Wheelie bins trash cars

But amongst the biggest vandals in Oxgangs, it seems, are not local yobs - but wheelie bins.

Residents of Oxgangs Farm Gardens went to the police after five cars were damaged by an out-of-control wheelie careering down the street after being caught in the wind.

Mother-of-three Elle Hayes said it was the third time this year that vehicles in the area had been damaged by the black industrial bins, including her own car - a one-year-old Fiesta Titanium - and her daughter Jody Finlayson's blue Ford Mondeo.

Miss Hayes, 55, said the problem usually happened after the bins were emptied and suspects binmen of not putting the brakes on properly.

She was visiting her father Christopher Hayes, 89, who lives on the street, when her car was struck by one of the four bins, which sit at the top of a slope on the street, on Friday morning.

Miss Hayes, who works part-time as a counsellor, said: "I was out in my dad's back garden when I heard a bang. I came in from the garden to my dad's living room and he said a wheelie bin had come down and hit my car. I was really annoyed.

"The police have come out before and they were phoned again on Friday morning.

"The council said before it was due to high winds and an Act of God, but we said it was negligence, because if they know the bins are going to get blown down the road in high winds, they shouldn't be there."

She added: "My dad is worried that one of them might hit him one day. Luckily, his car is in his driveway, so it hasn't been hit."

Miss Hayes' car was scratched and dented on the driver's side and she believes it will cost at least a few hundred pounds to have it repaired.

Meanwhile, daughter Jody, a care assistant from Kinross, faces a repair bill of almost 900 after her car was struck by one of the bins while she was visiting her grandfather in March this year.

"My car has got quite a few bumps and scrapes and the light was smashed at the back," she said.

"The wing mirror was damaged on the passenger side.There are dents and scratches all the way down the side from the back light to the front."

However, Miss Finlayson, 28, is still in dispute with the city council over who should foot the bill.

"We don't see why we should have to be out of pocket for something that wasn't our fault," she said.

Miss Hayes added: "If these bins hit a child or anybody at the speed they come down the hill, they will kill them."

A spokeswoman for the city council said: "We are sorry to hear that there is an issue with the bins at Oxgangs Farm Gardens. We were made aware of the incident and our officers are currently investigating."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said they attended following a call but "no further action is to be taken".