After five years covering Edinburgh's out-of-control biker gangs, a journalist has warned the situation is heading for tragedy, describing the capital as a decriminalised zone for riders who cause havoc and terrorise locals.
Travel anywhere in Edinburgh and you will see a young person on the back of a stolen motorbike or an illegal Sur-ron doing wheelies through traffic. Every summer the issue gets worse, with gangs multiplying in numbers and boldness. They ride through city streets and along hidden cycle paths, often stealing motorbikes and acting as couriers for the capital's drug trade.
Volunteer bikers battle rising thefts
The reporter has worked alongside a group of volunteer bikers who banded together to fight the rising number of thefts. The group formed as a reaction to police inaction, with many bikers feeling abandoned after contacting officers for help. During an investigation they showed multiple stash points in city schemes and rural woodland, dumped motorcycles in canals and popular rat run routes.
The problem is so severe that gangs now operate in broad daylight. The reporter witnessed two balaclava-clad youths on a Sur-Ron use an angle grinder to cut chains holding two tour bikes from Poland outside a local hotel. One of the youths swung the angle grinder at the head of one of the tourists. The thieves were forced to retreat, but this is a rare win for bike owners in Edinburgh.
Comparison with English police tactics
Bike owners in Edinburgh look at the Metropolitan and Yorkshire Police divisions with envy, as English officers deploy specialist bikes to combat Sur-Ron criminal activity and occasionally ram criminals from their stolen bikes. In Nottingham, steps have been taken to ban face coverings such as balaclavas in the city centre, with fines of up to £1,000 for those who refuse to comply.
In the past week, a 90-year-old pensioner was hospitalised for three months after being mowed down by a youth on an electric motorbike. There have also been two instances of dogs being run over by Sur-Rons on popular walkways. Six months ago, a grandmother in Muirhouse said her young granddaughter required stitches in her head after being flung to the ground by a balaclava biker.
Reporter's grim warning
The reporter asked whether it will take a child dying under the wheels of a stolen bike or electric Sur-Ron before politicians and police take the issue seriously. The answer, they said, is yes.
