A HELENSBURGH woman whose entire bouncy castle business was stolen in a raid on her lock-up is back in business – and has thanked people for their support.

Morna McPartland, who runs Playtime Bouncy Castles, was devastated after thieves raided her lock-up , stealing stock worth £7,000 and leaving her unable to fulfil Christmas bookings.

But thanks to the swift action of her insurers, she’s been able to get the business back on its feet – and she hopes to hold a free play session to thank the community.

Morna told the Advertiser: “I wasn’t expecting the insurers to sort everything out so quickly

“I’ve bought slightly different stock this time

“It’ll take a wee while for word to get round that I’m back up and running, but I’m thinking of organising a free event to thank the community for their support.”

Morna arrived at her lock-up on the morning of November 7 to discover that all the padlocks had been cut and all the equipment inside stolen.

Among the larger items taken was an inflatable Disco Dome, popular at parties for adults, which retails online for up to £1,700.

Morna continued: “I actually got a call from a woman in Manchester, a couple of days after news of the theft was published, who said she thought she’d bought one of my bouncy castles.

“She sent me a picture of it, and I immediately thought ‘that’s definitely mine’.

“She also sent me CCTV footage from a camera outside her house, and you can see the guys who sold it to her perfectly clearly. I sent the footage to the police, but I haven’t heard anything further yet.

“Everybody’s been really nice since the theft was reported. People I don’t know have been asking how I’m doing – there was a point where I could hardly walk down the street without someone giving me their best wishes, and a man even stopped me today to ask how I was getting on.

“It’s been really nice to know how much folk care.”

Police enquiries into November’s theft are continuing: if you have any information which might help, especially if you saw people acting suspiciously near the Strathclyde Court lock-ups between November 5 and 7, please contact Police Scotland on 101.