Thieves have left a disabled military veteran with transport problems after making off with his modified quad bike.
The vehicle, which is road legal, was taken from the Braco home of Hamish Lee (60) in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
A gang of men tied the bike, which is marked as being owned by a disabled person, to the back of a white van before driving off.
It is understood that they may have stopped later to load it into the back of the van.
A neighbour managed to follow the vehicle’s tracks along Braco’s back roads in the direction of Gleneagles.
Mr Lee, who is unable to drive a car due to pins and plates in his hips, said the theft had left him “very angry”.
The former Scots Guard sergeant said he woke up to find the quad bike gone.
He went on: “It was a professional job; they knew what they were doing. The bike was secured but it didn’t last two minutes, obviously.
“They attached a line to it, put it in gear and drove away. ‘Angry’ would be an understatement.”
Mr Lee used the quad to travel to his job as a railway signalman but is now reliant on the goodwill of others to get to work.
He said: “My work’s been very good; they are prepared to come and go with me.
“When I go on to nightshift I have a neighbour who’s going to take me down, which is worth more than words.”
A spokeswoman for Tayside Police confirmed they were looking into the incident, which occurred at around 12.40am.
She said: “Officers are keen to trace three men who were in the area at the time, who were wearing dark-coloured clothing with the hoods up.
“They were seen to drive off in a white van, which had a roof rack and ladders on roof.
“The quad bike is described as a black-coloured CT Moto and has a black painted exhaust, a saltire sticker on front and reflective stickers at rear of footplates.”