A teen has been left traumatised after being ‘held hostage’ following a blind Tinder date.
Cobhan Mclelland, 18, is currently in a high dependency hospital ward with severe burns, knife slashes to his face, stab wounds, broken bones.
His family say he has been left 'scared to close his eyes and sleep at night' after the horrific ordeal following a Tinder meet up with a woman at an Edinburgh property.
The teen, who is in the armed forces is living at the Dreghorn Barracks in Colinton, was abducted in the early hours of Sunday morning.
When he arrived at the address given to him on Tinder he was assaulted and alleges that another man refused to let him leave the premises.
The family of 18-year-old Cobhan Mclelland say they received a 'devastating phone call' on Sunday morning to say that the soldier had been taken to a high dependency unit in Edinburgh.
Cobhan is said to have experienced 'life-changing trauma' after the ordeal and is receiving specialist care for both wounds and burns.
The teenager, who is understood to originally be from Doncaster, joined the military at the age of 16, turning 18 in January. The family say the traumatised squaddie 'had his whole career ahead of him.'
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help the teenager through the ordeal, with the family sharing pictures from the alleged attack.
An appeal reads: "The trauma experienced that night will change Cobhan’s life forever, a once funny, humorous boy, full of life is now scared to close his eyes and sleep at night.
"Our Son/Grandson/Brother has the kindest soul so we’re devastated to see the pain which he is in.
"Cobhan will now live with scars to last a lifetime, both mentally and physically. To help Cobhan, he is going to need counselling and lots of therapy.
"Although we are so lucky that Cobhan is still alive and here with us today, we’re also in great pain knowing the long road ahead of us. We’re aiming to raise money to help towards any therapy which Cobhan may need as there is a very high chance Cobhan may suffer with PTSD from this horrible event.
"Please help and share in any way you can. Our Family & Cobhan will forever be grateful."
A source close to Dreghorn Barracks said fellow servicemen and women were told of the attack during a meeting at the army base on Monday.
Edinburgh Live understands the incident triggered emergency protocol with top brass informed.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Defence confirmed to Edinburgh Live that the teenager was taken to hospital after an incident at an Edinburgh property and that police are investigating.
The spokesperson added: "We can confirm that there was an incident involving a serviceman and a civilian in the early hours of Sunday morning."
"The serviceman was taken to hospital and police are investigating the incident."
