A LOCHORE man is bringing some colour to lockdown by making 98 bird boxes and more than 180 fairy doors for kids to decorate.

Derek Davidson, 57, felt sorry for bored children in Benarty and his ideas to brighten their day have taken off with demand going through the roof.

His handiwork has even been hung at Lochore Meadows Country Park and he laughed: "I've had people coming up to me saying 'You're the bird box man' and I'm like 'No, I'm Derek!'

"That's how crazy it's gone but it's all good fun."

Derek explained: "When lockdown started I wasn't doing anything for the gas board at the time so I joined the Benarty Emergency Response Team.

"We deliver meals, messages and essentials to the housebound and vulnerable, jump-start cars for key workers, anything that needs done.

"I also bake, we make scones and flapjacks and stuff and take them round to people, just trying to cheer folk up and make everyone happy.

"But there wasn't really anything for kids and they've been hit the hardest by this, stuck inside with nothing to do and they can't see their pals."

He continued: "So I made some bird boxes, 20 to start with, to give out for bairns to paint and decorate.

"I was out delivering anyway with the response team so I'd leave them on doorsteps.

"It took hours and hours to make them, I even bought a heavy duty stapler to help, but it really took off.

"I had more and more people saying they wanted them so I ended up making 98!

"I decided to have a competition for the best decorated one and got 57 of them back, they were at the front of my house and people would come by and look at them!

"We asked one of our local heroes, Anne-Marie Fernie is an NHS nurse who works with end of care patients, to come and judge them."

Man's best friend lent a paw as Derek has been breeding Jack Russells for 40 years, he also breeds black labradors, which have gone all over the world.

He actually met his second wife, Michele, who is from America, as he sold her a dog over the internet and travelled to the States to deliver it.

He said: "We can't do our normal dog show just now so we did one online and raised £400, so I used it to buy stuff for the foodbank in Benarty and wood for the bird boxes.

"My wife and I also bought prizes from Asda, wee art kits, drawing materials, sponge paints, things like that, just to help keep them occupied.

"And Benarty Fundraisers offered up three cash prizes too, £20, £15 and £10, for the top three. The winner was over the moon."

But Derek wasn't finished there.

He said: "I got permission from the park manager, Ian Laing, to hang the bird boxes in the Meedies so Michele was holding the ladder while I put 57 of them up.

"Now the kids are looking for their own boxes so I've drawn up a map and put it on Facebook, so it's really turned out great.

"So everyone was asking me 'What's next?'"

Next up he made four fairy doors, put them up round the Meedies and took photos of them, which he put on social media.

"Now everyone wants them," he laughed. "They're about 10 inches tall pieces of wood which they can decorate, put doors and windows on, you can have a path and steps up to it so it looks like fairies have taken residence.

"Kids can let their imagination take over but it's gone haywire."

He continued: "A guy called Alex Wight, from RV Woodcraft, had got in touch to say he was quiet and could he help so he cut 64 doors for me.

"I put a message on Facebook, left them on my doorstep and half an hour later they'd gone.

"We made another 64 and they went too. We're now doing another 64 and we're going to have a competition on Saturday for the best one.

"They've already started bringing their decorated ones back to the house, so they're on display at the window!"