The family of Allan Bryant say they are “deeply hurt” after tribute balloons marking the 11th anniversary of the Glenrothes man’s disappearance were removed just hours after they were put up.
Eleven heart-shaped balloons, along with others inscribed with messages, were tied to the railings of Styx nightclub in the town on Sunday.
The tribute was placed at the spot marking the last confirmed sighting of Allan as he left the nightspot in the early hours of Sunday, November 3, 2013.
Despite one of Scotland’s biggest-ever missing person investigations, his whereabouts remain a mystery.
The nightclub has defended its decision to remove the tribute.
Last confirmed sighting of Allan Bryant was leaving Styx nightclub
The family say they have conducted similar tributes at the spot in previous years without any issues.
Dad Allan Snr said: “Allan’s mum, Marie, with the help of family members, tied the balloons to the railings belonging to the club on Sunday as they have in previous years.
“There’s never been any issue with doing so before so you can understand our shock when we found out they’d been cut down.
“The railings are very significant for us as it was the very spot Allan was last seen.
“CCTV captured him leaving the club and grabbing the railings as he left.
“To have the club take them down on the very anniversary of his disappearance has left us disgusted and deeply hurt.
“We have had hundreds gather at the club for a candle-lit vigil, marches and other tribute events in the past and it’s never been a problem.”
Glenrothes nightclub owners say they were not informed
However, the owners of Styx nightclub resolutely defended their decision.
They posted on their Facebook page: “We had no issues at all with the display.
“We simply messaged Allan Bryant to say it would have been nice to have been informed this was happening as the display was done with no communication from the Bryant family.
“No one informed us a full display was being put on our premises, regardless of what has happened in previous years.
“Common courtesy would be to inform the pub or management of plans and we would have had no issues with it.
“We would have offered to help the family if they needed anything.”
The new owners, who took control of the club in 2023, added they were unaware of any arrangements the Bryant family had with the club before they took over.
Furthermore, they added they have now been subjected to “horrendous” online threats over the row.
Their statement continued: “Hopefully communication can be made for anything in the future.
“We apologise to anyone this may have offended.”
The Bryant family recently revealed they had conducted a private dig at a remote Fife beauty spot to discover what happened to their son.
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