A CLYDEBANK pensioner who was left heartbroken after his bike was stolen last year is back on the road – thanks to the kind-hearted owner of a cycle shop.

Jim Gallacher, 73, from Drumry, had his electric bicycle taken from a rack near the former Dunnes store inside the Clyde Shopping Centre in September last year.

The pensioner’s family set up a fund-raising page to raise funds for a new e-bike, which soon racked up more than £2,000.

Now Jim’s sister-in-law has thanked store owner Alex McNee for providing Jim with a new bike for a discounted cost.

She said she was “blown away” by the show of support from Alex, who runs Helensburgh Cycles.

Lisa Gallacher said: “It was a lovely gesture. Helensburgh Cycles is a small business so the fact Alex put aside a bike for Jim at a discounted price at this difficult time is amazing.

“He was so chuffed to receive it – he couldn’t believe it. It was the icing on the cake for us.

“However, it’s important not to lose sight of the people who donated too, even in small amounts.

“Without their support, we couldn’t have replaced the bike.

“There was a £1,000 anonymous donation on the GoFundMe page which is amazing.”

Clydebank Post: Helensburgh Cycles stepped in to help Jim out with a new bikeHelensburgh Cycles stepped in to help Jim out with a new bike

Jim still works part-time at the B&Q store in Drumchapel and uses the bike to get him to and from his work, as well as to run errands and visit his wife in a local care home.

Lisa added: “Jim is a very proud man, and anyone who knows him knows that he wouldn’t take five pence from you.

“When I approached him about setting up a fundraising page, he wasn’t very keen on it at first because he didn’t want it to appear as if he was asking people for money.

“We were blown away by the community spirit and the fact that people came together to help.

“It was a lousy thing to happen to him but they managed to turn it around.

“I’ve been in Clydebank all my life and I’m very proud to be a Bankie.”

Alex told the Post: “Jim bought his first bike from us, which is how we knew of his story.

“We found out it was stolen quite soon after he got it.

“He invested a lot of money in his first one, and we didn’t feel right charging him full price for the second bike, which is why we decided to offer him a discount.”