Cycling – Appeal for witnesses – Council today – Riding of the Marches – Ghostbusters
Cycling has featured pretty high on the agenda in Edinburgh this weekend with the Sky Ride Edinburgh in Holyrood Park on Saturday and the Pedal4Scotland event yesterday, as well as a major announcement about spending on Active travel from the council. Pedal4Scotland is a sponsored cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh, although the fitter and braver participants ventured south round a route of about 100 miles rather than the mere 50 from Glasgow Green to Murrayfield. The Reporter took part and we had a great time. We passed our friends from STV Edinburgh on the way who were determined to cycle as one group, but did not quite catch up with the coalition of Edinburgh councillors including the council leader, Andrew Burns, who were always just ahead of us! (Yes they are our feature photo today!) STV were running a live blog of the day’s events (and we feature in that!) and you can read it again here. The charity It’s Good 2 Give fielded an amazing 66 cyclists yesterday.
Sir Chris Hoy was in town to lead off the Sky Ride but will be back next weekend to be given the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh at the Assembly Rooms.
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Lothian and Borders Police are appealing for witnesses following three street attacks in the capital on Friday.
The first incident happened around 4.35pm in Blair Street. A 25-year-old man was walking in the area when two females approached and began assaulting him before attempting to rob him. The suspects then made off empty handed into South Bridge.
A short time later a 22-year-old woman was approached in Drummond Street by a male and two females. The group then assaulted the victim before stealing her mobile phone.
The male and females involved in the 2 incidents are described as being in their late teens or early twenties, average height with the male having a slight build and wearing a brown leather jacket. The girls were wearing a pink hooded top and a blue top respectively. One had blonde hair, with the other having red hair that is possibly dyed.
A 30-year-old woman then reported an attempted theft of her handbag while on Duncan Street at around 5.35pm
The description of thee suspects is similar to those involved in the previous incidents and police are investigating whether all three crimes are linked. Additional patrols are in place in these areas as part of Operation Arable – an ongoing campaign to tackle street crime in Edinburgh.
A police spokesman said: “All three victims were left shaken as a result of these incidents and we are conducting local enquiries to identify the suspects. Anyone who can assist with our investigations is asked to contact police immediately. Members of the public are encouraged to add tracking software to the mobile telephones and portable electronic devices, which can help police trace their goods if stolen.
“Anyone wishing crime prevention advice can contact their local policing team or visit the Lothian and Borders Police website at www.lbp.pnn.police.uk”
If anyone has any information in relation to these crimes they should contact Lothian and Borders Police on
0131 311 3131 or in anonymity to crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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Today at the City Chambers the Sub-Committee on Standards for Children and Families in Edinburgh North meets at the City Chambers. The full set of papers is here.
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That very Scottish tradition of riding round the boundaries of a city or town took place in Edinburgh yesterday with lots of horses and riders on the Royal Mile. Sadly The Reporter was elsewhere but The Scotsman had a photographer up there to capture what was going on. Only in Edinburgh have a short clip of what it sounded like:-
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Tonight you can go retro at The Filmhouse where they are showing Ghostbusters on the big screen. Can you believe this film was released in 1984? More details here.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
