Kirkcaldy hotel claims web trolls and bullies are forcing it out of the town

And the businessmen behind The Raven Hotel, which only opened in the town in November last year, say they are taking legal action against those responsible.

In an email to the Press from the accounts department of The Raven Hotel Group, it claimed there is now a “witch hunt” underway against the hotel which underwent a complete refurbishment before it opened.

In its statement it said: “It is obvious that there is now a witch hunt underway and, with this in mind, and the fact that Kirkcaldy is a small town, the owners have decided to dispense with their interest in the hotel as soon as possible. The hotel owners hope to make a swift sale in order to safeguard the jobs currently taken by locals.”

The move comes after Kirkcaldy businessman Sandy McLure took the hotel to task amid claims that it still owed him for signs he made.

Sandy took matters into his own hands by making up a sign in the form of a tongue-in-cheek quiz on when he would be paid for the work, and putting it up in his shop window in Links Street.

He also posted the sign on his Facebook page and it was shared hundreds of times.

However in its email The Raven, formerly The Abbey Hotel in Milton Road, claimed that he was “paid the bulk of his invoice and failed to respond to an offer to clear it.”

Another sign was also made up for Glenrothes painter Steven McLachlan who was photographed with the hotel in the background claiming he was “overcome with emulsion” after not being paid for work he had carried out on the hotel.

In response the hoteliers said he had been “dismissed” by them for, among other reasons, being “six weeks over the agreed refurbishment period”. But the decorator said he was only one week over schedule and this was because he carried out “a lot more work than what was originally agreed”.

In August, when it was announced The Raven Group was taking over the troubled hotel, Scott Brunel, the man behind the development, told the Press they had spent £150,000 doing up the 10-bedroomed hotel, with all the work being done by “local contractors to help boost the local economy.”