OVER £2,300 has been raised for good causes in Fife following a successful event celebrating diversity in the Kingdom and a Cowdenbeath man played a large part in it.

Fife’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community came together with friends and family for the first ‘Fife Rainbow Gala and Awards’ at the Carnegie Conference Centre in Dunfermline, where over 130 guests enjoyed entertainment, inspirational speeches and an awards ceremony.

There was recognition of the work underway across Fife for individuals and organisations who work to end discrimination and stigma, with eight sparkling trophies awarded by judges.

Organiser, Stuart Duffy, from Cowdenbeath, who is Founder of the Fife-based equalities charity Pink Saltire, said: “We’re all so pleased with the support for the Rainbow Gala and Awards here in Fife.

"The event was a huge success and we really want to thank all the sponsors, those who donated prizes and bought tickets.

"Its fantastic to see such diversity being celebrated in Fife and it should give people confidence that they don’t have to move away from areas like this to really feel part of the community.

"Fife celebrates equality for all and the list of nominees and winners demonstrate just some of the amazing work happening in communities all over the Kingdom, something we should be very proud of.”

There was also an awards ceremony where Police Scotland, Dunfermline High and other people were awarded. Others included Gay Rights and Trans Activists from around Scotland. The awards included LGBT Ally, LGBT Employer and LGBT Health Services.

The last award was introduced as "LGBT Outstanding Achievements & Campaigner", where Pat Greenhough (LGBT Ally Award Winner & Gay Rights Activist) said that the winner of this award "had gone the extra mile to promote equality by their contribution to music" and announced that Nick Shane had won the accolade.

Said Nick: "I was obviously over the moon with this, as I never expected to win anything whatsoever. I was only there to play my guitar and sing songs with some pals. I knew that I'd gained a bit of LGBT popularity by releasing a song called "Standing Up For Colour" after the Orlando massacre this year, which resonated with me due to homophobic abuse as a child. But I never knew I was award material".

Nick has been heavily involved with the Scottish music scene for over ten years. He was the lead guitarist and frontman for Dundee mod group, The NSA, before fronting his own band throughout 2016, and played venues like the Adam Smith Theatre and Glasgow's Barrowland.