DUNFERMLINE'S restaurants have been hit by a wave of Christmas cancellations for a second year.

Nicola Sturgeon this week advised Scots to limit socialising to a maximum of three households at a time following her statement last week which recommended against Christmas parties as Omicron cases rise across the country.

Now West Fife eateries and bars are asking for help as they face a massive loss of trade due to the advice.

Owner of Indian restaurant Dhoom, on Dunfermline's New Row, Dhaneshwar Prasad, said that they lost more than 150 guests last weekend alone and what had been a fully-booked Christmas week is now looking sparse.

December’s Fridays and Saturdays had been closed to new bookings for some time but Prasad has been forced to open those nights up in the hope of gaining last-minute custom.

He had not taken deposits over the festive period so lost out completely due to cancellations and others who turned up with far smaller numbers than expected.

One booking had reserved an area for 20 people but turned up with just six.

The restaurant now has concerns over its Christmas Day bookings, which had been fully booked for months.

Mr Prasad warned that without support from the community, many businesses like his would not survive.

Colin Harrower, manager of the Monarch Bar and function room, said venues should be putting safety first.

He said: “We have had some cancellations but not a lot because we had larger events which we have chosen to cancel ourselves.

"We had two music events and a kids' party which we felt should not go ahead under the circumstances.”

He said not enough time had passed to tell how the bar will be affected as it is Fridays and Saturdays which will be hit hardest, although they have taken the decision not to book any further events through the end of December and into January.

“I am more worried about the NHS and our older residents,” he said. “We still do track and trace, take temperatures and are strict on social-distancing, this has not changed at all.

“We welcome funding made available, we got funding before and the Small Business Gateway and Fife Council have been brilliant.

“We want to do our part for the NHS and to keep everyone safe.”

Dunfermline's Garvock House Hotel said they had received a mix of cancellations and postponements, while the Canmore House Bar and Restaurant have also seen a flood of booking cancellations for office Christmas parties but added that, “luckily a lot have rescheduled for the New Year”.

The Canmore has a separate function room which they had planned to staff fully for parties, however, now they are looking to reschedule shifts or cancel them completely and said they were now having to cut back on staffing over the festive period.

The business has called for people to shop local and have joined the Totally Locally Dunfermline campaign to try to raise awareness.