Skip to content

Stone-lifting mum is not your typical strong woman

Scottish mum Gemma Doherty has started stone lifting as a hobby.

The 41-year-old from Dunbar says she doesn’t look like a typical ‘strong woman’ - but is able to carry as much as 121kg.

Gemma says stone lifting makes her feel empowered and she hopes that it inspires her two daughters to believe that they can do anything.

Video by Frankie Allan and Paul O'Hare.

8 September 2024

Explore More

The Glen Sannox ferry on the water during trials.

Watch: The Glen Sannox ferry saga in two minutes

Glasgow & West Scotland

BBC Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell lying on the ground with a blue beanie hat and wrapped in a silver blanket

‘I wanted to show what having a seizure was like’

Weather presenter Christopher Blanchett standing in front of a large-scale photograph of wintry conditions

Weather forecast: First taste of winter in Scotland

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn

Flynn: Reaction to 2026 Holyrood bid 'not pleasant'

Pudsey the bear with a colourful polkadot bandage over one eye standing with three children in front of a small blue and white plane on the Fair Isle landing strip.

Pudsey flies in to meet children on Fair Isle

NE, Orkney & Shetland

A shoplifter with face blurred gathers up a bundle of green gloves with furry lining from a shelf in a clothes shop.

Moment Royal Mile thief stuffs gloves into his trousers

Edinburgh, Fife & East

Neil Gray said he is "committed" to the plan and the government is "considering all options."

Neil Gray insists commitment to National Care Service

Scotland Politics

A woman in a wheelchair. She is wearing a black jumper and a white and black skirt.

The women who are asked 'how do you have sex?'

Olivia Gallosi is on the left and has brown hair, a yellow jumper and a brown jacket. She has headphones around her neck and a rucksack on her back. Roni Sharp is on the right and is wearing a purple jumper and has a pink bag on her shoulder. There are buildings in the background.

Edinburgh University students tell of discrimination on campus

Edinburgh, Fife & East

A young surfer with a green helmet rides through a crashing white wave. A person in a red jacket watches over a brown wall.

Europe's largest inland surf resort opens in disused quarry

Edinburgh, Fife & East

Veterans during Edinburgh's Armistice Day event. One of them is saluting while the other have heads bowed while holding flags downward.

Watch: Armistice Day tributes take place across Scotland

Three rescuers wearing life jackets and hard hats work to free a humpback whale in a sea loch

Humpback whale tangled in creel lines set free

An old black and white picture shows firefighters on a fire engine as it leaves the fire station through a brick archway

How Scotland's first fire brigade inspired the world

Edinburgh, Fife & East

Sandy Duthie from Aberdeenshire is now the lighthouse keeper on Gabo Island, in Victoria

The Scot in charge of an Australian lighthouse

Police stand next to a blue trawler vessel moored in a harbour

Watch: Police target fishing boat over 'modern slavery' claim

Firework explodes on the top or a building behind a traffic island sending red and yellow sparks showering metres in all directions.

Watch: Fireworks set off on Scottish streets on Bonfire Night

Rare pygmy hippo calf at Edinburgh Zoo standing on some hay

Meet Haggis - the rare pygmy hippo born at Edinburgh zoo

Edinburgh, Fife & East

Gloved hand picking up one of five Lewis chessmen. Two are facing the camera and three away from the camera.

See a brand new view of the Lewis chessmen

The Jacobite Express steam train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the Scottish Highlands

Repairing Scotland's historic 'Harry Potter' bridge

John Swinney standing in Holyrood's debating chamber. He is wearing a blue suit and dark tie and other MSPs can be seen behind him.

First minister leads tributes to Alex Salmond

Scotland Politics

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, wearing a blue top and black coat, stands beside Alex Salmond, wearing a blue shirt and dark jacket

Salmond death was shock to all in North Macedonia - Ahmed-Sheikh

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh says people in North Macedonia wanted to pay tribute to Alex Salmond.

Waves can be seen overtopping the barrier at Troon. The sky is grey and sea mist is being blown high by the wind.

