DETAILS of two forgotten West Fife villages have been outlined in a newly-published book.

Scotland's Lost Villages, which has been written by Ayrshire author Dane Love, features 40 places including Lassodie, just outside Kelty, and Fairfield which was built north of Dunfermline.

Both places were once home to many West Fifers' ancestors, however today, little more than the relocated war memorial and memories survive.

Dane told the Times: "The book covers the history of when the villages were started when the landowner leased out the minerals.

"Lassodie was big enough to have its own church and post office and the tavern was quite famous.

"There was also a fair-sized school and it had all the facilities you would expect in a village. I believe Sean Connery went on his holidays to Lassodie as his auntie and uncle were there."

During the height of the mining industry Lassodie was a very busy village, but in the 1960s as the coal industry shrank, the village shrank and now there are just a few houses.

"Fairfield didn't have all the facilities but it had better-quality houses and was slightly smaller," said Dane.

"For a lot of the places, once the mining company's lease expired, they were expected to put the village back to how it was. Lassodie and Fairfield were physically evacuated and folk were rehoused elsewhere and the site was obliterated. There is only a war memorial that was relocated to the roadside."

Scotland’s Lost Villages, by Dane Love, is published by Carn Publishing at £18.