By Craig Smith and Aileen Robertson

TRIBUTES HAVE been paid to three young central Fife men who were killed in a horrific car crash late on Friday night.

Allistair Caird (21), from Auchtertool, James Rankin (21), from Cowdenbeath, and David Rodger (20), from Lochgelly, lost their lives after the black Honda Civic they were travelling in left the B925 Kirkcaldy to Auchtertool road at around 9.30pm.

The car, driven by Mr Caird, is understood to have hit several trees after careering off the road.

Two of the men died at the scene while another was taken to Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, where he also died later.

Police are still looking into the circumstances of the accident, although investigators do not believe there was another vehicle involved.

News of the tragedy particularly stunned the small village of Auchtertool, where Allistair Caird, known as Ally, lived with his parents, Moyra and Bill.

He attended the village primary school and Balwearie High in Kirkcaldy before gaining work as a joiner at a firm in Cowdenbeath.

He enjoyed going out with friends, football and playing pool but was particularly known for his love of cars, especially Hondas.

His relatives were being comforted at the family home in Camilla Grove over the weekend.

A statement from Mr Caird’s family said, “Ally was a very precious son and brother and will be very much-missed by all his family and friends.”

One village resident, who did not wish to be named, said, “Allistair was such a lovely, lovely lad—an exceptionally nice boy. This is an awful tragedy which will be a shock to the whole village. Everyone’s thoughts are with his family.”

James Rankin was also a qualified joiner and equally loved cars, confessing on his personal website that he was “daft about motors” and loved “doing speeds that would make your eyes water.”

His heartbroken family in Cowdenbeath also released a statement in tribute.

“James was a much-loved son, brother and boyfriend who will be greatly missed by all of the family who valued him so much,” it said.

Similar sentiments came from David Rodger’s parents, describing him as a “lovely son and a great brother who was truly loved by all of our family and will be missed by us all forever.”

Mr Rodger recently joined the army as a driver in the Royal Logistics Corps and was due to begin training at Army Training Regiment Pirbright in the south-east of England today.

He wrote on his website just days before his death, “My life is full of really great things—I’ve got a great family consisting of really supportive parents, a great big brother and the best two sisters you could ever want.”

It has also emerged he knew Jamie Kerr, the 20-year-old private from Cowdenbeath who died in an insurgent attack in Iraq at the end of June, and listed him as one of his friends on the Bebo networking site.

At the top of the page was a picture and tribute to the soldier and he had written, “Jamie Kerr is a legend, R.I.P miss you.”

However, the tributes now being left are for him.

One said simply, “And yet another one,” reflecting the number of young deaths to have struck west Fife in recent months.

Touching messages have appeared on all three of the friends’ personal websites, while people visited the scene over the weekend to lay flowers.

The road was closed for most of the night and only opened late on Saturday morning after emergency services cleared away debris.

Specialist officers examined the scene over the weekend in a bid to establish the cause of the crash and how fast the vehicle might have been travelling.

It is understood the parents of one of the dead men were on a family holiday in the north of Scotland and immediately returned home upon hearing the news.

The bereaved have all asked that they be allowed to grieve without intrusion.

Fife Police have issued an appeal for witnesses to the crash, or who may have seen the car before it, to call 01592 251111.