Watch: Stormy waters and high winds as storm hits Scotland

Storm Ashley could cause gusts of up to 70-80 mph (113-129km/h) in some areas of Scotland.

Gillian Smart wears a red and black dress. She presents the weather in front of a green screen which forecasts high winds across Scotland.

The latest weather forecast as Storm Ashley hits Scotland

Gillian Smart has the latest weather forecast, as a yellow warning for high winds gusting up to 60 mph (97km/h) is in force across the whole of Scotland.

North Macedonian soldiers carrying Alex Salmond's coffin draped in a Saltire towards a private jet

Alex Salmond’s coffin flown home to Scotland

A plane carrying Alex Salmond's body has left North Macedonia and is being flown back to Scotland.

Black and white horse sticking its head out of a barn door while a police officer feeds it

Watch: Training police horses to help deal with public disorder

The BBC has been given an exclusive insight into the training of police horses when it comes to dealing with public order.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, wears a blue suit and glasses, as he stands in the House of Commons. Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves sit either side of him on the benches.

Salmond was a monumental figure in politics - Starmer

Prime Minister Keir Starmer pays tribute to the 'lasting legacy' of Alex Salmond.

Chris McEleny of the Alba Party speaks to the BBC via Zoom from Zagreb in Croatia

'Can't believe it's happened' - Salmond's Alba colleague

Chris McEleny of the Alba Party is travelling to North Macedonia, where Alex Salmond died on Saturday.

Calum MacColl

BBC weather presenter bursts into song live on air

Calum MacColl sung the Gaelic song that won him a gold medal at the Royal National Mòd in 2021.

Sally Magnusson sits in a darkened room wearing blue-rimmed glasses, a white top and a burgundy blazer

Sally Magnusson hears how a cure for Alzheimer's is 'within our grasp'

Sally Magnusson hears how testing for early symptoms of Alzheimer's could help find a cure for the condition.

BBC Scotland political correspondent Kirsten Campbell

Take a look at the Scottish Parliament building on its 20th birthday

The Scottish Parliament officially opened 20 years ago - but did you know the meanings behind some of its key features?

Snow expert Iain Cameron, wearing glasses and a great rain jacket, poses next to the Sphinx snow patch, which is about one metre wide and is melting into the ground below.

My pilgrimage to the vanishing Sphinx snow patch

The Sphinx, a patch of snow thought to be the longest-lasting in the UK, has melted for the fourth consecutive year.

CCTV footage shows an explosion on a residential street in Alloa.

Fatal flat explosion in Alloa captured on CCTV

CCTV footage shows the moment a flat in Alloa exploded, killing one man and leaving three people injured.

Woman sat in front of a desk listening to a portable cassette recorder

How 'tape letters' kept families in Scotland and Pakistan in touch

An archive project is collecting the memories of Scottish Pakistani migrants who kept in touch with family using cassette tapes.

Bill and Aileen Turnbull on their wedding day

Couple reunited with wedding video 57 years later

Bill and Aileen Turnbull have been reunited with their wedding video after 57 years.

A sea-going paddle steamer passes under London's Tower Bridge

Moment The Waverley steams under London's Tower Bridge

The world's last sea-going paddle steamer passes under Tower Bridge.

Soldier standing next to a coffin draped in the Union Jack

Unknown Scots soldiers laid to rest in France

The remains of two unknown Scottish soldiers thought to have died in WW1 have been laid to rest in France.

Janey Godley

'Who knows how long I'll be here?' - Janey Godley

Comedian Janey Godley has said she does not know how long she has left following the spread of her cancer

Oban Duncan, Scottish pilot in E1 Series

She's electric: Loch Lomond teen is celebrity powerboat star

Scottish pilot in E1 Series Oban Duncan now races on lakes across Europe in the glamorous powerboat series.

Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell sits at a desk

We're committed to justice in doorstep murder - Chief Constable

Police Scotland boss says the force is "committed" to getting justice for the family of murdered banker Alistair Wilson.

Indyref voters

Our first vote was in the Scottish independence referendum

Ten years on from the Scottish independence referendum three young people have been reflecting on their vote.