The headteacher of a village primary school which was gutted by a huge fire says the community has been left "devastated."

The blaze broke out in Ballantrae Primary School in South Ayrshire on Monday evening.

Firefighters were on scene throughout the night as they battled to bring the flames under control.

The fire left the main building badly damaged, with classrooms and nursery rooms destroyed.

South Ayrshire Council has now said the children at Ballantrae will move to Girvan Primary from Thursday, with 58 pupils affected.

The council also plans to relocate 13 early years children to Ballantrae Community Centre.

Ballantrae Primary's headteacher, Yvonne Templeton, said: "We're all devastated by what's happened and really can't believe it.

"Our school is very much at the heart of the community in Ballantrae and I know this will have an impact on everyone not just within the school, but right across our village.

"However, we can all be grateful that no one was hurt in the fire.

"My focus will be on supporting our children, staff, parents and carers while we're decanted from the school we know and love, but I know we'll take the spirit and ethos of Ballantrae Primary wherever we are."

Education leader William Grant said: "This is a really sad end to the school year at Ballantrae Primary and I know it will have affected everyone in this tight-knit community.

"I'm pleased we have been able to move so quickly to put alternative arrangements in place for children and staff, keeping the loss of education time to an absolute minimum, which is a positive outcome. And my thanks to everyone involved in achieving this, especially colleagues at Girvan Primary and Ballantrae Community Centre.

"At this time it's too early for us to have a clear picture of the extent of the damage to the school building and the work that will be involved to bring it back into use.

"However, there's no doubt interim education arrangements will need to run well into the new school year and it could be many months before pupils can return.

"Our priority will be to maintain quality learning and teaching for our children during this time and that's what we will focus on."