VANDALS struck a shopfront on Edinburgh’s busy Leith Walk in the middle of the night, covering it in green and white paint.
The vandals appear to have gained access to the rooftop – where a railway bridge used to stand – above the Carpet Bargain Store and Candersons Sweet Shop on the corner of Jane Street and poured green and white paint down in an alternating pattern.
Locals said that the council were in early in the morning to clear the paint off the shopfronts and pavement, but the paint remains on the disused advertising hoarding above the shop as of 1pm today.
The vandalism has caused a headache for local business owners, who turned up to work this morning to find paint covering the pavement and dripping down onto their signs.
Vandals hit shops on the corner of Leith walk and Jane Street (C) Deadline News
One described the paint as “really annoying” while another took a more comedic view, describing it dryly as a “beautiful pattern”.
Graeme Veitch, owner of the Carpet Bargain Store on Leith Walk, pointed the finger at “Hibs Casuals” because of the white and green pattern and proximity to Easter Road.
Speaking today, he said: “I presume vandals have poured paint over the top of the old bridge and it poured down and covered the shop and the pavement.
“The council’s been out, cleaned it all off and this is the residue of what we’ve got left.”
Speculating on who might have poured the paint, Graeme said: “Whether or not it’s Hibs casuals or just Hibs supporters, it’s green and white and we’re in Leith – so I presume that’s it.”
The paint fell down over a disused advertising hoarding on the old railway bridge above the shopfronts.
Locals are mostly just puzzled as to how the vandals could have made their way up to the rooftop to pour the paint down onto the advertising hoarding and shopfront.
The owner of Candersons Sweet Shop, Debbie, theorised that the vandals may have gotten access to the roof through the nearby Stead’s Place housing development.
the vandals could have gained access to the rooftop and the old railway bridge through the car park of the housing development at Stead’s Place (C) Deadline News
She said: “There used to be roof access if you round the corner at Stead’s Place, but kids would get up there and throw eggs and stuff, so they closed it off.
“They’ve opened it back up again for some reason.”
On the vandalism itself, she added: “It’s just really annoying.”
Alan, owner of the KVASA bakery across the road, who arrived for work in the early hours of the morning said he didn’t see the vandals either.
He added: “I was coming in off a job – I usually get in around 2 or 3am – and I saw drips coming down from the sign.”
With a grin, he added: “It’s beautiful.”
The owners of the vacant advertising board had reportedly been hoping to have advertising put in soon.
As yet, there is not concrete indication as to who the perpetrators may have been.
The City of Edinburgh Council has been approached for comment.
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