Over £3,000 has been raised in days to help save a historic Central Fife bowling club.
The committee of the 128 year-old Lochgelly Bowling Club launched a fundraiser last week after revealing that rising costs meant the facility was looking at closure if urgent funds were not found.
Since then, £3,195 of the £5,000 has been raised with events already planned to help bring in much-needed cash.
Club stalwart Alan Bowers, who has been a member for over 40 years and is currently its secretary, said they were "overwhelmed" with the response.
"We thought we would put something in on the Facebook page. It was pretty much a last gasp effort if you like," he said.
"We were hoping to appeal to one or two of the local businesses in the town that may have come forward but we were totally overwhelmed by the community response.
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"It is the community that has rallied round. People have put in say £10 and it brings a tear to your eye.
"We didn't realise how people view these things. They know we are part of the community. We have people who are partially blind, disabled people who play and we are trying to cater for them
"We try and put on a wee show once a month and have a sing song for the local community every Saturday. There are quite a lot of older people that come and it is a night out for them where they know they are safe."
Alan said the shaky financial position comes amid rising costs experienced across the country.
He continued: "It is a cost of living thing. We pay almost £5000 a year for the upkeep of the green. If you don't have a bowling green, you don't have a bowling club.
"Then you have got the insurance for the club which we have just got down to about £1,900, it is still a lot of money for a wee club.
"We are sitting at around 40/50 members. Even the fees coming in cannot sustain the club for the whole year. It is ok in the summer time but it is the winter time you have still got the electricity and all the utilities you have to pay.
"It is not just about the bowling, that is the main thing obviously. We are a small club but a very competitive club. We have had our share of successes over the years and we just appeal to everybody.
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"This is going to tide us over for a bit but we are going to have to see what else can we try here. The same thing is going to happen again and again. We need some sort of income.
"It is an ongoing thing. Right through the year you have to pay your utilities as long as the club is open. If we closed it over the winter time, we have no income coming in.
"From last Thursday when we had the committee meeting, things have moved on at tremendous pace. We have been absolutely delighted with the response particularly from the broader community. Even other bowling clubs have got in touch and contributed something.
"It has been tremendous quite frankly."
A fundraiser event is taking place this Sunday and anyone wanting to donate to help the club can do so my visiting the JustGiving page here.
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