NorthLink Ferries announced their annual refit schedule this week, and added that cheques will no longer be accepted as a payment method.

Gusts exceeding 75 knots battered the Orkney at the weekend - knocking the power off in hundreds of homes throughout the county.

Kirkwall police are appealing for information on the following incidents:

During last Friday evening, a blue Ford Fiesta car was stolen from outside a garage in Hatston Industrial Estate, Kirkwall. The vehicle was later recovered in Kirkwall.

Orkney Islands Council is currently looking at a variety of options to support the local building trade through the current credit crunch.

Kirkwall police are appealing for anyone who witnessed an alleged assault, which took place within Tesco's Kirkwall, at about 5.30pm last Wednesday, near to the automatic exit door, to come forward.