Giancarlo Rinaldi
South Scotland reporter, BBC Scotland news website

It has been another busy day for the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.

Thanks for staying with us and getting in touch.

Join us again tomorrow from 9am for more news, sport, travel and weather for our region.

Sir Bradley Wiggins has confirmed that he will ride in the Tour of Britain, external, which is due to run through the Borders next week.

Image source, PA

The 2012 Tour de France champion will lead his own Team Wiggins in their first appearance in the race, which begins in Wales on Sunday.

Taylor Phinney, of the BMC Racing Team, will also feature in the event. He was fourth in the Olympic Games Road Race in 2012.

Riders will travel from Cockermouth in Cumbria to Floors Castle, Kelso, on 8 September, and from Edinburgh to Blyth the following day.

@Pete_McA tweets, external: Tide's in, it's raining over Criffel and oh, the pirates are back!

Image source, @Pete_McA

Residents of Cockburnspath in the Scottish Borders have the longest commute in the UK, according to a survey commissioned by the Royal Mail.

Image source, Thinkstock

Their trip to work measures an average of 24.2 miles each way - more than double the average UK commute of 10.8 miles.

Commuters living in Lauder and Gordon feature in the top five longest commutes in Scotland, compiled by the Centre for Economic and Business Research.

Residents of both communities travel an average of 18.7 miles each way.

Alan Isherwood emails: In my experience the A72 and A701 are in shocking condition. I have recently moved to the area and cycle regularly, as a cyclist I do not like to venture onto the A702 due to the speed and nature of the traffic so the A701 and A72 are the main link roads for all cycling in the Borders.

These roads are dangerous and by far the worst roads I have ridden in either Scotland or England they are a disgrace to anyone involved in their construction or upkeep.

BBC Scotland Weather
Latest

A dry and bright end to the day across the south-west, with late spells of sunshine and a fresh north-westerly wind.

Image source, Thinkstock

A fairly cloudy end to the day across the Borders with scattered showers; the odd one heavy.

Breezy too, especially along the Berwickshire Coast with a fresh north-westerly.

For you latest local news bulletin tune into BBC Radio Scotland at 16:30 and 17:30.

You'll find us at 92-95FM or 810MW.

We'll be back with more from our reporters in Selkirk and Dumfries tomorrow at 06:30; 07:30 and 08:30.

Kai Ivalo emails: I live near Stow. If you want to see an example of poor and dangerous road conditions then take a look at the stretch of the Old Stage Road that runs parallel to the A7 on the west side.

Start from Ferniherst and follow the road up to Stagehall, Stow and along to Watherston and beyond. The road surface has been damaged over the past year and a half or more by the railway construction vehicles. In some place it is in terrible condition. Take a look about half a mile south of the Ludgate bridge!

You can only imagine how much worse this will get over the coming winter.

A spokesman for Scottish Borders Council said it plans "considerable investment" in the region's roads, despite "ongoing financial challenges".

Image source, Walter Baxter

He added: "The 2015/16 capital plan announced in February 2015 includes a commitment over the next 10 years to invest £69m in roads and bridges, an increase of £35.7m since 2012/13.

"The council continues to adopt an asset management approach to its road network, and wherever possible maximises budgets by identifying alternative road treatment options which prolong the life of the road.

"The council uses the national Scottish Road Maintenance Survey which measure the condition of roads when identifying programmes of work."

Dumfries and Galloway Standard

A new mural to help spruce up an area of Dumfries has been unveiled, external.

Residents from the Queen Street Neighbourhood Design Project welcomed artists from Little Book Transfers this month as the mural was painted onto the side of Cumberland Street's bustling Day Centre.

Andrew McKinna, of Peebles, emails: I travel the A72 every day from Peebles to Drochil and on to West Linton to and from work.

The section from the Stobo turnoff to the Drochil turnoff is just poorly patched pothole followed by poorly patched pothole-or just pothole! Every winter new potholes appear and eventually they are bodged up and not properly repaired.

The other big issue with the road is poor drainage, after heavy rain large puddles build up on the carriageway and can't drain away. I have suffered damage to my car in the past having been unable to avoid the large puddles.

The road is a main road to Glasgow and is heavily used by lorries, timer lorries and school buses as well as cars/vans and is quite frankly a mess, there are many B roads in the area which are in better condition!

MP David Mundell has called for improvements to the rail service between Lockerbie and Edinburgh in a meeting with Nick Donovan, the managing director of First TransPennine Group.

Image source, David Mundell

He wants a direct service to arrive in the capital before 9am, evening services on at least a Friday and Saturday, and improvements to the Sunday service.

Mr Mundell said: "The Edinburgh festival has just finished, and was a great boost to Scotland's economy, but I think it's disappointing that local people couldn't go to an event in the evening and get a train back to Lockerbie.

"I've raised these points with TransPennine, to encourage them to include them in their bid to renew their franchise."

Southern Reporter

The Scottish Government has allocated £4million to the Scottish Borders LEADER programme for the period up to 2020, external.

The LEADER programme will offer project funding to support the development of rural areas.

The children's charity Barnardos is urging more families in Dumfries and Galloway to consider fostering as part of its "Change a Life Campaign".

The organisation says around 100 youngsters are currently living in foster homes locally, but more are still waiting to find a home.

More details about becoming a foster carer are on the charity's website, here, external.

Scottish Rugby tweets, external: Here are the 31 players that will represent @Scotlandteam at this year's @rugbyworldcup #AsOne

Image source, @ScottishRugby

Greig Laidlaw will captain Scotland's Rugby World Cup squad, it has been announced.

He will be joined by fellow Borderers Stuart Hogg and Ross Ford.

Image source, Reuters

Andrew Brown, from Galashiels, emails: Although your article was about rural roads, the problem seems to be worse on some town roads. The road surface of Scott Street, in Galashiels, is atrocious, so too is the surface in Wood Street. Other streets in Galashiels are in a poor state.

I have lived in the Borders for 32 years. Until the last three or four years the road surfaces in the Borders were excellent. I used to hate crossing over the border on the A68, on to broken up road surfaces. And it was even worse crossing into Lanarkshire. Now it is the other way round.

Maybe we could have a little tar rather than a quilt?

David Walmsley emails: Just a shame that the money about to be wasted on Parker's tapestry could not be spent on roads.

Follow live coverage from the Scottish Parliament as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sets out her programme for government.

Border Telegraph

A nurse who stole money from her dead partner's bank account two years ago will be allowed to return to the wards, external.

Fiona McKenzie, from Galashiels, was suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in July 2013 after she was convicted at Selkirk Sheriff Court the previous September.

JasonW emails: I cycle around 6000 miles per year (at least 95% of it in the Borders) and there are road surfaces out there that are dangerous to all traffic, not only cyclists.

The potholes often force you towards the centre of the road - in conflict with the traffic. I don't expect to ride along with an open box of eggs on my handlebars but nor should I have to get a full-suspension mountain bike to ride on the road.

Having spoken to road crews doing the repairs - they are fully aware that they are doing (and redoing) temporary repairs in the same locations time and time again, but they are acting on management instructions.

Would it not be prudent (financially) to fix it properly first time?