DUNFERMLINE has regained a travel agent after Hays Travel opened up in the former Thomas Cook premises.

The Kingsgate Centre premises of the defunct holiday giant was one of 60 from across Scotland to be taken over in a move which saved around 2,500 jobs.

New manager Brian Grierson was delighted to be back in a job and is ready, along with his three colleagues, to help West Fifers with their holiday wishes.

"We have been open a few weeks now and have now got most of the systems working and things in the window and we are starting to look more like a travel agent," he said.

"There are currently four people working here but we are interviewing for additional consultants. Unfortunately, by the time we opened the shop, some people had moved onto other things."

Having worked for Thomas Cook for 23 years in another area, Brian is looking forward to working for the new company.

"One of the great things with Hays Travel is because it is an independent travel agent, that means we can sell absolutely everything to the customer, we don't have any boundaries," he explained. "With Thomas Cook, it was a bit restricted because you were not able to sell absolutely everything. A lot of it was through our own in-house operators. With Hays Travel, we can sell every tour operator, every flight company.

"We can sell Jet2Holidays which is incredible for people in the Dunfermline area. Also, we will be able to sell the EasyJet holidays. There is going to be some great campaign stuff coming from January so people can look out for that.

"November and December is usually quieter because people are thinking about Christmas. January is where it's a peak time as they are starting to think about the summer."

As well as offering help from their Kingsgate Centre base, the store will also be keeping customers updated through their Facebook site.

The 178-year-old Thomas Cook folded in September after failing to secure a last-minute rescue deal.

The news left around 150,000 passengers stranded abroad and holidaymakers from Dunfermline and West Fife had to scrap their breaks as a result of Thomas Cook's liquidation.

Lengthy queues were formed outside Barrhead Travel in Duloch on the morning after that news broke as sunseekers tried desperately to book different flights and accommodation.