Sheriff slams two Edinburgh friends who chased teen onto roof of Waverley Station where he fell on power lines

Leo Brown and Taylor Welsh were part of a group who chased victim Scott Christie onto the roof of Edinburgh’s Waverley Station leading him to fall 30 feet onto overhead lines.

Scott, 18, crashed onto rail tracks in front of a waiting train and suffered shocking injuries including second degree burns to 35 per cent of his body. The teen was also left with a serious head injury, a large gouge out of his thigh and bruising to his lungs during the horror incident in May, 2023.

He spent two months recovering in hospital following the fall, has been left permanently scarred and now suffers from PTSD and nightmares.

Brown, 22, and Welsh, 20, admitted chasing Scott onto the roof of the station but denied forcing him to jump to safety. But the pair were found guilty by a jury of conducting themselves in a disorderly manner, pursuing him and causing him to jump or fall onto overhead electrical wires and a train track following a four day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March.

The jury found the incident led to the victim suffering permanent impairment, disfigurement and danger to his life.

Taylor Welsh, 20, and Leo Brown, 22, were part of a group who chased victim Scott Christie onto the roof of Edinburgh’s Waverley station. | Alexander Lawrie

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Brown and Welsh, both from Edinburgh, returned to the dock for sentencing yesterday, Friday, May 10, where Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss said their actions had had a “profound effect” on the teen.

The sheriff said: “You both knew Scott Christie had fallen, it was obvious. You knew he had hit the electrical line that gives power to the trains. The jury saw the CCTV footage from Princes Street showing the electrical flash where he fell while you were still on the roof of the station.

“You did not go back to check on him and you did not raise the alarm or contact the emergency services. No, you rejoined your friends and went to McDonald’s. Your lack of compassion on that night demonstrates a basic lack of human decency in itself is very alarming.”

Brown was sentenced to 240 hours of unpaid work and Welsh was told she must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Earlier this year Scott told the jury he had been drinking with a group of friends including Brown and Welsh at Princes Street Gardens on May 8, 2023. He said one of the group took exception to a comment he had made and when he decided to head home they began to follow him at around 11pm.

The court was shown mobile phone footage of the teenager striking one boy around a dozen times but he claimed he had been forced to act in self defence as he “felt threatened”.

Scott said he ran off towards the train station but had little recollection of being on the roof or how he ended up being electrocuted after falling onto the power lines.

One witness who helped administer first aid said the injured teenager was “spitting up blood” and told the jury he “could smell burnt flesh for three days afterwards”.

While a police officer who attended the scene also said she could smell “burning flesh” and that Scott’s injuries were “probably the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Brown and Welsh did not give evidence in but their police interviews were played to the court where they both admitted following Scott onto the roof but denied causing him to fall or jump.

Brown claimed Scott had assaulted a female in their group and he had followed him along Princes Street in a bid to find out why he had been aggressive.