Bradley Welsh murder: Residents tell of shock after Trainspotting 2 actor shot dead

Residents on the street where Trainspotting 2 star Bradley Welsh was shot dead have spoken of their shock.

The actor, who also appeared in an episode of Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men, was killed in suspicious circumstances in Edinburgh on Wednesday night.

Police said they were called to Chester Street in the west end of the city at around 8pm and found a man with serious injuries. He died at the scene.

Police have now launched a murder investigation into the 48-year-old’s death.

Tributes are being laid at the scene

On Thursday morning, a long stretch of the street remained cordoned off, with the stairwell of a downstairs flat covered by a large yellow sheet.

A floral tribute wrapped in a green and white scarf - the colours of Hibs Football Club - lay at the edge of the cordon.

Residents who live within the police cordon are being checked in and out of the taped-off area, but they say officers have told them nothing about what happened.

Tributes have been left both at the scene and outside of the Edinburgh boxer's gym.

A woman, who did not want to be named, was in her flat across the road from the incident when she heard a “massive bang”.

She added: “I was in the kitchen and heard a bang. I ran through to my boyfriend and said ‘what was that?’, because it sounded a little bit weird.

“Then there were loads of SWAT teams - the police were here super-quick.”

Lewis Starling, 25, said: “I just came home last night at about 8.40pm and the whole place was cordoned off.

Police forensics team search for evidence. Pic: Lisa Ferguson

“I had to get permission to get back to my flat and after that more people just arrived and it’s just been locked down.

“It’s quite surprising, you don’t expect that around here.”

He added that the yellow tarpaulin covering the entrance to the flat was put out at “about midnight or 1am”.

Builder Morgan Currie, 20, who know Mr Welsh said: “I knew him through his charity work.

Officers in attendance on Chester Street in the West End following the shooting. Picture: Alasdair Morton

“He was a gentleman every time I saw him, no matter what and with anybody.

“With all the charity work, with all the amazing stuff for homeless people, he was just a true gentleman.

“He just kept his head down, looking after his kids and his fiance.

“He’s a family man and just loved doing his charity work.

READ MORE: Bradley Welsh murder: Forensics team search for evidence in Edinburgh’s Chester Street

“When I heard about it this morning I got a fright, I was like ‘oh my god’. It’s not sunk in yet.”

Trish Hughes, who lives in a nearby street, said: “I was out walking and it was a shock because you never see police out here.

“The street was cordoned off and there were ambulances and about four police cars at that stage. I thought someone might be ill, sometimes you get ambulances and police.

“But then it all got a bit crazier, more police and I saw a policeman with a gun, and it all got a bit scarier so I went inside.

“People pay a lot to live round here because it’s known as being safe.

“You just feel really safe, you don’t every worry about going out at night.

“It is a shock to think that someone has been shot it’s really quite alarming, even that someone has had a gun.”

Police said the death is being treated as suspicious and urged anyone with information to contact them.

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