Portobello promenade death not suspicious - police

POLICE say they are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose body was found on the beach at Portobello Promenade.

Police say there are no suspicious circumstances. Picture: Malcolm McCurrach

The man, who has not been named, was found lying on stone steps leading down to the beach by a pair of walkers yesterday morning at 6.30am.

It is believed he may have fallen off the promenade wall.

The area was cordoned off until his body was removed by ambulance.

The body was found on steps near to the public toilets at the east side of the promenade at around 6am yesterday.

Witnesses said a police forensic team carried out an examination of the area.

An elderly resident, who lives just a few feet away from where the body was discovered, said: “The body was lying on the third step from the bottom next to the beach. I saw three paramedics and they seemed to be pumping the man’s chest, as if they were trying to restart his heart, but that obviously didn’t work.

“You could see very little because the police erected a white screen around him. The police taped off the area from the toilets right down the promenade and they were stopping dog walkers and other people from walking on the beach.

The man added: “The sea does come up quite high so the body could have been washed up on to the steps.

“Or perhaps this man had a fall or was sleeping outside last night and died from the cold. It was a bitterly cold night. Whatever happened it’s very sad.”

Another resident, who also asked not to be named, said: “I was woken up by the blue lights from the ambulance which was first to arrive. The ambulance was first then police arrived a short time later. There were seven or eight officers and they cordoned off the area with tape.

“The body was moved onto a stretcher at about 10am and taken away by a private ambulance.”

Police Scotland said there were no suspicious circumstances.