By Monica Gibson

THE Neilston man behind a satirical news site followed by thousands of people says he only set it up to pass the time on the morning commute.

Stewart McKenzie, 29, is the brains behind the Facebook page “Neilston News”, which has a cheeky poke at local and national issues in the style of popular sites such as The Daily Mash or The Onion – but with a Neilston twist.

The former Eastwood High School pupil says the the site has “snowballed” since he set it up last year – with more than 3,000 followers logging on to lap up the witty output.

Stewart, who grew up in Neilston but now lives in Edinburgh, said: “I commute by train every day and the journeys can get pretty boring. 

“So, I just decided to get my phone out and start jotting down some things that I thought were funny.

“I really enjoy reading the Daily Mash and Neilston News is similar but I just take something that is happening in the news and think ‘how can I relate that to Neilston?’

“I don’t spend a lot of time on the posts to be honest, I just try and make light of the situation but I would never take it too far.”

Such is the popularity of the page, more than 150 people signed a petition calling for it to continue when he threatened to call it a day.

Stewart added: “It really is a surprise but I think Neilston is so close-knit.

“If you mention a pub or a shop, everyone knows what you are talking about.”

To see what the fuss is about click here.