A BANKIE who used Highland dancing to restore her health after being knocked down by a car has opened her own dance school in the town.

Shonagh Cameron said there was a gap in the area for Highland dancing instruction and she currently has 10 students, including her six-year-old daughter Hayden.

The mum-of two – two-year-old Fynnlay hasn’t signed up to the classes yet himself – acknowledged there were plenty of dance schools in Clydebank but she felt her experience could offer something unique.

She told Post Entertainment: “I have been dancing since I was 10 and competed all over the world, but I stopped competing when I was 23. When I had my daughter, there was no time to go back to classes after that. But I missed it so much I decided to start my own classes.”

When Shonagh was eight, she was run over by a car in Cherry Crescent, in Parkhall, and had to undergo a number of operations, including on her muscles and plastic surgery.

She started dancing to build up her muscles and help them work. So Shonagh credits that accident with giving her the future direction in life.

“Had it not been for that, I would never have started,” she said.

The life-long Bankie admits she’s unsure how teaching her own daughter will go, but hopes to find more students to try out the dance with them.

“There are loads of dance schools but none that offer solely Highland dancing,” said the 28-year-old. “I know a lot about the background and the history of each dance, I found it interesting when I learned to dance. You don’t learn that in school.”

Students can join Shonagh’s classes at any time and the first one is free to allow youngsters to try it out.

Current students are aged four to 11. There are held every Wednesday from 6.15pm to 8pm at The Hub in Kilbowie Road.

For more information, contact s.cameron158@gmail.com.