Police name man, 74, who died in Edinburgh bus crash after 'severed head' found in street

Police have named the 74-year-old man who died in a horror bus crash in Edinburgh, which led to reports spreading on social media that a 'severed head' had been found in the street.

Michael Leneghan, from Edinburgh, was on foot in the Cowgate area of the Scottish city on the evening of November 2 when he was struck by a single decker bus. Pubs in the nearby area were evacuated as officers responded to the "serious collision" and a number of forensic tents were set up in the street.

Over the weekend, Police Scotland issued a plea to the public to stop sharing pictures and videos on social media after footage emerged that appeared to show a 'severed head' being discovered near to the scene by a group of Halloween revellers.

READ MORE: Outrage as X says Edinburgh Cowgate severed head image 'doesn't break rules'

People who had seen the images left comments on the Police Scotland Facebook page claiming they were 'gruesome' and 'horrific'. Investigations into the incident are ongoing, police said.

Today (November 7), the force issued a statement on behalf of Mr Leneghan’s family, which read: “We wish to thank all the members of the public and emergency services involved. We would now ask for privacy at this time.”

Sergeant Paul Ewing, of the road policing unit in Edinburgh, said: “Our thoughts remain with Michael’s family and friends, as well as everyone affected by this tragic incident.

“Our inquiries remain ongoing. We have already spoken to a number of people who were in the area at the time and work is ongoing to check public and private CCTV footage.

“We are still keen to hear from anyone who has not yet spoken to police. If you have any information about what happened, then please get in touch.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting incident number 3395 of November 2.