Best Christmas ever for farm thanks to roofers
GARY ARMSTRONG
Christmas has come early for a community farm thanks to the incredible generosity of a roofing firm.
Paul and Michelle Gray of ASR Contracts responded to a social media post from Lamont Farm asking for help, after the barn roof started leaking water onto the animals inside.
And, having visited the farm to assess the damage, Paul then said he would fix the roof for free, a wonderful gesture in the season of goodwill.
Lamont Farm’s Trish Craig admits she was blown away by the offer.
She said: “It’s starting to feel like a very merry Christmas on Lamont Farm, one of the hardest and most difficult times of the year. “It means the world to us. “The damage to the roof comes from wear and tear of being an old building. It was unfortunately always way too much money to fix.
“We were destroyed by the storm in 2013. The roof took a bit of a battering - the insurance only covered the main part so the roof was never fully fixed. “There are plenty of leaks into the barn. “We’re forever moving our wee animals out the way to make sure they’re always dry and warm.”
Paul, who is originally from Paisley but now lives in Bishopton, said he just wants to help out the community.
He added: “I went along for a look, the first thing they’re thinking as a charity is ‘how much is it going to cost’?
“We’ve had a good year and we just want to give a little back to our local area.
“Going forward, if there’s anything wrong with their roof, we’ll do all we can to make it water tight for them.
“It was the fact the animals were inside and there was a hell of a lot of water coming in.
“I thought ‘Let’s get a couple of guys on site, go to town on the roof and get it all watertight’, being the festive season and everything.”
Trish, who admits the charity-run farm struggles on a shoestring budget, also shared her delight in receiving regular donations of coal, having been told they needed to switch to more expensive, smoke-free fuel earlier this year.
She added: “The response has been incredible. We’re getting bags of coal every day.
“A wall blew over in the wind earlier this year and a building company came out and fixed it within a day.
“The community has been getting right behind us.”
Erskine’s Lamont Farm aims to educate children and adults in animal husbandry and celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.
To find more about the farm and help with donations of coal, please visit the Lamont Farm Project Facebook page.