A FORMER Dunfermline man has bagged himself a bit of family – and Halbeath – history after securing masonry rescued after the recent demolition of the old Hotel Roma building.

Andrew Torrance, who lives in the Scottish Borders, was desperate to save stones which included his great, great grandfather's initials and the date he had been involved in the former pub's construction back in 1891.

He travelled up to West Fife to take possession of the masonry – which he plans to preserve and keep in the family – but was unable to take them back home because they are currently too heavy to transport.

He is currently attempting to find a stonemason who will be able to take off the plaques at the front of the huge concrete stones so he can take them home safely.

"It took four men to lift one stone so I am going to have to find someone who can take the front off," he explained. "They were too heavy to go in the car."

Originally from Dunfermline, Andrew became aware of his connection to the Halbeath pub when doing research into his mum's family tree.

He explained: "A number of years ago, I became aware of this pub. I took photos as a bit of a record before it was demolished as it had significance to my family – my great, great grandad was the person who had built the pub. His initials, AS, for Archibald Scotland, were up on the stone and the date 1891 which was the year it was erected."

After seeing footage of the former Fod Arms being demolished last week, Andrew said several people came forward to help him claim the stones for posterity.

"I am interested in Dunfermline and Halbeath and I am linked to a number of Facebook pages. Someone had posted that it was finally being demolished. For the community, it was quite good news as it has been an eyesore for many years," said Andrew.

"I had seen the post and had mentioned it was my great, great grandad's. People knew I had a connection to it. One man, Robert Kirkwood, spoke to someone on the site and, at the same time, the owner of the site, Jordan Hodgson, from Stephens Bakers, went to speak to the guys from the demolition company.

"He was instrumental, along with Robert, in the guys trying to save the masonry. At the same time, I had emailed the demolition company, Craig Purvis, and they came back to me to say they had managed to save it and please arrange to collect it.

"It is a big part of my family and a part of Halbeath history. I will make sure my boys, who are in their 30s, look after it. It is not a lot but it is something.

"I am hoping to get it mounted. The guys at the site went out of their way to cut it out. I want it to be mobile though and I have warned my sons to keep it forever."

The derelict eyesore on Main Street – which has been a blot on the village landscape since it shut 15 years ago – is to be replaced with a Stephens bakery shop and drive-thru.