Two teenagers arrested over sports centre damage

TWO teenagers have been arrested and charged in connection with alleged motoring offences and damaging public property at an Edinburgh sports centre.

The pair, aged 15 and 16, were arrested following an incident on Wednesday, 10 February at the Jack Kane Centre on Niddrie Mains Road.

The 15-year-old has been reported to the Children's Reporter and the 16-year-old is set to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that thousands of pounds are set to be spent installing concrete bollards around playing fields at the centre to stop joyriders ripping up the pitches.

The measures have been ordered for outside the centre after the playing fields were left damaged by joyriders six times in as many weeks.

The latest incident happened in the early hours of Saturday morning, when joyriders tore through the fields in a Honda Civic and carved deep tyre tracks into the turf. The vandals then set fire to the car and abandoned it in the middle of the field.

Following the repeated incidents, Edinburgh Leisure has now ordered ten large concrete bollards to be installed around the pitches, at a cost of 3550, to prevent vehicles gaining access to the field.