THE way that the body blow of the attack by fireraisers was tackled by Benarty Events Group showed tremendous resilience.

The destruction of the portable toilets, at Lochore Meadows, was a real set-back for BEG and there would have to have been doubts if the 2019 Benarty Gala could go ahead, just 24 hours before the parade.

However, the resilience of the community was shown by the way three local business people stepped up to the plate and managed to get replacements for the destroyed portable loos in place to allow the big event to take place. What the perpetrators of the torching of the toilets were thinking about when they carried out their act only they will know but they must surely have known that they were putting one of the Benarty community's biggest days of the year in jeopardy.

The hundreds of children who took part in last Sunday's parade and activities in the Meedies could have been denied their enjoyment by this act of wanton vandalism.

The weather, which had been a bit showery early in the day, changed to bright sunshine so the community event went with a swing and the work of the three business people and the BEG team deserve the utmost praise.

Hopefully the police will catch up with the vandals, for this was no ordinary act of wanton wrecking. It caused thousands of pounds worth of damage and at the same time threatened to ruin the day that the children of Glencraig, Crosshill, Lochore and Ballingry had looked forward to for weeks.

But at the end of the day the community won and those who made it happen deserve the utmost credit.