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

25 years ago

NAKED men, dog collars and handcuffs made headlines in the East Lothian Courier of August 27, 1999.

Motorists on the A1 were horrified to discover two naked men – dressed in nothing but studded dog collars and handcuffed together – walking along the side of the A1 road near Beanston Farm road end on Sunday afternoon.

The incident was reported to the police by a concerned motorist who used his mobile phone but by the time officers reached the scene they had vanished.

A police spokesman said: “We did receive a report of this incident which was, to say the least, most unusual.

“There was no trace of the men when our officers arrived.”

The motorist who reported the incident said: “Some people may think it funny but my wife was quite offended.

“We got the surprise of our lives when we saw the two men. I don’t know if it was the end of a stag party or some kind of prank but it was certainly offensive to some motorists.”

50 years ago

THE discovery by fishermen of a Second World War mine caused concern, reported the East Lothian Courier on August 30, 1974.

A 500lb mine, picked up in the nets of a North Berwick fishing boat on Tuesday, was taken out to sea and exploded on Wednesday morning.

The explosion was so violent that it rocked the Coastguard lookout at Dunbar.

The mine, a British buoyant type of the Second World War, was found in the nets of the fishing boat, Orion, about a mile off Dunbar.

The skipper, Mr Brian Gruber, of 25 Balfour Street, North Berwick, brought the boat to within 400 yards of the harbour and, after marking the spot where the mine was, he informed the Coastguard.

The navy bomb and mine disposal unit from Rosyth was called out and it was decided to tow the mine out to sea and explode it the next day.

A spokesman for Dunbar Coastguard said the explosion rocked the lookout.

100 years ago

THE killing of a large otter by a pet dog was highlighted in The Haddingtonshire Courier on August 29, 1924.

Early on Sunday morning, Mr and Mrs McDonald, Cross Keys, Prestonkirk, were awakened by the whining of their dog, an animal of the lurcher breed.

They could not quieten the dog and let it out of the house.

Mr McDonald shortly afterwards went into the garden beside the house, and discovered among the potato shaws a large otter, which evidently the dog had killed.

The otter had apparently been seized by the throat, as there was no mark on any other part of its body.

The dog had a slight scratch on the back, which was the only evidence of the struggle.

The otter measured from the nose to the tip of the tail three feet 10 inches, and weighed about 30lbs.

The garden is situated on the main road between Dunbar and East Linton and is about two hundred yards from the river Tyne, where otters have recently been seen sporting themselves in the water.