Edinburgh pubs: Owners of LGBT friendly Dreadnought pub in Leith speak out after rise in attacks

LGBT friendly Leith pub speaks out after tyres slashed and homophobic vandalism

Edinburgh pub owners who painted a landmark bridge pride colours in support of the LGBTQ+ community say they have seen a rise in vandalism in recent weeks.

The Dreadnought pub in Leith worked with hundreds of people in the local community to paint the Lindsay Road Bridge in August 2021 after homophobic graffiti was painted on their premises. The community effort then evolved into the Save The Bridge Campaign after the 85-year old structure was deemed an ‘immediate health and safety risk’ by council officers just months later.

But pub owner, Toby Saltonstall who owns the North Fort Street pub with partner Róisín Thérèse, said their support of the LGBTQ+ community has seen a growing number of antisocial behaviour, with both themselves and their bar being on the receiving end.

Owners of the Dreadnought pub in Leith said: "We're seeing much more graffiti in and around the pub."

Writing on Facebook, Mr Saltonstall said: “The pub has sustained an increased level of vandalism recently. As many of you will have seen, the front door has been smashed (again). We're seeing much more graffiti in and around the pub. Homophobic graffiti on the bridge, which we've covered up. Posters pulled down in the bathrooms. All reasonably low-level stuff.”

Mr Saltonstall said both he and his partner had been “taking a reasonable amount of heat” with people making abusive remarks towards them online and in person and he has even had his car tyres slashed. But the pub landlord said the recent homophobic behaviour has actually had the opposite affect to the vandal’s intention.

Mr Saltonstall said: “We've been finding going pretty tough anyway lately, as everyone in the trade has. You may have noticed I've not been posting much. I'm pretty knackered and motivation has been low. So to the folks who are taking a pop at us, I'd just like to say a big, big thank you for giving me my motivation back.”

The pub owner said they now plan to move the business towards a community ownership model – an idea first considered in 2019 but was then postponed owing to the pandemic. He said: “The ultimate aim is to get more folk involved in the business, continue to provide a safe socialising space and support independent breweries, and raise lots of money for causes that the bigots hate.”

The Pride bridge, that neighbours the Dreadnought pub, was painted pride colours by hundreds of local residents in 2021 after homophobic graffiti was painted outside the popular bar. Locals say the structure is a valued community asset and has become an iconic LGTBQ+ monument

The popular bar has seen a large amount of support following their Facebook post last week. Responding to the post, one person said: “Keep going, from what I can tell you have the community behind you and your pub. Problem is we don’t choose to graffiti our messages of support.” Another said: “This is not what Leithers should be hearing happening in our area” whilst another added: “Keep it up, we are all behind you”.