A 16-year-old youth who carried out a violent rape on a 14-year-old girl in Hurlford, Ayrshire, was yesterday ordered to be detained in a young offenders' institution for seven years. Lady Smith told Marc Smith he posed a serious risk to the public and imposed an extended sentence of two years, so he will either be in custody or under supervision for the next nine years.
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It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
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We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
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We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
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