£50k of gold bars and cash stolen from surgeon

The burglary – which also saw a large amount of jewellery and Rolex watches looted – took place at a property in an upmarket residential area of Craiglockhart during daylight hours on February 11.

And sources in Drylaw insist a gang of teen thugs from the area are behind the heist, which saw the top doctor’s bedroom ransacked by thieves and a large number of high-value goods stolen.

The surgeon, who works at the Royal Infirmary but asked not to be identified for fear the robbers might return to his house, said the snatched belongings were “very sentimental” and included several rare items which would be difficult to sell on the black market.

He said: “I’ve been married for 25 years and over those years we have collected a lot of things from all over the world. They ransacked the place.

“They went off with all of my wife’s jewellery and I had a banknote collection from all parts of the world that they stole. There were a few gold bars that I had collected over the years that they also took.

“They were sentimental things, as well as being high-value. Many of these items are very unique and it will be very difficult for anybody to sell them off.”

And the 49-year-old insisted those behind the robbery were part of a well-known gang of teens from Drylaw, who have been carrying out a raft of break-ins across the city and then using stolen cars to hide the goods.

He added: “There have been a number of burglaries in our area over the last few weeks. They are a gang of young boys between 15 and 19 years old, from the Drylaw area.”

Willie Black, secretary of West Pilton and West Granton Community Council, admitted there was a problem but warned against singling out youths from Drylaw .

He said: “Teenagers across the city, are up to no good. They are certainly stealing goods, and slowly but surely the net is closing in on them.

“There are a number of young guys who are doing these things and the police and Stronger North are responding to that criminality.

“But there are young people across the city that are up to no good.”

A police spokesman said: “Police in Edinburgh are carrying out inquiries into a housebreaking at an address in Craiglockhart.

“The break-in and theft occurred sometime during daylight hours on Wednesday, February 11, resulting in a number of high-value items being removed from the property.

“Officers are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the area at around this time. Those who can assist police are asked to call 101.”