A popular greenway bike hire business has closed its doors ahead of reopening for the summer.
Donal Jacob has been based at the WIT Arena in Carriganore since the route's opening in 2016.
However with the Arena now being used as a vaccination centre, Donal's business had to find an alternative venue however this hasn't been possible.
He said this now won't be possible, as a risk assessment ruled out returning to his old spot at the centre, which he said was "totally understandable". He had been hoping to be allowed use a car park on the ground - closer to the entrance to the Greenway route - but this was ruled out by the college this week.
"I had a face to face meeting yesterday - bottom line was that I wasn't allowed to go there. They are looking at other options but to be honest there are no other options," he told Damien Tiernan on WLR."It was a blow, I thought we had a solution," he added.
After closing his family's newsagents in Ballytruckle during the recession, he made the job his passion, building it up to 150 bikes.
Donal thanked the public for their support after he announced the closure, receiving over two hundred comments on his Facebook page. "I just want to thank everyone for all their kind comments, it was unreal," he said, "they were all just so nice."
He added: "It is such a shame, not only for the jobs lost but also for all those people who had hoped to hire bikes from us to experience the Greenway and enjoy a well-deserved Summer season after a long lockdown and difficult year. If a solution to our problem is found we will let you know immediately but for now, thanks and take care."
