The Isle of Arran today thanked the SSE engineers who restored power to their homes after the worst storm in living memory.
Last month 150 SSE engineers and support staff battled appalling weather and difficult terrain to repair enormous damage done to the electircity distribution network on the island.
Today Arran residents showed their gratitude when they handed over 150 hampers of Arran goodies for each of the SSE engineers and sub-contractors who worked tirelessly to reconnect power to their homes.
The hampers included included locally produced cheese, oatcakes, preserve, Arran Aromatics and Isle of Arran whisky miniature.
Kenny Bone, Chairman of VisitArran, said: "For ten days parts of Arran were all but cut off, and though the experience really showed the community spirit that is a particular strength of our island, we are enormously grateful to the small army of men and women who worked in some pretty appalling conditions to restore power to our homes and workplaces.
"VisitArran decided that on behalf of the community, we had to make a small gesture of thanks to those who helped us through that difficult period. Hopefully as they sample some of the local produce they might be tempted to come back, along with their family and friends, for a more leisurely visit to Scotland’s most accessible island – often considered to be ‘Scotland in Miniature’."
Stuart Hogarth, SSE's Director of Distribution, said: "We are extremely touched by the generosity of the Arran community who are very kindly sending hampers to the 150 engineers and support staff who were involved in restoring power to Arran.
"One of the lasting memories we will take away from our time on Arran is the wonderful level of community spirit we experienced. Once again we would like to extend our thanks to the community on Arran for the warm welcome and support they gave our team and for their ongoing patience whilst we battled to restore power to their homes and businesses."
SSE and VisitArran have thanked many local people, including those from voluntary groups and the search and rescue teams, who also worked around-the-clock to ensure that everyone on the island was safe and cared for.