Neighbours say World's End Close is a drugs hotspot

The victim, who has yet to be named by police and is thought to be in his mid-40s, was slumped on a boundary wall in the World's End Close, off the High Street, said to be a hotspot for drug taking.

Local residents told of their shock as police forensic teams descended on the area next to the bar made infamous by the 1977 murder of teenagers Helen Scott and Christine Eadie.

A member of the public made the grim discovery about 7pm on Wednesday and emergency services pronounced the man dead at the scene. It is understood officers removed drug-taking paraphernalia found in the area.

One neighbour, 22-year-old Scott Douglas, a post-graduate student at Edinburgh University, said: "We do get some homeless people hanging about in the close so I thought it may be a drug related thing.

"When I found out it was a body that had been discovered I was a bit shocked.

"We put our bins out there everyday and knowing that someone died out there is horrible. Just the idea of it is horrible."

He watched from his flat which overlooks the area as officers searched the scene for clues.

"They pulled a handbag out from under one of the bins and found a purse inside it. They emptied coins on top of a bin and started going through that. They then cordoned that area off."

A bottle of natural mineral water filled with what appeared to be petrol was also found at in bushes.

Handwritten in black ink on the plastic container were the words "Unleaded petrol, Do Not Drink" as well as a sketch of a skull and cross bones.

Another resident, Alex Dematriates, 24, who only moved into the tenement two days ago, watched as the body was removed.

"I feel very insecure about living here now. I thought maybe the guy had been mugged and killed - all sorts of things go through your head."

A police spokesman said: "Police are making inquiries into the unexplained death of a male whose body was found in a close off the High Street around 7pm on Wednesday night.

"Inquiries are ongoing in order to establish the circumstances of his death, and anyone with any information that can assist should contact police immediately."

Historically, World's End Close was famed for being the last alleyway before leaving the confines of the City Walls and the Old Town of Edinburgh.