A six-year-old Fife boy has been confined to his home after thieves stole the wheelchairs he is dependent on.
Dylan Muir suffers from cerebral palsy which means he can only walk a limited distance with a walking frame.
He has been getting around in his specially-developed, small yellow-wheeled wheelchair which was recently replaced with a slightly bigger one which is distinctively metallic red.
But the wheelchairs were stolen from his garden at the weekend leaving him all but housebound and very upset.
“He was heartbroken and cried when he found out,” Dylan’s grandmother, Brenda McCutcheon, told The Courier.
“I cried as well. It’s sick. The lowest of the low and only people without a conscience would do anything like this to a disabled child.
“Maybe it was a conscious theft or maybe it was someone playing a prank on their way back from the pub. But we might have to wait weeks to get a replacement.
“Whoever did this needs to understand the impact it’s having on a small child. He’s heartbroken.”
Dylan, who goes into P3 at Warout Primary after the summer, stays with his grandmother in Warout Brae, Glenrothes.
They only moved to the house 10 weeks ago having previously lived in Pitteuchar.
His grandmother is also disabled having been involved in an accident with a security van which restricts her mobility on her left side.
Dylan is dependent on a wheelchair to get to hospital appointments via public transport.
It also allows him to get out to visit his toddler sister Niamh, who stays with another relative in Glenrothes, and his mother Sarah Falconer, 30, who also has cerebral palsy and lives in Kirkcaldy.
Another of Brenda’s daughters stays with them at Warout Brae.
Dylan’s grandmother said the wheelchairs were provided through his physiotherapist at NHS Fife. She said there is no cost to the family but she estimates the chairs are worth £300 and £500 respectively.
The theft happened some time overnight between Friday and Saturday.
The wheelchairs had been left in a gap between the hedge and step.
Due to a lack of storage in the house, they have been left there every night since they moved in.
Brenda said the area is only partially visible from the street and she did not feel the chairs were at risk there.
She said Dylan was very well known in the Glenrothes area.
Despite only living in Warout Brae for 10 weeks, he had become a familiar face and neighbours thought it was “absolutely disgusting” what had happened.
Police have appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.
Officers are conducting various lines of inquiry to recover the items and identify those responsible.
One of the chairs is described as being medium-sized, metallic red with spoke wheels, while the other is described as being small-sized, black with yellow disk wheels and smiley faces on them.
Constable Billijane Ballingall from the Police Scotland Community Investigation Unit said: “This is the most despicable of crimes, which has left the young boy and his family extremely distressed.
“Both wheelchairs assist in improving the victim’s quality of life and independence and we are keen to hear from anyone who can help us in reuniting the items with their owner.
“In addition, anyone who remembers seeing any suspicious activity in Warout Brae on Friday evening or the early hours of Saturday morning is asked to contact police immediately.”
Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or alternatively the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.