CARDENDEN'S bouyant scout group received a major body blow on Monday night when fire broke out at their Cardenden Road home and has caused thousands of pounds of damage.

The blaze appeared to start at the back of 8pm in the storage area at the back of the hall where such things as camping equipment, canoes and items used on a weekly basis by the strong going 4th Fife, are housed.

The outbreak has caused considerable damage to the hall, which has had upwards of £30,000 spent on it over the past few years on an upgrade which has seen many improvements achieved.

However, while the 4th Fife office bearers were stunned by Monday night's happenings the village is already rallying around them.

Dave Roy, chair of Cardenden Community Council, said: "We were sad to hear that the Scout Hall was damaged by fire on Monday evening.

"The Community Council are understandably devastated and our thoughts go out to all concerned".

Councillor Rosemary Liewald said: "This really is a huge blow to highly successful 4th Fife group and it was sad to see some of the scouts watching the firefighters battling the blaze wondering what the outcome was going to be.

"Mercifully it seems that the outbreak was contained to the storage area although there will be smoke and water damage to the remainder of the hall.

"It is a real blow though to everyone who has worked so hard to make the hall a really smart facility for the scouts and villagers to use."

The Fire Service will begin their investigations into what caused the blaze this midweek.