LOCHABER MP Charles Kennedy met representatives of the group fighting a canal-side housing proposal at Neptune's Staircase in Banavie.

A LOCHABER social club has become the latest victim of the cut-price drinks war.

SUNDAY lived up to its name when more than 400 people enjoyed the sunshine while helping the Scottish Burned Children's Club charity at a gala day and strongmen event at West Highland College UHI on An Aird.

LOCHABER'S MP and provost have joined forces to press home the case for a ferry service trial to be run between Mallaig and Lochboisdale in the Western Isles.

CAMPAIGNERS have this week accelerated demands for action on Fort William's creaking roads network - as the town continues to suffer summer gridlock chaos.

All summer - and particularly this month - local and visiting motorists have faced frustrating delays on the A82 and its adjoining roads in Fort William.

WORLD light welterweight champion Amir Khan has helped lift the spirits of Lochaber boxers who were left floored by a cruel financial knock-out.

A FORT William business has launched a cheeky bid to woo weary West Highland Way walkers before they complete the new final mile of the epic route.

A MAJOR energy company is planning a giant biomass electricity generating plant on the site of a disused pulp mill storage area at Corpach harbour.

FORT William's traffic woes have prompted a fresh appeal this week for the much-needed Caol link road to be pushed to the top of the political agenda.

SCHOOLCHILDREN'S lives have been put at risk by the "inaction" of roads bosses, a Lochaber councillor claimed this week.

Eddie Hunter, ward councillor for Caol and Mallaig, is furious that a request he made seven weeks ago to Scotland Transerv to fix flashing speed limit signs on the A830 trunk road near the junction leading to Banavie Primary School at Tomonie had not been carried out by the start of the new session on Tuesday.

MYSTERIOUS goings-on at a Fort William landmark have had locals scratching their heads this week.

LOCHABER tot Harris Ross has sadly lost his battle for life.

BANAVIE residents say they have been "overwhelmed" with support for their campaign against plans to build homes next to the iconic Neptune's Staircase series of locks on the Caledonian Canal.

A FRESH bid has been submitted this week to build a 90-bed private care home for the elderly in Fort William, just months after the plan was thrown out by councillors who branded the proposed building an "institution".

FORT William's industrial and tourism lynchpins were given high praise by the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland this week.

A CAMPAIGN is being mounted to block plans to build houses next to one of Lochaber's most iconic tourist attractions.

Around 30 nearby residents and an MSP have joined forces and are urging Highland Council to reject plans submitted by British Waterways Scotland (BWS) to build two two-storey houses at Neptune's Staircase, on the banks of the Caledonian Canal at Banavie.

WORK on an amalgamated Fort William and Upper Achintore Primary School could begin within three years, Highland Council leader Michael Foxley said this week.

LOCHABER youngsters are getting a boost from criminal cash.

POLICE say investigations are ongoing into the death of a man and a woman in an apparent suicide pact.

GOLF is often cruelly described as a "good walk spoiled" - but former Open champion Paul Lawrie is looking forward to getting back on to the fairways after completing a gruelling fundraising hike of the West Highland Way.

HOPPING aboard the Jacobite steam train at Fort William on Monday was politician-turned-TV-personality Michael Portillo.

A SUGGESTION that walkers could soon be charged a £1 fee to climb Ben Nevis is "absolute nonsense and completely untrue", according to the furious boss of the Nevis Partnership.

Brian Wilshaw has blasted reports - which have been circulating widely in the national press, radio and TV this week - that the partnership wants to end free access to Britain's highest mountain.

A LOCHABER community council has enlisted the social networking site Facebook in it battle over changes made to two key junctions on the A82 trunk road.

THE withdrawal of a late-night bus service between Fort William and Brae Lochaber has come under fire.

FORT William businesses whose rates bills have gone up after this year's revaluation have been urged to lodge appeals before the September 30 deadline.

A LOCAL restaurant is searching for someone who will sink to great depths to create an unusual dish for their menu.

HIGHLAND Council is weighing up three tenders for a £2 million overhaul of the Nether Lochaber slipway, all of which incorporate measures to allow the lifeline Corran ferry to continue operating throughout the duration of the works.