Smashed window as teenagers go on rampage in Edinburgh's Bruntsfield

Damage at the Cafe Grande in Bruntsfield Place

A RESTAURANT owner has described how a gang of teenagers went on a Saturday night rampage through Bruntsfield, damaging property and intimidating people.

Robbie Park, who owns Cafe Grand on Bruntsfield Place, said the youngsters smashed his window and door and broke some of his outside furniture.

He posted on social media, asking parents: “Where are your kids tonight?

“The reason I ask is that 40/50 young teenagers 13-17 decided to rampage through Bruntsfield tonight intimidating people & causing damage to property.”

Mr Park told the Evening News he was having a meal in a restaurant in Morningside with his father and brother when he got a phone call from a member of staff around 9.15pm alerting him to the problem.

“She said there had been a big gang of youths running up and down the street for quite a long time and they had all congregated outside my restaurant.

“They were banging on the window and peering in at people having their dinner.

“One of the kitchen porters went out and told them to go away and at that point they broke one of the outside chairs and smashed the door and the window, then they seem to have cleared off.”

He said there had been 40-50 youths. “I grew up in Gorgie in the '80s so I’m used to gangs of kids, but there were lots of them.

“I came down from Morningside and by the time I got to Holy Corner you could see it - gangs of kids everywhere. And by that time there was a heavy police presence. It was absolute chaos. You don’t expect that sort of thing, especially in Bruntsfield.”

Mr Park said he believed the youths came from nearby.

“I’m pretty confident, looking at them and hearing their accents, it was local kids. They were not kids from Oxgangs or Gorgie. I’m pretty sure they were all roughly connected to the local area.”

He said the Cafe Grande had been full of customers at the time, but most soon left.

“They had all finished eating - normally people will sit for a while and have a drink, but everyone was asking for their bills and leaving. These are nice people and it ruined their evening.”

He said he was finishing off clearing up when he saw a figure in the doorway.

“I saw this guy was having a pee and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I went to the door, but I’d locked it and I couldn’t get my keys out fast enough.”

The restaurant was open for business as usual today.

Mr Park praised the police for their response and said his staff had been “superb” in their handling of the incident.

Police Scotland said a 16-year-old male had been arrested and charged in connection with an incident in Bruntsfield Place. He is expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

A spokesman added: “We know that anti-social behaviour a disruptive effect on local communities and Police Scotland urges people not to tolerate vandalism or anti-social behaviour but to report them by calling 101 as promptly as possible."