A young girl has been left heartbroken after vandals stole her bicycle then torched it just yards from her house.
Three-year-old Millie Livingstone was distraught when her beloved Peppa Pig toy was pinched from her front garden in Girdleness Road, Torry on Wednesday.
Her mother Camille found it several hours later in a field across the road, smashed to pieces, missing its wheels and burnt.
She said: “Millie is just gutted.
“She got it for her birthday in November from her nana but she has only been able to use it for the last month as it was too big for her.
“Millie loved it and would take it everywhere she went, even if we were just going across the road to the school.
“Kids would normally take soft toys and things but Millie takes her bike.
“It was all she spoke about while we were trying to find it.”
Miss Livingstone claimed thugs taking and destroying other people’s property is becoming a growing problem in Torry.
“There are always things being burnt in that field – it happens all the time,” she said.
“I’d say at least three or four times a month and it’s always the younger generation doing it.
“So if it was kids who did this to the bike, then why are they running about with lighters setting things on fire?
“It’s scary for our kids.”
Miss Livingstone said the incident has, however, highlighted the strength of community spirit around her neighbourhood.
She added:“I wouldn’t have cared as much if it was just dumped somewhere.
“But they did all of this knowing it was a little kid’s bike.
“I’ve had a lot of people messaging me since.
“Somebody got in touch offering a wee bike that Millie can have which is nice.”