Four vehicles in as many weeks have attempted to drive down the stairs on Greenside Lane, near the city’s Theatre Royal bar, where an updated road layout was completed last year.

A delivery driver said he was “embarrassed” after becoming the latest victim of the steps on Monday while attempting to access the Playhouse Theatre.

He told BBC Scotland News he had not driven in the city for about 10 years, but his sat nav had not picked up the road changes.

He said: “I was just following the sat nav. I always remember I used to come down this way. I followed it and just got stuck.

“I had no idea there was a step there, I used to come down this way. I am a bit embarrassed about it.”

The City of Edinburgh Council said it expected the barricade to be in place this week.

The local authority has written to Apple to request directions on its maps app are updated after a similar request was sent to Google.

The stairs were installed in October 2023 to block access to road traffic following the redesign of Picardy Place.

The council’s transport and environment committee acknowledged issues with “vehicular interaction with the steps” had not been raised when plans were approved in 2021.

It said: “Google Maps has recently been updated to reflect the new layout and a request for a correction has been sent to Apple Maps.

“While this update is awaited, a temporary barrier will be installed.”