Gang filmed openly brandishing knives in city centre
Watch the moment three masked figures are seen on a busy Edinburgh street.
- Published
A businessman has told about the "scary" moment he got caught between gang members brandishing knives in Edinburgh city centre.
Finlay-James McLeod-Bain had just left work and was in Princes Street when the masked men pulled the weapons from their trousers and started to shout.
The 35-year-old told BBC Scotland he was so scared he was shaking with adrenaline but managed to film them once he had run to a safe distance.
Police Scotland confirmed the incident happened on Monday at 19:20 but that nobody could be traced.
Finlay-James said he was so scared he was shaking with adrenaline
Mr McLeod-Bain, who owns Whisky Laundrette, said he was standing at a pedestrian crossing, near the Scott Monument, when six men came in both directions towards him.
He managed to run away and watched them from a safe distance brandishing the "huge knives" as pedestrians wandered past them.
Mr McLeod-Bain said: "They were running around the streets shouting and waving their weapons around, some in the air, bold and on full display."
He added the men flashed blades and then concealed them again as they darted from one side of the street to the other.
The street was busy with commuters at the time and pedestrians, including one pushing a buggy, ran away to escape them.
The incident happened on Edinburgh's Princes Street
He said he was very shaken and had thought about his "loved ones" in a bid to stay calm when he thought the knifemen were going to hurt him.
Mr Finlay-James said: "It has brought into sharp focus for me how the city has such a busy street but no visible police presence.
"People could have been seriously injured in the time it takes for police to arrive, I could have been one of them."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We were made aware of a group of men causing a disturbance on Princes Street in Edinburgh around 19:20 on Monday.
"The area has been searched with no trace of anyone in the area and no one has presented as injured.
"Inquiries are ongoing."