A memorial statue to commemorate the fishermen who have been lost at sea has been unveiled in a north-east community.
Residents in the neighbouring villages of Inverallochy and Cairnbulg had been fundraising for almost a year to build a bronze statue to pay tribute to the hundreds of local families torn apart by the dangers at sea.
And, over the weekend, that effort culminated in the unveiling of a striking art work of a fishing wife and daughter gazing across the North Sea.
Fundraising started in February 2015 when the local gala committee loaned the community group £15,000 to have the statue created.
A further £15,000 was raised to bring the project to completion, while the Banff and Buchan area committee awarded the scheme £1,000 to carry out landscaping works at the statue’s resting place on the north-east coastline.
David Gammack, the community council’s secretary, said a minute’s silence was observed before hymns were sung at the unveiling.
He added: “Invercairn Community Council are absolutely delighted with the statue which now takes pride of place on Shore Street, Cairnbulg, and greatly enhances an already picturesque location in our community.
“We would like to thank all those people who have contributed towards the funding of the statue, because we have been overwhelmed by the generosity and support of the local and wider community.”
The bronze work was created by Peebles-based Beltane Studios. Ahead of its unveiling, Mike Summers, a member of the Invercairn community council, said there had been a “feeling the community over the years had lost a lot of people to the sea”.
He added, in paying homage to the statue: “The Invercairn community council wanted to recognise this.”
