Rivals to join forces and call for leadership over cuts MINISTERS have been warned they run the risk of much-needed cash-saving plans across local government being strangled at birth unless they take the lead and fund the moves. Inquiry into £10,000 scrap raid Strathclyde Police hunt two men who robbed a scrap metal dealers in North Ayrshire of just over £10,000. Nuclear waste plan abandoned A multi-million pound project that would have led to radioactive waste being buried along the North Ayrshire coastline has been abandoned in the face of protests by local residents and environmentalists. Area prep basketball standings 2011-12 AREA PREP BASKETBALL STANDINGS Up to 20 jobseekers chasing each job Up to 20 jobseekers are chasing every vacancy in parts of the country, five times the national average, according to a study.