A KIND-HEARTED Helensburgh business owner has stepped up to help a pensioner whose bike was stolen.
Jim Gallacher, 73, had his electric bicycle taken from a rack at the Clyde Shopping Centre in Clydebank 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 Alex McNee, who owns Helensburgh Cycles, for providing Jim with a new bike for a discounted cost.
She said she was “blown away” by the show of community support.
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.
Jim and his new bike.
“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.”
Jim, from Drumry, still works part-time at B&Q in Drumchapel and uses the bike to get to and from work, as well as to run errands and to visit his wife in a local care home.
Alex McNee, who owns Helensburgh Cycles, told the Advertiser this week: “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.”
Helensburgh Cycles stepped up to help Jim.
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 fund-raising page, he wasn’t very keen on the idea 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 people came together to help.
“It was a lousy thing to happen to him but they managed to turn it around.”
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