OFF-ROAD vehicles have wreaked havoc across the Scottish capital with several public parks in the city suffering damage after the vehicles were taken for joyrides.
A quad bike and an off-road buggy were filmed in one of the affected areas – the Bruntsfield Links – yesterday morning doing doughnuts on the grass.
Vehicles have also done damage to a number of other parks across the city though according to residents, with Saughton, Sighthill, Holyrood, and Liberton parks all in the tearaway drivers’ sights.
The perpetrators were branded “eejits” by locals as they left a trail of destruction across the city’s green spaces.
According to one witness the perpetrators were confronted and stated “they were just having fun” when they were damaging Saughton Park in the west of the city.
The issue was raised with a number of MPs, the police and the city council yesterday by infuriated locals.
Photos snapped show extensive damage to the grass across the city’s parks and green spaces.
A video captured on the Bruntsfield Links yesterday morning shows two of the off-road vehicles flying around presenting a clear danger for pedestrians.
One of them speeds towards a concrete path running through the park, jumping over it at high speeds.
A quad bike can be seen spinning in circles as dirt and grass is ripped up by the tyres and thrown into the air.
The damage done in Saughton Park has resulted in Hutchison Vale football club being forced to find alternative plans for a youth tournament due to take place on Saturday.
Speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News MP Ian Murray said: “The rise in anti-social behaviour in The Meadows is deeply concerning.
“Residents have rightly raised their concerns, and I have been in touch with the police, who have assured me they are taking action.”
