A Scottish animal rescue project will remain closed "until further notice" after a "deliberate" blaze saw its premises damaged.

While no animals were harmed in the early morning fire at Lamont Farm Project in Erskine, Renfrewshire on Friday, the team behind the project were left "devastated". 

The team said they were "gutted beyond belief" after Police Scotland launched a probe into the "wilful fire-raising"

The cabin which suffered "quite extensive" damage is used as a break room for volunteers and a shelter for cats at night.

A post on the project's Facebook adds: "Luckily any cats that were in the cabin managed to escape, and we managed to turn all the horses up to the field to safety so no animals or humans were harmed, we are so grateful for that.”

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They added: “We are still in shock that anyone could do this, especially just feet away from our horses stables, but we are just glad that everyone got out safely.”

The farm, which is entirely run by volunteers, has been a part of the community for 46 years.

Police say they were called to Barrhill Road in the town at around 4.15am on Friday, with firefighters extinguishing a fire in a cabin within the grounds of the farm.

Detective Constable Robert Urquhart said: “Thankfully none of the animals were injured as a result of this but it was noise from their distress that alerted staff to the fire.

“Officers are currently checking local CCTV and checking with neighbouring properties but would appeal to anyone who may have seen or heard something suspicious in the early hours of Friday morning to come forward.

“Any information can be passed to officers at Paisley via 101.

“Please quote reference number 0401 of Friday March 31 when calling.

“Alternatively, details can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Volunteers have now launched a fundraiser to help repair the damage and support the animals while the farm remains closed to the public. 

A statement on their GoFundMe page adds: "We normally rely on donations from visitors and due to the fire we have had to close until we can at least survey the damage properly.

"We don't know how we will recover from this, we are trying ourselves to run some online fundraisers as the damage is quite extensive.

"Please help in any way that you can. All donations will help to repair/replace any fire damage and to continue to support all of our animals here on the farm."

The donation page is available here.