A famous seal faces a lonely future after plans were approved to block off the harbour he visits.
Sammy the seal has been bobbing around Burntisland harbour for years, where he is fed by locals and tourists.
But Fife Council recently gave the green light for Forth Ports to put up fencing at the harbour which will cut off access.
Now locals have organised a bid to buy land at the harbour to keep it open.
The group have even written a song, “Who’ll Feed Sammy?” to support their campaign.
Andy Pay, from the Burntisland Harbour Access Trust, said: “In the wake of Fife Council’s highly controversial approval of an application by Forth Ports to erect a high security fence around Burntisland Harbour, the Burntisland Harbour Access Trust is now seeking to register a right for the community to buy the area under the Land Reform Act.
"The fence will, for the first time in living memory, end public access to the harbour and sea wall, which is a very popular area for walking, fishing, bird-watching and photography.
“The proposal has met with huge opposition with a petition against it attracting 3000 signatures.”
Activists behind the buy-out plans have organised a march and rally to take place on Saturday at 11am.
There will be speeches along with a community sing-a-long of Who’ll Feed Sammy? Andy added: “With feelings in the town still running high, a good turnout is anticipated.”
Derek Knox, senior port manager from Forth Ports insisted there was “no intention to close off the whole of
the port”.
But he said: “We are legally responsible for the safety of everyone at the port and we can only allow public access where it is safe.
“To meet our obligations, we must now limit access to certain areas within what is a working, industrial port.
“Our plans, which have been approved by Fife Council, will still enable the people of
Burntisland to walk through the port, but safely and avoiding areas of higher risk.”
Alastair Hamilton, development management service manager at Fife Council, added: “The application for listed building consent was considered by the Central and West Planning Committee on September 29.
“Having assessed all the material planning issues relevant to the application, the proposal was approved.”
