AN ADDITIONAL chance to own part of a West Fife pub is to be offered to help cover legal bills needed to complete its purchase.

The Red Lion Pub in Culross became a community-owned pub last month after locals and interested parties further afield bought up shares through a campaign backed by Outlander star Sam Heughan who previously enjoyed a drink in the bar.

The West Fife Community Trading Limited was set up as a community benefit society last year to raise £800,000 with the aim of ploughing the surplus income back into the ancient burgh to fund local projects.

Trust secretary Tim Collins said the latest share option is due to close at the end of this month.

He explained: "We actually own the place now so we have got land and building tax to pay. The legal fees were horrendous basically because the building is so old and historic.

"The budget for the legal costs was way over-exceeded so we are trying to do all sorts of things. We have reopened the share offer to see if existing shareholders wanted to reinvest or people who missed out the first time around.

"You have to cross all the tees and dot all the i's. Because it is community money, so we cannot mess around and have to be spot on with it."

Tim said a "steady trickle" of new investors was helping relieve the financial burdens and all shareholders have an indirect influence on the pub's operations.

"How it works is every shareholder is a member of the society that owns the pub," he said. "Every year, some of the board will stand down and not restand for election. All members get to elect people for the board. They all get a say in who goes on the board.

"People will stand for the board, local people who know the inn. Then that goes out with the ballot papers once a year."

Since finalising the take-over, Tim said the pub has been enjoying great success.

"We have had two of the best month's trading the pub has had," he said. "It has been jumping. The whole village is jumping. People are not going abroad and staying to holiday at home so we have had tourists from all over the UK and Europe and there have been bus tours and cruises."

Anyone wanting to find out about the share option can visit the Red Lion Culross' Facebook page or pop into the pub for more information.