A HOLLY tree which had to be cut down after standing in a Dalry garden for more than half a century has been given a new lease of life by a devoted great-grandfather – as a hotel for fairies.

Five-year-old Mollie Brown had always believed that fairies lived in the tree at her gran Lynne McDonald’s house in Peden Avenue. So when the bush had to be chopped down because of disease, the little girl was distraught.

But Lynne came up with an idea to cheer Mollie up and, using recycled bits and bobs from around the house, Lynne’s dad John spent three days transforming the remaining tree stumps into magical lodgings for ‘the little people’.

John, 75, said: “At the side of my daughter’s house was a holly tree which had been planted by the neighbours – 52 years it had been there. We always told my great-granddaughter Mollie that fairies lived in it. But the leaves had started to go brown and were coming off in your hand so, unfortunately, it was time for it to go.

“We would never have chopped it down because I don’t like destroying anything that’s natural but it was going all bad.

“Mollie was really upset and was asking what would happen to the fairies, so my daughter Lynne came up with the idea of turning it into a fairy hotel.

“My daughter has arthritis and can’t use her hands so I did it all.

“It took me three full days using stuff I had about the house. We thought it was nice to do this rather than let it disappear. It’s in memory of the bush and lets it live on.

“When it was all finished, Mollie was chapping the wee doors saying: ‘Good morning little fairies’. It brought tears to my eyes.

“We just want people to see what they can do if they put their mind to it.

“The reaction from friends and neighbours has been wonderful – they all stop and look.

“It’s touching people. It really is magical and that’s what life’s all about.

“It’s nice to have something that makes you smile, especially when there’s so much violence in the world. I just hope the weather holds up and it doesn’t get destroyed.”

The fairy hotel is surrounded by a fence made out of lollipop sticks, which Mollie helped to paint, and has stable facilities should the fairies want to park their unicorns.

John said: “We’ve made a wee path leading to each of the fairies’ houses.

“It’s shaped like a heart, which we didn’t realise until afterwards.

“We had to go and buy outdoor paint but apart from that everything came from around the house, like lollipop sticks, scraps of wood and old tiles.

“I used roofing felt for the unicorn stables and I used a bit of wood to make a wee bench. The only thing we’re looking for now is a little fairy to put on the bench.

“We also put up a light to guide the fairies in, then the finishing touch was a Sky dish made out of a tin lid. You’ve got to have a Sky dish for the fairies. They’ve got to relax too! Lynn told me how to do it and I made it. I don’t know how she does it.

“My daughter is very creative. The way her mind works is amazing.

“She used to be a great wee artist. Now I see Molly always drawing, just like her gran.”

Unfortunately, when the Herald’s photographer Charlie went out to take pictures of the hotel, he didn’t see any fairies. But Mollie was able to offer an explanation for the little peoples’ absence.

John said: “Mollie said the fairies were on night shift. She has a strawberry patch at the back and according to her, the fairies pick the strawberries at night and then sell them to their friends the pixies and the elves. They then give the money to the children’s home when they loose their teeth and they put that below their pillow.”

Lynne added: “The way I see it, when you chop down a tree, why not make it into a fairy hotel? That’s just the way my mind works. I think my dad and my pals thought I’d finally lost the plot! It keeps the wean happy though.”