Burntisland youngster Jay, 6, leads march to parliament with dad Colin

Six-year-old Jay Anthony led the Bifab protest through the heart of Edinburgh.

The youngster from Burntisland took a day off school to march with his father Colin Anthony to the Scottish Parliament.

Carrying a placard which read “Save Daddy’s work”, Jay was a symbol of the impact that the loss of Bifab’s yards at Burntisland and Methil could have on families across the region and beyond.

He led Colin’s colleagues on the emotional and highly charged walk to Holyrood, where the Government was urged to help secure the future of the company and hundreds of jobs.

Colin said closure of the yards would be “terrible, especially leading up to Christmas” and would affect the whole community. He said: “Pubs, cafés, restaurants, shops, they all benefit from the workforce. The whole fabric of the area would be hit hard.”

Bugler Frankie Proctor, whose filmed performance of the Last Post inside the Queensferry Crossing went viral earlier this week, played to signal the start of the march.

He said: “Shops would struggle. Bifab keeps the whole community alive.

“I have grandchildren who all come round for Christmas but Christmas could be a little bit different this year.”

Father-of-two Faycal Benhaha, a travelling worker from Durham, said agency workers let go were already suffering. He said: “From today we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

“It’s not a good time of year to be looking for another job.”

Foreman Andrew Ovens, of Buckhaven, said five members of his family work for Bifab.

However, there was optimism and determination among the workforce, he said, adding: “There has been a fantastic turnout today.

“We are close friends as well as coworkers and would do anything to get ourselves out of this mess that a certain company has put us in.”

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Bifab keeps the whole community alive. FRANKIE PROCTOR