Gullane A colleague of a head teacher who was arrested on child pornography charges tried to cover up the case by asking a janitor to buy all the copies of a local newspaper. The teacher at Whitecraig Primary School, Musselburgh, made the request in March, after information was revealed about Andrew Melville. Yesterday the head, 48, from Gullane, Haddingtonshire, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was ordered to carry out 150 hours’ community service and placed on probation for three years. He had earlier admitted possessing and distributing indecent photographs of children between 2004 and 2005. Melville was also placed on the sex offenders register. He was sacked from his post in July 2008 after a disciplinary hearing.

A spokesman for East Lothian Council said: “I can confirm that a teacher at Whitecraig Primary, acting upon her own initiative, asked the school’s janitor to buy all copies of the East Lothian Courier when news about Mr Melville broke.” The authority did not confirm whether the teacher involved had been disciplined.

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