WEST FIFE school children donated knitted blankets to Bandrum Nursing Home, thanks to help from RealLiving’s Older People Befriending Service.

The service provides an opportunity for older people to get together at its social cafés in Torryburn and Rosyth, to enjoy companionship and to take part in activities run by the volunteers.

The social café in Torryburn is visited regularly by pupils from Torryburn Primary School.

A few of the pupils visited the café when members were knitting blankets for local hospitals and care homes and were so keen to knit one themselves, that volunteer Sylvia Hanlon set up a knitting group at the school for seven pupils.

Over 20 weeks, the pupils knitted their own blanket and have now donated this, along with two blankets knitted by the Torryburn Café members, to Bandrum Nursing Home in Saline.

The classes proved really popular, with another 20 pupils interested in taking Sylvia’s classes after the summer.

Torryburn Primary head teacher Jillian Mellis said the children had learned new skills and demonstrated good citizenship.

Bandrum Nursing Home care manager Linda Short said: “It meant so much to the residents to know that the children and members of Torryburn Café took time to make something just for them. We all think that this donation is just wonderful.”