Furious Edinburgh Trams passenger shows extent of damage caused by 'unruly youths' after window was smashed

Images sent to the Evening News by a passenger on the Edinburgh Tram which had a window smashed by ‘unruly youths’ show the damage caused which thankfully did not injure anyone on board.

At around 6.50pm on Wednesday, March 24, an ‘object’ was thrown at a tram, smashing a hopper window as it was approaching Saughton Tram stop.

Edinburgh Trams said they are unsure of what was thrown at the tram, but images show it appears to have been caused by a rock.

The incident came thirty minutes after a ‘group of kids’ were refused passage on the trams for anti-social behaviour which the company believe led to the window smashing.

Images sent to the Evening News show glass strewn across seats on an Edinburgh Tram after a 'rock' was thrown at the window

St. John Hughes was returning from work and was aboard the tram at the time.

“I was on the tram heading into town at around 6:50pm and there were around five others on board, all socially distanced and wearing masks,” he said, “Then we heard what I would describe as a loud crack and there was a hell of a mess.”

The images show shattered glass from the window which was strewn across seats and the middle area of the tram.

Mr Hughes added: “It looked like a rock that went through the window and thankfully no one was injured but there were people closer to it than me.”

Mr Hughes was aboard the tram when he and other passengers heard a loud crack as the window was hit

The ‘attack’ came following a string of anti-social behaviour incidents across the Capital, forcing Edinburgh Trams to remove one of their services last night.

A regular tram user, Mr Hughes said that it is not the first time something has happened.

“There’s been lots of incidents,” He said, “It’s, what I would say are children, going about in packs. There’s been smoking on board, swearing, riding up and down the middle, the trams are like a moving target to them.

“One passenger said that because of lockdown they’re bored, but there’s no excuse.

Glass was shattered across the middle of the tram, but did not injure anyone on board

“I’m trying to use public transport safely and incidents like this put passenger safety at risk. Someone has to take responsibility for it.

“When I am trying to use public transport, I don’t expect to be covered in shattered glass.”

Speaking about the incident yesterday a spokesman for Edinburgh Trams said: “We believe it was related to an earlier incident where we had a group of kids who were refused on the tram at Edinburgh Park station for being unruly and then they were then seen walking further along the tracks after that and then subsequently an object thrown at the trams.”

Both Edinburgh Trams and Lothian Buses are working closely with the police to clamp down on anti-social behaviour across Edinburgh.

Jon McCulley, operations manager at Edinburgh Trams said: “The safety of our colleagues and our customers is our number one priority.

“Objects being thrown at trams is reckless and extremely dangerous for everyone on board.

“We are working closely with Police Scotland on the recent spike in anti social behaviour and using CCTV to identify the individuals responsible and hold them to account.

“Thankfully no one was injured in last night’s attack but I’d strongly urge parents to talk to their children about what is acceptable behaviour before something more serious occurs.”

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