Business owners have rallied to help a disabled man whose car was vandalised in Elgin town centre.
Sandy Simpson’s Volkswagen Tiguan was “targeted” in the council-run St Giles Centre car park and left with a 20-inch scrape in the driver’s door.
The 67-year-old with left with a £125 bill to fix the damage.
However, a group of St Giles Centre shop keepers, angered by the senseless act, displayed charity buckets in their stores for two weeks so Mr Simpson was not left out of pocket.
Last night, Mr Simpson said he was overwhelmed by the “lovely” gesture.
He said: “That is really nice news. You just don’t expect that in business, but I am very grateful to the business folk for their concerns.
“I have always said I had a good feeling about Moray. It’s just these one or two yobs, and I still honestly believe I was targeted. But, a gesture like this is a lovely thing to hear.”
In addition to the back problems resulting from a spinal stenosis diagnosis more than 40-years-ago, Mr Simpson got stomach and liver cancer in 2011.
His wife, Gladys, 69, also contracted breast cancer in 2014.
The couple both won their respective fights against cancer, and Mr Simpson said he would want any funds raised beyond the £125-sum to go to a cancer charity.
He added: “All I will be concerned about is covering my out-of-pocket funds, and the rest will got to charity because I don’t believe I should make a profit out of something like this.”
St Giles Centre manager Angie Chisholm said: “I spoke to several shops in the centre about Sandy’s car being vandalised, and they were all quite disgusted by it and are more than happy to help to raise some money to see if we can help them out.
“We all thought we will raise enough to give them what they need, and, if there is any leftover, we will donate it to a local cancer charity as Sandy has requested.”
The shops that will have collection pots include Baggs of Elgin, The Pastry Company, Perfect Scents, WH Smiths and Witkowski Jewellers.
Baggs of Elgin owner David Carins said: “We were elated about receiving the good news that there would be free parking across the town, but when we heard about what happened to Sandy’s car it soured things a little bit.
“With people doing their bit to help the traders, we thought this was away to give something back to the customers.”