The widow of a man whose memorial bench has been replaced for the fourth time due to vandalism has thanked the Sutherland community who helped pay for it.
Residents in Embo raised £250 through a collection box to pay for a new structure dedicated to the later Donnie Mackay, known to friends as Donnie Kye. He died aged 74 from a rare type of cancer in 2010.
Police carried out inquiries in August after two memorial benches in the village were vandalised – and it was the third time that Donnie’s bench had been destroyed.
But now, with the help of local residents, a brand new bench bearing a plaque and photograph has been reinstated at the scenic spot at Back Park.
The wooden bench was the idea of Mr Mackay’s wife, Patricia, who felt it would be a nice idea given the number of memorial benches standing along the links at Dornoch. The place at which it is positioned marks a spot where they used to go walking together.
Yesterday Mrs Mackay said: “I’d like to say thanks to the community for the money they’ve raised to help pay for the new bench. The generosity of the community of Embo has been amazing.”
Mr Mackay was born and bred in the village and spent a year working as a porter on the old railway line in the area, before joining the RAF as a dog handler and then spending 20 years in the prison service.
He was well known and had many friends in the community.
The first bench in his memory was vandalised in 2012, and the second time it happened was in 2014 and bullet holes were found in the wood and metal plaque.
Mr Mackay’s daughter, Marie Mackay, previously said that each of the three times the bench has been vandalised, it happened at the same time of year.