Midlothian crime: Youths cause 'chaos' with multiple incidents of anti-social behaviour in Dalkeith

One resident moving out of Midlothian area due to ‘nightmare’ caused by youths

Residents have complained that groups of teens are causing “chaos” in a Midlothian town following a spate of antisocial incidents.

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, telling customers it was due to “ongoing anti-social behaviour”. Police said “no criminal complaints were made”, but several young people were taken home to their parents. This is the latest of several disturbances caused by youths in the Dalkeith area.

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. A few days later, one local witnessed a teenage girl "shout abuse at staff” in the supermarket. Police confirmed officers attended after receiving reports of a “disturbance", but said that “no criminality was established”.

Police have been called to several incidents of youth anti-social behaviour at the Tesco Hardengreen store in Dalkeith, Midlothian

Another Midlothian local, Elaine Tara Farris, witnessed “chaos” at the Tesco store on April 1. She said children and young people were “running riot” in the car park, and saw several cars had been vandalised or had mirrors torn off. Only a few weeks before, Ms Farris watched youths “hurling shopping trolleys in front of moving buses” at the bus stop outside the supermarket. The resident believes the behaviour is not isolated to Dalkeith. She lives in the nearby village of Rosewell, where she claims she was recently “harassed and intimidated" by youths. She said: “There has been a lot of vandalism including destroying an outdoor classroom on the woods and burning down a disabled outdoor toilet”, and added: “Public transport feels very unsafe here as does walking”. Ms Farris has made the decision to move away from the area, saying: "Moving to Rosewell was a dream for me which has sadly turned into more of a nightmare.”

Officers have launched pro-active patrols of the Dalkeith area in response to the string of incidents. Anyone who witnesses anti-social behaviour is urged to contact police. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 8pm on Monday, 10 April, 2023, police were made aware of a disturbance in the Bonnyrigg Road area of Dalkeith. No criminal complaints were made and a number of youths were returned home to their parents. Community officers are working with a number of local partners following concerns about a rise of antisocial behaviour in the area. This includes proactive patrols, CCTV enquiries and youth engagement. We encourage anyone with information or concerns about antisocial behaviour to contact police on 101.”

A Lothian Buses spokesperson said: “Lothian is committed to the safety of our people and our customers. We are aware of an incident involving one of our vehicles and are assisting Police Scotland with their enquiries. Lothian adopt a zero tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour and as such we will remove services if necessary to keep our colleagues and customers safe.” Tesco has been contacted for comment.