A kind-hearted community has united to bring a freezing homeless man in from the cold.
With the so-called Beast from the East due to hit large swathes of the UK, Burntisland folk were horrified by the plight of the man, known only as James, found shivering in a tent on the town’s beach.
But thanks to a Facebook appeal by local resident Darren Wapplington, James was given a warm room in a hotel paid for by generous townsfolk.
Jason Borthwick, owner of The Sands Hotel and one of the first to respond to Darren’s post, said he had been overwhelmed by the response of local people who rallied within minutes.
“The fact people have this spirit about them has restored my faith in humanity,” he said.
Darren stumbled across James as he was walking his dog on Sunday afternoon.
He later posted on Facebook: “James was very matter of fact about living in a tent.
“However, having seen the terrible weather forecast for the week would anyone be interested in contributing to funding him accommodation for a few days?”
He also urged local hotels or B&Bs to do a special rate for James and added: “Not a lasting solution but given the weather it would be a particularly horrendous time to be rough sleeping.”
Jason stepped forward to offer his services and donations began pouring in to cover the cost of the stay.
“I had a spare room and he was welcome to it,” he said.
“Then people were coming in to the hotel to drop off money for him and there’s in excess of £100 so far.
“I don’t know how long he’ll be here because the council have been to speak to him and we’re hopeful he’ll be sorted out with something.
“I’m not here to make money out of James’s situation, just to cover my costs, so if there’s cash left over when he leaves I’ll ask people if they want me to give it to him or to a homeless charity.”
Jason was full of praise for the people of Burntisland.
“It’s fantastic that so many people got together so quickly to find a positive result for this man,” he said.
“James was also delighted and very thankful and appreciative.”