A Royal Marine has had his hopes of becoming a pub landlord demolished literally.
Ross Hunt (35) took out a mortgage to buy the Quayside Bar in Inverkeithing, but is now paying for a pile of rubble after it was razed to the ground.
To make matters worse, he was also using it as his home.
When he had to go down to Portsmouth for work, he left the building boarded up. And it appears to have been hit by the same wrecking ball which took down the derelict Inveresk mill next door.
“When I saw how it had been left, I was absolutely gutted. Stunned,” he said. “It was an ex-work colleague who called me and asked why I’d demolished the place. I was shocked. It seems that there had been a belief that my home had been part of the mill.
“I’ve got a large mortgage on this property, which is now just a pile of rubble. I couldn’t believe that anybody would demolish a property without even checking who owned it. There must be procedures they have to go through.
“The pub still had hundreds of glasses, a pool table, a music system. There was always the possibility that when I left the forces I could reopen it as a pub.
“They seem to be suggesting they have done me a favour by knocking the place down because it was in poor condition, but although it needed some work it was perfectly habitable.”
The Tudor-style pub is believed to date to 1873 and was previously named Ye Olde Foresters Arms.
Mr Hunt, who plays in the Royal Marines Band, bought the building in 2004. He is now seeking compensation and has started proceedings against Ernst and Young, who were appointed receivers for Inveresk in 2010.
Now unable to stay upstairs from the bar, he is living in barracks accommodation at HMS Caledonia in Rosyth.
“I can’t afford to rent another place while I’m paying the mortgage. Luckily, I’m in the forces and have a roof over my head. I’ve got all my worldly possessions in a little room at Caledonia.
“I’m not a greedy person but I need the money back I paid and maybe a little bit more so I can get a new place.”
A spokesman for Ernst and Young said: “Talks are taking place over this matter and as a result we cannot comment at this time.”