Founders of a community allotment gutted by fire said they are overwhelmed by the generosity of locals who have rallied round to help them.
The Food is Free Carnoustie community garden was ravaged by a blaze on Wednesday night.
Project supporters in the town and beyond quickly got to work helping clear up the ruined polytunnel on Thursday and a crowdfunding page for repairs has already raised more than £3,000.
Laura Tierney, who co-founded the Panda Lane initiative five years ago, said she was devastated when the fire ripped through the allotment shortly before 9pm, but has been overwhelmed by support since.
“The response from the community has been amazing,” she said.
“People have been out all morning helping us clear up and offering other ways they can help and people have been donating online from as far away as Spain.”
The Food is Free scheme is part of a movement which began in Texas but has grown to include communities around the globe, which takes pieces of ground and turns them into gardens producing free harvests for everyone.
Volunteers leave fruit and vegetables at various locations across the town for locals to enjoy.
Police are still investigating the cause of the fire but neighbours said they saw young girls fleeing the scene at the time the blaze started.
Laura added: “They’re lucky they weren’t injured because it would have lit up so quickly.
“As upset as I am, I’m just so glad nobody was injured or killed.
“We would never have been able to bring ourselves to come back here if someone had been hurt.”
Locals rallied round and arrived at the allotment early on Thursday morning to help.
One, Neil Russell, is involved with the First Carnoustie Boys’ Brigade and praised Food is Free volunteers for letting members work in the garden as part of their Queen’s Badge training.
“The project is really at the heart of the community,” he said.
“I think whoever did this should be brought back to help repair the damage they caused and see the consequences of what they did.”
It is not the first time the garden has been targeted, as vandals destroyed plants and ripped the polytunnel.
Landowner Ross Smyth, who runs neighbouring Smyth Composites, has offered to install CCTV to prevent a future attack.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Around 9pm on Wednesday December 2 2020, officers received a report of a fire on Panda Lane in Carnoustie.
“The fire was extinguished by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and no-one was injured. Inquiries into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
“Anyone with information should contact police via 101, quoting incident number 3241 of December 2.”
Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-food-is-free-carnoustie
