down for good weeks earlier than initially announced.

Governors claimed the school is now “unsafe” for staff and pupils in an email sent out to all parents on Friday (June 26), blaming parent protests for the closure.

The fee-paying school outlined plans to close due to financial pressures earlier this year, saying the school would close at the end of the academic year on July 7.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

But the early closure announcement on Friday, after the school was already shut for the day, meant schoolgirls had no chance to say their final goodbyes to teachers and friends, leaving families in disbelief.

The school and its played fields, set in one of Cheshire’s most affluent areas, was put up for sale earlier this month with local estate agents Savills, despite a campaign by parents to try to save the school. Parents are now left with no school provision for their children for the final two weeks of term, and for working parents it means a desperate scrabble for childcare from Monday onwards.

The email sent out by the school, seen by the Manchester Evening News, states the sudden closure is “for health and safety reasons” as the school claimed that ongoing protests by parents means they “can no longer guarantee the safety of staff, pupils and parents on site”. They said the decision was taken after risk assessments reviews had taken place.

The letter from the school’s governors said: “We recognise the strength of feeling within the parent community and the distress caused by the proposed closure of the school. Peaceful and respectful expression of concern is entirely understood; however, since yesterday there have been incidents involving a small number of parents on or near the school site, on social media, and direct communications to staff which have caused serious concern for the welfare of pupils and staff.

“No member of staff, pupil, parent or governor should be placed in a position where they feel unsafe to attend school or are subjected to inappropriate comments on social media and/or receive unwanted communication by email or in person. We have requested on a number of occasions for this behaviour to stop, but sadly it hasn’t.

“As the Governing Board, our priority must be the health and safety of our staff, pupils, and parents. With great sadness, we must therefore inform you that the school site will be closed to pupils and parents from 17:45 today, and will not reopen.”

It added: “We recognise the significance of such a decision, and we are personally devastated that it has come to this.This decision has not been taken lightly, and it is certainly not a reflection on our staff, pupils nor most parents and carers, who have continued to engage respectfully in exceptionally difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, we no longer feel we can guarantee the safety of staff, pupils and parents on site which has made this decision necessary”.

The school offers places for 400 girls aged from 2 – 18, with fees of £19,641 a year. When it first announced plans to close, the school cited the Government’s introduction of VAT on private school fees, falling numbers and a slowing birth rate in the area as reasons for it “no longer considered financially sustainable”.

On Friday night many parents were attending a meeting with Tatton MP Esther McVey to discuss trying to save the school – only for them to discover minutes before it started that all hope was lost. Parents were seen in tears at the meeting as emails began to filter through from the school about the closure.

Parent Gary Chaplin was part of the Parent Rescue Group campaign led by eight parents, who had secured a potential £4m pound of funding to try and save the school. But their proposals were pushed back as being non-viable as a business plan.

Gary, 54, from Wilmslow, said: “Friday’s actions just defy belief. I have a 17 year old, who, along with hundreds of other girls from age three to 18, has just had her school life abruptly ended. No chance to saying goodbye, no transition parents evening, no closure.”

Advertisement

He was at the meeting at a local church on Friday night as the news began to filter through of the closure, while his wife Lisa was at home breaking the news to daughter Ava who was left in tears. He said: “You could see people at the meeting as the email dropped one by one reading it in disbelief. There was shock and real upset.

“Parents were dreading waking up this morning to tell their young children that their school is now closed – you could see the upset on faces.

“There was supposed to be a festival at the school on Wednesday, now one of the parents is going to try and do it on their field to say farewell – because the sudden closure means missing the ability to say goodbye to their friends.

“Parents at the meeting were saying ‘how can I get a full week of childcare as of 8am on Monday morning?’ It’s an impossible task.”

Earlier this month the 100,000 sq ft school buildings and playing fields were put up for sale with estate agent Savills, with final bids requested by July 8. The school was described in the property pack as a ‘prime development opportunity… in one of Cheshire’s most desirable and affluent locations’. The listing added: “This varied building stock and layout present strong potential for redevelopment, including conversion and reconfiguration of existing structures, alongside new-build opportunities and phased delivery.”

The school sits in a prime spot right on the main road through Alderley Edge – known as one of the richest villages in the UK, and famously home to football stars and millionaires.

On Thursday morning there was a silent protest opposite the school, with families holding banners saying “Save our School”. We have asked Alderley Edge School Girls for further comment on the issues raised in their letter, and to respond to the concerns of parents, and await a reply.

