Midlothian crime: Police ramp up patrols to tackle youth anti social behaviour 'chaos'

It follows a string of antisocial incidents targeting buses which have seen at least one teenager arrested.

Police in Midlothian have stepped up patrols to stamp out antisocial behaviour in Dalkeith after a string of incidents and a ‘large scale disturbance’ on a bus.

Parents and guardians have also been urged to make sure they know where their children are during the remainder of the Easter holiday break.

It follows complaints from residents that groups of teens caused “chaos” in the Midlothian town following a spate of antisocial incidents.

Police have teamed up with Lothian Transport staff to carry out joint patrols

The most recent incident saw police called to a disturbance involving youths in the Bonnyrigg Road area of Dalkeith at around 8pm on Monday, April 10. Lothian Buses was forced to divert services away from the nearby Tesco Hardengreen store due to “ongoing anti-social behaviour”. Police said “no criminal complaints were made”, but several young people were taken home to their parents.

Earlier this month, on April 1, officers arrested a 14-year-old girl following a ‘large scale disturbance’ on a Lothian Bus, which was parked near the Tesco store in Bonnyrigg Road.

Witnesses reported young people “running riot” in the car park and several cars had been vandalised or had mirrors torn off. Young people were also seen hurling shopping trolleys in front of moving buses.

Drivers have been reportedly being subjected to abuse from teens and several buses have been diverted from areas such as Tesco Hardengreen and Gore Avenue.

Midlothian Police said: “On Thursday, 13th April, Funded Community Action Team Officers teamed up again with staff from Lothian Transport to carry out patrols in Dalkeith, Gorebridge and Rosewell due to ongoing antisocial behaviour on and towards Lothian Buses.

During the patrols, officers engaged with a number of youths, one of whom was conveyed home and spoken to in the presence of their parents due to their behaviour. Police and staff also spoke with drivers, passengers and members of the public.

”Police have teamed up with Lothian Transport staff again tonight, Friday 14th, April, to conduct joint patrols. Officers will continue to carry out patrols during the remainder of the holidays.

”We would urge parents and guardians to make sure they know where their children are, particularly during the remainder of the school holiday, who they are associating with and what they are doing.”