Police Scotland has confirmed the death of a 74-year-old man who was struck by a single-decker bus on Cowgate in Edinburgh, on Saturday evening (2nd November). An eyewitness told The Edinburgh Tab that a head had been found “decapitated” on the ground of the city’s party district.

Social media platform X has been slammed for initially appearing to declare horror imagery of a fatal accident in Edinburgh acceptable to post. Images showing the severed head of an accident victim in Edinburgh’s Cowgate were circulated around the world in the wake of the death on Saturday night.

Police cordoned off an Edinburgh party district amid reports of a severed head being found in the street. Officers in the Scottish capital set up two forensic tents in the Cowgate area of the city on Saturday evening and confirmed they were responding to a “serious road traffic collision”.

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT - Numerous people voiced their disgust at the graphic photos and videos showing gruesome scenes, and many took their objections directly to X

Edinburgh's transport convener has said the council is dedicated to making improvements at the Cowgate amid safety concerns after a man was hit by a bus and killed.