Edinburgh crime: Londis store in Leith's Easter Road raided by gang of youths wearing balaclavas

A worker was left with bruised ribs following the ‘brazen’ theft

A gang of youths wearing balaclavas posed for selfies minutes before they ransacked a Leith store, making off with £100 worth of items including alcohol and vapes.

The assistant manager of the Londis shop on Easter Road said a hero worker who tried to stop them has been left with bruised ribs following the 'brazen’ theft at around 5.30pm on Tuesday, August 22 which has left staff shaken up.

Eleven youths were captured on CCTV raiding the shop, including two boys with balaclavas and hoodies. The worker who spotted them on camera from behind the till bashed into a door as she tried to apprehend one boy. But he fought back as she tried to grab his bag and they all fled the shop.

Asma Haq, assistant manger of Londis

Four girls in the group had been in the shop about thirty minutes earlier and had already nicked bottles of alcohol, before returning with the larger group to steal alcohol, vapes and food. Minutes before they came back with the gang of youngsters, several of the girls were captured on security camera footage taking selfies outside.

Assistant manager Asma Haq, who runs the store with her husband, said staff are now worried for their safety following the attack. The mum-of-two arrived at work shortly after the incident and has reported it to the police.

She told the Evening News: “Staff are in a state of shock. Our hero worker who was here on her own at the time tried to stop them and grabbed one of the boys bags but they got away. She clocked them on camera from behind the till. It’s frightening how brazen they are about it. You can see them on camera footage outside taking selfies minutes before they come in and steal alcohol, vapes and a load of other items. And some of the girls had already been in just before and took bottles of alcohol. One of the boys was in the day before too and we have him on camera stealing alcohol then as well. We are all on edge since this happened.

"I have worked here for 12 years and not seen anything like the gang culture we see now. I do feel worried for our safety. We’ve had a staff member leave recently, after a man came in wielding a machete. She was so scared by that, she just couldn’t stay on.

"Now we are scared these gangs might come back. I reported it to the police but they gave us an incident number and said they will call us on Friday. I feel like they are not taking this seriously enough.”

Mrs Haq said they will now crackdown on security and restrict entry to the shop, with only two youngsters allowed at a time.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 6.35pm on Tuesday, August 22, officers received a report of theft at a premises on Easter Road, Edinburgh. Enquiries are at an early stage.”