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

‘POLICE to mount pooper patrols’ was a front page headline in the East Lothian Courier on October 30, 1998.

Police are to patrol with East Lothian dog warden Karl Howman, in a bid to end the menace of dog fouling, and will be prosecuting owners.

“The legislation has been pretty ineffectual – I don’t think there has been one prosecution.

I think the only way to stop dog fouling is to have pretty severe penalties,”

Council Leader Norman Murray told the environment committee on Tuesday.

50 years ago...

A CROSSROADS was dubbed ‘a death trap’, reported the East Lothian Courier on November 2, 1973.

The crossroads at the Aberlady road junction with the A1 at Haddington was described as a “death trap” by a member of Haddington Town Council.

The claim was made at Monday’s meeting of the burgh’s Roads Committee after members had heard a reply from the County Clerk to a letter from the Town Council saying it was concerned at the danger to pedestrians trying to cross the A1 at the junction.

But the County Road Surveyor pointed out that the only provision that could be made for pedestrians crossing an unrestricted section of rural trunk road was an over-bridge or an underpass.

In this case there were not enough pedestrians to justify this.

But this was not accepted by the burgh Road Committee members, and Treasurer William Hands commented: “This is a shocking reply to give anyone. These crossroads are a death-trap.”

100 years ago...

VOLCANIC vents discovered near North Berwick were in the news in The Haddingtonshire Courier on November 2, 1923.

At the opening general meeting of the Edinburgh Geological Society, last week, Mr T. Cuthbert-Day read a paper on “Two Unrecorded Volcanic Vents on the shore East of North Berwick.”

That part of the coast, he said, was well known to geologists, to whom a study of the development of volcanic ash on the shore had always proved of great interest.

It had not been recognised till now that two clearly defined ancient volcanic vents , of very considerable size, had pierced the older ash.

One of these vents was situated at a well-known spot called the Yellow Man.

It was about 270 yards in diameter and resembled the well-known ancient volcanic vents on the Fife coast between Elie and St Monans.

The other volcanic vent at North Berwick occurred at Partan Craig.

It was one third of a mile in diameter, occupying a large area on the shore.