The owner of The Balerno Inn in Edinburgh was left furious after two males suspected of drinking broke into the garden and helped themselves to some outdoor heating before taking a wee on the patio and throwing up everywhere.
Owner Ben Watson said he has been "working so hard" to get The Balerno Inn up and running again in the anticipation that beer gardens will be soon allowed to reopen in Scotland during the lockdown, and was filled with 'rage' when they left a "mess to deal with" on the patio.
CCTV images released by The Balerno Inn show two males dressed in similar clothing wearing backpacks and caps enter the property.
In an online statement The Balerno Inn said: "BREAK IN LAST NIGHT
Like everybody in hospitality we have been working so hard to get ourselves ready to welcome our friends and neighbours back into the Balerno Inn garden, we were very nearly ready to go.
"Sadly last night it seemed a couple of lads just couldn't wait for the big opening never mind an invite....
"Hopped over our garden fence at 01.48, spent the night in bothy two with heating and lights on making themselves very comfortable.
"I wonder if they realise the venue has state of the art cameras that cover all public areas-- footage heading to police as you would expect.
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"I suspect drink was involved and have to say my rage level elevated significantly when I found what they had left for us on the patio- global pandemic and you leave us with your mess to deal with
'So our beautiful garden area that had been sterilised from top to bottom to ensure our customer safety is now back to square one
'This break-in is clearly illegal, but more so it pushes us back in what was already a huge challenge to open successfully, safely and professionally.
'If we don't get open as soon as we'd like it won't be for lack of preparation, effort and heart.'
Edinburgh Live has contacted police for comment.
