A TEENAGER who vandalised planters at a village's mercat cross while drunk has come forward to apologise for his actions.

The planters at Aberlady Mercat Cross, which dates back to the 18th century, were vandalised at the weekend, with soil dropped on nearby cars in an incident which was condemned by the chairman of the village’s community council.

A mercat cross marks where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron in a town, village or city.

The vandalism is believed to have happened late on Saturday evening.

After details of the incident were shared on a community Facebook page, a 16-year-old male came forward to take responsibility for the vandalism, saying he was drunk and did it with two friends.

Members of the community have since come together to fix the planters and no further damage has been found.

Malcolm Duck, chair of Gullane Area Community Council, is a resident of Aberlady. 

He said: “It is very sad to see that someone has vandalised the cross. It is just senseless and unacceptable.

“Thankfully there was no permanent damage, but it is the last thing we need right now.

“Some applause must be given to him for coming forward and admitting that a mistake was made. We have all done silly things in our youth.

“We must also look at finding more things for young people to do in the area to keep them out of doing things like this.

“There is no excuse for vandalism, but we should also be looking to find more social activities for our youngsters.”