Families of children with a rare disease were devastated yesterday after a drug commonly available in England was rejected for use on the NHS in Scotland.

Most young ethnic minority people in Scotland see the police as racist, according to the first independent study of their attitudes to law and order.

A care worker who saved an elderly couple from a fire could be honoured for her “exceptional bravery”. Gayle Stevenson led the pair to safety from their burning home after their chip pan went up in flames in Larbert on Thursday.

{mosimage}She and the pensioners, who were both in their 80s, needed hospital treatment for the effects of breathing smoke.

The 26-year-old has now been recommended for a civic award from Falkirk Council.

Ms Stevenson told the BBC Scotland news website she had been visiting a client when she noticed thick, black smoke coming from a house in Waverley Terrace at about 2100 BST.

She managed to persuade the couple to leave the house, but the man went back into the burning kitchen.

Ms Stevenson said: “I didn’t think about it. I just wanted to get the man out. The smoke was so thick from the ceiling to my shins, I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. I crawled back in on my hands and knees and brought him out.”

Ms Stevenson then flagged down a passing fire engine, which had been dealing with another incident.

Kenneth Taylor, from Central Scotland Fire and Rescue, praised Ms Stevenson for rescuing the couple, who did not have a smoke alarm fitted in their home.

Kenneth Smith pauses while locating a file on his computer to describe how scientists have been pursuing him, asking if he will donate his brain for medical research.

Since the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) published the pilot report for its ten-year “rolling review” (under which every one of Scotland’s 23,500 charities will have to demonstrate its public benefit), the sector has been poring over its findings for clues into the approach OSCR will take.

A three-week strike by hundreds of social care workers in Glasgow has ended following an agreement between the local authority and trade union representatives.

More than half of all Scots remain unaware of the link between drinking and cancer, a survey has found.

An overhaul of Scotland’s penal system to end the practice of automatic early release has been put on hold amid concern among ministers that key elements may be unworkable.

An NHS helpline suffered from a “call centre culture” where it was difficult to recruit staff, a review has heard. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon made the call centre comparison during the annual review of the service.

Some of Scotland’s most deprived areas could secure a multi-million pound funding boost if a campaign to persuade the executive to change policy on the sale of some brownfield sites succeeds.