WE TAKE a look at the stories making headlines in East Lothian 25, 50 and 100 years ago.

25 years ago...

WARNING was given that walkers could become stuck on rocks if a coastal path was to be moved, reported the East Lothian Courier on January 30, 1998.

Calls have been made to divert Dunbar’s coastal trail down to the shore – despite a warning that walkers could be swept away by the tide.

Erosion of the coastline led to the closure of the Bayswell Park section of the trail.

At last Monday’s community council meeting, it was suggested that the cheap option would be to build a staircase taking trail users down to the shore, avoiding the dangerous section.

But councillor Gordon Mitchell said: “Redirecting people to the shore is not a good idea because the tide comes in twice a day and we would get people being stranded on the rocks.

“I am involved in the local coastguard station and we have had to rescue people from down there.”

The staircase suggestion was made after local councillor Norman Hampshire said that to build a bridge to carry the deteriorating trail would be too expensive for East Lothian Council to undertake on its own.

 

50 years ago...

A POLICE warning to watch out for bogus ‘tap men’ calling at county homes was highlighted by the East Lothian Courier on February 2, 1973.

When two men told an East Lothian woman they had come to check her water taps for rust last week, she let them in to her home.

But while they kept her talking, another man, who had let himself in by the back door, searched the house.

Fortunately, nothing was stolen.

Now the police are on the lookout for the men, who were in fact bogus workmen, and they warn all housewives to be on guard.

They urge them not to allow anyone into their home unless satisfied who they are.

If the person states he is an official of a public body or department, householders should ask for some form of identification.

 

And 100 years ago...

THE wonders of x-rays were the talk of Dunbar 100 years ago, reported The Haddingtonshire Courier on February 2, 1923.

On Saturday evening, under the auspices of the Railway Station Ambulance Corps, a lecture on the “Wonders of X-Rays,” illustrated by a series of limelight views, was given by Dr W. Hope Fowler, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, who treated his subject in an exceedingly interesting and arrestive fashion