A young boy with autism doesn't want to leave the house any more after a cruel train passenger compared him to a dog, his mum says.
Seven-year-old Reace Mercedes was wearing reins for his own safety on the service from Glasgow to Balloch, West Dunbartonshire.
But a boy, aged about 14, told his mum Christina "do you know you're not allowed dogs on this train?", the Daily Record reports.
Christina, 33, said the teenager had looked at her son in "disgust" and the "rude" and "arrogant" remark left Reace upset, asking his mum: "Mummy, why did that boy say that? I'm not a dog."
Afterwards, Reace, who also has ADHD and learning difficulties, was agitated and refused to walk home with his mum.
He wears reins attached to a backpack to prevent him from running off.
Christina, from Alexandria, said of last weekend's incident: "It made me feel so angry. How dare this ned come up and insult my innocent son for no apparent reason?
"Their rude, arrogant comment has affected Reace in ways they will never know.
"Apart from going to school, he doesn't want to go out of the house now."
"He wears a little backpack with reins attached so I can keep him close to me. If not he gets frustrated and tries to run off.
"I think that's why the boy compared him to a dog. He made out like to was wearing a leash. The way he said it and how he looked at Reace was disgusting."
Reace heard the comment but didn't understand why the boy compared him to a dog, his mum said.
She said: "He was saying to me, 'Mummy, why did that boy say that? I'm not a dog'. He was upset."
She added: "We'd had a lovely day visiting family.
"It takes so much for Reace to want to go out and the day had went exactly how I had planned until this happened.
"We were only a few stops from home before it all went wrong.
"After the boy said it Reace's confidence was knocked.
"He just wanted to go home and has now said he doesn't want to go out in public again. It's horrible."
