Delivery driver 'going through nightmare' after scooter torched by thugs on busy Edinburgh cycle path
The driver said he had “zero income left” and had “no way” to earn money to pay his bills
A delivery driver whose scooter was stolen and torched by a masked gang on Roseburn Path has described how it has “destroyed his whole livelihood” overnight.
Kosar Salih’s scooter, a Yamaha NMAX 125, was stolen from Lansdowne Crescent near Haymarket at around 2am on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old said a gang of e-bike riders tried to steal the scooter last week, but failed. He believes they returned in the early hours of Tuesday and made off with the vehicle.
He said the thugs, unable to start the scooter due to the immobiliser, dragged it to the nearby Roseburn Path and destroyed it.
Mr Salih, who moved to Edinburgh from London last year, traced the bike on his tracker only to discover it torched on the side of the cycle path.
“I was completely shocked,” he said. “I thought I would just go there and be able to collect it. But when I arrived it was completely burned and there was nothing left of it.”
He went on: “The bike is my livelihood. I can’t do anything now. It’s my source of income and I’m worried about how I’m going to pay my bills. I rely on it to pay my rent, buy food and survive.
“I don’t know how hard it’s going to be for me in the next few months.”
Mr Salih only became a delivery driver two months ago and was paying for the bike in instalments. He said he will still have to pay the remainder of the cost even though the bike has been destroyed.
He has reported the incident to police and has also contacted Deliveroo and Just Eat, both of which he carries out deliveries for, about the incident. However, he has had not yet had a response back from the food delivery companies.
He has asked residents living around Lansdowne Crescent or the Roseburn Path to check their ring doorbell footage as well as CCTV and dashcam.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "We received a report of a motorcycle having been stolen from Lansdowne Crescent in Edinburgh in the early hours of Tuesday, 28 July, 2026, and later being discovered burnt out nearby. Enquiries are at an early stage.”