CUMBRAE is a step closer to having its on island gin after a successful crowdfunding campaign was backed by supporters around the world.

The Isle of Cumbrae Distillers had originally aimed to raise £10,000 to buy the still at the heart of their operation.

However, thanks to the generosity of residents and gin lovers alike, more than £24,000 was raised in just a few months.

Philippa Dalton, one of the five distillers, says the support for their business has been amazing - and paid tribute to one very special donation.

She said: “We want to say thank you to all of our friends, family, locals and gin lovers from all over the world who supported the crowdfunder.

“We have had some donations from some amazing people who jumped on board, we saw some amazing generosity.

“We had a late donation from Blair and Moira Miller of BM Engineering Supplies Ltd, who approached us with an offer to buy the still and equipment.

“They are a family who own a home on the island, so they’ll be familiar to a lot of people here and Blair has been coming to the island since he was a wee boy.

“They have a very strong connection to Millport and we’re really grateful to them.”

A slice of the funds will go towards creating a gin school on the island.

Philippa said: “It's going to look really smart and inviting and will hopefully appeal to people across the age groups.

"It's great fun to have a go at flavouring your own gin and combined with the tours and tasting we hope to offer a gin experience which will give our visitors something special.

“It would also be prepared for workshops from our mixologist Dylan Barrie on how to make some amazing cocktails."

The distillers have also secured part-funding to recruit a student or graduate in marketing from Strathclyde University for an eight-week internship this summer.

Philippa said: “We hope to attract cruise visitors to Greenock to get on board to Millport and spend a couple of hours here, look at the distillery and have a tasting. We also want them to hire a bike, have something to eat and visit other shops, which will benefit other businesses on the island.

“One of our driving ambitions has been to promote tourism on the island.”

With lockdown restrictions relaxing, Philippa says the five ladies can restart work and bring the distillery closer to reality.

She said: “Now that lockdown is relaxing, we’re getting into the premises to get it set up to become a distillery.

“We are hoping to be up and running by Christmas in some form."