Tragedy as OAP in pyjamas drowns in flood

AN elderly man has died after being pulled from the Water of Leith wearing only his pyjamas.

The 84-year-old was rescued from the swollen waters near the bridge at Deanhaugh Street, in Stockbridge, by firefighters and paramedics shortly after 8am yesterday but died soon after in hospital. It is not yet clear how he ended up in the water but Lothian and Borders Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Residents at sheltered housing complex Veitch's Square, which overlooks the water, expressed their shock at the discovery.

Rita Cuthbert, an 80-year-old widow, said she was initially concerned that the man may have lived at her complex, but a source at the home confirmed that all residents had been accounted for.

She said: "One of the other residents here saw him lying face down on the rocks in the water.

"His pyjama trousers had come off and his slippers. He just had the striped jacket on.

"I was shocked when I found out what had happened. I think it will be someone who lives nearby. We don't know how he ended up in the water."

Another Veitch's Square resident, who asked not to be named, said: "My friend saw the man lying on the rocks from her window.

"She couldn't make out if it was a human or an animal. It would have been a horrible thing to see.

"I don't think anyone knows where he came from. He could have washed away with the water. It's a tragedy."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said a special operations team assisted firefighters to retrieve the pensioner from the water.

She added: "We transported the patient to the Royal Infirmary and he was being worked on right up until he got to the hospital."

The fire service's specialist trained water rescue crew used a boat to remove the man from the water. Three pumping appliances and the incident support unit also attended the scene.

Andrew Gauld, 45, a lighting designer whose flat looks on to the water, said: "The river has been really high and it was lapping at the kerb on Saturday night. It was the highest I have ever seen it. You couldn't see the rocks in the middle of the river because it was so high."

Craig Wright, 29, who can see the Water of Leith from his flat, added: "I was woken by the police at about 9.50am. They were asking all the residents if they had seen anything.

"The river's really strong at the moment so if anyone fell in they would be in serious trouble. It looks pretty precarious."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "The emergency services received a call about an elderly male in the Water of Leith in Stockbridge.

"The male was retrieved from the water by the ambulance service and conveyed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary but, despite the best efforts of the medical staff, he was pronounced dead.

"Enquiries are continuing to establish why the male entered the water, but early indications are there appear to be no suspicious circumstances."

The man's next of kin will be notified in due course.