POLICE Scotland is facing accusations its officers bungled a bid to shut down a sauna in Edinburgh.
Staff said they received a visit from six officers to the premises in the Murrayfield area yesterday, who informed them it was being shut down.
Police who arrived at Paradise sauna received a call from the council informing them it was still appealing its closure. However, the single force and Edinburgh City Council insisted it was a routine inspection.
Edinburgh's saunas are in a battle for survival after the newly-created Police Scotland launched a crackdown on the sex industry.
The policy is a reversal of the 'blind eye' approach.
Campaigners have claimed prostitutes will be at greater risk of attacks and disease if they are forced on to work on the streets or in private flats.
One worker at the sauna said: "There were six officers, five female and one male, all wearing their uniforms and they came in and said we have to shut.
"They said our licence expired at midnight so as of Thursday we were no longer allowed to be open anymore.
"They took down our names and addresses, but while they were doing that they got a phone call from Edinburgh Council. Our appeal for the licence renewal went in today [Wednesday] and so we can stay open until that has been decided."
Superintendent Matt Richards said: "Police and City of Edinburgh Council Licensing Officers conducted routine inspections at a number of licensed premises in the city. These inspections are routine for any venue operating with a licence in Edinburgh."
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