Edinburgh locals were left furious this morning (April 25) after a memorial bench was found broken into pieces on Princes Street.
The bench is one of many along the thoroughfare and in Princes Street gardens who have been erected in memory of a loved one, with each seat accompanied with a personalised plaque.
However, today one of the benches near Castle Street was found broken into several pieces on Sunday morning, with the arm rest completely snapped off.
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In what could only be done in a deliberate act, passers-by were left disappointed to see the memorial tarnished with such disregard.
A tribute to his late wife, the plaque on the bench was placed there by a Leslie Woolf, and read:
"In ever loving memory of my beloved wife Peggy who dies on 27th November 1980.
"Sadly missed by her devoted husband Leslie Woolf."
Taking to social media to vent his frustration, passer-by Matt Donlan said:
"Looks like two-legged vermin have been out and about on Princes Street overnight. Nothing shows how hard you are like smashing up a memorial bench."
It is not the first incident of vandalism in recent weeks, with many pieces of property damaged by youths around the city during lockdown.
On Friday evening, large groups of teens had caused havoc in Portobello, with a number of officers forced to attend the scene where a police station window was smashed.
In a response to the incident, local police had confirmed that there will be increased patrols, and added that anti-social behaviour will "not be tolerated".
