Residents of a west Stirlingshire village have been left without their store after it was damaged by fire this week.
The fire occurred in the early hours of Tuesday at the Gargunnock Village Store, which is owned and run by Alistair and Violet Weir.
The Main Street store’s door has since been boarded up and it is expected to be closed for some time.
Police Scotland said this week there were no injuries nor suspicious circumstances.
Meantime the community is rallying round to provide shopping for villagers who require assistance.
Chairperson of Gargunnock Community Trust David King said on Wednesday “Obviously the village greatly sympathises with Alistair and Violet who are still the owners.
“In the meantime, as during the first Covid shutdown, the village has rallied around with offers of assistance, collecting shopping for residents who are without transport.
“I discovered this morning that the Tesco bus which used to run weekly has recently been withdrawn, upon contacting Tesco I was informed this is a corporate decision and was highly unlikely to be reconsidered.
“The Community Trust is meeting via Zoom to discuss what it can do to assist in the short term and what the options might be going forward as we envisage it may be many months before the shop might be operational again. One option being considered is to use one of the buildings in the community centre.
“It is hoped that a meeting involving as many residents as possible could be held in the very near future but of course Covid regulations may necessitate this being held virtually.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said this week: “Around 2.30am on Tuesday, July 6, officers were called to the Main Street area of Gargunnock, to assist Scottish Fire and Rescue with a fire at a premises.
“ There were no injuries reported and no suspicious circumstances.”
Scottish Fire and Rescue were contacted for comment.
Gargunnock Village Store featured in a BBC Scotland show last summer.
In Corner Shop Cook-Off resident chef Gary Maclean went head to head with a guest chef to come up with a three-course meal using items from the store for no more than £15.
