12/02/2016 Reporting Scotland

Five men have been detained in a police operation at a retail

During it, armed officers fired shots to blow out the tyres

Police Scotland says specialist rounds were used to disable the cars

in order to reduce the risk to the public.

The operation was in connection with the theft of a cash machine

from a supermarket in Carnoustie in the early hours of this morning.

It was around 1030 this morning that shocked diners at the McDonald's

restaurants of police swing into action. Specialist officers five men

in the car park with reports of two or three gunshots. Police later

confirmed that higher deflation rounds were fired, believed to be

from a shotgun style device to stop vehicles in their tracks. A gun

cartridge could be seen under one of the cars. The five men detained in

connection with the theft of the cash machine from inside this

supermarket seven miles away in Carnoustie. That was reported at

around 4:30am this morning. This afternoon, heavy police presence at

this disused property on the outskirts of Carnoustie. This

looking very much like an intelligence led operation. At any

point during this operation today were any members of the public but

at risk? It is very important

when we are mounting operations of this kind, particularly

involving firearms officers, that we assess the risks and do

everything to minimise them. The incident has been referred

to the Police Investigations and Review Commission, a routine

decision when firearms used. Farmers hit by delays to EU payments

will be offered loans from a ?20 million hardship fund set

up by the Scottish government. The Rural Affairs Secretary,

Richard Lochhead, apologised to farmers for not being able

to process payments on time, because of failures

in a new IT system. Farmers have warned

of a "cash flow crisis". He was born on this farm just

outside Saint Andrews. His main income is from cereal crops

but he relies on EU subsidies to support his business

throughout the year. He is yet to receive a penny

of the payments he would expect. The subsidy payments that would have

come in January would have paid for the things we need to get

ready for next season. You have demand from your supply

trade and you just have to meet it. If you want the staff when you need

it, you have to pay for it. It has been a difficult

year for farming. Pretty awful weather,

the markets have been challenging and in addition there has been

a significant change in the way European subsidies are delivered

to farmers in Scotland. It is down to the Scottish

Government to administer the payments, but problems

with their new computer system means 60% of farmers are yet to receive

the money they are due. At the annual conference,

they did not hold back on letting the Cabinet Secretary

know how they felt. We need to know what

we are getting now. He could not put a timescale

on when payments would be made but said the hardship fund

would help the worst off. Payments are far slower

than we expected. We have extra staff to try and speed

up the process of applications, to fix the problems

with the IT system. We have this ?20 million fund

to help those businesses who are concerned that unpaid bills

are sitting on the kitchen table. When I am due to pay

tax to the government, they do not wait a year,

they add interest. That small bit might mean enough

to that business to get them Total farming income is expected

to be down for the second year The delay in support payments

is another blow for farmers Finance Secretary John Swinney has

written to the Treasury with a fresh proposal on the financial

arrangements underpinning His offer follows weeks of deadlock

between ministers in Edinburgh and London over

the fiscal framework. Mr Swinney says his plan will ensure

that taxpayers in the rest of the UK are not worse off as a result of

powers being devolved to Scotland. The threat of a strike by college

lecturers has come a step closer. The EIS will ballot members at most

of Scotland's colleges. It's the latest stage in a long

running pay dispute. One major issue is the discrepancies

between how much staff who are doing similar jobs earn at

different colleges. An unofficial ballot before

Christmas suggested most The ballot closes in the first week

of March and a strike could take Scotland's ski resorts are gearing

up for what promises to be their busiest weekend

of the season so far. The week of the half-term school

holidays is a vital period As Craig Anderson reports,

the early indications are good. For Scotland's snow sports areas

this season has been up and down, but with reasonable cover

and a promising forecast, the next few days should

offer decent conditions. And at half term that is good news,

not just for operating companies but for the local communities

that surround them. For every pound spent here,

a further ?5 is then spent in the local area, whether retail,

accommodation, bars, restaurants. It was busy at Cairngorm,

with more than 1200 customers Today's sunny conditions allowed

for alfresco dining. A bit windy up top but it was

nice to see the sun. Quite windy, but as soon as you drop

down, the snow is fresh and you can get some good speed

and some good skiing. Scotland's ski areas will never

compete with the top Alpine resorts, but they say if you can ski here,

you can ski anywhere. And maintaining these operations

throws up daily challenges. Keeping the momentum going,

getting open a few days, keeping the machinery

and infrastructure working. A lot of damage, a lot of ice,

problems with snow cannons freezing up, it is a massive

challenge but we love it. The unpredictable weather means that

skiing in Scotland can be a bit But when the conditions are fine,

it can be as good as anything Today has been a good start

to the weekend and all of the ski areas in Scotland are hoping that

will continue for this next crucial Football and Dundee beat

St Johnstone 2-0 to move into fourth Kane Hemmings was the difference

this evening with a goal in each half as the Dens Park side ran out

victors and overtook St Johnstone Dundee are now level

on points with Ross County. Let's see what we can expect

from the weekend weather. A lot of dry, bright weather in the

forecast, but also some wintry weather as well. We do have a

warning in force from the Met office for further snow showers and ice in

Central and eastern parts of the country tonight. There is this band

of rain, sleet and snow. Rain on the coast but inland it will be snow.

Drifting south towards the capital and the Borders overnight. Further

west, it is reasonably dry but that land stretching all the way up to

Glasgow so even higher parts of the central belt will potentially get

some snow. Further north, dry start of the day but a cold one. A few

wintry showers were pushing across Orkney and Shetland. Through the

course of the day we will continue to see the snow showers affecting

parts of the Southeast, the Borders and at times drifting back north, as

well. But elsewhere dry and bright with some decent spells of sunshine.

A cloudy and cold day through Wales, the Midlands on the side of

outbreaks of rain. Cloudy, too, and wetter times in Northern Ireland. At

times the snow shower will drift further north back into the

Lothians. Further north but a sharp frost. Looking ahead towards the

second half of the weekend, we still have the air coming in from the

North. More of the north-easterly component to those winds. How wintry

start across the Southeast, then we will start to see snow showers

affecting the north of the country and the times than the East Coast as

well. Largely dry and bright, spells of sunshine but it will be cold. In

the Monday and believes most of the showers, it is reasonably dry but it

will be cold. The winds will continue to come in from the North.

From everyone on the late team here in Glasgow and around