A north-east couple who maintain their village paddling pool as a labour of love celebrated a recent makeover effort as temperatures soared yesterday.
Steven and Kirsty Farquhar live near the pool at Portknockie, which occupies a prominent spot next to the harbour.
Fearing it could be left to rot amid council cutbacks, the pair began volunteering their time to ensure the spot is kept looking its best.
They enlisted the help of family and friends for a clean-up operation earlier this week, and then spent five hours painting it bright blue ahead of an anticipated spike in use over the warmer months.
The couple’s five-year-old son, Alex, even joined in to offer a hand with sprucing up the outdoor attraction.
Yesterday, the pool became a hive of activity as children took advantage of the sunny weather by playing in its cooling water.
Mrs Farquhar said she was happy to be able to help – despite the workload involved.
The 31-year-old said: “We do it off our own backs, and it does take a fair bit of work.
“We were scared that the council might cut back on cleaning and painting the pool because we know times are tough.
“So we offered to do all that ourselves, as we would have hated to see it abandoned.
“It is really popular with locals and holidaymakers in the summer.”
Moray Council now provides the couple with cleaning equipment and paint, which is stored in the harbour office, and they carry out the work themselves.
The attraction is cleaned every three weeks using hoses and occasionally a power washer, but only needs repainted every three years.
It was most recently given a fresh coating this week.
Mrs Farquhar added: “I used to use the pool as a kid, and my mum used it when she was little too.
“It’s a distinctive part of the village, and it looks lovely after being painted.”
Portknockie Community Council last night commended the Farquhars for their efforts.
Member Angela Mair said: “We are all so pleased to see the pool looking its best, if the Farquhars didn’t look after it then I worry that nobody would.”
