SIGNS written in Polish warning people not to drink in public are set to be installed in a Leith park.
A recent surge in police call-outs to Pilrig Park has been put down to the fact that drinking in public is legal across much of Poland.
Police believe the majority of the Polish people are not aware that they are breaking a city council bylaw, whi
ch is punishable by a heavy fine.
Leith community beat officer PC Mark Muir said the park was also a known gathering place for underage drinkers, and had suffered from vandalism and antisocial behaviour in the past. He said erecting signs with a brief warning in Polish should result in a drop in the overall number of call-outs, keeping officers free to deal with more serious crimes.
He said: "We have had quite a problem with Polish drinkers in the park.
"We are trying to get into the park and charge people for drinking in public, not just the Polish but underage drinkers as well.
"It is a bylaw and we are trying get signs put up in Polish saying just that. It is a park that has had its problems in the past."
Leith has a significant Polish population which, since the country's admission into the EU in 2004, has integrated well with the local community.
A range of Polish shops and businesses have opened up and politicians in the area have often praised both the Poles and the Leithers for the way they have settled together.
Edinburgh-based Polish businessman Albert Fret, who runs a website for Poles in Scotland – szkocja.net – said the problem was most likely caused by a difference in cultures.
He said: "With the lighter nights coming I think some people think it is nice to relax in a park with one or two beers and think it is not a problem.
"It is something that would happen in Poland and be perfectly normal. But the law is the law and people have to know, and I think this sign would be a good thing for that."
The Balfour Street park has had an image problem for a number of years, with many local people saying they are too frightened to walk through it after dark. Police have been lobbying the council for years to improve the lighting.
Leith Central Community Council chairman Stewart Blaik said: "It can be an intimidating place and you don't get many folk going in after dark on their own.
"Even the dog walkers tend to go along the outside and let their dogs run into the middle.
"The signs will be there just to let the Polish people know that they can't drink there."
The full article contains 461 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
