Youths attack disabled boy with live carp at city garden

Groundskeepers at Lauriston Castle, near Cramond, said four youths sprung the daytime assault on the young visitor and his carers having fished out a carp from a decorative pond in the gardens.

Although no one was injured, ground staff said the "sickening" incident was one example in a spate of mischief-making at the attraction.

Groundsman Chris Murray, 58, said the gardens had become a hotspot for teenage drinking which had contributed to a spike in vandalism and bad behaviour.

He said: "In the last year things have gone downhill with a lot of problems in the Japanese Garden. I think (a number of youths] have got wind of Lauriston Castle as a place to hang out, drink, smoke cannabis and trash the place.

"But the business of picking on a disabled kid was the worst thing - we have a lot of disabled people coming here because it's so peaceful. There was a disabled child and four youths have gone in and thrown stones at him.

"They also caught one of two carp from the pond and threw that at him as well.

"I'm glad to say it missed him but it was pretty nasty and I was very angry indeed, so chased the youngsters who were between 14 and 16 years old. They ran away and bolted over a wall and into a farm. It really upset the boy and his carers."

And Mr Murray, who has worked at the council-run gardens for six years, added: "It's difficult to put into words quite how I felt about what happened.

"When you are talking about a young disabled person who is being picked on for no reason, anger was the overriding emotion. It's just not on."

But the groundsman said the greatest blight on Lauriston Castle was mindless vandalism, with the Japanese Garden targeted.

"There's been plenty of structural damage," said Mr Murray. "The first three or four years we hardly had any trouble but there's been a real deterioration recently. The Japanese Garden is a beautiful place to gather your thoughts so it's very frustrating that people come in and kick down bamboo fencing and pull out plants."

Mr Murray said he would resist "barricading" the grounds with barbed wire or other deterrents because it would dilute the beauty and tranquillity of the attraction.

"We have had meetings with council management and talked about the problem and what we can do about it," he said. "It's certainly not the council's fault and it's not an easy situation. I think we have been targeted by a specific group of youths and we can only speculate as to where they come from."

Councillor Paul Edie, community safety leader at Edinburgh City Council, said police had been more visible in the area as a result of the reported incidents of vandalism.

He said: "We were made aware of a couple of cases of vandalism in the grounds of Lauriston Castle, and as a result the police increased their patrols in this area. Anti-social behaviour, such as vandalism, will not be tolerated in Edinburgh and we work closely with the police to tackle it.

"We would urge anyone who witnesses any sort of anti-social behaviour to report it immediately."