Police hunt 'coward' who left disabled man helpless

DETECTIVES were yesterday hunting a "cowardly" thug who attacked a disabled man, leaving him lying seriously injured and helpless in his home.

The 27-year-old disabled man was assaulted in the village of Maud in Aberdeenshire at about midnight on Saturday. He was not found until the following morning, when concerned relatives called at his home in John Morrison Crescent. He was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with serious head injuries.

Police discovered that his assailant had fled the house in the disabled man's grey Volkswagen Golf car, which was later found crashed and abandoned near the Bruckley estate at New Deer.

Detective Sergeant Kevin Goldie, who is leading the investigation, said: "This is a particularly nasty and cowardly crime where a disabled man has been seriously assaulted in his own home and his car stolen.

"I would appeal to anyone who heard a disturbance in John Morrison Crescent, Maud, on Saturday or Sunday, or saw the grey Volkswagen Golf, SY08 YHB, in the Maud and New Deer areas at those times to get in touch."