A FIFE pigeon fancier has spoken of his shock after a suspicious fire claimed the lives of dozens of his racing pigeons.

Alex Wight, secretary of Kennoway Homing Society, was left devastated after his pigeon loft was deliberately set alight in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Forty-one birds perished in the blaze in Langside Drive, Kennoway—with a neighbour’s quick thinking managing to save just six of Mr Wight’s 47 prized pigeons.

With his hobby now in tatters, he is determined to see those responsible for the fire brought to justice sooner rather than later.

“I’ve only been in the sport for three years and in that time I think I’ve done not too bad flying the pigeons, so for this to happen and for me to have my hobby ripped away from me for no reason is just heartbreaking,” said Mr Wight.

“I think I’ve got a heart of gold—I’ll try and help anyone and I don’t carry any enemies so I can’t imagine who would have done this.

“My neighbour managed to rescue six of them but within a matter of moments the loft was well alight.

“The police and fire brigade said they think it was started maliciously, so I hope they can catch whoever did this.”

Mr Wight was woken by his neighbour banging on his door shortly after 4am on Sunday but by the time they managed to get to the blazing loft most of the damage was already done.

But Mr Wight—whose wife Karin and eight-month-old son Mackenzie were also in the house at the time —reckons the fire could have had more serious consequences had it gone unnoticed for much longer.

“My back window is shattered and if it was single pane I might not be here to talk about it today. This has scared the living daylights out of us,” he said.

Levenmouth Chief Inspector Andy Morris appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward as soon as possible to catch the culprits.

He said, “In the opinion of the attending fire service personnel this was a malicious incident, given that the circumstances of the fire indicate that it was deliberately set, although the exact cause is still unknown.

“These pigeons stood no chance of escape or survival and I would appeal for members of the public who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area of Langside Drive at the time to come forward and help us with our inquiries.”

Anyone who thinks they have any information on the fire should contact Fife Constabulary on 0800 600 5702 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.