Kirkcaldy town centre has been hailed as one of the safest in Scotland.
The town has become the third in the country to be presented with a Safer Retailer Award for the way its shops handle the sale of age-restricted goods, such as alcohol, DVDs, tobacco, knives and solvents.
The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) handed over the accolade to Kirkcaldy BID manager Bill Harvey, who hailed it as excellent news for the town. It follows months of work involving shopkeepers, the police, the fire service and Mr Harvey.
Falkirk and Galashiels are the only two other towns in Scotland to have achieved the accreditation.
Matt Ronan from the SBRC, in Stirling, said that as well as monitoring the sale of age-restricted goods, judges had been looking at the way retailers dealt with consumer rights and disability awareness.
“It’s about making sure shops have the correct policies, procedures and training in place,” he said. “If they don’t have anything in place, we will work with them until they do.”
Mr Ronan said standards were very high in Kirkcaldy. “They were at a high level before we even started. Kirkcaldy should be proud of its retailers on the High Street.”
He added: “This scheme is ongoing and is voluntary so it says a lot about the shops taking part. It’s very, very positive.”
Mr Harvey said: “I think this is really good for Kirkcaldy. It’s great that the work that has been going on has been recognised.”
He added: “It shows things in this town are moving in the right direction. The town centre, is open, alive and working for people to visit, spend time and shop.
“We are absolutely delighted to be awarded it, especially since we are only one of three towns in Scotland to get it.
“I would like to say a big thank you to Police Scotland’s Fife Division and the Scottish Business Resilience Centre for their help.”