Mystery of man with dragon tattoo found in Edinburgh street

POLICE have issued an urgent appeal for help after young man with no memory of his name or where he comes from was found in a busy city street.

Medics are convinced the man has genuine amnesia and police have released pictures, including one of a distinctive tattoo, to try to find someone who knows him.

The man, in his early 20s, was found on Wednesday night lying in the road with a head injury in the New Town area of Edinburgh.

The incident has echoes of the Piano Man case in 2005, although in that case Andreas Grassl - who was found on a beach in Kent - turned out to be faking his memory loss.

Detective Sergeant Dave Pinkney said: "This gentleman is very concerned about his memory loss and his injuries are consistent with that.

"He has had a total loss of memory so has no idea why he was lying in the road at 11.20pm, what his name is or where he is from. He knows what a table or a car is, but other than the basics ,he is very confused."

He said: "Due to my inquisitive nature, I have been looking into the Piano Man case and we're pretty sure our guy is not faking it.

"But the call has gone in to speak to other forces who have dealt with similar cases so we can get their guidance."

"It is very unusual and I have never seen anything like this before, so we are using the NPIA (National Policing Improvement Agency] to see if any good practice can be shared with us in terms of how to solve this.

"Our biggest hope is that someone who knows him or a member of the public who saw what happened will contact us.

"He comes across as a genuinely nice young man but as time goes on he is getting more and more worried about himself."

A taxi-driver discovered the man lying in the middle of the city's Northumberland Street. He had a head injury and was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment.

The man is described as of Asian or Middle Eastern appearance, in his early 20s, 5ft 3in tall, with a slim build, short dark hair, and a slight Scottish accent. He has a tattoo on his upper right arm, described as being in a tribal style, with three dragonheads in a circular pattern.

When found, he was wearing a navy-blue rain jacket, a black short-sleeved casual shirt, dark blue jeans with "G-KING" on the back pocket, and black Velcro trainers.

He had cigarettes and a lighter, and some cash, but no wallet, mobile phone or jewellery.