The letter further added that “all school events have now been cancelled” including a planned festival for leavers and awards evenings – although two planned and paid-for school trips, to Greece and a Duke of Edinburgh expedition, will go ahead. They say that more information regarding the return of pupil property will be communicated to pupils and parents “early next week”.

They have asked that pupils and parents do not visit the school in the meantime “unless by appointment only”. They also add that separate communication will be provided next week regarding any queries relating to parent fees and return of deposits.”

It ended by saying: “This is not the outcome any of us would have wanted, however our priority must be the safety and wellbeing of our staff and pupils. We know this has been an extremely challenging time for everyone – above all else, we wish our pupils every success and happiness as they continue their educational journey.”

Dad Gary says: “This decision means we’ve all missed out on parents evening and things like the leaver’s assembly, awards evenings, my daughter was practicing for a valediction piece while other students were preparing musical performances. Why would they do this? To rob them of those moments?”

Richard Greenwood was found guilty after a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

A teacher at an Edinburgh private school who restrained a child’s wrists and ankles with cable ties has been given an absolute discharge by a sheriff.

Richard Greenwood, also known as Robin, was found guilty of one count of assault against a boy on Friday, June 26, after a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The 46-year-old was found not guilty of a separate assault charge and given an absolute discharge in respect of the guilty verdict, which means it will not result in a sentence or merit a formal criminal record, reports Edinburgh Live.

Greenwood, lead teacher of chemistry at Merchiston Castle School, where boarding fees are nearly £17k per term, told the court he was still employed in his role and that his employers are aware of the case after he told them about the charge at the end of 2024.

The incident on August 23, 2023, at an address in Edinburgh, did not relate to any pupils at the school, or take place on the school’s grounds.

The court heard how the victim, now aged nine, was tied by his wrists and ankles with cable ties, which Greenwood said was part of a ‘cops and robbers’ game.

During evidence he told the court the cable ties were used instead of for toy handcuffs which had previously been left on a cabinet downstairs. The child, who was six at the time, was restrained with cable ties around his hands and ankles.

Greenwood told the court the incident was part of a game and distraction technique to get the child to calm down after he ran out onto the road and also tried to climb out of a window.

He told the court: “I recall him being distressed on the evening. He opened the front door and ran onto the road towards the bus stop. I ran after him and returned to the house. I feared for his safety.

“He then escaped out the back of the house and onto the street. I locked the front door and put the key on top of a cabinet. He then tried to get the key from the top of the cabinet and tried to climb out the bathroom window. I was pretty calm and not shouting, but I remember saying to him ‘you’re going to kill yourself’.”

Greenwood then tried distracting the child with the TV, but then turned to play-wrestling which he said left the child “giggling.” Greenwood then used cable ties, as a pair of child handcuffs were missing from the cabinet, and told the boy “you’re under arrest” to which he claimed the boy held out his hands.

He was then restrained with the cable ties around his wrists and then his ankles – describing the child as a “wiggling like a worm.” However, Greenwood admitted he then realised the “connotations” surrounding the use of cable ties in the game and freed the boy by cutting him loose with scissors.

He said: “It was just a game. He was in cable ties for no more than two minutes until I realised the connotations of the game and took them off immediately. I agree it doesn’t sound good and it was a mistake but I never meant any harm.

Greenwood added: “Looking back on the cable tie incident I feel really stupid and naive,” when questioned by the fiscal depute if there was any malice involved, to which he replied: “absolutely not.”

Before delivering a guilty verdict to an amended charge, Sheriff McCormack added: “It was a brief episode but a child cannot consent. This conduct of tying up a child was an assault, albeit a brief one with no lasting effect.

He acknowledged the impact a conviction on Greenwood’s record would have on his job and income and granted him an absolute discharge.

A Merchiston Castle School spokesperson said: “Merchiston Castle School notes today’s court verdict. The case did not involve any pupils or any allegation connected to the school. The matter related entirely to circumstances outside any professional setting.

“When the school was made aware of the charges, it followed its safeguarding procedures and sought appropriate specialist advice. Decisions regarding Mr Greenwood’s employment were made throughout in line with the school’s safeguarding responsibilities, legal obligations and the advice received.

“As this concerns an individual member of staff’s employment, it would not be appropriate to comment further while employment processes are ongoing.”

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.