A concerned dog walker has spoken of witnessing two teenage motorbike thieves trying to steal vehicles from outside a popular Edinburgh hotel.
The Clermiston resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, says that they saw the alleged culprits zoom past them on an electric bike as they headed towards the Leonardo Murrayfield hotel on Clermiston Road at around 11:30pm.
He said that they were walking past the bus terminus on their way to the path on Clermiston Road with their dog when the pair went past on the bike. They were spotted in balaclavas and were carrying tools.
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At first the dog walker thought the pair had approached him to steal his phone but they made their way past him and to the edge of the hotel car park. From there one of the young male teens tried to use bolt cutters to free what looked like a high end motorbike.
On the incident he said: “I was just walking my dog up Clermiston Road when I saw a couple of teens on the back of an electric bike. At first I thought they were going to try take my phone so I went to go let the dog off the lead but they made their way past me.
“We turned the corner and saw one of them on the back of a bike whilst another was using bolt cutters to try to get one of the two bikes free. They seemed to get spooked when I turned the corner and they both hopped on the bike.
“Unbelievably two well built men got out of a taxi at the front of the hotel and started to chase them off. At this point one of the young teens was swinging a bolt cutter at one of the men.
“They drove up the road and stopped right next to me and my dog. I heard them say that they had dropped something by the bike and they tried to go back for it.
“But the two men made sure they did not get close to it. The reception at the hotel phoned the police and a car came not even five minutes after the teens had fled.
“Bike thefts are becoming so common in the capital. They seem so brazen that they will do it at a time when people are still out and about.
“Something really has to be done about it.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers received a report of two men attempting to steal motorbikes at around 11.45am at Clermiston Road in Edinburgh on Monday, 29 August, 2022.
“The men were dressed in dark clothing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting 4346 of Monday, 29 August.”
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