Edinburgh dad's life 'flashed before his eyes' after balaclava-clad men swung hammer at his head

The father of three, who has worked on and off as a courier for the last two years, was leaving an address in Spottiswoode Street in Marchmont, near the Margiotta store, on July 15 when two balaclava-clad youths approached him in attempt to steal his e-bike. 

He said one of the assailants then produced a large hammer from his bag and warned him that if he tried to stop them they would kill him.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said the pair were cycling along the pavement and then trapped him within a pathway leading towards a property where there was nowhere to run. He said: “One of them got off the bike and pulled out a really large lump hammer. He then grabbed the handle bars of my bike and told me ‘don’t fight, I’ll kill you and whack you with the hammer if you fight’.’”

Two balaclava clad youths threatened a man in Spottiswoode Street, Edinburgh on July 15 | Google Maps

Feeling ‘panic, fear and shock’, he said he quickly dislodged his phone from the bike. But when he pulled the handlebars back from the masked man, the attacker then swung the hammer at him.

He said: “He swung the hammer at my head and just missed it. I managed to dodge it and he fell over. My life did flash before my eyes and it is frightening to think that if he had caught my head it could have been a very different story - I might be dead.  It was a bloody big hammer. It was massive, almost like a swan off sledge hammer so not your average lump hammer.

“When he got back up it looked like he had stowed the hammer and when he tried to take the bike again I used my bike lock to deter him from coming closer.” 

He said his ‘odds turned’ when an onlooker shouted at the masked youths who then decided to flee the scene. He said: “That man was like my guardian angel.”

The victim, who took on the job last year to make extra income for his family, has now decided to stop working as a courier as he said it’s ‘not worth the risk’.

He said it was an ‘enjoyable job’ that made good money and kept him fit. Working around 500 shifts over the last two years he said: “I’ve seen these gangs loads of times on Princes Street and Lothian Road, in Blackford, Murrayfield and Dumbiedykes. But they’re spreading and getting increased confidence because they’re going unchecked.

“I have three kids to think of as well so I’ve decided to sell my e-bike and look at other jobs to supplement my income. It’s not worth the risk for me - if you have a bike and a phone, that is something that can get you targeted. That hammer was literally two or three inches from my head. It could have been a totally different story.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 4.45pm on Monday, 15 July 2024 police received a report of two youths on an e-bike, wearing balaclavas and brandishing a weapon having threatened a male in Spottiswoode Street, Edinburgh. "No-one sustained any injuries and enquiries are ongoing.”