Sneaky tea-snatchers made off with thousands of plants after raiding the remote Dalreoch Farm site in Perthshire, Scotland as owner Tam O’Braan recovered from an illness elsewhere.

Mr O’Braan - originally from Northern Ireland - has now rigged the site with wildlife cameras to prevent others uprooting his tea operation.

But experts at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture fear the stolen plants will have been sold to growers south of the border.

It raises the possibility of counterfeit Scottish tea hitting the market.

The Wee Tea Plantation’s produce is sold around the world at £35 per 15 grams. Last year, it was named the world’s best tea at the prestigious Salon de Thé awards in Paris.