RESIDENTS of a fishing community are being urged to support a campaign to recover the bodies of two fishermen who died in Loch Fyne – after it was revealed the trawler involved was originally from their harbour.

The TT100 Nancy Glen, which sank last month, was originally built for and registered in Port Seton.

Now the community is being asked to help support the families of those who were lost in their bid to recover their bodies, which are believed to be on the sunken vessel lying 495 feet below the surface of the loch.

The trawler capsized near Tarbert, Argyll and Bute, on January 18. Fishermen Duncan MacDougall, 46, and Przemek Krawczyk, 39, were lost. A third crewman, John Miller, 34, survived after being rescued by a passing vessel.

A campaign to raise money to help recover the bodies of those who died has raised more than £216,000.

All three of the crew lived in Tarbert and hundreds of people gathered at the quayside on Saturday for a remembrance tribute to the men lost.

At a meeting of Cockenzie and Port Seton Community Council on Tuesday evening, local resident Shona Brash urged people to support the plight of the families of the lost men.

She said: “The trawler involved had been until recently a local boat.

“It is about one fishing community supporting another.”

Mrs Brash highlighted a fundraiser organised by fellow local Robert Johnston, who has announced plans to raffle a collectable gold-plated Wade Bells bottle produced for the Queen Mother’s 90th birthday, in aid of the families.

Mr Johnston announced the raffle on his Facebook page, saying: “I can’t believe that the families are having to raise the funds to lift the boat to retrieve the bodies. There should not be any question whether the boat should be lifted, it should have been done long before now.

“I feel our small fishing community should do what we can to help these families get through this difficult time as this boat was built for one of our local skippers, Ian Sinclair.”

Mr Johnston said that he planned to make a list of Port Seton boats past and present and allow people who buy a ticket to pick a boat.

The winning boat name will be drawn once the tickets have been sold.

The community council agreed to promote fundraising in the community and support the fishing community of Tarbert and families on its social media page.

The Nancy Glen was originally named La Hai Roi when it was built in Eyemouth in 1991. Records show it was built for Mr Sinclair of Port Seton and renamed.

A sonar sweep of the area where the trawler went down was carried out by marine accident investigators on Monday.

The families were told it was unlikely efforts would be made to bring the vessel back to the surface and funds raised will go towards helping them do that.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nancyglencampaign